Mintrops Concierge Hotel — Hotel in Essen

English:

We booked this hotel far in advance in order to attend the "Essen Spiel" game fair, a major event every year during which it can be hard to find accommodations. The rooms were far more expensive than normal because of the event. Then the Coronavirus pandemic hit and "Essen Spiel" was cancelled. We contacted the hotel right away and tried to sort something out but they were slow to respond and essentially offered us nothing.

One room was supposed to be for my parents who of course could not fly from the USA because the pandemic was still a major problem in October 2020. The event we wanted to travel for was cancelled and the hotel was now offering the same rooms that we booked at about 1/3 the price. Not to mention that the infection rate was rising rapidly in the area around Essen and would have been irresponsible to travel to that area at that time. However, the only offer they gave us was that we could pay an additional 50% (more than an extra €1,000) to move the booking to 2021 but they refused to guarantee that we could move the booking again if the fair is cancelled in 2021, which could easily happen.

While we understand that it has been hard for hotels during the pandemic, we don't think that it is acceptable to insist on keeping the more than €2,200 that we paid them without letting us either reschedule or reduce the price to something more reasonable given the circumstances. I would absolutely never book at this hotel again and would highly recommend that others avoid a hotel that would treat its customers in such a way.

Deutsch:

Wir hatten unser Hotelzimmer fast ein Jahr im Voraus gebucht, da es für die Zeit der „Essen Spiel“-Messe schwierig ist, eine Unterkunft zu finden. Die Zimmerpreise lagen aufgrund der Messe deutlich über dem durchschnittlichen Hotelzimmerpreis des Mintrops Concierge Hotel. Dann kam Corona und die Messe, die im Oktober 2020 stattfinden sollte, wurde abgesagt. Wir setzten uns umgehend mit dem Hotel in Verbindung, was jedoch zu keinem Ergebnis führte.

In einem der beiden gebuchten Zimmer sollten meine Eltern übernachten – die, ansässig in Kalifornien, aufgrund der Coronakrise nicht aus Amerika anreisen durften. Nachdem verkündet wurde, dass die Messe nicht stattfindet, sanken die Zimmerpreise des Mintrops Concierge Hotel auf 1/3 des von uns gebuchten Preises. Die Infektionszahlen stiegen in Essen zu dem Zeitpunkt unserer geplanten Reise rapide an, der Inzidenzwert lag bei über 50. Als Eltern von drei Kindern und der Tatsache, dass meine Frau durch ihren Beruf täglich mit teilweise über 100 Kindern in Kontakt kommt, wäre eine Reise nach Essen für uns nicht nur durch die abgesagte Messe sinnlos, sondern auch verantwortungslos gewesen.

Das Mintrops Concierge Hotel hatte jedoch keinerlei Verständnis für die Situation. Sie boten an, die Zimmer zu 100% der ursprünglichen Kosten von über 2200€ zu stornieren oder die Buchung „kulanterweise“ auf nächstes Jahr zu verschieben, aber nur 50% anzurechnen, so dass wir noch einmal über 1000€ hätten zahlen müssen - ohne die Garantie, dass die Messe im Jahr 2021 überhaupt stattfindet. Auf Anfrage wollte man sich auch in keinster Weise festlegen, ob die Buchung in diesem Fall noch einmal verschoben werden könnte.

Wir verstehen, dass die Coronakrise einen schweren Schlag für die Hotelbranche bedeutet. Wir verstehen aber nicht, dass das Mintrops Concierge Hotel darauf besteht, unsere 2200€ zu behalten ohne die Möglichkeit einer angemessenen Umbuchung oder zumindest einer Senkung des Zimmerpreises auf einen den Umständen (und derzeitigen Preisen) entsprechenden Wertes.

Ich würde niemals wieder den Fehler machen, ein Zimmer im Mintrops Concierge Hotel zu buchen und möchte hiermit andere potentielle Gäste eindringlich davor warnen, ein Hotel zu buchen, dessen Manager einfach abkassieren und dann mit der...

I booked this hotel for early November (Booking reference XOBAWRZF-1), together with a colleague. We each made our own non-refundable reservation — a choice I make often when I am certain of my travel plans. I am fully aware of what that rate implies, and I accept that the mistake was entirely mine. Over six weeks before the stay, I realised — due to a simple date selection error in the Booking.com calendar — that I had booked the wrong day. I informed the hotel immediately, explaining clearly that I would not be able to use the room under any circumstance, as I was travelling on completely different dates. This was not a last-minute change of mind. The hotel is located directly opposite the main Congress Centre, in an area that routinely sells out well in advance. It was evident that the room could have been resold within minutes, at no loss whatsoever — in fact, quite possibly at a higher rate. I even appeared at the hotel physically, on the actual date of my trip, explaining the situation while having to stay across the street instead, at a hotel costing nearly three times more. Still, every response I have received — via Booking, by phone, and in person — has been identical: a categorical and impersonal “no”. Not a hesitation, not a single attempt to consider the particulars of the case. Not policy — reflex. A kind of insistence that one must be made to remember the mistake, even when there is no conceivable cost or inconvenience to the hotel. I have travelled extensively for work, and I cannot recall an approach this inflexible in a situation declared with such advance notice and with such obvious absence of harm. I was not asking for privilege — only for humanity. And the message communicated, in the end, is not “we have rules”, but rather: “even when it costs us nothing to assist you, we will choose not to.” That is the difference between a hotel — and a system that...

We can not thank the staff in the hotel enough! Such kind and helpful people. We broke down on autobahn with a trailer in tow, the not only helped us with calling mechanics, provide safe parking for the car and trailer, lent us tools and let us check out late as we were waiting for rescue people the following day. We slep super well in the best beads ever! Even the kids spare bed was good! We were so tried when we finally arrived in the evening and kids didn’t want to go out to a restaurant, so we made some pasta as there was a stow and small kitchen. The room was very luxurious, sleek interiors with big windows. No noises and comfy pillows of all shapes. The soap and shampoo was very nice, no conditioner, so bring your own. The breakfast in the morning was nice and healthy. We can recommend this hotel 100% to families (great to get a large family room) or any one else going to Essen! Thank you again, we’ll be...