"Beware the Fine Print- and do not stay at the Fairfield Hotel".
I'm gonna tell you whyš”
Let me first say, that everyone I spoke to in person or over the phone was courteous and respectful, but ultimately were unhelpful and passed the buck to the next person. I have over 40,000,000 views on my post, I've traveled the world, and the lack of compassion from this hotel is very telling. Traveling from New York to Smithfield, North Carolina was a journey. My aunt who is a noted figure in that community, passed away just before her 99th birthday and has a building named after her in that community.
Traveling on American Airlines, I arrived at Regan National Airport š« My flight AA flight 5224 was delayed on May 8th. When passengers finally boarded, we sat on the tarmac for 2 hours before being told our flight to Raleigh was canceled due to weather. However, because it was a weather-related cancelation, the airline was not responsible for compensating travelers for an overnight stay and the time was late at this point. American Airlines suggested I go to Pittsburgh, and try to get out the next day. Instead, I found a place to stay in DC and got a ride. My cousin had a car rental reservation and every single car was rented out, and after he was directed to go to a car rental establishment, 10 miles away, and after going there, he was told that no vehicles were available. Arriving in Smithfield, I realized I was at the wrong hotel from my family, and my cousin didn't have transportation because we had planned to travel together.
The Fairfield
I go to the Fairfield Hotel and talk to the lady at the front desk. I didn't give her all the details, but I did relay the info about being at the wrong hotel and asked if it was OK to cancel, assuming that I wouldn't be charged the cancelation fee. She was like "No problem" and canceled my reservation. At 5:22 am the next day, I got a notification of a charge from the hotel. I called the hotel around 7 AM and spoke to Anthony, he instructed me to call back after 8 AM. I call after 8 AM and speak to a woman. She tells me to call on Monday and ask for Rhonda, the daytime manager. I called and this is what she said.
"We are not required to tell people that when they cancel they will be charged". I knew it was in the email I received, that's why I personally went to the hotel to explain my circumstances.
Rhonda then told me that there was nobody that I could talk to, above her position, because it was her job to tell people about the company policy. I ended by saying, that I understood she was just doing her job, but that I would be writing a negative review of the hotel and said thank you.
The bottom line is this, I was aware of the policy because I read the entire email, but after I spoke with the front desk, and personally took the time to travel to the hotel to explain my situation, I assumed that the clerk was not going to charge the cancelation fee because of our conversation. I was just lucky that I even made it to Smithfield to attend the funeral and would have stayed at the hotel if I had been told that the fee would not be waived. I would have been satisfied if the hotel had the Fairfield compromised with me and split the cost and charged me half. But as I said before, everyone was polite and respectful, but no compassion whatsoever for the situation. I was told the justification for the charge, is the hotel could have rented the room to someone else. Maybe, but from the looks of the parking lot, it didn't look full to me. Unless I have no other option, I will never stay at another Fairfield Hotel, and I suggest you -Joe Public do the same. Was there a policy, yes, but there's also, just doing the right thing! I doubt very much, that anybody would have been able to offer and could prove all the obstacles I encountered this past weekend from canceled flight, to no car rental, I felt bad for the international travelers who were on my flight. Glad I was able to make the funeral service but lessen learned. I hope this review is helpful, beware of dealing with...
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