On September 14 I checked into the hotel and let the clerk know that I had 2 dogs traveling with me. She told me the pet fee was $10 per dog, which I agreed to. She asked me to write there names on the pet agreement form and sign it. I asked her why she needed their names as I had never been asked that before and have traveled with dogs for over 20 years. She said in the event the staff had to enter the room they could call the dogs by name, which usually makes animals less nervous. We talked about pets while I wrote the dogs' names and signed the agreement. Never once did she mention that there was an additional cleaning fee if the hotel decided to tack it on later and because of conversation while I wrote out the dogs' names I didn't get a chance to fully read the agreement.
When I got into the room, I put the dogs' blankets on one bed in case my older dog got nervous and jumped up on the bed with me. The dogs never wandered around the room on their own as I never take their leashes off when we stay in hotels and they never leave my side. During the night I keep the leashes in hand in case one of the dogs needs to go out in the night or gets nervous, the change in leash tension will alert me.
When I checked out the next morning, the pet fee was not on my bill. I brought it to the attention of the desk clerk, who thanked me for my honesty and said not to worry about it. I thanked him and left.
When I checked my bank statement after returning home I found an additional $45 charge from the hotel. I called to inquire and spoke with the clerk who had checked me in. She remembered our conversation but didn't know what the charge was for and said she would leave a message for the manager. I called again 2 days later and was transferred to the general manager.
The second Paula, the general manager got on the phone she was rude and abusive. She said the dogs were all over the beds, which they weren't, and now they would have to wash the coverlets. I told her that I always carry blankets for the dogs with me but she refused to listen or believe me. (If I was honest about having them and honest about the pet fee not being on my bill, why wouldn't I be honest about where they were?) She continued to cut me off in mid-sentence and claimed their was fur everywhere. I tried again to explain to her that the dogs were never off leash, and that blankets were put down for them but she became more hostile. Neither I nor the dogs ever went near the second bed in the room which she claimed had fur all over it.
I finally gave up trying to reason with her and told her I would file a grievance with my credit card company and with the Better Business Bureau. She said go ahead. If any of my employees had ever spoken to a customer they way Paula spoke to me, they would be immediately terminated. I have been traveling with dogs for over 20 years and have never been charged anything other than the standard pet fee. Now all I want is a refund of both the $20 pet fee (that I was told not to worry about in the morning) and the $25 Paula is now extorting from me.
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