I'm writing this with the framework that our reservation for four days was following Hurricane Ian so that a reader can understand that, yes, we did try to have understanding that some chaos goes along with people in need of rooms. Having said that... I am a local resident of Venice, and was in need of a room after coming back in town seeing some destruction to our home following the hurricane. I arrived just before 3 PM, thinking that was check-in time, but, mistakenly, it was an unusually late 4 PM. I came back in an hour (with no forewarning the first time there were any issues to speak of) to learn that the room was not ready. I was told to come back ”later” (whatever that is interpreted to mean). I could not even be given an educated estimate. I came back at 5 PM, and no room available. I drove around (with 1/8 tank of gas and no gas stations open) and came back at 7 PM. NO ROOMS available. it was only then I was told they were ”short staffed”. I have an open mind. I see the shortage of help all over from restaurants to general contractors to, yes, hotels. The curtness of the personnel I had dealt with and lack of compassion (on their part) is what rubbed me wrong. After questioning why my room was not ready at 7 PM (not a typo), a women stepped into the conversation (may have been the manager?) and curtly asked if I have ever tried to check into a hotel during a hurricane and I was quick to reply yes (Andrew, Irma, and Matthew). I had not ever come to this sort of issue in terms of not having a room available in addition to the clear defensiveness of the staff (referring only to the people I had dealt with). Hotels are QUICK to make sure you check out by 11 AM but not so big a deal to check in well into the evening. My wife and I cancelled our reservations and slept in our car in our driveway for the night. Note: I was forced to make a separate 30-minute call to Wyndham to cancel due to points being used (more on this later). At this point, I've a little bit to now say about Wyndham. I'm a loyal member (actually, Diamond). ”Early check-in”, while not guaranteed, is all but guaranteed at competing brands of which I was also at top tiers including: Marriott, Hyatt, and IHG. If the room is not available (and clearly in my case it was not), then those brands would have a room guaranteed available at the time of standard check in. Always (meaning, including hurricane evacuations). Not the case with Wyndham. They have shown to most always not support their top-tier customers and say that ”each individual hotel is privately operated (ie, franchised), and you will have to contact the hotel”. Ramada handled this poorly, and Wyndam is indifferent. I should have known to avoid a Ramada, having last stayed at a horrific Ramada Inn in Augusta, GA. Never again. Good riddance to both.
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