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Complaint about Super 8 motel

12K views 72 replies 58 participants last post by  bmcdonau  
#1 ·
My wife and I stayed in the Super 8 Motel located in Wythville, VA on 19 May 2012. We were very disappointed in the hotel. I received a customer survey e-mail and my wife and I stated our opinion. I was e-mailed back by the General Manager, Anthony Dowdy. Below is the e-mail.

Dear XXXXX XXXXX:

Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to complete our Guest Survey. I apologize that your experience was anything less than satisfying. Our goal is to not only meet the needs of each and every guest we serve, but to exceed your expectations to make your stay as pleasant and comfortable as possible.

Please know that your feedback is extremely valuable to us. Feedback such as yours assists us in improving our service and property on a daily basis. In addition, please know that your comments and issues will be addressed.

It is our hope that you will give us another opportunity to serve you. Again, I apologize for the inconvenience during your stay and hope to see you during your next visit.

If I can provide any assistance, don't hesitate to contact me directly at (276) 228-6620.

Well, I e-mailed Mr. Dowdy back. Below is the e-mail I sent.

It's not that your hotel chain was a bad choice for my wife and I during our stay. We viewed many hotels in the area. We based our decision on the pictures you had posted on your web site and what your hotel chain offered. We were very impressed with what we read and what your hotel chain had to offer.

Upon arriving at your hotel, your employee was very nice and cordial. I was very impressed with the way she treated me and I had a very nice time with the small talk as we conversed. Upon entering the room...well, this is when my attitude changed. It smelled of smoke, but this is not your fault. We asked for a smoking room and this is what we received. It smelled of stale cigarette smoke but this is what you can expect when you stay in a smoking room.

We showered before we were leaving for something to eat. We were tired from traveling all day long and we were hungry. The bathroom was not in the greatest of shape. I noticed mold and mildew on the handle in the shower. There were urine stains on the rim of the toilet. My wife noticed that after the bathroom had steamed up, there was nicotine dripping down the door and on the wall’s. While my wife was putting on her makeup, she noticed there was a stain on the countertop from a glass and the sink was very dirty. She made mention of this to me before we left to eat. She said the bathroom looked like it was never cleaned. She stated that if it were cleaned, it was not a very decent job. This was not a very good impression after traveling all day.

Upon returning from eating, we entered the room and noticed many small gnats in the room. This was pretty much the 'straw that broke the camel's back' so to speak. We do not know where the gnats came from. They were not there when we first checked in and we did not leave the door open at any time during our stay.

We stayed in a room which had a king sized bed. This is exactly what we asked for. There were only three pillows in the bed. From my past experiences of hotel that offer a king sized bed, they normally have four
pillows. My wife and I sleep with two pillows each while at home. It was late at night and I did not feel like going to the front office just to retrieve another pillow.

The television was very old and the on/off knob was so well used it would not even 'pop' back out when pressed. The button just stayed in. The television did operate but when you see an older television in the room with
a broken knob, one has a different attitude toward staying in your hotel chain.

The next morning we awoke at our desired requested time and had breakfast at the hotel. The breakfast was very nice and filling. The hotel did seem like it was in a safe area and I did enjoy chatting with other bikers that stayed the night at your hotel. I do realize that your hotel is not a new one and there is not much you can do about that. Remodeling is very expensive in todays society.

I am sure you will agree that 'first impressions' are everything. Based on my 'first impression' of the room, you can tell that I was not very impressed. Thus my low rating in your survey.

I am currently enrolled in college and I am earning my Bachelor degree in Business Management. I have a term paper due in three weeks and my topic is on the hospitality industry. In some of my paper I am basing my decisions and discussions on my recent stay at your hotel. I do realize there are many aspects of the hospitality industry that many people do not take into consideration but when you see mold and mildew, pee stains, gnats and a semi-broken television; you can see why I would draw my conclusion of rating your hotel so low in my survey.

If you wish to discuss this any further, feel free to contact me either by e-mail or you may call me directly at home (757-XXX-XXXX).


Unknow to me, the e-mail address was an automated sent e-mail. So...I called and received the true e-mail address. I resent the e-mail and to date I have not received a response. I e-mailed Super 8 on their web site and stated that I e-mailed the general manager of that hotel and to date I have not received a response. I was hoping I would have received something by now....but NOOOOO!!!! Nothing. I guess they are not interested in what the customer has to say.

I am just venting and getting this out there. Hopefully people will see this and take heed in what I have stated. Thanks for letting me vent.:twisted::twisted:
 
#4 ·
Ya get what ya pay for...

If you would have went across the road to the 76 truck stop, you would have gotten a clean room with a good TV, a clean shower, no bath tub, and a good bed. The wife and I stay at the truck stops because they are less expensive than any chain hotel. There are some that kick you out after 10 hours, DOT minimum rest cycle, but if your traveling from point a to point b, why spend all your money on the chain motels on the way, when you can stay at a nice one at point b.

I've stayed at Motel 6, Super 8, and other comparable hotels, and got tired of finding bed bugs, crappy tv's, dirty showers, smelly rooms. The truck stops have staff on duty who clean then on an ongoing basis. Give them a try.

As of the lip service you received, I woulda call the manager, AND the corporate office and explained exactly why you will never stay at another super 8 motel again. Just don't stop with the flunkies.
 
#5 ·
I love staying at Super 8's.

In fact, I wish I was in one now. I especially like the ones with two doors...one to the outside (with my M/C parked in front of it) and one to the hallway for those cold/rainy nights.

For 20+ years, I spent 250-300 nights a year away from home. Every now and then, you catch a room with a lazy maid. It's all part of traveling. There are higher end hotels that will, generally, have the best rooms but they can afford to pay their cleaning staff better after you've paid handsomely for the room. Everyone wants the cheaper rooms with stellar service. Sometimes it doesn't work out. If my room had be so objectionable to me, I would have addressed it then & there and we wouldn't be having this conversation.

Rent a room in Nigeria, Trinidad or Indonesia for comparison.

Z
 
#7 ·
I stayed in a Super 8 in Knoxville right off the Interstate - it was NASTY!!!!. If I wasnt so tired, and it being so late I would have moved on down the road. I too received a customer satisfaction survey. I ripped them pretty good!! No Response!!
 
#8 ·
Copying and pasting of e-mails, I feel, does not constitute 'way too much time invested'. I just thought people would like to know how the consumer is being treated by the 'big man corporations'. That's all.

Thaks for the head's up. Good post.....If you've been on this forum for very long, you will have detractors no matter what you do.
 
#12 ·
My wife and I used to stay at Super 8's as often as we could when traveling.
And I always make my reservations in advance online, but many of the Super 8's no longer allow cancellations.
So if something comes up and you need to change your plan, you're screwed.

No more Super 8's for us. :? Now it's Best Western's, Quality Inn, or Comfort Inn.
 
#14 ·
We have reservations at Super 8 later this week

Hey I appreciate your post on Super 8 Motels. We are travelling to Mt Rushmore later this week from Canada. We have several of our nights booked at Super 8's along the way. We're hoping for the best. Our longest stay will be a Deadwood Super 8 for 4 nights. I'm REALLY hoping
for no surprises, in the negative respect.
 
#15 ·
Unless others are staying at the Super 8, I don't use them. I prefer Holiday Inn Express. They have standards and HI completely rehabs all of their hotels every 10 years. They have standards and you always know what you get when you stay at a Holiday Inn Express. Plus it works magic and all you need to do is "say I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express" and you always win an argument.
 
#16 ·
There a few best westerns slipping.

We now ask to see the room and dining area.
 
#17 ·
Super 8's are known to be low-budget motels - you get what you pay for. You should really do your homework better and check motel reviews at tripadvisor.com. You'll find that this Super 8 is ranked 12th out of 19 hotels in the area. It has enough negative reviews to warn me to never stay there. Join up with tripadvisor.com and you can leave a review also.
Another tripadvisor fan. Often, other guests will post pictures on there to show what the rooms are really like.

Also, use google maps to zoom to street view to see what the neighborhood looks like. A block in either direction will normally tell you if you'd like to live in the same neighborhood.
 
#21 ·
This is why I ask before taking the room for a view, even after a long days ride. It would be well worth it in the end. My wife and I stopped last and hit 3 motels/hotels before we finally came to the fourth one which we both enjoyed. It's your money. I think I would have asked for room right after I opened the door and got hit by the stale smoke. As far as hearing back I would not hold my breath. Customer service nowadays is certainly gone downhill.
 
#22 ·
Wife always ask to see the room before we take it.
However, last year on our BRP trip after over 300 miles, most in heavy rain we topped a hill in Bryson City and saw a Rodeway Inn ? $29.95 sign. As some mentioned, you get what you pay for. The room was terrible, had it to do over would have got a refund and rode on.
Coming back from the bathoom after almost slipping down on mildew, I watched a golfball size brown recluse kill a black widow then run a rat out of the room that had been eating on my ham & cheese sub.:joke:
 
#23 ·
My wife and I stayed in the Super 8 Motel located in Wythville, VA on 19 May 2012. We were very disappointed in the hotel. I received a customer survey e-mail and my wife and I stated our opinion. I was e-mailed back by the General Manager, Anthony Dowdy.
I love staying at Super 8's.
Rent a room in Nigeria, Trinidad or Indonesia for comparison.

Z
My wife and I used to stay at Super 8's as often as we could when traveling.
And I always make my reservations in advance online, but many of the Super 8's no longer allow cancellations.
So if something comes up and you need to change your plan, you're screwed.

No more Super 8's for us. :? Now it's Best Western's, Quality Inn, or Comfort Inn.
Super 8's and Motel 6 anymore are mostly very old buildings that are beyond remodeling. The 'non-response' DPitts received is appalling.

Z, this is America, not some third world country. Our expectations SHOULD be a little higher.

onmyrt, our choices also.

Several years ago I stayed (with a reservation) at a Motel 6. The last open room in the joint. It stunk so bad I wouldn't stay there. They refused a refund so I called my CC and put it into contest. Apparently the motel didn't complain because they finally allowed the removal of the charge from my statement. That was my last stay at a motel 6, Super 8, Knights Inn and another chain or two that have passed their prime.

thecruiser
 
#26 ·
Sleep with a baseball bat....

Wife always ask to see the room before we take it.
However, last year on our BRP trip after over 300 miles, most in heavy rain we topped a hill in Bryson City and saw a Rodeway Inn ? $29.95 sign. As some mentioned, you get what you pay for. The room was terrible, had it to do over would have got a refund and rode on.
Coming back from the bathoom after almost slipping down on mildew, I watched a golfball size brown recluse kill a black widow then run a rat out of the room that had been eating on my ham & cheese sub.:joke:
Had a visual of this taking place in a room and found it hilarious....