Q Can I get a refund for incorrect smoking fee?
A: You didn’t smoke in your room. Therefore, you should not have to pay a smoking fee— or half a smoking fee. Goes without saying, right?
So whatwent wrong here? Easy. I think you were too polite. When you checked into a room that smelled like smoke, you should have said something. Youwere still being polite when you referred to it as an “odor.”
The last time Iwrote about smoking fees in hotels, I had the audacity to say that if you smoke in your room, you should pay the cleaning fee. Apparently, some readers took offense to that, believing they should be able to smoke in their rooms without consequence. But that’s theworldwe live in.
You quickly found your voice after receiving a $100
Q: My husband and I recently stayed at the Red Roof Inn in Gallup, NewMexico. We asked if they had any first-floor rooms becausewe are senior citizens, and they accommodated us.
Whenwe got to the room, it had an awful odor, butwe didn’twant to complain because they put us on the ground floor andwewere tired. Sowe opened the door and tried to air it out the bestwe could.
After returning fromour trip, I noticed that there was a charge of $100 for a smoking fee. I called a manager at the Red Roof Inn. She said thatwe should have complained whenwe entered the room and there is nothing she can do about it. She saidwe were lucky they only charged us half the fee. I told herwe requested a nonsmoking room becausewe do not smoke. Whywouldwe then smoke in the room? She said the cleaning lady said the room smelled of smoke and sowewere guilty of smoking.
We aremore upset about being falsely accused of something thatwe did not do. We are starting to think that this is some sort of scam. Please help us.
— MindyHaggerty, PuebloWest, Colorado charge for something you didn’t do. When the hotel refused to reverse the charge, you postedwarnings on severalwebsites and filed a BBB complaint. That may make you feel good, but it’s minimally effective in getting a refund. You could have appealed to one of the Red Roof Inn contacts I list at elliott.org/company -contacts/red-roof-inn/.
Red Roof did respond to you in writing about your complaint. It said when its housekeeper opened the room to clean it, “therewas a strong smell of cigarette smoke.” The housekeeper contacted a front desk representative, who then accompanied the housekeeper to the roomand verified that therewas indeed a strong smell of smoke. Your roomhad to be closed for a few days while the hotel cleaned it. Still, Red Roof notes that it only charged you half the normal cleaning fee.
You rejected that explanation because you do not smoke. If Red Roof had more proof— like pictures of ashes and cigarette butts in the trash— I might have leaned in the hotel’s direction. But it didn’t. I contacted Red Roof on your behalf. Separately, you disputed the charges on your credit card. Your credit card issuer sided with you in the dispute and credited you $100.