My father stayed for a week at the Holiday Inn Express in Tuscon while he was working. He comes back to the hotel last night to find his antique classic car smashed to bits...It was parked well away from everybody (as usual) and apparently someone who can't drive a trailer smashed into it, drug it two feet, smashed windows, bumpers, etc. . My father goes to report this to the hotel clerk, as well as asked for the manager to get the video tape of what happened. The manager was too lazy to come back to the hotel for even the cops to view the tape. I called HI's corporate office and was told each hotel is individually owned. So apparently you just pay them the right price and you can put their name on anything but don't expect them to take responsibilty for anything or even have the same policies from one of their hotels to another. I will never stay at a holiday inn express again, nor will my father who travels every week of almost every month and always stays at holiday inn. I will make sure I post wherever I can that this company will help you in no way shape or form. I'm just glad that whoever did this to my father's car also tore up and caused quite a bit of damage to the holiday inn express property so that maybe they can feel a little bit of the pain my father is going through with his car.

Beware of the Holiday Inn Express advertised reseration rate called Advance Purchase--It is a scam! They will not accept a cancellation--even with 2 and 1/2 months notice. They take your money.

while posing for bridesmaid pictures inside the lobby of the Holiday Inn Express in Florida City, $3, 000 of property was stolen from my car. My car was parked less than 300 feet from the hotel entrance and it was 4 p.m. in the afternoon.

The stolen property, while possibly unimportant to you, was quite important to me and the other two bridesmaids (victims). And it was in my car for just 10 minutes, signaling that my car was not picked randomly. Rather, the burglars watched us load my car and waited until we entered the lobby to rummage through, making what was ours theirs.

We are 24-year-olds. Two of us are just beginning our careers. The other is months away from a grad school degree.

This is what was ours:

* $2, 000 digital camera (used for at-home business)
* $600 iPhone
* Several credit cards
* One purse (packed with the usual wallet, cell phone, makeup, etc.)
* Luggage bag full of clothing

The Initial Response

We noticed the theft minutes before the ceremony, giving us enough time to cancel cards and suspend cell phone services. And barely enough time to switch our thoughts from our losses to our soon-to-be-wed childhood friend’s gains.

After smiling for standard, post-ceremony photo opps, we rushed back to our hotel.

We called the police and while we waited, we told the front clerk about our “inconvenience.”

She told us she could do nothing and that the General Manager would not be in until the following morning. He does not come in on weekends. He would not even speak to us on the phone.

And so, after relaying the bad news, the front desk clerk retreated to the back, leaving both the quiet front desk and the angry customers unattended.

We filed our police report, holding back emotions about the hotel’s reponse thus far as the police officer nonchalantly took our names, item descriptions and contact information.

“Would you like my credit card number so you can track where they are?” I asked.

“No, you can call and cancel those, ” the officer responded.

She would call us if they found anything.

They wouldn’t of course.

We asked the officer if the surveillance tapes would help them find the burglars.

Sure they would, but we’d have to get them from the hotel.

“Can you override the hotel, since the general manager won’t come open the safe?” We begged.

She could not. And so, with that, I decided to give the hotel one more shot to do things right.

I asked the front desk clerk if she could offer me a free night’s stay so that I would not have to drive home at night (through the area where people rob cars in daylight) without a cell phone or a credit card.

No, she could not.

The Corporate Response

Unconfident that anything would be resolved on the local level; I found a contact form online for Holiday Inn Express’ Customer Service. I recapped the day’s events and pressed send.

The next evening, I received a standard response, thanking me for my concerns and notifying me that the General Manager would receive my email and would contact me shortly.

The General Manger’s Response

Two days after the incident and with no phone call from the General Manager, I called during my lunch break.

I received a demeaning and insensitive response, furthering my disgust with my stay and further degrading my opinion of Holiday Inn’s appreciation for its visitors’ safety and concerns.

I told him that $3, 000 worth of belongings were stolen from my car outside of his lobby in daylight this weekend, to which he responded,

“I am sorry about that, but there’s really nothing I can do.”

I told him that someone could have helped us get the surveillance tapes for the police. Instead of responding, “Yes, I’m sorry no one could do that this weekend, would you like me to do that for you now?”

He responded, “Those tapes don’t show the area where your car was, so they wouldn’t do any good anyway.”

I told him, they may not have showed my car but they could have shown people in the area carrying a bright pink luggage bag and two purses.

He told me that the people never came in the building. This analysis was not made after watching the tapes, rather, it was a judgment made about a situation that he could not be bothered to deal with this weekend.

I told him I was disgusted that no one would even allow me to have a free night’s stay. He responded that that is not the Holiday Inn’s policy.

Just as an f.y.i., my policy on being a hotel visitor is not to have $3, 000 worth of property stolen from my car. Just in case that needs to be clarified.

I told him I would find someone else to speak with since it was obvious he was not willing to help me resolve the issue and that at this point, I will never stay at a Holiday Inn Express again.

He replied, “Go ahead, call corporate. Tell them you spoke with me. What do you want me to do? Find the person who stole your stuff? Would that make you happy?”

Why I Will Not Stay at a Holiday Inn Express Again

I don’t care about the iPhone anymore.

And to be honest, I don’t really want a free room anymore either. Unless they’d like to provide me with a bodyguard to watch my car while I sleep.

What I care about is being treated like a human. And not being mocked by the General Manager of one of their midgrade hotels. Not being told, in a condescending tone to feel free to contact corporate, delivering the message, “They will care less about your problems than I do.” Not having insult added to monetary injury.

That’s what I care about.

Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express are the in-betweens in the hotel world.

They aren’t the Bellagio and they aren’t the Motel 8. But just because they offer average rooms for average prices, does not mean they have to treat their customers as such.

The hotel industry has one of the toughest jobs, I give them that. They are tasked with mimicking the safety and comfort people feel at home.

They provide countless toothbrushes and razors to forgetful visitors to radiate this sentiment.

They provide extra towels.

They serve mediocre breakfasts.

No problem, they are there to serve you.

But when your car is broken into, you are told that it is a courtesy to park in their lots. They are not responsible.

You should have seen the signs warning you to bring all of your belongings inside. The signs that are posted at all entrances other than the front entrance. These signs are your protection. Because doors and an unmanned reception desk will stop burglars who are watching you transfer the things they want from your car to your room.

All of a sudden, that free toothbrush isn’t so great.

Those extra towels have lost their luster.

And that breakfast, well you’d rather stop by McDonald’s anyway.

What matters most, is not the “things.”

It’s the treatment.

It’s being treated like a human. With understanding and maybe even a little compassion.

And maybe it takes a few more dollars to get that.

Maybe instead of the midgrade, you have to fill up with the premium.

I’m not entirely certain on that point. But what I am certain about, is that my friends and I deserve apologies for the treatment we received.

Holiday Inn Express apparently has a policy that forbids you from canceling a reservation without still having to pay the full price for the room. My wife and I had June 17, 2009 reservations for a room in Colorado Springs, CO for our summer vacation which we had to cancel. Holiday Inn Express informed us it is their policy to charge us full price for the room even though we cancelled the reservation nearly 3 months in advance. I will NEVER stay and another Holiday Inn Express in this lifetime.

I am in charge of my school's 8th grade Washington, D.C. trip. We had a HORRIBLE experience with the hotel in Largo, Maryland. Our second night there, 2 girls were missing items from their room. I immediately went to their room, helped them look ALL over to be sure they were missing and not just misplaced. After 1/2 hour of looking, it was obvious the items were not in their room. I went down to make a complaint and the front desk manager was quite rude! I understand that he would not want his staff acccused of that, but his comment was "well, perhaps you don't know your students as well as you think you do. I suggest that one of them stole it from the other". I then told him that ONE of those girls was MY DAUGHTER and he did change his tune some. However, he did NOT want me to make a formal complaint.
Next, at 10:30 that same evening, one of our students had to be taken to the emergency room for an accident. While wheeling him down to the front desk, in walked THRRE HOOKERS to complete their "business" there. One of the hookers bent over so the same front desk man could see she had no underwear on!!! Later that evening, they tried to get into 2 of our students rooms!!! I am so disgusted by this whole thing, I can't even begin to tell you!!! That same front desk man did NOTHING!!! Needless to say, we will NEVER stay there again as the type of education they are giving us certainly isn't one we want to pass on to our students!!! BEWARE of HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS IN LARGO, MARYLAND!!!