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Lost bag ruins hotel stay
growler834
Posts: 209 Forumite
Last week we stayed the night at a UK hotel - this was a reunion with several friends we had made on holiday last year & we chose a central location to meet up, stay the night & have dinner. The hotel had been booked months before & I had arranged the reunion.
When we tried to check in our room wasn't ready so the staff offered to take our bags for safe keeping while we went to the bar. On checking in an hour later only one bag was at reception & they denied all knowledge of the other bag (one comment hinted that we were lying). We spent all afternoon waiting for staff to check the other rooms to see if it had been placed there in error & eventually we called the Police to attend & we reported it as stolen.
This meant that we lost the afternoon with our friends. We had no toiletries to use that evening or the next morning & we had no smart shoes to wear with our evening outfits.
The next day the manager was very apologetic & agreed that the staff had failed in their 'customer service' & that having no 'luggage identification' in place could lead to loss of luggage. He said he would investigate & we drove home, stopping en route to replace all our lost toiletries (including an electric toothbrush & shaver). The manager then called to say the bag had been found - it had been taken to another room & the occupant failed to inform staff until they checked out that morning! The manager then delivered the bag to us personally & gave us a bottle of wine 'for our disappointing stay!' He also said that he was continuing to investigate the incident as he wasn't completely happy with the 'finding' of the bag.
I later wrote a letter of complaint to the manager & the owner of the hotel, outlining the loss of enjoyment due to having no toiletries etc & being unable to spend time visiting the city due to dealing with the incident with staff & the Police. We had also spent money on replacement items that no longer needed replacing. The reply we received was basically 'We are sorry you had a disappointing stay, we could have done better, we have put things in place to stop it happening again & we gave you a bottle of wine.'
My question is - do you think we should try & pursue our complaint as the incident ruined our reunion with friends we hadn't seen for almost a year - a reunion that I had taken a long time & effort to arrange & that left me with little time with our friends & feeling 'grubby & underdressed' for most of our 'stay'. Also, the fact that the staff had lied when they said they had checked all the rooms & that it was intimated we had only left one bag with them so we were lying. I feel like we are being fobbed off by the management as they 'found' the bag & that should be good enough. What would you do in these circumstances?
When we tried to check in our room wasn't ready so the staff offered to take our bags for safe keeping while we went to the bar. On checking in an hour later only one bag was at reception & they denied all knowledge of the other bag (one comment hinted that we were lying). We spent all afternoon waiting for staff to check the other rooms to see if it had been placed there in error & eventually we called the Police to attend & we reported it as stolen.
This meant that we lost the afternoon with our friends. We had no toiletries to use that evening or the next morning & we had no smart shoes to wear with our evening outfits.
The next day the manager was very apologetic & agreed that the staff had failed in their 'customer service' & that having no 'luggage identification' in place could lead to loss of luggage. He said he would investigate & we drove home, stopping en route to replace all our lost toiletries (including an electric toothbrush & shaver). The manager then called to say the bag had been found - it had been taken to another room & the occupant failed to inform staff until they checked out that morning! The manager then delivered the bag to us personally & gave us a bottle of wine 'for our disappointing stay!' He also said that he was continuing to investigate the incident as he wasn't completely happy with the 'finding' of the bag.
I later wrote a letter of complaint to the manager & the owner of the hotel, outlining the loss of enjoyment due to having no toiletries etc & being unable to spend time visiting the city due to dealing with the incident with staff & the Police. We had also spent money on replacement items that no longer needed replacing. The reply we received was basically 'We are sorry you had a disappointing stay, we could have done better, we have put things in place to stop it happening again & we gave you a bottle of wine.'
My question is - do you think we should try & pursue our complaint as the incident ruined our reunion with friends we hadn't seen for almost a year - a reunion that I had taken a long time & effort to arrange & that left me with little time with our friends & feeling 'grubby & underdressed' for most of our 'stay'. Also, the fact that the staff had lied when they said they had checked all the rooms & that it was intimated we had only left one bag with them so we were lying. I feel like we are being fobbed off by the management as they 'found' the bag & that should be good enough. What would you do in these circumstances?
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Comments
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Couple of quick questions....
Did they offer to store the bag for you or did you ask them to, and secondly, were any disclaimers about responsibility on display either on the reception, concierge desk or vicinity?0 -
I would push for a refund of the nights stay, and settle for a 50% refund if offered.0
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Name and shame so we can all avoid.....0
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Couple of quick questions....
Did they offer to store the bag for you or did you ask them to, and secondly, were any disclaimers about responsibility on display either on the reception, concierge desk or vicinity?
i doubt they could disclaim their liability for losing the bags once they agreed to take them0 -
Nearly every hotel I've stayed in does. The one I'm sat in right now has a full disclaimer in clear view that bags are left at the owners risk.
I don't think the disclaimer is valid if a member of staff takes your bag and puts it somewhere else by mistake. In that situation the hotel are clearly liable.
These disclaimers are to protect the hotel from theft, not from their own staffs incompetence!This is a system account and does not represent a real person. To contact the Forum Team email forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com0 -
How about asking for refund and not stay on that hotel ever again?
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I'm another that would be pushing for a refund here. I don't leave my bags anywhere unless I don't have a car (and I usually take my car anywhere within about 16 hours driving distance, and rent one elsewhere, so not often)
I don't feel that the hotel can reasonably disclaim losing bags, especially in the circumstances given.
CK💙💛 💔0 -
I am in a hotel at the moment, with my iPad. Do you think I would trust anyone else to look after this for me?
It is a two letter answer, for those struggling!0 -
Push for a refund. Outline what you feel is acceptable in a calm manner, it should go your way.
You put the bags in their safe keeping, not the same as leaving them in the lobby unattended.
(I Work in hotel mgmt).0
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