Choice Hotels | WoodSpring Suites Extended stay Houston Texas

I made a reservation for a "month", from October 30th, 2020 to November 20th, 2020 at the rate of over $1000. Upon arriving at the facility, the employee who assisted me informed me that I could split my payment into two and I agreed because why not, right? Biggest mistake ever but we will get back to that.

Upon checking in, a strange man (let's call him Creepy Guy) helped me with my possessions (some lady there offered me his help - I thought that was really weird). While I was grateful for the help, the way CG looked at me in the elevator made me very uncomfortable. With that being said, when we offloaded my possessions from the elevator, I thanked him and asked him to leave. I did not want any chances of this strange man finding out my room information. CG had his eye locked on my breasts through my sweater and kept insisting on helping me move my stuff to my room. I became very uncomfortable and tried not to project or act on anxious thoughts. I communicated that he may move them in my direction, but I will be moving my stuff into my room myself to keep my room number private. CG smirked in response. After the move, I stood to the side waiting for CG to exit the floor, except he intended on staying a bit longer.

Exhausted from the move and tired of the discomfort, I stood my ground and demanded he

left. After much hesitation, he headed for the elevator, pressed the call button, and proceeded to not leave when the elevator arrived. He tried to act like he left but I saw his shadow reflecting through the elevator light. I got angry and assertively asked him to leave as I reached into my purse for my taser. I informed him I had a taser and was not afraid to use it. That was when this man deemed it appropriate to leave. In fright I rushed my possessions to my room, guarded, looking left and right. Nobody should have to deal with that in a place they are staying at much less paying to stay at.

I unpacked, rested for a bit then decided to shower and proceed with my evening plans.

The plan was to report my experience to the front desk on my way out in hopes that my

safety is reassured somehow. I opened my room door to the sight of CG walking the

hallway. Severe anxiety and panic kicked in as I slammed the door and locked it only to meet sight with loose screws barely holding the lock to the door number and the little sense

of security I mustered fell apart. I cannot count the number of questions that ran through

my head. Am I safe? Did he see me? Did he know my room number? How long had he

been there for? Had he been there the whole time? Was he there intentionally because

of me? What did that mean for me? What to do? What to do? What to do? Should I stay

there for the night? Where should I stay for the night? What to do? What to do? What to

do?

Moments later, I pulled myself together and decided to do something with the rest of my

day. Thankfully there was no sight of CG. I pressed the elevator button and the door

opened to the creep in there. With my taser in hand and on guard, I composed myself

through the awkward attempts at a conversation. I hurried out of the building, eyes

straight forward because the front desk was closed. When I got outside and into the

vehicle waiting for me, my ride asked me if I was with anybody because a man standing

by the building, followed me out and was watching us. It was CG. I was so afraid, I did

not go back there till the next day. Mind you, this is a space I am paying for.

When I got back the next day, I reported the incident to the employee that was present,

we’ll call him Aiden. Aiden pulled up footage from the previous day and noticed my

discomfort, just by looking at the security cameras. He commented on the fact that I

rushed my possessions into the room. As well as when I walked out of the room and

noticed CG was there, went back inside and slammed the door. Aiden assured me that

CG would be kicked out of the facility because I was not the first person who had

complained about him. Do you know what’s frustrating? This could have been avoided if

the hotel took the previous reports seriously.

I gullibly believed Aiden because, I mean, I was not the only one who had complained,

certainly, something was going to be done this time, right? Or so I thought.

I reported more sightings of CG on multiple occasions after the report to Aiden. It got to

the point that I hid in my room all day to avoid C.G even as further disregard from

the hotel ensued. Eventually, I extended the report to the manager, demanding an update about CG’s presence. The manager informed me that the case had been reported to the corporate and added that she “cannot come to drag him from my door, it’s been reported,” therefore it

was out of their hands.

Any other efforts I made like contacting the “district manager” were fruitless.

I got fed up and attempted to contact someone above the manager because the

manager at this facility was quite incompetent. I wrote a note to the district manager that

led with Emergency” on November 3rd, 2020. I explained the extent of the

detrimental circumstances of my stay and safety hoping for necessary actions to be taken. Little did I know that incompetence is a company-wide trait.

Later in the day, I received a voicemail from the manager that says, and I quote:

“I am the district manager for the hotel. I am calling in reference to your email, um I have spoken with both managers at the property and I believe they have spoken with you and the gentleman and the issue has been addressed ...

If you have any other questions please give us a call. Have a good day.”

I heard her message and made peace with the fact that there would be no regard for my

safety. I decided to lay low, hideaway, disappear and do my best to leave soon.

It was the unexpected financial cost that came with having the most basic cleanliness

for me. After sighting a roach on the headboard, one who knew how to quickly run and

hide at the slightest movement, and as someone who travels with disinfectant and

bleach, it became abundantly clear to me that cleanliness was not a priority.

The drainage system in the bathroom is so slow, that it is only able to drain the water leaving the dirt afloat to dry in the bathtub (that is filthy and nasty). Any effort I made to access

cleanliness was in vain because WoodSpring Suites Extended Stay stated that they

clean their rooms once every two weeks and they heavily control access to the most

basic resources like toiletries. I tried wiping the bathtub with a bleach-soaked towel and

even then one can only do that for so long. As for clean sheets or towels, the options are

to spend $2 per round on the laundry machine or pay an additional weekly fee of $10. I

later learned my room never got cleaned because it was noted as vacant on their

paperwork.

Just a few days later, in the “comfort” of my room doing what I decided, I heard a loud

knock on my door followed by a voice yelling “you owe money”. Confused, I opened the

door to the assistant manager who informed me that the original two payment plans I

made at check-in were not accurate, therefore I was in debt and must pay. I was

appalled by the disrespect and by the demand considering the fault was theirs. It had

been one of their employees who had suggested the option for the two payment plans

and it was that very same employee who told me how much I was to pay for my stay.

Despite the fact that I was FURIOUS that this person had essentially embarrassed me

over an issue that could have easily been resolved with a phone call to my room, I

proceeded to sort out payment plans. When I attempted to pay, I was told I had to pay a

higher rate than what I had paid last time. Later on, the payment had been increased

even higher than the previous two times and they still did not include a cleanroom.

After they voided my initial payment plan for the original dates I had chosen and increased the rate, I informed the manager that I would be leaving 11/12/2020.

I called the district manager again on the morning of November 9th, 2020 at 10:35 am

leaving a voicemail explaining the ongoing issue. If you get exhausted reading this, imagine having to experience this.

I received a call back from the district manager around 3:45 pm and in that

conversation, I noticed she was not calling to talk about my experiences but rather, to

defend the company’s incompetence. She also never took the initiative to learn the

details of my experience and brought up misinformation I had to clarify and correct at

every turn.

Regardless, I broke it down again and she attempted to offer clean sheets and a clean

room where I was set to leave, and with no guarantee of my safety. I turned it down and told her it was “medicine after death,” and asked for a refund. In reference to their complete lack of regard for my safety from the very first moment, I got there, she deemed the following an appropriate response.

"If you were worried about your safety, you should have called me back the first time."

(Referencing her initial response that the emergency issue I reached out about had been resolved)

I requested her supervisor or manager’s contact information and she blatantly and disrespectfully disagreed to provide me with the information. She also insisted on giving her email and provided one that I later found was non-existent. nmartinez@golfcoasthm.com

I reached out to the parent company Choice hotels.

11/10/2020 Two days before my scheduled departure, representatives from the parent company,

choice Hotels, emailed me back saying that they would not be submitting a formal complaint, in order to give the hotel a chance to resolve my concerns. According to the information they

had, I was checked in until 11/20/20 even though I was not being charged a monthly

rate. In Spite of this, their employees had already voided the original check-in to my

knowledge. I stated all this in my email to them and did not get a response. I left a day early on 11/11/2020.

In my last interaction with Choice Hotels winter 2021, they offered an increase in the hotel points worth two days. They could not confirm that anything was done since my experience to ensure safety or accountability. I demanded better and met none to date.