What Should You Expect From Your Hotel

When you're traveling, on business or on pleasure, what should you expect from you hotel? Some people want a newspaper, others want a complementary breakfast but I think we all would like to know we're safe and protected from the elements. No leaking room windows and no hazardous parking lots.

I recently completed a stay at the Ogden (Utah) Marriott where I did have a badly leaking window in my room and I did have to trudge through knee deep snow to get to my car because the parking lot wasn't adequately maintained. After I managed to get in my car and back out of a space blocked by a wall of snow I stopped on what looked like, and should have been, a clear surface in order to scrape my windows. As I moved to my rear window my feet and body parted and went in two different directions. I fell, first on the car's bumper and then to the black ice covered pavement. Quite a blow to the ribs. To make a long story shorter, I ended up in a local Emergency Room and was in so much pain that I missed a billable days work.

When I brought this to the attention of the hotel manager I felt reasonably assured that I would be reimbursed for my out of pocket expenses which I assumed would include medical expenses and the lost days wages. After all, had it not been for the Ogden Marriott failing to provide for my safety I wouldn't have visited the Emergency Room and I wouldn't have missed work. Apparently the Ogden Marriott's insurer feels differently; so much for reimbursement of out of pocked expenses. Somewhere in a nice warm, ice-free office someone has decided that I am the blame. It's my fault that the parking lot wasn't cleared and safe. The town of Ogden and the State of Utah could clear the roads making them safe to drive on but the Ogden Marriott couldn't be bothered to ensure their parking lot was safe for their guests.

Needless to say, if I management to get reimbursed for the medical expenses I won't be doing any further business with Marriott, Trinity Hotel Investors or CNA Claim Plus.