What is it about managers that about 1 in 3 either care so little as to not help at all or worse do their damnedest to piss customers off. In this case I could see a manager pull out the rulebook if the customer was trying to weasel out of paying for a week's stay but $38x2 to park cars that the customers parked themselves?
There must be a 'doesn't give a crap' test that employers could use to not hire these bozos in the first place.

I agree that it should have been disclosed but who parks in a secured garage in downtown DC and actually thinks it would be free?

Sounds like there is more to the story than this guy is letting on. Did he park in the valet only instead of the regular garage and she simply misunderstood that? It is weird that she would banish him - wonder if he got rude or if she lost patience. Kind of nice that he decided to just not pay his hotel bill either since he wasn't completely satisfied...

Dear Jennifer,
I will be adding your hotel to my "Roving Food Critic Tour," in which I enjoy the Free Continental Breakfast offerings of hotels where I am not a guest.
Afterwards, I will critique the experience on Travelocity and Expedia, so please make sure the sausage gravy is thick and hot for this non-paying customer.
Sincerely,
Old Gray Geek

@Dan W: I think it is safe to assume that a garage attached to a hotel with no signage about parking procedures could be used by hotel guests. This isn't a random parking garage on the street...

@oldgraygeek: Did anyone else read this name as 'oldgaygreek'? Yeah, me neither.

I usually like Hampton Inn and other Hilton properties. I don't hear many complaints about them, but this is pretty sad to hear. I wouldn't necessarily call it "eviction" though as in the headline, as he was checking out at the time. Maybe "Hampton Inn bans customer...".

I'd recommend not staying downtown if you come again. You can get a much cheaper hotel in Arlington or Alexandria and just take the Metro into town. Hampton Inn on 6th starts at 179.00/night, the Hampton Inn in Arlington starts at 99.00/night and costs about $2 to take the Metro downtown.

I'm half tempted call them and ask if their lot is valet-only.

@SabreDC: Well, yes, but I wouldn't assume it was free. Some hotels do make valet mandatory if you're to use their parking facilities, as ridiculous as that sounds. I'd never just assume parking is free, even if there was no sign. I'd always ask. But, I'm not blaming the victim here, either. It doesn't sound like the hotel manager handled this well at all.

@Pithlit: True. I agree that assuming it is free is not a good assumption. However, if you ask the manager for a parking pass, you'd think they would say "You parked in the garage? You'll have to pay $38 to do so."

@oldgraygeek: Brilliant! I am going to start my own chapter of the Roving Food Critic Tour, if you don't mind. ;-)

I figures this must be one of those hotels, and I was right; It says at their website that they're valet parking only. Some hotels are like that. If a patron doesn't want to use the valet parking, they have to make other arrangements for parking. Some hotels are like that. It does seem as though the manager handled it rather badly. It would probably also help to have some sort of signage at the entrance.

That hotel. In DC. Of course they charge. From the hotel website:

Hotel Policies

Check-In: 4:00PM - Check-Out: 12:00PM
Parking:
Valet Parking: 28.00
daily plus tax
Pets: No Pets Allowed

If there was a miscommunication, it was clearly handled inappropriately. I suspect Hilton will take care of it.

On another note. As a Hilton Diamond member whom prefers Hamptons, it is refreshing to see this is the first story with a "Hampton Inn" tag.

@SabreDC: True. But then the manager may have just assumed the customer had read their list of accomodations already, which lists that their parking is valet. At any rate it does seem like a miscommunication issue.

We stayed at a Hampton in the midwest where we were treated to someone's spawn being allowed to jump off the beds and run across the room repeatedly at midnight in the room above us. We called the office twice and they didn't seem to give a rip. When we checked out they asked how our stay was we mentioned the late night disturbance and they just kept on with checking us out. I wished I was aware of their guarantee at that time.

Generally a hotel can't be totally responsible for the behavior of other guests but it was some sort of family reunion or wedding. The entire family was acting like a bunch of animals. Crapped in the pool, sex in the hot tub. We pretty much avoided the public areas but at some point shouldn't the hotel kick people like that out? Yet someone who complained about parking is asked to leave?

As a former front office director for Hilton this sounds like parts of the story are left out. I agree that the GM handled it badly, but I also can't count the number of times I heard that my hotel should have signage posted warning guests about parking fees, and we had 22 signs all over the garage and in the elevator bays. Sometimes guests see what they want to see. Either way, Hilton will issue him a credit if the hotel does not resolve the situation on their own.

@Dan W: Folks who aren't local to DC (or other high-rent areas) may not have the same set of expectations; generally speaking, I'm accustomed to a business's patrons having parking included in the cost of their business unless explicitly communicated otherwise.

A hotel, generally speaking, should expect to be dealing with non-locals.

@Pithlit: But then why would he ask for a parking pass if it was valet? If it was parked by a valet, he wouldn't have known that a pass should have been requested and the manager would think that his request for a pass is out of the ordinary. Your turn. :-)

@Dan W: "Who parks in a secured garage in downtown DC and actually thinks it would be free?"

In other parts of the country, pay garages normally have some indication they're not free. It's also normal that when hotels don't provide free parking to their customers, they tell them up front.

That's even true in big cities, like San Francisco, where I live. I thought we were new-agey, but apparently DC has managed to beat us to telepathic transmission of parking rules.

I had a very nice stay in a Hampton Inn in Ohio this summer and have recommended the chain to others. Clean, comfortable, inexpensive. Small indoor pool, jacuzzi, free wi-fi. (And free parking.) We took advantage of the free "continental" breakfast the next morning before leaving -- the offerings went well beyond the typical continental breakfast. We definitely got our money's worth and more.

That said, if I had had an encounter like that with the hotel manager, I'd be exercising my option for a free stay as well. Overreact much, Ms. Stahler? Banishing a customer because of a dispute over a charge you failed to disclose?

Fortunately the Hampton Inn we stayed in had a very agreeable staff, and I will continue to recommend the chain.

@darman: I'm curious how 28 bucks garners 10 bucks in tax.

I had a Hampton Inn in NJ comp my stay because I found a sock in my room. It really wasn't necessary, but they insisted.

I had another in upstate NY call and email my office when I left my cell in a room.

I've had great experiences with Hamptons, so I bet this is a crankpants GM, and not indicative of normal Hamptons.

@bobert: It's not DC, it's this hotel. I pass numerous garages on my way to work and every single one of them lists their hourly or daily fees. Don't be blaming DC for anything...

@darman:

Agreed. Parking in DC... especially on NYE isn't free. There is no mention of self parking available (probably because it isn't).

Website Link: [hamptoninn.hilton.com]

Anyway, I used to work in Consumer Affairs for a competitor and if the guest called, I would have probably not comped the night. I would have provided a point reward equal to one free night at a similar caliber hotel, that way the guest would have to at least try us again. If he had a bad experience, he is more than welcome to stay with one of our competitors. Then again, the policies we had and Hilton are different by far! Also, I thought that the management at the hotel level would have handled this differently.

You get when you pay for. Go to one of those price aggregator websites, and get a room at anything less than 2.5 stars, and you are staying in a shit room 70% percent of the time.

I once showed up at a Ramada Express in Chattanooga and stayed in a room with wet beds. The place was utter shit.

@bohemian: Could have been the parents doing the horizontal jumping on the bed upstairs too.

@IrvCrapper: Try the Super 8 in Augusta, Maine. No towels, and a box of half-eaten fried chicken under the bed.

@Dr Steve Brule: I did too! Dyslexia's at it again..

It seems rather improbable that anyone trying to park in Washington DC would expect to find free underground parking in the city. The driver made an error, and the management reserves the right to deny service to anyone.

@Dan W: Didn't the article say that the garage was, in fact, NOT secured? It was wide open with no signs. In my mind, secured means with some sort of physical barrier, rather than an imaginary one.

@SabreDC: Hmm, so at a restaurant and you order a drink, and don't know the price you want waitresses shouting out, "You do know that is a $7 drink?" Why wouldn't you ASK the question how much it is to park on PRIVATE property. If you walk into the hotel and see a open room would you think you could go in and use the facilities for free?

@Mr_Human:

Mmm, fried chicken. I love fried chicken.

/not

@thrid001: I would. This isn't about me.

She then started a rant "Do you just go an drive in to peoples' private garages without getting a ticket at the entrance!?", a fairly irrelevant point.

I at that point would have told her, "Actually, if I'm a guest at their house, and the garage is open and has an empty spot, I probably would as long as when I went in I checked with my host that it was okay." Which is exactly what he did!

There is absolutely no excuse for poor customer service, especially from a GM's standpoint. Unfortunately, we as Americans are so used to it that this episode should come as no surprise to anyone...

I agree with those above who say the OP was foolish to think parking was free. The analogy to ordering a drink is spot-on. The OP didn't ask how much parking was, his fault. As noted above, the website makes clear that parking is valet and not free. Even if you're a country-bumpkin that's never paid for parking at a hotel, it's your responsibility to ensure it's free, especially when it's in a garage. I agree that the manager handled it poorly, but the OP was off for assuming that it would be free because the manager didn't say "You have to pay for parking" as she handed him the ticket.

This story is really surprising. I stayed at a Hilton in Rosemont, IL once, and was pissed that they charged $10 a day for parking in a suburb. I complained to the general manager and not only did they comp the parking but they also comped me one nights stay (out of a 3 night stay). I was really surprised. And when I stayed there next year they got rid of the charge for parking!

sorry but this guy sounds like a jackass.

You know, BOTH parties are responsible, and both are acting like jerks.

Once I somehow got into Universal Citywalk without paying the parking fee. After I left and sent them the fee, I realized I hadn't paid, and sent them an email. They sent me two free parking tickets for my honesty.

The poster handled this very poorly. So did the manager. If I were her, I would have said, "OK, Sir, even though you owe us the money, I'll comp you one day because I told you it was OK." They've already made money on his renting the room, they can afford it.

Now, on the other hand, demanding and getting the room free because of this dispute? There's a difference between standing up for your rights and just being a jerk, and that line was crossed.

This is odd. I have booked numerous employees in this hotel (our office is right across the street) and I have never once had them complain about this hotel. I think there is more this story.

@Dan W: Everywhere I've been, a valet-only garage or parking lot is ALWAYS marked as such, sometimes down to marking every SPOT as valet only so people know, and the hotel that I worked at had signs clearly posted saying "Valet only, $XY"

@Pylon83:
Except at a restaurant the drink prices would be on the menu. Sort of like parking prices should be at the entrance or outside the front of the hotel where you would pull up and have the valet park your car.

I usually stay at Holiday Inns (i.e. Express) but for a family reunion a few years ago we were coerced into staying at the Hampton Inn in Harrisburg, PA.

We had adjoining rooms, and one of them was in great condition, the other one was terrible... peeling wallpaper, A/C didn't work right in the middle of summer.

The kicker was, we went to the pool and I wrapped up our room key in my son's t-shirt and put it on a table. While we were swimming, the lifeguard (who spent most of the time we were there on her mobile phone) apparently went around and collected up all the "unclaimed clothing". Mind you, this was in the middle of the day, while several dozen guests were using the pool. The t-shirt was left at the front desk and the room keys were discarded.

I think it's a good idea to police for left-behinds, maybe once per day after the pool closes. But summarily collecting everyone's belongings and dumping them at the front desk during the middle of the day was a bit too much.

I complained to the desk, and they just shrugged (although I believe I might have gotten a couple bucks credit on my bill for complaining.)

My only other experience with Hampton before that was at a wedding in Indiana - as we were checking out and I was hauling luggage down to the car, they locked us out of our rooms at 11:00 AM sharp. I had one suitcase left in the room, and couldn't get in at 11:03 to get it. Then I had to stand in line at the front desk behind all the check-outs to get my room unlocked.

Between those two events, I'll never go back to a Hampton Inn.

@Primate:
That's actually not always true. A lot of restaurants don't list alcohol prices on the menu.

As a consumer, I find their web site to be vague. Yes, it states valet for $28 a day. To me, that means that they offer a service in which you can opt to hand your keys over to someone else to park your car for you. It doesn't make clear their actual parking policy.

What is more typical, and better form, is for hotels that do not offer parking other than valet, to display specific verbiage stating something like "No self parking" or "X amount a day to park on site". Their web site could have been clearer to avoid this situation. It is also a quick change/easy fix to avoid this situation in the future. The garage should have also had a sign.

Hotels that do offer free parking, it is not uncommon for them to ask you to get a stub so they can keep track of which cars belong to actual guests (to tow unregistered cars if they run out of parking spots). So that doesn't exactly scream that you are ordering something that you didn't assume was free either. And yes, I have stayed at larger hotel chains with a parking garage where the self parking was free. It does exist.

If someone isn't from the area and is staying at your establishment, you need to make the rules clear and not assume that they know the parking trends for the area.

I can totally see how this was a situation just waiting to happen. It would have been nice if the manager had taken a deep breath, used the situation as a learning opportunity to improve the customer experience, and set expectations for future customers instead of ranting and losing a night's rent.

@Dan W: Typically its VERY bad form for a hotel to charge you to park in their lot or garage. Valet is one thing, and requiring it to be is not a issue since its a security and safety thing and your paying the valet for the most part not the hotel. But to charge for you to park as a guest when its assumed parking is included in your stay is bunk.

Any hotel that does that where its not 100% disclosed why its being done (like Atlantic City where its a law the city created that forces a 10 dollar fee on parking) doesnt get a visit from me. I have never had to pay for hotel parking in Baltimore or NYC

@Mr_Human:

Friggin' sweet!

@humphrmi: The one on Union Deposit Road? I practically lived out of there while I was working and waiting to move into an apartment. If that's the one you're talking about, I'm really surprised because 5-6 years ago, it was a very, very good hotel.

I've always had excellent experiences with the Hampton Inn. I make it a point to try and stay there if I need overnight lodging. I know they'll take care of me.