Aibu to turn this customer away?

[QuandryQueen]

I've name changed as I'm a regular and this is a work related question and I don't want it linked to my usual account.

I work at a Hotel and what with the Christmas break was the most senior person there yesterday and will be this afternoon and evening. I don't know what decision to make!

A customer reserved a room to arrive today and I noticed yesterday they have put a comment on the booking to say they are bringing their dog. We don't accept dogs except service pets. They booked through a travel agent/Web site rather than direct. I have been off prior to yesterday so not sure if others have seen the note or not. There's nothing in the booking to show that anyone has tried to get in touch with the guest.

I messaged them through the site they booked (a from hotel message not a personal one!), and highlighted where it says on their confirmation that pets are not allowed.

I have no other way of communicating with them. As of yet we have had no response.

What do I do?

1. message again, not knowing if they will see it?
2. if they turn up with the dog turn them away?
3. if they turn up with the dog let them just keep the dog in their room?

They've pre paid and booked a month ago so it's pretty crap that none of us have seen the note before now, but it is well hidden in amongst all the other data on their booking.

What do I do??

I don't think it is unfair to turn them away, especially if your 'no dogs' policy is stated in your T&Cs and on the conformation email. A lot of hotels don't allow animals so surely if you were planning on bringing one you would read the T&Cs carefully to be sure, or phone the hotel before booking, you don't just book then add a request, dogs in a hotel isn't a standard thing, no dogs is a standard thing.

Really tricky situation. Is hate to stay in a room that had had a dog in it. . No Dogs is one of the requirements of any hotel I stay in.

Perhaps it will be a little dog. I'd try and contact him and see what he thinks. He might be happy to compromise - maybe go to another hotel or have a shorter stay or something. I'd offer some financial bribe .. It might be a bit his fault too. Depends how the room was booked.

I'm cure out how this turns out .

If you do accept service dogs, put them in one of the rooms you would normally use for those guests. This might mean a bit of re-jigging of accommodation, but at least you'd be covered.

Your alternative id to get phoning and try to find them alternative, dog friendly accommodation nearby.

if any other guests complain I would refer them to the paragraph regarding service dogs.

Bit difficult to complain when you are in hospital - so nice of you to worry more about the dog than the other paying customers that can read.

Oh and look carefully at how your no dog policy appears on the intermediary booking website... It is quite possible that the intermediary site doesn't actually mention the dog policy.

Also contact your boss or at least send emails to get your side or the inevetable argument recorded.. expect a slating on Trip Advisor.

I'd agree with this from Itisnoteasybeingdifferent. While you might be the most senior on duty today, someone should have checked the details carefully before this.

Not having worked in the hotel business, I'm not sure how you could resolve the immediate situation, but I guess looking for and booking a room elsewhere would be a good move. I wouldn't like to turn up at a hotel to find pets there when the policy is no pets.

I will check the 3rd party site as if I was a customer and see what they say. We can log into their intranet as a means of contacting the customer and can retrieve a copy of the guest confirmation which clearly states "No pets allowed".

The missing of the request is poor form, and if I'd been in the last week I would have seen it before now but I've had time off and clearly it's been missed by others. It sort of looks like

WebConf1234567eta3pmref557codeZQ9incbfastPrefdouble.2ad0kidHotref987654332exrbedscompc.in3c.out12.tot6ad2rmsbringingdog.nonrptgst.wificomplclubaccesscomp

So it's a lot of waffle and 99%of what's written there appears on every reservation from that company.

If they arrive with a dog just simply say sorry but dogs are not allowed in the hotel. End of. I would also stick to your refund policy if they refuse to stay. I'm guessing that would be no refund. If it clearly states it on your website and your supplier websites then you don't need to beat around the bush. X

The hotel manager is an unknown entity. He will do pretty much anything to avoid getting a negative review on trip advisor but this situation seems to lend itself to a negative anyways - either from the guests with dog I turn away or from other guests who are unhappy there's a dog.

If I decide to allow the dog it will be explained to the guest that the dog is not permitted in any of the public areas except for the lobby on their way too and from the bedroom.

We had a guide dog in recently and I will give them the same room as it's usually used for guide dogs and their owners.

Babymamma would you give my that lecture while you were waiting for the ambulance to arrive? Or would you come to the local A&E to give it to me there? Obviously the latter would be less rushed but you'd have to speak up so I could hear you over the machines keeping me breathing.

Some people book hotels that don't accept dogs for very good reasons. Like that they want to stay alive.

I have travelled with DM and her dog. It's not ok to just stick it in the other info box and expect it to be ok.

Hotels will often charge extra for the dog, and book you in to their crappiest room.

It's unreasonable of a dog owner to do this. The extra info box surely would be for a newspaper request or extra pillows. Not for dogs.

I would have a quick look for other hotels in same price bracket to refer her to, maybe call ahead for availability. That would be good customer service in my opinion.

I'm a dog owner who absolutely loves dogs, but I think you shouldn't accept them. Whenever we book anywhere, we always book places that are explicitly, overtly dog friendly. If it doesn't specify, I'd just assume that pets aren't accepted.

ime, as the dog owner, I would expect you to help me find other accommodation. I'd suggest start looking now before they arrive.

You've already stated that you allow service dogs so I'm not sure what argument people with allergies could use if you allow this dog to stay.

What would they do if it was a service dog?

But for those who.are highly allergic - what happens if you are in a hotel that only accepts service dogs and one of those is present? I'm genuinely asking - if your allergy is really so bad that you could die, would you move hotels in that instance? I suppose I'm just asking what would happen if the OPs guest's dog does turn out to be a service dog, it can then presumably stay with the same possible impact on allergies as a non service dog so is it really any different in terms of outcome?

I'd rather you found me other accommodation. No way would I put my dog in a boarding kennel, let alone an unknown one. However, I wouldn't want to cause problems for anyone who's booked a dog free hotel.

It's Tuesday - isn't the travel agents open today (most places are). Phone them and let them sort it out with the customer. The contract is between the travel agent and their customer, So they should have full contact details.

Good point about the service dogs though.

Surely if you have a dog you look for accommodation that is advertised as pet friendly, or check if in doubt. I have a dog, I know that hotels and guest house accommodation tends to be limited for pet owners, so I always check unless I am prepared to let the pooch sleep in my car.

Presumably this customer has stayed in other hotels and encountered the same problem? Don't compromise your job for entitled cheeky people, tell them no pets, give them list of alternatives - other suitable hotel or dog sleeps in car.

Angrybird - as far as I know everywhere has to say they accept service dogs. If I go somewhere and there is one there then usually I have to leave straight away.

I've previously tried to stay and ended up in hospital. I've also spent a night in a room that must have previously had a dog in it and not been deep cleaned, and ended up in hospital

It sounds to me like you have found the answer - put them into the room a guide dog has used, and say they are not allowed in any of the public areas.

Something similar happened to us recently - in August booked accommodation through booking.com in Turin. It clearly said that check in was until 19:30, but our train did not arrive until 20:20, so mentioned this in the comments box, as we thought there may be some kind of wriggle room (it was an apartment, not a hotel, so someone had to meet us to let us in). The Saturday before October half term, when we were travelling, they contacted us and told us unfortunately check in was only until 19:30. Which we knew, which is why we asked them in August if they could accommodate us. It is possible that your guest is a chancer, but there is also every possiblilty that they thought they had checked by mentioning it to you!!!

Excluding service dogs would be against the law. Excluding pets isn't.

There's always someone that seems to care more about animals than fellow humans isn't there?

I'm not a dog owner but surely anyone who books a hotel assuming they can take their dog and doesn't check is a fool not themselves?

If the terms and conditions state only service dogs and the guest has confirmed they would be bringing a dog I would assume it's a service dog and they are just letting you know in advance so you can arrange rooms appropriately.

If they turn up with a dog that's not a service dog then you can gently point out your terms and offer to help them find alternative accommodation and offer a refund as a gesture of goodwill.

The OP clearly states that there is a room available for those with guide dogs, so the hotel does accept service dogs for those of you saying you'll be on A&E. I think this is the sensible option the OP has offered. It's appalling customer service that this was not picked up earlier. To try to tell the customer the day before or on the day of arrival is not on.

The customer will not be happy to be offers kennels if they're expecting to bring their dog. I have specialist kennels for my lot if ever I leave them. I definitely wouldn't have them popped in any old kennel nearby.