Hotel lost my children in booking

[Itsalwaysmeyaknow]

AIBU or should they apologise properly? Long I know but it has all the facts…
as a family we recently visited a moderately priced hotel chain near London for 3 nights… booked as 2 adults, 2 children. All booked, double checked the confirmation email, all good. I called weeks ahead to enquire about car park to be told it would be sorted on arrival. Well we didn’t arrive until just before midnight (5 hour drive for us) and car park was locked (fair enough) but a well weathered sign over the intercom saying car park full… panicking a bit I called the hotel, they said they’d check and hung up. A bit confused I called again where they hung up again… a couple of minutes of waiting a member of staff arrived complaining we hadn’t pre booked parking, I explained what I was told previously but he looked annoyed. He checked the car park and let us in (loads of space I might add) and said quite sternly I must pay for parking right away. QR code located to pay for car parking, it would let you progress so far… then error. Tried again, error. So headed to check in where I mentioned the car park as to where another employee pulled out his phone, bought up the app, waved it at me saying what was my problem? It works! I explained you had to progress further through the booking in to which he realised I was actually in fact correct and backed down. Eventually the original staff member then processed my car park manually through the computer. Next problem, booking in seemed to take ages… bear in mind it was now after midnight, a very tired hubby and children, all hanging around in the lobby. Finally got our key, top floor, headed up, no children’s bed or bedding. So back down 10 floors to the lobby and asked the staff why my children’s beds weren’t set up and no bedding, to which his reply was “you only booked a room for 2 adults madam”. Being on the ball I whipped out my phone and showed him my email clearly showing 2 adults and 2 children. He analysed it and then backed down and said he would get some bedding. So at 12.30 am I’m in our hotel room pulling out a sofa bed and making up beds for my kids who were at this point absolutely shattered. Had a weak apology from the staff member who was helping but still felt like he thought I was trying to diddle them. This problem then arose every morning at breakfast and we were being eyeballed for having two children with us when the booking was for only two adult breakfasts. I did question the booking again midway through our break because I was fed up of getting embarrassed in front of staff and other guests having to prove each time that this was not our error, and was told it was a technical glitch. The response from the hotel was extremely limited and offered us preferential accommodation and breakfast on our next visit (this was a once in a blue moon thing for us, definitely no more trips planned for a while)…. But that’s not what I want.. I just want an actual apology for being made to feel the way my family did whilst there. AIBU?

Ironically I had stayed in the same area (only for a night) a few years back and knew there was a premierinn somewhere nearby, we wished we’d stayed there instead!

No point in waiting for the head office response, hop on some review sites now.

They were way out of line, for example even if they can't change the breakfast in the system they can make sure morning staff knows, all it takes is a quick "room number xx has two children included."

If you don't get a response that you're happy with OP, try Googling the email address of the CEO of the hotel chain you used, and write to him/her with your complaint, that usually gets things moving.

I would then email them, listing all of the problems you experienced, including the car parking. Point out, that it appeared there was NO ONE capable of putting things right on their system, as staff either don't see, or don't care to read. any amendments made to the booking. Explain about the breakfast situation, and that you had to make the children's beds yourself, and then I'd finish off by saying that as 2 members of your party weren't actually acknowledged by the hotel in any way, (ie, no beds, no breakfasts, no bed making), you feel that it is only right that they refund you 50% of what you paid for your booking.

You might not get it, but you should certainly try, as this sort of service from a chain hotel is totally unacceptable.

Thankyou @RoastDinnerSmellsNice - I have messaged and giving them a chance to give me some reassurance that this would happen to anyone else… it really did feel like they just didn’t care. Will be remembering your post in case I need to do this ❤️

Sounds awful. And no I don't think checking in at midnight should be an issue.

I'm not sure out of everything else that happened, this is 'really really bad' tbh - the fact the beds weren't made because the booking was incorrect is bad, and the beds should have been made for arrival, they weren't and needed making, the fact they should have been made doesn't change the fact that they weren't.
So 2 people making beds is going to be quicker than 1, and OP and family clearly wanted to go to bed, OP and family were already in the room - should the staff have asked them to wait outside while they made the beds? Or when OP started helping should they have told her to stop?

The whole situation was crap, but this is an odd thing to think is 'really really bad'.

Arriving late at night shouldn't be a problem for a hotel. Especially not in London. Travellers arrive at all times.

The system should immediately have been updated to reflect 2 adults & 2 dc in the room. Your dc’s names should have been added to the room account. It doesn’t sound as though this was done if you were queried about the dc’s breakfast every morning. So, what would happen in the event of an evacuation, or a fire? How would the hotel or fire brigade know that your dc were resident there? If you’re going to give feedback, this is extremely important for staff training information.

As for the extra beds, appreciate it was late and everyone was tired but the hotel rectified this and the person who helped make up the beds did apologise.

Worth mentioning what you were told in advance about the car park, too,

I think your feedback is really important for their front of house staff training manager.

Same thing happened to my child's booking a few weeks ago at the Edinburgh ibis, which is part of accord. First said I'd missed his booking off, showed them the check in email with his details. Said maybe because we'd gone through a third party site. Showed them the email from booking directly with them. Made a big fuss about making the bed up. The breakfasts were free for kids so we didn't have a problem then.

I think accord have a bug in their booking system...

Thankyou for your comments… the member of staff who helped with the car park, booking in, getting bedding, etc did apologise but it was very low key, more like a passing comment. But I think he felt embarrassed because he had made me feel very stupid at every point up until the bed making. Little did I realise the impact of the booking system error until breakfast the following days and lack of housekeeping. But you raised an extremely valid point…. In the case of an emergency… technically my children weren’t there accrediting to their systems… 🤔

It does sound like a genuine system issue, but if they know it’s there they should be double checking the bookings to ensure everything is correct. An important point another poster made was that in an emergency and they had to check all visitors were present and correct, technically your son would have got missed off.

I don't want to derail the OP's thread, but yes - sometimes you laugh because you'd cry. A favourite of mine was the hotel that insisted I provide the registration for my service dog (there is no UK registration of service dogs) multiple times, then insisted that this was all about health and safety (really - whose?), then told me that they were "looking after my service dogs welfare" (patronising - I do that) by refusing to let me stay with him, and finally told me that "if I had just turned up without telling them they wouldn't have turned me away".

And I won't be coy about it - yes I am looking at you Ty Magor - and I still have all the evidence....

I've had no beds set up for my dc many times at different price points, all but once sorted out but on one memorable ( for the wrong reasons) occasion they didn't have enough pillows in the hotel! Unfortunately That occasion was a case of whilst I had pre checked in and been given keycards and paid to put the car in the car park, we couldn't get into our room as going to a 2pm wedding, fair enough, they knew there were four of us but simply didn't bother setting the room up

@EmmaMaria

I swopped rooms with someone two years ago because we had been put in an accessible room (don't need it) and I overheard waiting at reception for a new keycard because as usual I'd managed to wreck mine that the wheelchair user trying to check in was being told they had no accessible room available despite them booking it. 30 minutes later we were in a perfectly acceptable double room and the wheelchair user had the facilities they required just to be able to shower!

We had the same with the Hilton in London. Arrived very late and only 1 single bed set up for 2 kids! Rang reception and no one came to sort it until 1am! Both kids had already fallen asleep in the tiny single bed.
We choose premier inn now. They have always been amazing

@Itsalwaysmeyaknow
You said you've got the email confirming the 4 of you, and assuming that you paid on booking, for 4 of you, forward that on to head office saying that there was no housekeeping for the children's beds and you were repeatedly told they weren't on the booking - so you've paid for something you've not actually got.

And yes, in the event of an emergency and getting separated from the children, they're not on any records so it could prove difficult identifying them if they/you weren't able to - push that point as well. Although for anyone worrying, in an emergency, the fire service wouldn't be taking the word of the staff for who's in or out or where, they search systematically, they will do a targeted search if they are told someone is somewhere but they would still search everywhere for people

In my experience, children’s beds are rarely made up in advance even in very fancy hotels.

I've never been to a hotel where my children's beds haven't been made up. Fancy or otherwise.

Yes @WibbleyPie i do have the confirmation email clearly stating 2 adults, 2 children for 3 nights including breakfast for all for 3 mornings. I look forward to hearing back from them with their comments.

Just out of curiosity ...I understand it was a five hour drive but why did you arrive so late? Especially with young children?

I doubt the OP relished the idea if a five hour drive, or a late arrival - but life sometimes doesn't fit ones preferences. It shouldn't make any difference to the scenario

We were taking the children out of school for one day and trying our best to minimise the schooling disruption, therefore we couldn’t leave until everyone got home from school / work… I have realised now that the travelling actually took us just under 6 hours, we were hitting rush hour traffic head on… but we do live a considerable distance from London.

No it really wasn’t 🤣 but as you said life doesn’t fit one’s preferences but this was the best option we could do to suit our scenario ❤️

I mostly meant that them not even offering OP and her family a drink was really bad (rather than her having to help make the beds), but also that the whole thing was a shit show really.

OP wouldn’t worry about a late arrival, hotels generally don’t stipulate what time you can arrive at.

We’ve been known to pack the kids just before bedtime so they are asleep while we drive, sod doing a long drive with awake children.

I’d want a 50% refund at minimum. You booked for 4 and they only catered for 2. The inconvenience , attitude etc, that’s why I’d be asking for in an email to the CEO.

I can rem x2 similar instances, 1 where they gave us an already occupied room, 1 where the shower leaked into the bedroom.

Both times I got a full refund no quibble.

You paid for a service, you didn’t get the full thing, why should you take the hit.