WoodSprings Suites

My experience with this hotel was truly horrible. I work for a local refugee resettlement agency, and often we have to house newly arrived refugees in hotels while they are waiting for their apartments to be ready. We checked a family in and out of the hotel over a weekend, and noticed several days later that there was a $250 smoking charge. Immediately I addressed this with the family, who were stunned. They did not smoke - the family who stayed in this room hadn't used tobacco in fifteen years - I have medical files from the International Organization of Migration to back this up. They said they noticed a smell coming from an ashtray which was located below their window, but they themselves did not smoke.

After calling the front desk of this hotel, my colleague patiently asked if they had found evidence of any cigarette butts, or if it is possible that another room was the origin of the smell. My colleague asked to see pictures, and even explained that we have records showing no current tobacco use. The staff person who was on the line was extremely rude and said that the cleaning staff smelled tobacco but that they had no pictures, and eventually hung up on us in the middle of the conversation.

I called again today, to explain again that this family did not smoke in the room and had no history of tobacco use in the last fifteen years. The staff person on the line proceeded to say that they found evidence of marijuana (a new piece of information) and that they had pictures of the fire alarm being covered up. I stated that I would be happy to take a look at those pictures and see if she would like to see their medical documents. Keep in mind - we transported this family directly from the airport to the hotel. They were under constant watch, as they have no transportation, no English skills, and no ability to navigate life - much less acquiring drugs - in the United States. I offered to come to the office to speak with a manager, but the receptionist staff was belligerent, uncooperative, and unkind. She again hung up on me mid-sentence as I was trying to set up an appointment.

I have never experienced such blatant disrespect from a hotel staff. I will certainly never partner with this hotel again to house newly arrived families in the United States, and will tell as many people as I can about this horrible and unjust charging policy. My gut says that the hotel staff made up the charge to cover something else up, given that they were completely unwilling to speak with anyone from my organization, gave two completely different stories to me and my colleague, and had no evidence to back their claims.