How to complain about hotel

Just paid for 3 nights in Britannia Airport Hotel at Manchester at £40/night. Room is dismal*. Do I complain and ask for a partial refund now, or when I check out?

* Not renovated since 1950s.
* Noisy as hell due to M56
* Beds have blankets (hello, 18th century)
* TV only gets 3 channels, not advertised 10.
* Car park only needs dead body and police cordon to complete image. Not "secure parking" as advertised on website. Like driving through Cold War nuclear bunker, complete with broken barriers, narrow corridors, and flickering fluorescent lights.
* Only one plug socket. If I want to charge my phone or laptop, or turn the light on, I have to unplug the TV.
* Cupboard door won't stay closed, as my bleeding knee testifies to.
* Breakfast is £8! It's free at the Holiday Inn (which, annoyingly, isn't as convenient for the airport).

think Fawlty towers!

£40 a night? What more did you expect???

You forgot to mention, it's near Wythenshawe.

My friend runs a gorgeous B&B near Marple. Stockport, for a reasonable price. http://www.lilybankfarmcottage.co.uk/

What do you expect for £40.
Why didn't you move the night you moved in if you didn't like it?
Did you express your concerns to them?
Or do you rather bad mouth them on an internet forum where they have no right to reply?

isnt that mandatory for a airport hotel ?

there are 2 at glasgow airport the exact same …..

Hmm, that sounds familiar actually… 🙂

Grow a pair, go to reception and say 'look, I'm sorry but I have to let you know I've not been happy with my experience'. They're not market traders, they're unlikely to go off on one…

roof, walls, window, what more do you need?

if you're not happy vote with your feet

Roll out the ultimate complaint procedure.

Dirty Protest: It's Like A Chimp Went Nuts In There.

Ok – this isnt usual for STW – here's some helpful pointers that work repeated for one of my rellies:

-Firstly: dont go back (I made this mistake in Arran recently)
– As suggested above go to the desk and complain. Preferably at their busiest time – usually just before checkout. Have a clear list of complaints. Specifics count. Decor doesnt. Be calm but loud. It's only £40 so treat it like a joke / adventure. Be clever.
– If that doesnt work write to them (written letter) setting out your complaints again.
– Last resort – TripAdvisor.com. Add what seems like a balanced review, but insinuate about thing like fleas, prostitutes, DSS, needles, …. "I stayed here on my rehab program and found it nice. The DSS paid the bill so I dont know if it's good value. I liked the way cars were easy to case and the decor hided many sins…..

Put one hand down inside pants, grasp balls, take a deep breath, take the lift downstairs, walk up to reception, politely explain vague feelings of unhappiness, walk back to room, sit in bathroom crying at the injustice of life.
Oh, take hand out of pants and wash it.

Dirty Protest!

sit in bathroom crying at the injustice of life

😥

Life is so unfair…

Give me a tenner and I'll look after your car whilst you're away

write "paid under dispute" on the receipt and keep a copy yourself, then kidnap the hotel owner and drown them in a canal using a wheelie bin.

Dirty protest will only affect the poor sods who have to clean it up on minimum wage.

The only way to get any 'satisfaction' is to hit the owners where it hurts and refuse to pay a portion, or all, of the bill citing areas in dispute ie. lack of tv channels/sockets, non-secure parking, personal injury due to faulty cupboard door and you will have had a fall in poorly lit area !! Doesn't matter if it's £40 or £400 a night, sounds well below any acceptable standard.

Britannia hotels are VERY hit and miss.

Don't use them again?

I would expect more for £40, Me and my lass just had a night in a travel lodge near Manchester Airport for £29 and it was very nice. Complain and ask for some money back.

I've gone through the cheap hotel phase. Its not worth the hassle from the missus.

Put a negative review on tripadvisor then move on. Britannia will receive thousands of complaints in a year- its part of their business model. As soon as bookings constantly dip below a certain amount they'll look at either closing or the cost of refurb v the benefits.

We always stay in Holiday Inn Expresses if it has to be a big chain as they are still 'new'. Otherwise we check Tripadvisor first and click on the negs to see if we can live with them.

What's wrong with just going to reception and bitching until they do what you want? I've done it and once you get over the embarassment at being confrontational it's fine. But as the above said, do it when they're busy, far greater impact.

1. All airport hotels are crap
2. £40 for any hotel, let alone an airport hotel is not bad, even for Manchester
3. £8 for breakfast is quite reasonable for a hotel, its like postage costs on ebay

Go and complain if you are not happy

If you have to complain, do it a certain way. Away from the keyboard I lose my anger and confrontational nature…

At the Marylebone Hilton we received a mental upgrade thanks to my 'complaint' 😀

Doesn't matter if it's £40 or £400 a night, sounds well below any acceptable standard.

Well it does matter. You would expect higher standards when paying £400 than when paying £40.

Just what standard would you expect for £40? I would say, from the OP, that the only thing that could be complained about is the lack of TV channels and *possibly* the secure parking if they made claims such as 24hour CCTV which wasn't there.

Stay at Travelodge next time. Me and the OH stayed at one recently and paid £16 for two nights, the room was clean and comfy.

Bargain 🙂

MF

What I meant by my comment was that you expect a certain standard for the money you pay. Obviously a £400 room will be a higher standard 🙄

The room, even at £40 a night, is not as advertised, especially in view of the lack of secure parking which was presumably a major influence in going there in the first place.

Complain directly to the chef just before you get your breakfast cooked. Trust me, this ALWAYS works.

In all seriousness though, I'd try to be polite with it, but if there is stuff not as advertised then refuse to pay the full amount.

Agree with Phil Junior. I regularly complain if it's not up to scratch. But always politely and always with a smile.
Ask for a different room etc. I have spend a lot of nights getting upgraded to Suites. It's no skin off their back if they have to swap your room.

Just think how much more enjoyable it would be with the planes flying overhead.