After $15.00 additional charge and a favor…

Last Updated on 2023-03-09 by Tom

On March 8th, I had the opportunity to attend the ALC meetup in Calgary. While there, I stayed at a hotel and had a few experiences that I believe can help improve my own landlord business. I want to share my experience with you, in the hopes that it can also provide some valuable lessons

Upon arrival at around 1:30 pm, I asked if it was possible to check-in earlier if the room was ready. The front desk agent told me that I could, but it would come with a $25.00 additional fee. However, she offered to do me a “favor” and upgrade me to a suite instead of a standard room for only $15.00 more. Feeling a bit taken aback, I looked around the lobby and saw that it was quite crowded, with barely a set of worn-out sofas for anyone to wait on. I ended up paying the $15.00 additional fee, feeling like I was being ripped off right from the start.

Once I got to the suite, the building and overall experience were fine, but it quickly became apparent that the suite was not being well-maintained. There were obvious signs of wear and tear throughout the room. I took a video to capture the extent of the damage (see attached).

A short while later, I realized that there were no towels in my upgraded suite. I called the front desk and had some delivered, which I figured was an honest mistake.

Then I discovered that the promised swimming pool and gym were both under construction and not available for use. The so-called “continental free breakfast” turned out to be a simple pack of sandwiches.

All in all, the trust I had in this hotel was quickly eroded. I didn’t feel like I was in a home away from home; instead, I felt like I was in a place where I needed to be on alert and watch out for myself. Even before I left, I had a strange feeling that I should take a video of the move-out condition, just in case I was accused of causing damage that was already there when I arrived.

So what lessons can we learn from this experience?

Lesson #1: Don’t be stingy. If the home is ready, and the tenants need to move in a bit earlier, give them a few extra days generously. This not only helps them out but also creates an opportunity to build trust from the get-go. In contrast, this hotel may have thought they were smart to squeeze an extra $15.00 out of me, but they lost my heart and trust in return.

Lesson #2: Don’t let your property run down. A great home without proper care can quickly deteriorate. Just like this hotel suite, all of these issues are not hard to fix, but the owners neglected them and let them deteriorate. These run-down homes are susceptible to attracting bad tenants and vacancies. Keep your home in good care all the time.

Lesson #3: Share respect, don’t play tricks, and never lie. My experience with this hotel left me with only one conclusion: I will not be returning. When trust is lost, everything else goes to hell. It’s a strong feeling that I can’t trust this place, let alone do anything more with it.

In conclusion, while my experience at the hotel was not great, it was actually the best free lesson I could have received, with only an additional $15.00 fee charged. It was a refreshing experience to be on the other side of the table as the customer. I hope my experience can provide some valuable lessons to my fellow landlords.