Clarion Hotel ripoff con-artists took us for all we had New Orleans Louisiana

Please don't take what I said as legal advice or a legal opinion. The only advice I, or anyone else in an on-line situation can offer you ethically is that only a lawyer can tell you if you have a case. I am not a lawyer, but have studied law enough to recognize that lawyers may know many different angles and possibilities that none of us would have even considered. Therefore, although Bob could very well be entirely right, he knows more about the hotel industry than I do (and it looks like I was wrong about him being a Clarion agent), only a lawyer can provide the proper perspective on your case. But, alas, lawyers tend to cost alot of money, maybe more than you would like to spend. The choice can't be made by anyone but you. Good luck, and thanks for your insight Bob.

Melody,

First in respnse to Tim, I offer you this. I ave seen his posts efore and he attempts to help people tat feel they have been ripped off. I a not lawyer and I am not an agent for Clarion.

I have worked in hotel management for over 20 years and have been involved with operation and have seen and heard some bizzare cases. I base my comments and suggestions to anyone whom Iffel I can help by simply pointing them in the appropriate direction base on my ast experiences.

It appears that Tim is a lawyer since he did offer you a legal opinion. I am simply offering you an option based on what I know has happened in the past.

I can not guarantee you anything. What I do have is resources to pass on to guests that feel they have been taken advantage of. I will tell you that based on what you wrote, that specific hotel is poorly managed (in my opinion). Based on what I have seen in the past, your best bet is to go to Clarions corporate office which in this case is choice hotels.

I applaud Tim for providing a diferent perspective howeer I can without qestion tell you his assumptions regarding my background or a motive is absolutely false.

I am trying to help people like yoursef because I am in the hospitality business and providing service to guests is a the top priority. There are hotels that do take advantage of people and they should be held accountable for theri actions. Choice Intl. Should be able to help you.

Melody... Bob may be right in his predictions as to what might happen in a courtroom, but he could be wrong. Bob is obviously an agent of Clarion, and his response was professional and courteous, but taking legal advice from the people you are thinking of taking to court is not a good idea. It would be comparable to asking the guy who just wrecked your car if he thinks you should hire an attorney.

Here's my advice: follow Bob's reccomendations per dealing with the company first (caontacting the home office etc.). If, after exhausting this route, you feel that the company has not properly addressed your issue, you may want to consult with an attorney. Or, who knows, it may be a better idea to go to an attorney first; an attorney could ensure that any security tapes and pertinent documents are secured in case they are needed. The choice is yours.

Here's my legal advice: don't take legal advice from anybody other than an attorney that you talk to either in person, over the phone, or via standard mail. Only an attorney can tell you if you have a case, and you have no way of knowing if people you talk to online are or aren't attorneys.

Best of luck to you Melody, it's a shame that a potentially great time had to be ruined by this experience.

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. Unfortunately you are limited in what you can do. There is one odd part to your story. If you went in to check in, didn't you take your wallet with you ? You would have needed it to check in wouldn't you.

Anyway, Contacting a lawyer is a waste of time. It will end up being your word against the hotels word and more than likely you wont have much of a chance. You would have to prove that thefts occur often and the specific employee you think committed the crime has been accused before.

If the employee has a police record including theft, you may have something. There would be an awful lot of work to do with minimal dollars in return for any lawyer.

Obviously if you stayed 1 day you should not have been charged for any more than that. If the hotel had a minimum length of stay requirement you may not have been entitled to a complete refund and you would need a documented record of any restriction such as this to gain any more of a refund.

Mardi Gras is a special occasion in the city and any smart hotel manager would implement a minimum length of stay restriction with no refunds.Because the hotel verbally offered you a refund wont stand up because the offer was verbal and who knows if they will be honest.

YOUR BEST MOVE IS THIS. Contact Choice International Hotels in Maryland. This hotel might be operated by a Franchisee. Choice Hotels mandates certain things such as quality assurance, amenities, just to name a few.

They also should have a guest complaint dept. Contact them and tell them your story exactly as it happened. They will in turn force the hotel not only to respond to you but the hotel will also have to respond to Choice.

The Guest complaint dept. should help you to obtain answers to your concerns. Usually these dept.'s are consumer advocates and will help you in any manner possible. Choice wants to keep you as a loyal customer and will do anything they can to keep you choosing their hotels. The Choice International corporate office is located in Silver Springs Maryland. Good luck.