If you booked the room on booking, you could well have never visited the Quality Inn website anyway. AIUI, booking does have a pane on their site that covers restrictions on particular properties, but IME you have to know to look for it.
That’s assuming he knew the reason for the “locals only” policy, which, at the time, he didn’t. (And really, we still don’t know for sure.)
He didn’t just acquiesce; he tried to show other forms of ID/proof of address.
We have a small independent motel about 5 miles away. It’s handy when we have more overnight guests than beds, but every time I call to make reservations I always run into the “no rooms for locals” rule. I’m able to easily get around it now because I have a history with them that doesn’t include trashing the rooms but does include tipping the maids well.
Its easy for me now, but the first time I had to beg and plead and leave a very large deposit.
It may be worth noting that Quality Inns are franchises. The no-locals policy, and the lack of authority on the part of the desk person, are probably determined by the local owner, not the chain.
I’m sorry this happened to you. I once booked a hotel when I was over 18 but under 21, giving them enough info during the booking process to know that, and yet didn’t find out until I arrived late that night that they wouldn’t let me stay. The policy was definitely not on their website at the time; I checked again when I got home. (And no, it wasn’t attached to a casino or anything like that.) Embassy Suites is coming up on their 20-year anniversary of never seeing another dime from me.
I just encountered the no-locals policy at a hostel in San Diego. Luckily I live outside their 30-mile radius and my driver’s license says so, but I understand from the reviews that someone else was recently turned away for that reason. I assumed the policy was to keep homeless people from living there. A college friend of mine encountered that situation at a hostel in Prague and was a little skeeved out. Whatever the reason, I think they need to be really upfront about it during booking, and the desk clerk needs to be empowered to make exceptions when appropriate.
It’s still their name on the door. If they don’t want to be smeared, they shouldn’t allow franchisees any mud.
Not to hijack, but I wonder how this policy would apply to airport hotels? I have definitely stayed at an airport hotel with an early flight the next am. I’ve also known people to stay at an airport hotel returning home right after a very long haul flight.
I am trying to wrap my head around how you verify that a homeless person resides within 30 miles of a hostel.
I’m trying to understand where the disconnect is here. The policy requires the guest to prove they live more than 30 miles away, not the hostel to prove they live within 30 miles.
Seriously. Are locals who’ve suffered a home fire supposed to also trek 30 miles away before collapsing in a heap? Maybe you have to get the local Fire Marshal to vouch for you?
I would have peeled the sticker off, right in front of him, and stuck it on the front, deliver a few choice words and …
I feel like this is the case, though it could be a commonly added rule by property owners. I’ve stayed at several hotels within or close to 30 miles and not once have I been turned away for being a local. One time it was a hotel literally a dozen or so blocks down the street.
The only policy I ran into that stopped me was one location wanting a 100 cash deposit on the room. Considering the room price was half that and I don’t carry cash on me that was a real deal-breaker.
My hotel does not have this rule, but I can see why some do. Locals are much more likely to do property damage, to have loud, out of control parties and to have domestic disputes. I work night audit; I deal with it all the time.
Even those who do have the rule will often bend it for legit reasons, like your house burning down and natural disasters, though those usually require a manager’s okay.
I have no night manager but unless I do something insane, they’ll stand behind me. So when I told the tow truck driver “of course I’m a manager and have the authority to get this towed! (Long story)” they were all yep. Sounds good. When I have partiers evicted they’re all “what did you expect?” when they call to complain.
Now. I have no doubt the no locals is on the Quality Inn website. Booking.com is a different matter. It might be, it might not. (As a side note, always try to book directly. When things go wrong you’re not told “talk to third party”.)
And I don’t understand why he couldn’t copy the new address into the reservation. My guess? He’s a newbie and has not run into this situation before.
Sorry to hear about your experience, OP. I’m surprised, though. I figured from time to time (weddings, funerals, etc.) a local person might reserve some rooms for out of towners. OK, the mgmt checks their home addresses and sees they’re not local…but if your billing address for that credit card doesn’t have a zip that corresponds to their zip, it would seem obvious that you don’t live there.
In your shoes, I would complain up the chain. Perhaps there would be a free voucher for a future stay or something. Give them a chance to make it right and if they do that, you might be able to “pay back” the friend that helped you out. I mean, this shit may happen from time to time but I’d like to know if they want to take some responsibility etc.
I’ve never heard of this “no locals” rule. The closest I’ve ever heard is you have to have luggage. If you can’t show a suitcase, then no room.
I agree. I’ve personally never heard of this policy, and while the above are some good reasons locals might want to book a hotel room, there are many others. One common reason for doing it in a big city is getting a room in a luxury downtown hotel as a sort of mini-vacation, so one can enjoy the downtown nightlife for a while and be comfortable right in the middle of it without the hassle of driving home to the burbs. But then, I would bet that top-tier hotels have no such policy about “locals”, and that this is mainly the domain of lower-tier establishments that are frequently beset by riffraff.
Although I did stay for a few nights in a very ordinary suburban motel when I was between houses due to closing dates not quite matching up, and there was no issue whatsoever despite my having a local address. In fact I don’t recall anyone even being interested in my address, either there or anywhere else that I can recall. This so-called “policy” would really and truly piss me off, especially if, like the OP, I wasn’t even really “local”. It positively screams at the prospective guest “according to the rules by which we screen our clientele, you’re a no-good troublemaker and we want nothing to do with you”.
Or, IOW, this:
Got an email from booking.com saying the hotel marked me as a no-show and asking why I didn’t check in. There was a link to a small form I could fill out. I provided a brief summary but I doubt anything will come of it. I hope this doesn’t cause me problems for future reservations at other motels.
Again, because in many places they are 80% of the issues. Hotels know this.
This might be part of the problem. I learned some time ago that if you are booking a reservation at a hotel, contact them directly. Don’t go through a third party site.
I always save money calling them directly despite what the 3rd party sites claim. And you are much less likely to have a reservation mix-up.
Now, I don’t mind using a 3rd party site to find a location. But once I do, I contact them directly to make the reservation. Every hotel I’ve stayed at tells me they prefer that and appreciate it.
I’m not certain that wouldn’t avoid the situation here though. Maybe it might have, but not necessarily.
It depends on what it says on Booking.com’s website - or if it’s even on there.
I would fight on this one. You tried to check in. They said no.