Initially I had no intention of leaving a public review and planned to keep this matter private with corporate. However, after receiving a follow-up call from Eileen—during which she acted incredulous and implied that we were dishonest about the incident—I feel compelled to share our experience.
On 12/28, my wife and I stayed at this hotel because it is the closest lodging to Largo Hospital, where a family member was undergoing a medical procedure. At approximately 7:30 a.m., we left our room and exited the building into the parking lot. We then decided to return inside to eat the hotel’s complimentary breakfast. Upon re-entering the lobby, my wife went to use the restroom while I proceeded to the breakfast area.
While there, I was approached by Eileen, the front desk attendant, who said, “Sir, you need to leave.” Confused, I asked why. She repeated, “You need to leave.” I replied, “No,” and she then demanded my room number. Taken aback by her tone and approach, I asked why she needed that information, as I had no idea what I had done wrong. She responded by saying she would call the police. I told her I would wait for them and sat down at a table in the breakfast area, in full view of other guests who witnessed the exchange.
Shortly after, I stopped another employee passing by and asked if she was the manager. She confirmed she was, and I explained what had just occurred. She asked for my room number and last name, which I provided. A few minutes later, the manager returned with Eileen and apologized. The explanation given was that they believed I was “with someone else who came in and went straight to the bathroom,” which they stated was the “first clue.” I was again confused in what that meant. I informed her that the person she was referring to was my wife. The manager apologized again.
They attempted to justify the situation further by saying I resembled someone who is not a guest and frequently comes in to eat the complimentary breakfast.
After my wife returned from the restroom, we went to leave the hotel. At that point, Eileen stopped us, apologized to both of us, and offered free chips or cookies as compensation. We declined and left.
My wife later contacted corporate to report the incident, but to express how humiliating the experience was and so the situation could be addressed to prevent it from happening to others. Following that complaint, Eileen called my wife directly. During this call, she acted shocked and attempted to minimize and deny what occurred—stating she never asked me to leave, never threatened to call the police, and implying that we were misrepresenting the situation. She also stated durning that call, “I offered you free items (food) from our store, what is it that you want from our hotel?”
My wife made it clear she wanted nothing and asked whether approaching a guest in the manner she did was appropriate or professional.
If Eileen truly believed we were not guests, there were several appropriate ways to handle the situation. She could have greeted or questioned us in the lobby, discreetly pulled me aside, or waited for my wife to exit the restroom to confirm our status—rather than confronting me publicly in front of other guests.
The most troubling part of this experience was being contacted afterward by Eileen only to be told that the incident did not happen as it clearly did.
Given that this is a hotel I’d assume it would have extensive security cameras, management should be able to review both video and audio footage to verify that these events occurred exactly as described. I feel like my wife and I were profiled. Did we not look and act like guests? Is this standard practice to ask people to leave without verifying if they are even guests, to humiliate them publicly?
Upon reading other reviews, I’m not surprised that this isn’t their first complaint against Eileen and her customer service.
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