Refused to refund due to incoming blizzard
I booked a trip to Asheville because my family and I were planning a ski trip in Maggie Valley, not far from Asheville. The day before I was supposed to check into the Holiday Inn Downtown, Asheville, I saw a weather report that warned of an impending blizzard and it was recommended that no one travel if possible.
At that point, I contacted customer service at the Holiday Inn Downtown and let them know that regrettably I had to cancel my trip due to the severe weather conditions. I was told by the clerk that they couldn't refund my money because I received a special advance purchase rate.
I tried to rationalize with the Holiday Inn customer service clerk letting him know that we were driving up from Fl and it was recommended that we don't travel and I would think, due to the circumstances he could help me out, I'd be even willing to pay a cancellation fee. He only offered to move my reservation to a later date.
Unsatisfied, I called Holiday Inn's corporate office and I was redirected back to the hotel. I was really surprised that they chose to resolve the situation in this manner, I'm not going to accept the open date in the future, because I refuse to stay at a hotel that has no compassion for its guests in situations that are unfortunate like this.
So, if you plan on staying at this hotel, be warned, they are only concerned with the reservations, not the quality of customer service or the safety of their traveling guests.