We are frequent guests of Hampton Inns and other properities in this chain and my reservation this August night was made far in advance for the night before I left my son at college as a freshman. This hotel is very standard in amenities and the location is convenient to Duke University. In fact, I had stayed there before and all was fine. This time van loaded up with dorm supplies! On the way, I called in to confirm my stay as the evening fell and to ask for an extra blanket for my room as my guaranteed arrival was already paid for and it was getting later. The woman who answered the phone said she would take care of this little request and knew Iwas only an hour or so away. Little did I know they were already turning away families in my exact position. They had overbooked the hotel by nine families the night before students moved into Duke, and instead of telling me this on the phone..or looking up my phone info in HHonors and contacting my spouse who could have called me to alert us to this problem, I was told my blankie was going to be in my room. ? Instead we arrived to a Big Bad Surprise. When we walked in, two very nervous young ladies behind the desk blurted out "Here Comes Another One!" That was alarming as were their faces which were grim. I was told I was Number 8 in the Too Bad about your Reservation Pile. I saw other very unhappy client faces. They were expecting one other Unlucky Family after me. They were flipping through a catalogue making cold calls to other hotels and announced that everything in Chapel Hill and Durham was sold out but they were trying now (!) to find us rooms and would pay for it. I asked why they let me drive by vacant hotels an hour or two north that I passed by coming into Durham when they knew their rooms were gone and I had just spoken to them re the blanket, and there was no rational response. An hour and a half later, after getting lost and stopping a Durham police car for directions, we entered a very odd musty smelling hotel that had vacancies at midnight. We had a voucher but the night was a ruin. I returned to this Hampton (no choice) for my second night and was ill by then and remained there alone for a day recovering. I paid for my second night.
Aren't the numbers ever checked and rechecked especially in a college town for things like Move In Day, Homecoming, Parents Weekends and Graduations and other sold out calendar events that are listed far in advance on the websites and are routine sell out dates in the hotel business? I called the Hampton National office to talk to them about their Guarantee and my experience and was told the Durham manager would call me within two days. No call ever came. I really thought I would hear from someone. I hate leaving negative reports but this one can't be helped.