The Scarlet Hotel - A Disappointing Failure of Hospitality…read more
Reservation: September 27-28, 2026 | Intended Stay: September 28-29, 2026
I want to acknowledge that the original reservation mistake was mine. I accidentally booked our room for September 27-28, when our intended stay was September 28-29. I understand that hotels have cancellation and no-show policies, and I accept responsibility for selecting the wrong date.
What I cannot understand or excuse is how we were treated when we arrived and tried to find a solution.
We were in the middle of a 900-mile move from Colorado to Minnesota, driving a 26-foot U-Haul with a trailer. I chose The Scarlet after confirming that they could accommodate our truck and trailer.
We planned Lincoln as our overnight stop because we wanted one special evening together in the middle of a stressful move. We were looking forward to a comfortable hotel, a romantic dinner, and an opportunity to relax and reconnect before continuing our journey the next morning.
Instead, we arrived on September 28 to discover my reservation mistake and learned that we had been charged the full room rate for the previous night.
We weren't expecting the hotel to ignore its policies or erase my mistake. We were ready and willing to stay at The Scarlet that evening, and hoped someone might help us find a reasonable solution.
When we asked the front-desk employee whether there was a manager or anyone she could call, she told us that they "don't answer their phones this time of the day." Only after we continued pressing the issue did she give us business cards and tell us that someone should get back to us in a day or two.
That was hardly a solution for two exhausted travelers standing at the front desk needing accommodations that night.
Even more disappointing was the employee's demeanor. Rather than feeling that someone wanted to help, we felt dismissed and, at moments, almost mocked. Whether that was her intention or not, the interaction came across as lacking empathy, professionalism, and basic courtesy.
We walked away incredibly disheartened.
Unfortunately, the disappointment didn't end there.
It has now been 11 days since we arrived at The Scarlet on September 28, and not a single person from the hotel has contacted us. On October 7, I left a voicemail for the general manager, hoping to discuss what happened and give the hotel an opportunity to address our concerns. As of October 9, that call has gone unanswered.
I find that especially troubling. The front-desk employee suggested management would respond within a day or two, yet 11 days later, we haven't received a courtesy call.
What makes this experience even more disappointing is that my partner has been a loyal Marriott rewards member for years. We have another meaningful trip coming up later this month to lay her father's ashes to rest. We had been planning to stay at a Marriott property during that trip, but after this experience, we are seriously reconsidering that decision.
This isn't about threatening to take our business elsewhere. It's about the loss of confidence that comes from feeling that a hospitality company doesn't care when something goes wrong.
A simple response such as, "I'm sorry this happened. Let me see what options we have," would have made an enormous difference--even if the financial outcome had been exactly the same.
Hospitality isn't measured only by beautiful accommodations or how smoothly things go when everything is perfect. It's measured by how people are treated when something goes wrong.
I made a reservation mistake, and I accept responsibility for it. But the way we were treated, the lack of meaningful assistance, and the absence of follow-through were not my mistakes.
We had hoped The Scarlet would provide a memorable, romantic evening in the middle of a difficult journey. Instead, it became memorable for the wrong reasons.
We didn't expect special treatment. We expected hospitality.
Unfortunately, we didn't experience it.