No (smoking) room at the inn

Greg Iadonisi was happy to spend a little money to pamper his wife on her birthday Saturday night.

He rented a no-smoking room with a jacuzzi tub at a local hotel for $124.

But the next morning when he checked his bank account on his phone he found that the room had instead cost him about $375.

Iadonisi said that the hotel charged him another $250 because housekeeping claimed that the couple had smoked in the room.

He claims they didn’t.

Iadonisi said a check of the hotel’s security cameras ought to show that he and his wife left the room repeatedly that night to go outside and smoke or to smoke in her car.

Iadonisi said that when he contacted the general manager to dispute the charge she showed no interest in checking the footage. He said she stated that the hotel was following policy and that she relies on what the housekeeping crew says.

Iadonisi said he contacted his bank but was told that since it was a pending charge waiting to clear it could not be blocked. However, he can dispute it, Iadonisi said he was told.

“It’s not right, in my opinion,” he said of the situation.

Iadonisi said that he may file a complaint with the Better Business Bureau. His wife, he said, intends to give the hotel an unfavorable review on Expedia, the online booking site through which they rented the room.

Iadonisi may have a difficult time getting his money refunded, though.

He said that he and his wife emptied her car ashtray into an ice bucket bag from the room and carried the bag and its contents into that room.

Amy Rasor, the Better Business Bureau’s Fort Worth regional director, said that Iadonisi is welcome to file a complaint online and she will be happy to work with him in an attempt to the resolve the matter.

However, she said, it is likely that the couple carried the smell of cigarettes with them back into the room on their clothing and through the ice bucket bag.

If the smell of cigarette smoke had permeated their clothing, it likely was transferred to the bedspread or duvet cover when they sat or laid on the bed.

The reason the hotel charges the extra fee, she said, is because “they have to clean more than they normally would.”

Other guests who may be highly sensitive to cigarette smoke would likely complain, she said.

“I see both sides,” Rasor stated, but added, “that’s what we’re here for is to make sure everybody has a good marketplace transaction. We can do the mediation, and all of that is free.”

kcruz@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 258