6/10 Good
29 Nov 2017
When Things Go Wrong - It Still Can Be A Nice Stay
Full disclosure: I am a non-Asian American traveling alone in China with limited Chinese skills. When faced with 'issues', I rate the hotel staff by how much they work with me to resolve the problem.
Forgetting the taxi ride from hell from the airport, the hotel 'lost' my reservation. The front desk staff's English skills were almost as bad as my Chinese, however, they made every effort, including a couple phone calls to off-duty managers, to find me a room.
Setting the room price was the next challenge. In each city I stayed, I carried a 3x5 card with the hotel address and telephone information, dates, room cost, and reservation number. This proved invaluable when the manager with authority asked me about the quoted rate. There on the card were both the rate, along with all applicable taxes and fees. Congratulations - I got the correct rate.
This was a way-stop to catch an early morning flight. The next obstacle was getting a 2 AM (0200) taxi. This was more painful than getting the room. They could not believe me that I was only staying a few hours then leaving. But, again patience, along with a decent translation app, at 2 AM I was up and gone.
In the little time I had to observe the hotel I did wish I could come back and see it further - it looked very nice.
Bob
Bob, 1-night business trip
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