MM
Marty Lefebvre (MrSeventy8)
Jan 20, 2026
*BE CAREFUL WHEN PAYING*
This past weekend, my son and I had 2 games on the Saturday, so we went down on the Friday. Went to the front desk at roughly 3:05pm (check in is 3pm) so we were right on time. Not early, just, right on time. They asked for my information and we started the check-in process.
They asked me to insert my card into the machine to pay, so I did. It showed “Approved” and she then came around the desk to tell me that we’ve been upgraded to a room in the Sheraton next door and that I was to go there to check in. She also mentioned that the deposit would now be 150 instead of 100.
As I showed up to the desk at the Sheraton the woman at the front desk asked me to pay for the room again. I said I already did that at the Best Western side but, she claimed it didn’t go through. I checked my online banking and sure enough, there was the Best Western charge on my CC.
I ended up having to pay for the room using my debit card and money that was meant to be spent on something for my son, so essentially paying for the room twice. I decided i should call my bank to see if they could help.
At this point, my son and I are supposed to be on our way to a sports cards shop (that’s what the money was allocated for) but now he has to sit and wait for me to clear this all up.
The bank confirms that the payment was approved on their end and that I would need to speak with the hotel to sort it out.
So, now I go back downstairs and ask to speak with the manager. Meanwhile, a front desk clerk informs me that it’s happened to him before (where he inserted his card into that machine and it didn’t go through) and is somewhat of a known issue with some of their machines.
The manager comes out and I explain the situation again and he assures me that because it’s a known issue, the money will appear back on my credit card after 24-48 hours but that if not, I could reach out to him so he can try and help.
I explain all of my frustrations, in a calm and rational manner, making sure I'm not making a scene or using foul language.
He stayed stoic, showing next to no remorse other than to use the words in his script like “terribly sorry for the inconvenience, but there’s nothing i can do”. I explained that my son and I have now had to cancel plans and his response again was simply "I'm sorry to hear that, but there’s nothing I can do”.
I then looked at him and said “it was worth a shot eh?” meaning that was his chance to make this right, but he chose not to do anything at all. No care that my son was stuck in the room, alone, wasting almost 2 hours and left with the disappointment of no longer being able to go to the sports card shop. Something that he and I saved for to be able to do together.
But again, it really didn’t seem like he or Best Western or Sheraton cared that we were left to suffer.
I went back to my room and told him that we would have to make the best of things. We headed out to find some food, something we planned on doing, as well as going to play basketball and some pool. We managed to find some joy but every once in a while, he reminded me of what we were missing out on and I don't blame him.
It's now Tuesday, a full 96 hours since it happened and of course the money is not back in my account. I've called, spoke to a different manager and he claims he doesn't know anything about this but that the other manger will be back in the afternoon and will call me.
We have pre-booked 5 other trips and will be looking to cancel all of them and never stay at this hotel ever again UNLESS the manger is able to call me on time today and show remorse as well as fix this issue by returning the funds back to my credit card. While I'm not one to suggest what companies should do for their customers when customers are put into misery due to things within their control, this seems to be a great moment for Best Western and/or The Sheraton to step up and make this right.
Stay tunned....
*UPDATE* Day 2 still no call but I see the owner has replied. Seems sincere. Hopefully it is.