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NO CREDIT CARD? NO VACANCY!

Pamela Cowan 
Regina Leader-Post 
Friday, January 24, 2003

If you are in desperate need of a hotel room on a cold winter night in Regina, you'd better have a credit card.

That was the painful lesson a Rouleau couple learned Tuesday evening when they were refused a room at two local hotels. Joanne and Glen Freeman, along with their young son, went searching for a hotel room after a tire problem prevented them from returning to their home in Rouleau. On the advice of a tow truck operator, they decided it was best to not risk returning home."

The operator asked how far we were going and my husband told him it was about an hour away and he said, 'It's cold outside -- you guys can take your chances if you want, but who is to know how long that tire will last,' " said Joanne. "I didn't feel safe going. We have a five-year-old, we did not have ski pants, we did not have blankets in the truck, we weren't prepared for -29 weather and our cell phone doesn't work on our grid coming into Rouleau.

"However, once they decided to stay, it took them three hotels before they found one that would accept cash only. Although they have credit cards, they did not have any with them during their time in the city.

The experience left Joanne Freeman wondering why such a policy exists, especially in emergency situations.

"If we would have froze, who would have been responsible?" she asked. "You can't bring back a life ... I want an apology and I want them to change their reasoning. We explained our situation.

"We had money, we just wanted a place to keep warm and some place to sleep.

"Tom Mullin, the executive vice-president of the Hotels Association of Saskatchewan, said on Wednesday that such a refusal is at the discretion of the individual hotelier.

"They do have a standard policy of after 11 o'clock accepting credit cards only," he said. "It's unusual to be renting a room past 11 p.m. and I think the reason why they accept a credit card is because there might be situations where they might be ringing up charges in addition to the room rate and when they pay cash then they have no recourse to get paid back. "We don't get into any kind of situation as far as policy or discipline, that is up to the discretion of the general managers of the hotels." 

"Generally, in most hotels nowadays, when you travel you guarantee with a credit card and you have to have a credit card. They will accept cash, but it is up to the individual hotel."

© Copyright 2003 The Leader-Post (Regina)

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