Several fans who arrived in Columbia for the MU-Georgia game last weekend found themselves scrambling to find different hotel rooms after claiming that the Tiger Hotel downtown had unfairly increased their rates.
Sen. Kurt Schaefer (D-Columbia) has written a letter to the Attorney General, asking that the action be investigated:
September 12, 2012
The Honorable Chris Koster
Attorney General of Missouri
Missouri Attorney General’s Office
207 West High Street
P. O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Dear Attorney General Koster:
I know we were both thrilled as loyal Mizzou alumni to cheer our Tigers during our first Southeastern Conference football game against Georgia last weekend. And, we were thrilled to welcome so many out-of-state visitors whose enthusiasm was met with abundant Missouri hospitality. We appreciate both Georgians and fellow Missourians coming to Columbia, not just in the spirit of being faithful fans, but as our guests spending their family’s hard-earned dollars.
So it disturbs me to report issues arising from advance guest lodging reservations at the historic Tiger Hotel in downtown Columbia – issues that I am asking you to aggressively investigate under your authority outlined in Chapter 407 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, also commonly referred to as the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act.
I am attaching copies of reports regarding these alleged issues arising from the Georgia game, in which it has been reported reservations booked long ago were apparently not considered binding by the hotel. Both Missouri and Georgia fans were apparently given undesirable and indeed questionable choices of either paying more for the room they previously booked at a lower rate, or losing their reservations altogether.
Columbia prides itself on hospitality. Honesty should never be an issue. Columbia’s visitors must be assured we want them to have a safe and enjoyable visit, including safety from those who may participate in unfair and deceptive business practices. Please feel free to contact me if I can be of any assistance.
Sincerely,
Kurt Schaefer
Senator – District 19
A Georgia fan and blogger describes the pricing descrepancy as such on www.DawgSports.com:
On September 9th, before I checked out of the hotel, I looked at the current and pending charges on my American Express card. There were 5 pending charges from the Tiger Hotel: $100, $100, $100, $234.43, and $334.43, none of which were listed on the final invoice I received from the front desk upon checkout. As we did not use any incidentals during our stay, I do not believe that there is any reason why a third payment for $868.86 should have been charged to me.
The total amount of charges by the Tiger Hotel on my card is $2,206.58, which is $1,542.94 in excess of my original agreed upon price from 8 months before my reservation.
Read the full post here.
