Days Inn In Hicksville Pays Price For Overcharging Guests Post Sept. 11

NEW YORK— Reports of price gouging at hotels following the Sept. 11 attacks were few, however, one hotel in Hicksville, NY was accused of ratcheting up prices as much as 200+%. And while the situation has been resolved, the hotel is still reeling from the events/reports. The Days Inn in Hicksville, NY, charged stranded air travelers and victims’ family members up to $399 per night for hotel rooms in the days immediately following the Sept. 11 attack, said recent reports. The hotel’s rates are normally between $139 and $159— New York’s anti-price gouging law prohibits “unconscionably excessive” prices of essential consumer goods during a state of emergency. In an interview with HOTEL BUSINESS®, the property’s assistant general manager, Gerard Lynch said the hotel inadvertently overcharged two or three guests during the weeks following the attacks, but noted that those guests were repaid and the property paid a $9,500 fine. “Basically, the owner of the hotel wanted to get the situation behind him, so he pled guilty to a count of over charging and paid a fine. Whether that was the best tactic, I don’t know,” said Lynch, who noted the hotel has always worked together to help the local community. But Christine Pritchard, a spokesperson for the attorney general’s office said they have evidence that at least 12 rooms were rented at inflated prices. “Two people paid almost $400 per room at that property,” Pritchard said. And while the Days Inn does have rooms with Jacuzzi tubs that cost more than the hotel’s average room rate, Pritchard said the evidence shows those were not the rooms rented to guests who claimed they had been overcharged. When word got out last month about the Days Inn overcharging, the property was bombarded with threatening phone calls, said Lynch. “We are receiving death threats,” he said. “I even had to send one of my front desk clerks home early— he couldn’t take the threats.” Business at the property, however, is holding up fine. According to Lynch, despite the threatening calls, folks who know and trust the Days Inn name and/or have already stayed at the Hicksville property are continuing to do business there. “We are close to sold out,” Lynch said one week ago. At Days Inn Worldwide’s headquarters in Parsippany, NJ, a spokesperson said the chain “has zero tolerance for price gouging.” He said when the corporate office caught wind of what happened in Hicksville, NY, the GM was contacted and was told to refund any overages. “We also immediately suggested that the hotel get involved in a community relief effort that gives away free rooms for those in need related to the Sept. 11 attacks.” The hotel did get involved in the program, according to the spokesperson and the assistant GM at the Hicksville, NY property and has been building a relationship with local police officers and other workers aiding in the clean up of the World Trade Center Attacks in New York City. “We are working with the local community,” said Lynch. “We are good people, and run a good business.”