Wyndham Hotels and Resorts...
 

With Wyndham discounted nudges via email, I reserved separate motel overnights for May 31st and June 1st.

When I registered at Wyndham's Days Inn, I was greeted by several affixed signs saying, "Don't park with your trunk to the door. Front-in only, or you'll be towed"!

Although disappointed at paying $99.99 for one night, fatigue won out, so I registered for the night. The first assigned room was a "smoking room", with the house-current smoke alarm chirping every minute. (And a broken door frame and lock).

Asking for an alternate room, I was assigned another smoking room. :rolleye1: "It's all we have left". Another damaged door and lock, but I parked as directed. :eek2:

The linens and towels were fresh, but they'd left used soap for my use. :( I had my own soap anyway, and after a decent night's sleep, I grabbed my two bags, opened the door and discovered my vehicle wasn't there! :eek:

The County Sheriff advised my vehicle had been towed. Asked why, they said, "Incomplete license plate verification". Anxious to continue my trip, I forgot to ask why the towing company was removing cars from private property. (?)

Anyway, lightened by $152.50 by the towing company, I got back on the road and mulled-over what had happened overnight back in Ormond Beach, Florida. :confused:

Since I'm still on the road, I'll wait until Monday to start making those really long calls...

Start with Wyndham Hotels ? :confused:

APS, OMG, what a nightmare. I agree, for a quick overnight trip, I like a first floor where you can back up to the door of a motel too and it seems today the newer ones are all going for a main front door where you have to haul your stuff a mile. Especially when you travel with animals. Used soap? Car towed? What an adventure. And I thought our last stay in PA. was bad when I reserved a first floor and didn't get it. It did have an elevator but the hallway and elevator were disgusting. The room wasn't too bad though. But for a cheap Red Roof for$150. I was not happy. At least our car didn't get towed.

I’m sorry that happened to you. I’m not clear though whether you parked according to their instructions or did you back in.

Where I am in Florida, because we only have a back license plate, we are not allowed to pull in backwards into a parking spot because that way you cannot read the license number.

Days Inn
 

I remember traveling to Florida in the 70’s and early 80’s and Days Inn had a great reputation for being clean and very inexpensive at only $29.00 per night! We would always look for a Days Inn to stay at! My how things have changed….

I will say in this day and age $99.00 a night for a room is cheap!

Dan

I've heard of apartment buildings, condos and others doing towing because of local ordinances regulating unregistered vehicles in lots. This is probably due mostly to residents flipping cars, filling up lots with projects making parking scarce, so I can agree with that.

What I have a big problem with is doing this at a business that has public parking and to a car that had not been left on the property longer than the customer was staying. That seems predatory to me and I wonder why you haven't shared the location of this place. I also think a few reviews in places like trip advisor, yelp, google plus Wyndham's social media sites would help to stop this practice.

Finally, get your registration fixed..... if there actually is a problem, if not, consider suing the towing company and the hotel.

Assuming you were parking in the Wyndham parking lot then I see no reason why the tow company (or Sheriff's Office) didn't first check with the front office prior to ordering a tow of a customers vehicle.....

Someone should be responsible for paying that tow bill and it shouldn't be you......

Not Finished with "Getting Here"...
 

The previous is Part 1 of the first night.

There's more yet, before I get to the second night at Wyndham's Econo Lodge. :eek2:

Hopefully not like Rutland Econo Lodge
 

My son is in Rutland, VT, and several of the cheaper priced hotels there, including the Econo Lodge, are de facto homeless shelters with all of the associated problems that can come with that. Same thing at the Comfort Inn in Manchester, near us in Bedford.

You know the old saying "you get what you pay for" :)

Speaking for myself, I am waiting with baited breath for chapter 2 in this scenario. Don’t keep us in suspense!

Even "Razored" Decals Disappear...
 

I phoned the Volusia County Sheriff's Office this morning. Police don't have an "automatic" mandate for ordering vehicles towed from private property.

Ormand Beach Days Inn first registered me to a smokers' room with a damaged door and a chirping smoke alarm. Since the alarm was 110-volts, and hard-wired to the ceiling (and out of easy reach) I opted to change rooms and was directed to park on the opposite side of the motel. (Where I unloaded from the inconvenient end).

The new room, continuing with smoking odors and damaged lock/door frame, was just OK--but towing might have been made even easier!

Ready to finally relax, I pressed a Styrofoam coffee cup to the hallway's ice machine--which promptly dropped its entire front door near my toes! (No ice container had been provided to the room).

As for expense, this Days Inn was somewhat more expensive than my usual stay in Ormond Beach. Others had charged a $100 deposit!

I blame Wyndham for their "coupon incentive" to stay at their large family of motels. :

I ran this problem by a Motel 6 registration desk during my stopover in Pennsylvania. They said Pennsylvania had abandoned the decal system.
:eek2:

Stolen annual decals have long been a problem in Florida, so I carry my current registration with my drivers license. Alas, nobody asked to confirm my ownership--they just quietly towed my vehicle. :(

I agree, and should be contacting Ormond Beach PD "desk" first thing tomorrow. Say, where is an opinion from member "Mr. V"?

I hope I have more luck than with the Volusia Sheriff's Office. Their "telephone tree" was so labyrinthine, I resorted to 911, where I was casually patched-through to the towing company. (Who I can't really fault--excepting...).

So if I read this correctly, you are not displaying your stickers on your plate for fear of them being stolen. Sounds like you are in violation, you're supposed to have those stickers on your plate. ( I hope I'm correct in my assessment, I'm sure you'll correct me if you're wrong.) The bottom line is you are setting yourself up for problems like this and giving the police a reason to pull you over and check you out. I'd put the stickers on and worry about them getting stolen when it happens.

All that said, I watch a youtube guy who tows cars from private lots. Most of the time a property manager has him dispatched to remove violators, many of the tows are people without valid registrations.

Your case does sound predatory to me, a tow driver is probably contracted by the hotel to remove illegal cars, sees your car from Florida, figures there'll be a high probability you will just pay it out and disappear. I hope you follow through with calling the hotel when you have time. But again, if you don't have those stickers, you aren't exactly clean here.

Your sticker story reminds me of my uncle. He lived in a city in Massachusetts where my grandparents are also buried. My grandfather was a World War I veteran and had a bronze flag holder at their grave. I remember my uncle telling my mom for a bunch of years that the news was reporting that people were stealing those markers, apparently for the scrap metal price. Typical news, selling ads by making people afraid.

So years go by, every once in a while I'd hear the marker stealing story. Finally my uncle and mom were too infirmed to take care of the grave any more, so I helped out. Sure enough, no marker. After a few years my uncle passed away, I was in charge of cleaning out his house, what do I find? Two markers, one on his desk, the other tucked in a drawer in the desk. He apparently was taking the marker after the holiday to keep it safe. Well as he aged his memory wasn't as good as it used to be and he was forgetting to bring them back. I'm willing to bet had he just left the marker in the cemetery it would have been just fine.

Many places where we winter in FL do not allow back-in parking, which does annoy us, but we understand the reasoning. FL (and many states) do not require front license plates. So the enforcement authorities (public or private) don't like it if you back in because they need to get up and walk around to see your tags.

More importantly, despite your long-time membership, what does this have to do with Winni and the Lakes Region?

Just thinking off the top of my head; Check with Triple A (AAA) and find out if this Motel 6 is on their recommended list (i.e. in their book). If it is, you should route your complaint up the ladder at AAA and explain your experience. This could give them the incentive to either place a written warning about this on their recommended posting, or they may elect to remove the listing altogether.

The above is just a suggestion to get a few teeth on the issue without having to get a runaround from either the towing company or the Sheriff's Office.

Not only have you experienced an expensive recovery, but you've experienced a VERY INCONVENIENT disruption to your travels (and routine).

I am sorry to read of your troubles and I sincerely hope that this eventually ends up working in your favor with a full reimbursement.

Will Wait This One Out...
 

Motel 6 has been exemplary compared to Wyndham, who have been buying up rental properties like so much firewood. :rolleye2:

1) Not everybody can live in New Durham. ;) Who wasn't surprised that Florida's Hurricane Ian made it to the Winnipesaukee forum? :confused:

2) For a bunch of us snowbirds, the topic "Getting Here" describes one of our annual challenges. This experience of being told how to park, and to get involuntarily towed is new after 60 years of commuting NH/Florida. Let this thread serve as a red flag when traveling.

3) Full-sized pickup trucks can occupy much of a motel's walkway, especially with modern trailer hitches. :eek:

4) Thanks for the tip, Time Traveler, but the towing company has a tiny (and debris-filled lot), and the proprietor hurried me out to pick up another vehicle. :rolleye1:

5) The remaining sticker is three years old! I'd prefer to resolve this with a corporation than with the DMV.

6) I forgot to mention that Wyndham's Ormond Beach location also had a splice in their HVAC cord. The result was a cord folded back on itself with an apple-sized wrapping (in red duct tape) laying there to trip over.

7) Wyndham says they'll answer my complaint within five days.

Sheriff procedures
 

I don't understand why the sheriff didn't call in the plate number and learn that the car was properly registered, but just had a missing sticker, worthy of a warning note, not a ticket or a towing.

I don't understand why the OP thinks, out of millions of cars registered in FL, his would be the one selected to have the sticker stolen.

Sounds like the motel needs an inspection by local code enforcement officials. They won't know if nobody tells them.

While not Lakes Region, I think the warning is to check Trip Advisor or other sources when booking is being done.

I tip the parking valet when service is received. Paying the kid in advance who says "Watch your car, mister? Just $10." is questionable.

A condo rule on Sanibel Island: "Don't back in because of fumes/noise going in open windows, doors and up to the second floor balcony."

Their Policy, but Not The Motel's Fault?
 

Good point!

Florida’s Towing Problem – The Police Do Not Enforce the Law

Apparently, I must contact the Public Service Agency in my County and file a complaint, or take them to Small Claims Court. :rolleye2:

Yippee! I can get my money back and my attorney gets paid too. :rolleye1:

More:
Wyndham Hotels Days Inn signage was incomplete by Florida law accordingly, so my gripe is both with Wyndham Hotels Days Inn (improper signage) AND the towing company (using the vehicle towing law) to tow off private property? (They may, upon complaint, tow off the public right of way).
:confused:

'Think I'll call Volusia County Sheriff back. They could check my registration's validity on June 1st, and cause the towing company to return my "ransom" money. (Paid in cash in exact dollar bills--plus a little).

:look:

Beware Volusia County get-rich schemes...Bernie Madoff didn't think of this...

Nah, move on and put your sticker on your plate. You'll just waste your time and more money.

The reason Small Claims Court exists is so people don't have to pay attorney's for smaller dollar cases. You can go represent yourself and save the attorney's fee.

There is a chapter and section in the law in most states often titled: Failure to display valid evidence of registration. It is your responsibility to do so, not the police officer's job to run plates to see if they have been renewed. As you have learned, the validation sticker belongs on the plate.

An Update from Ormond Beach...
 

My car was towed from an Ormond Beach Days-Inn motel.

Warnings to “Park with front of vehicles to be ‘facing-in’ or your car will be towed”. (Written in white shoe polish on lobby windows). I complied, and turned in for the night. In the early morning hours--just 15-feet away--my car was being towed.

In a follow-up call this month, Ormond Beach Police said, “It was the option left to motel parking lots to have 'derelict cars' removed”. :rolleye2:

($150--plus an eight-hour round trip to court is hardly worth even going to Small Claims Court, but lawyers themselves only have write a letter). I emailed Days-Inn, who said they 'were sorry I was inconvenienced'. (!)

I suspect a scam between that Days-Inn motel and the tow truck company. :fire:(Eastern-European-owned, BTW).

Thanks in part to a major backup on I-95 on my return trip, I stumbled on a great nationwide chain motel in Georgia. (Although Tourist + State + City taxes made up a third of the bill for overnighting). :eek2:

Meanwhile, Wyndham Hotels is still emailing me "earned points".

:rolleye1: