Motel Room Air Conditioner- Look Out

[Skiff Builder]

Daughter was in our area for business last week, so we stayed in her hotel room to visit. Had the unit running all week. Noticed a bit of smell. Also waking up with a slight headache and scratchy throat that would go away after leaving room.
I pulled the cover off the PTAC unit. After seeing it's condition I threw the cover out of the 3rd floor window. Looked like a mix of mold/dust/animal ****.

Daughter went to front desk as it was her room. Turns out it was a franchise owned Courtyard Marriott. Corporate said they can do nothing about it. The nice lady working the front desk told us they stopped maintaining the units as they are due for a hotel refresh soon. I tracked down the ID of the owner and got him on the phone. Told he is going to make good for this, and he will be dealing with me face to face, whether it's in Parsippany, NJ or Bangalore India or where ever. We left for another chain, and in the meantime had the weeks stay charges cancelled ( that benefits daughters company).
Wife and Daughter are still feeling sick with respiratory issues. I would urge you to check your unit if able when hoteling anywhere.

 

[Jim greengo]

I'd make a call to the local building inspector or health dept.

 

[Old Man Roger]

Well there's an argument for owning an RV..lol

 

[captain14]

You would think they would run more efficiently if they were cleaned.
Cheaper to operate for the franchise owner.

 

[LXCam]

Damn, that looks just like the coffee maker I opened up and checked out a couple years ago in an older Hilton. I haven’t made a cup of Joe at a hotel since.

I don’t blame you for loosing it with them, I would have done the same.

 

[65ranchero]

Parsippany, NJ ?

Thanks for the tip, when we go back to visit we used to stay there , but the last several times it seems it's been going to sh!t
They were working on that 3-4 years ago
Right down the street is Fairfield Inn / Suites a little better but not by much

 

[Skiff Builder]

Thanks for the tip, when we go back to visit we used to stay there , but the last several times it seems it's been going to sh!t
They were working on that 3-4 years ago
Right down the street is Fairfield Inn / Suites a little better but not by much

65,
This was not the Parsippany location, I was referring to personal location of management with that. Sorry for being unclear.

 

[man-a-fre]

Saw this same thing last year in Vegas at a large vegas hotel at the end of Fremont street . Same situation with allergies, but to make it worse someone also pulled the fire alarm at 3:00 am so we all had to evacuate the place. Not a good expierance

 

[Two Pump Chump]

Damn, that looks just like the coffee maker I opened up and checked out a couple years ago in an older Hilton. I haven’t made a cup of Joe at a hotel since.

I don’t blame you for loosing it with them, I would have done the same.

Keurig or drink with the dinosaurs !!!

 

[Firstram]

Keurig or drink with the dinosaurs !!!

I spend 9 months a year in hotels and bring my own!

 

[CoogarXR]

Well there's an argument for owning an RV..lol

That's precisely WHY we camp everywhere anymore. I can't remember the last hotel I stayed in. Too many bed bugs and gross **** in hotels, lol.

 

[yeldogt]

That's just there to make them quieter

 

[finn]

Pull up this thread next time someone brings up how much cheaper staying in a hotel is than operating an RV.

 

[driftpin]

Before cellphones with cameras:
My friend who has a HVAC master's license was servicing a commercial ice maker at a $$$ restaurant on the Intracoastal Waterway in the Ft. Lauderdale area. He described it as a screw mechanism where water enters cube compartments at the top, and as the screw works down to discharge the now-ice at the bottom, it's cooled to create the ice.

When he removed the top of the housing, where the water flows into the cube trays, there was a layer of flies, a thick layer of flies. That was what the water was passing-through to enter the trays to begin forming ice.

He cleaned it, and serviced it, for a more-than standard service charge, and reported them to the health dept, to check the machine in a few months. Then he told all his friends not to eat there.

 

[Skiff Builder]

Pull up this thread next time someone brings up how much cheaper staying in a hotel is than operating an RV.

RV is all good on personal time- I'm all for it. Business travel - not an option.

 

[ChefRex]

What does not kill you only makes you stronger

 

[Skiff Builder]

What does not kill you only makes you stronger

HA ha, your right. The years of working in the shop with non venting heat, epoxy, dust, solvents etc has me de sensitized. Wife and daughter not so much.....

 

[yeldogt]

RV is all good on personal time- I'm all for it. Business travel - not an option.

The courtyard brand within Marriott is too large and IMO lost its way. Too much variation ... Marriott develops real estate and they should have keep a tighter control of the name. Maybe only company owned and run (select outside operators) It's in the 3/4 category .. Ritz is an 8. A solid 4 is fine for basic business travel ... a weak 3 is not.

 

[rjacobs]

My company has a corporate hotel team. We are only allowed to stay in hotels that have been inspected and approved.

They also have a form on our company ipad for hotel complaints and they take them seriously. I think in 5 years I have filled out 3 and gotten really great responses from it.

Have your daughter ask her company if they have a similar way to complain about company provided hotels.

 

[Skiff Builder]

She's with a premier aerospace, arms, defense, tech giant. Their per diem hotel rate- NY metro area is $150/night. Ridiculous- associates have to go to the outlying area's to meet the rate.
She already has a meet setup with procurement/travel to suggest updates.

The courtyard brand within Marriott is too large and IMO lost its way. Too much variation ... Marriott develops real estate and they should have keep a tighter control of the name. Maybe only company owned and run (select outside operators) It's in the 3/4 category .. Ritz is an 8. A solid 4 is fine for basic business travel ... a weak 3 is not.

 

[Skiff Builder]

My company has a corporate hotel team. We are only allowed to stay in hotels that have been inspected and approved.

They also have a form on our company ipad for hotel complaints and they take them seriously. I think in 5 years I have filled out 3 and gotten really great responses from it.

Have your daughter ask her company if they have a similar way to complain about company provided hotels.

Great idea, will do. Co has vendors in so many areas of country-many in remote areas- lot of ground to cover.

 

[yeldogt]

My company has a corporate hotel team. We are only allowed to stay in hotels that have been inspected and approved.

They also have a form on our company ipad for hotel complaints and they take them seriously. I think in 5 years I have filled out 3 and gotten really great responses from it.

Have your daughter ask her company if they have a similar way to complain about company provided hotels.

That's how it worked when I was with my early firms ...

 

[yeldogt]

She's with a premier aerospace, arms, defense, tech giant. Their per diem hotel rate- NY metro area is $150/night. Ridiculous- associates have to go to the outlying area's to meet the rate.
She already has a meet setup with procurement/travel to suggest updates.

This has always been a problem ....

The one place I used to work for had a merger and the comptroller was based outside of Baltimore. He was a pain and would bounce my expenses when overseas as excessive .... we don't pay for that kind of stuff. Well you do when I'm stuck out of the country. He was fine with the quality inn -- suburban MD. No thanks ...

 

[captain14]

This has always been a problem ....

The one place I used to work for had a merger and the comptroller was based outside of Baltimore. He was a pain and would bounce my expenses when overseas as excessive .... we don't pay for that kind of stuff. Well you do when I'm stuck out of the country. He was fine with the quality inn -- suburban MD. No thanks ...

He was worried about his bonus, not your comfort.

 

[yeldogt]

He was worried about his bonus, not your comfort.

HIs bonus was assured.

Some of it was culture (two places mismatched) ... some was his ignorance of working at a higher level in another country. He also had some jealously issues. We were professionals -- we had to travel and interact at a level to be taken seriously. That's a big thing in many countries.

The funny thing is I saw the potential --- went out on my own. The same guy was still there when I sent my bills a few years later and I know it pissed him off.

 

[fitter30]

Working around hotels they very seldom wash or changed filters unless the unit breaks or they might pull them once a year to clean them for the cooling season.

 

[ArcReactorKC]

You would think they would run more efficiently if they were cleaned.
Cheaper to operate for the franchise owner.

The wife and her family have managed hotels for decades. Hotel owners will step over dollars to pickup dimes without fail.

 

[mikedodge]

Worst motel we almost stayed at we went out for dinner and came back and the room was all smelly and damp. Looked at the window shaker a/c and it was full of water with the fan blowing it into the room.
The shower was lined with shelf paper and turned gooey when wet and it did have fresh soap bars but they were in wrappers from a big hotel chain. This keeps going.. I was ready to sleep on the lawn instead of the room.

 

[MBfreak]

My experience from several times at The Shack Up Inn in Clarksdale MS is that their maintenace is first class, and that the cabins/rooms are squeeky clean althoug designed to look really old.
Great place.

Ola

 

[LS6 Tommy]

I'd make a call to the local building inspector or health dept.

Parisppany? Good Luck with that. One of the most corrupt municipalities in NJ. The Inspector is probably on the owner's "payroll". One former inspector went to jail for taking bribes to not inspect...

BTW, people got Legionnaire's disease at the Parsippany Hilton/Hampton Inn last year.

Tommy

 

[Jim greengo]

Parisppany? Good Luck with that. One of the most corrupt municipalities in NJ. The Inspector is probably on the owner's "payroll". One former inspector went to jail for taking bribes to not inspect...

BTW, people got Legionnaire's disease at the Parsippany Hilton/Hampton Inn last year.

Tommy

Well that's when you keep climbing the ladder to higher offices,sooner or later you'll get somebody. Hahaha