ComplaintsforAmerican Patriot Getaways

• Initial Complaint

  06/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  I booked Mountain Celebration for May 14-18 2023. The cabin was absolutely beautiful. Plenty of room and just relaxing. Noticed the first night that neither the outside or inside fireplace worked. Not really a big deal due to the weather being beautiful, but still would have been nice to be able to use one if wanted. Once our trash bins were full, noticed that they weren’t being emptied. I did take a survey after checkout and was emailed in response to the survey explaining I should have called guest services to have trash emptied and to fix the fireplaces. Noted for next visit. However, it wasn’t till June 9, 2023 that I noticed a charge to my bank account from American Patriot Getaways. I then checked my email and saw that I was charged for “damages” done to the bath tub. They uploaded photos in the email. When reviewing the photos, there were tons of bright red “scratches” on the back side of the tub. Maintenance stated they scrubbed the tub, but couldn’t get all the red off so they painted over it. This took them two hours. Dated the 19th of May and the accounts coordinator approved it on the 22nd of May. While looking at the photos, it is clear that there is no way anyone could get to the back of the tub to scratch it (the left side of the tub was too close to the wall). I called and spoke with ****** and she said, the damage was done to the front of the tub and I asked her to explain why the back of the tub was in the photo. She said, “no one can even get back there to take a photo.” My point exactly. Then continued to state that that damage was done to the front of the tub. And I explained that the photo was clearly the back of the tub and it is completely clear because the faucet is mounted to the back of the tub. ****** stated, “sometimes when taking photos, the photo gets flipped.” Even if the photo was flipped, you still can’t flip the faucet being mounted to the back. Now i am waiting a week to see how they rectify charging me for damages I did not do.

  

  Business response

  06/28/2023

  The charges were due to red marks on the bathtub believed to be during the guest's stay. The housekeeper who cleans each time indicated they were not there prior to the guest's stay and were very visible. However, due to the Mrs. ******** surety that the problem was not due to their party, we are going to give her the benefit of the doubt and refund the charges for the work done at the property. This work was done by a subcontracted maintenance provider separate from our company, and we will be covering the cost of their service for the red marks. The credit of $130 will be posted to her credit card on file. 

  

  Business response

  07/10/2023

  The customer was refunded.

  Customer response

  07/10/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  03/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My husband and I go to Gatlinburg, every year and are always happy with our stay (with every other cabin rental service). That is, until this year when we stayed with American Patriot Getaways in the "Call of the Wild" cabin this past weekend (3/10-3/12/23). To say our stay was horrendous would be an understatement. The cabin in not very well lit on the back porch where the hot tub is. So, we decided Saturday night to get in. We were in there for about 20-30 minutes; when my husband took his hand out of the water, it was covered in brown slime! We immediately got out and began to towel off (with White towels, mind you!). the towels had brown stains all over them by the time we were done drying off. We instantly jumped in the shower (because wtf!) and the white wash clothes turned yellow/brown by the time we were finished bathing!! We called American Patriot, they were less than concerned with the fact that we had been sitting in their hot tub that hasn't been cleaned in god knows how long! We went back out with our flash lights, and there was brown sludge all around the entire tub. The water was brown and when we tried to check the filter, it wouldn't budge. Meaning it's been a VERY long time since it's been cleaned. My husband called back up to the main office this morning to talk to a manager and once again, they didn't care! I strongly urge no one to stay in any cabin owned by this company. We now have to make sure we don't end up sick because of this. (in total my husband paid over $700 for the weekend)

  

  Business response

  03/21/2023

  We can confirm that on 3/10/23 a *** ****** ***** rented the property in question for 2 nights for a total of $563.74. 

  After checking the hot tub, we found the hot tub did have a high level of iron in the water. While not harmful, iron can leave a residue like this, and is not present at time of filling the hot tub, but collects on the sides of the tub and surface as the tub runs.  We have counseled with housekeeping regarding this tub and needing to add iron out in the future and asked them to do a deep cleaning of the tub.  

  The hot tub filter is pressurized and you have to let off the pressure before you can access this filter. We show the filter is cleaned between stays and changed out every 6 months as recommended by the hot tub specialist. 

  We do have record of speaking with the Mr. *****, the guest on the reservation, on 3/12/23. *****, our guest services supervisor that night, spoke with Mr. ***** apologizing multiple times, and offered 20% off the stay. Mr. ***** did not think this was an appropriate discount and ***** let him know a manager would be in on Monday and could possibly offer additional discount, but that was all he could offer at that time. 

  Mr. ***** did call back on 3/13 and spoke with one of our guest service managers, *****. ***** also apologized multiple times, did mention to Mr. ***** that this could be iron due to the tub being filled with well water (most homes have wells instead of a municipal water source), apologized multiple times, and offered Mr. ***** 20% off his stay + 25% promo code off a future stay which he accepted. 

  We are happy to apologize again, let you know we are taking steps to prevent iron buildup in the future, and hope the discount we gave was sufficient for the issues they had on their last night of stay. 

  
  

  Customer response

  03/21/2023

  
  Complaint: ********
  
  I am rejecting this response because:

   

  I don't accept their apologies. That doesn't make anything we had to go through that night any better. Our last night and supposed to be relaxing weekend away was anything but relaxing and was completely ruined. We couldn't get whatever it is they claim was in that tub off of us without scrubbing our skin to the point of irritation. However, the damage is done. I don't want to hear from them anymore. I have let everyone I know and then some what kind of company this is. We revoke your 25% off our next stay, as we will NEVER book through them again. 
  
  Sincerely,
  
  ****** ******

• Initial Complaint

  02/10/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Resolved

  More info

  Upon arrival we had no heat whatsoever. It was 18-20 outside. The gas logs would not stay lit either. The maintenance man came and tried to light the logs to no avail. He himself told us we deserved a discount on this. Then after sleeping in clothes we wake up and have no water either. Thanks good ness for the hot tub, I used water from hot tub to flush toilet and take spot baths. We arrived Monday the 26 th and finally got water on Thursday if that week. I messed with the heat long enough that I finally got it working enough to warm us. Patriot advertises all the amenities but doesn’t produce. I only asked for a small discount not full one. They were not able to do this. I just want what I paid for. Also we are told that our garbage would be taken everyday and NEVER saw anybody. I do not mind paying good service but this was ridiculous!!

  

  Business response

  02/27/2023

  During the week of 12/26, we had an unusual cold spell where temps were in the single digits or less for several days. Heat pumps used in our zone/climate only heat 45-55 degrees above the outside air temperature meaning some homes were not able to make it above 60-65. This was the case when maintenance arrived and found the heat was working, but not able to keep up due to the outside temperatures. We do show the fireplace was working on 12/27 by the maintenance company. 

  This unusual weather to East Tennessee also caused water pipes to freeze there were well buried underground. Though companies worked on the frozen pipes, often it took several days to unthaw them as the ground rewarmed. Our lodging policy states we are not responsible for the lose of utilities during a guest's stay. 

  "REFUNDS - All our properties are privately owned. Descriptions, bed sizes, amenities and names of cabins are subject to change without notice. Your cabin/chalet should be inspected prior to your arrival to ensure that all equipment is in good working order. In the event of a mechanical failure, we will make every effort to have all reported malfunctions corrected as promptly as possible. Neither the rental company nor the property owner will be obligated to give replacements or refunds in the event of failure or absence of any item, or for any public utility including television service. American Patriot Getaways is not responsible for the weather or other Acts of God and there will be no refunds for these occurrences or for early departure. You are responsible for the entire booking once your reservation is made."

  **** ***** did purchase travel insurance which would have covered a refund of her stay had she departed the cabin during that time due to no water. She chose to stay in the home, and the insurance does not cover if the guest stays in the home during the event. 

  We did reach out to **** via email today (2/27) and as a show of good will, will be refunding 25% off the stay. 

   

  Customer response

  02/27/2023

  
  Better Business Bureau:
  
  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and find that this resolution is satisfactory to me.
  
  Sincerely,
  
  **** *****

• Initial Complaint

  11/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Our stay was from Sunday November 20, 2022 - Friday November 25, 2022 Upon arrival, there were very large potholes at the end of the driveway, if we had a car instead of a truck I am sure we would have damaged our vehicle. Here are the issues: 1) The kitchen had a strong smell of urine in the far right corner 2) We were only provided 1 dish rag and 1 dish towel for the entire week, really? 3) The kitchen drawers and cabinets were so dirty that prior to using any dishes, silverware, glasses or pans we had to wash them. (see pictures 4) The stove top was busted and we didn't feel safe using it, but had no choice (see picture) 5) The hot tub, maybe ¼ of the jets worked, if I wanted to take a hot bath, I could do that in the house. 6) There were no hangers NOT 1 to hang up our clothes, so we had to live out of our suit cases for a week 7) No extra linens were provided, not even pillow cases for the spare pillows 8) Towels, there were barely enough for the 14 of us had to wash them several times 9) TP again barely enough 10) The heat, this was a real issue, the one bedroom downstairs the only heat was the electric fireplace, this is unsafe, the upstairs room with the queen bed, only blew cold air we had to use an electric heater to keep warm, again unsafe. 11) There was also fieces on the wall in the upstairs bath room in the queen bedroom. 12) Soap dish on sink in upstairs queen bedroom bath was discusting (see pic) 13) The shower down stairs smelled like mold and mildew and was not clean 14) The queen bedroom shower also had mold/mildew (see pic) We spent a lot of money to rent this home for a week and we feel that we did not get our monies worth, we paid for a hot tub that didn't work, and the home was filthy and in need of a major deep cleaning and maintenance, to be honest it was absolutely discusting. They offered us a 25% discount on our next stay, unacceptable, we won't be staying with them again

  

  Business response

  01/11/2023

  Business Response /* (1000, 9, 2022/12/21) */ This note is in response to a complaint filed by shopped for and reserved a privately owned home we manage called Best View Ever on 02/26/22 for a 5 night stay 11/20 - 11/25. Best View Ever is a 5 bedroom 4.5 bath home. We hate that was not completely satisfied with her stay. Unfortunately she did not contact our office at any time during her 6 days and 5 nights in Best View Ever. Instead she contacted our office after her checkout on 11/25, sent in a couple pictures and asked for a full refund. Since we manage privately owned homes and have a responsibility to both our guests and our homeowners, our staff explained that we could not refund her stay, but we would follow up on her concerns. Additionally our staff provided a code for 25% off her next stay in the Smokies. Our office was open in Pigeon Forge every day during stay from 10 am until 10 pm. Had contacted our guests services office we would of been happy to send out extra linen or housekeeping service for any concern. Unfortunately never contacted our guest services office until after she checked out. It is true that we only provide a starter set of towels, linen, paper products, trash bags, etc. That information is provided to the guest in all of the emails and literature they receive. All the beds are made and ready to be used, but there are not extra sheets in the closet. The Best View ever gets 24 towels for a 3 night stay. Even though we provide that housekeeping information to our guests, we never charge a guest for housekeeping or linen requests. Had contacted our office anytime during her stay we would of been happy to deliver extra linen, kitchen towels, or housekeeping service. Consumer Response /* (3000, 11, 2022/12/27) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I never asked for a full refund when I contacted them, and in there response they are only addressing the linen and paper products, none of the other issues, such as the unsafe stove ( busted cooktop), the fact that the home was absolutely in need of a deep cleaning, the fact that we had to wash the dishes prior to using them because the drawers were so filthy. This company takes your money and they don't care what the property looks like, they use old photos in in their advertising. I am saddened that they feel that they are not responsible. I waited to hear their response prior to writing a review on them which I will be doing and I will not ever recommend this company as we know word of mouth is everything. I would like to know if they have discussed the situation with the property owner.

• Initial Complaint

  11/07/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Sales and Advertising Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  My husband and I booked a 4 night stay (10.31-11.4) for our 10th anniversary (10.31). Upon arriving to the cabin (Just Relax) we discovered that the driveway was impassable because of the steep grade and because it was covered with wet leaves and debris. We attempted to get up a few times, but never even made it half up without our wheels spinning and sliding. We contacted APG to notify of the situation. The staff member we spoke with immediately stated that the listing for the cabin stated that there was a steep driveway. Dear Reader, the listing did not say this and still does not say this. The only solutions provided to us were a maintenance man coming to the cabin "at some point" to leaf blow the driveway or move to a new cabin. We tried to explain to the staff member that the leaf blower solution was not an option because the steepness of the driveway was still an issue. Also, the cabin was surrounded by trees, the leaves would just keep coming back down - were we supposed to have a maintenance man come blow the driveway every time we wanted to leave or return to the cabin? Were we supposed to just stay in the cabin our entire trip? We asked about the other cabins available and were told that there were two available within our parameters (pet friendly) and they gave us the names so we could check them out on the website. The staff member assured us that the cabins were both easy to reach - no steep driveways. The first cabin listing we pulled up clearly stated under accessibility - FOUR WHEEL DRIVE RECOMMENDED. We pointed this out to the staff member. We looked at the second cabin and nothing was noted about the accessibility of the cabin. We had to wait a bit while they searched the cabins and during that contacted other rental agencies. At this point it was almost 8:00 p.m. and we did not trust the APG listing, so we made the decision to go with a wonderful cabin from Aunt Bug's. The plans we had m

• Initial Complaint

  10/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Many issues with our cabin but the two main issues that are major health concerns are, 1. Both bathrooms infested with mold & 2. Our beds were not made when we arrived and one bed had a bloody sheet Our other complaints are as follows: 1. Ceiling fan lights in bedrooms were so dim you could not see without a flashlight & NONE of the blue lights above each bed worked. 2. Comforters were absolutely disgusting and did not appear to have been washed in a very long time 3. Floors & rugs had not been cleaned, absolutely disgusting 4. Piles of dust buildup on the ceiling fan which greatly aggravated our allergies, not to mention how disgusting it is 5. The mold problem in both bathrooms is a safety and health hazard 6. Another bed we found a big hard blob of pink stuff crusted to the sheets and comforter, best case scenario it was maybe candy We paid nearly $1500 for what we thought was going to be a clean cabin. We have used American patriot getaways for many years and never had this experience. We could have gotten a cleaner room at a motel 6. The dirty cabin ruined our stay in gatlinburg. We shouldn't have to spend time out of our trip to get these issues resolved when we are there on vacation and had activities planned. We paid for a cabin that should have been safe to stay in and clean. I am beyond disgusted and disappointed in American patriot getaways. I understand if something on the cleaning checklist was missed, but mold infested bathrooms and bloody sheets is beyond unacceptable and unsafe. I am requesting a full refund on our stay. We were unable to use 2 beds and family members had to sleep on the couch due to the nasty stuff in the beds

  

  Business response

  11/23/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 8, 2022/11/08) */ Our office is familiar with ******'s complaint and request for a full refund. Unfortunately despite ****** staying 4 days and 3 nights, our guest services office was never contacted and had no opportunity to substantiate or service his concerns. ****** only contacted our office after his stay, and then demanded a refund in full of his whole vacation - not a reasonable billing adjustment as this complaint states. Our office explained that a full refund is not possible. We manage privately owned cabins and have an obligation to not only our guests but also the homeowners whose homes we manage. Without an opportunity to provide service we cannot issue a full refund of their stay. Our staff did offer a 100% refund of their cleaning fee since they voiced cleaning concerns, and offered a discount on a future stay. ****** stated he would not be satisfied with anything but a full refund and that he would pursue that refund "thru other means". We assume this BBB complaint is ******'s "other means". Additionally, although our staff gave ******'s integrity the benefit of the doubt when offering him a 100% refund of his cleaning fee, If we are being honest - we don't believe all of his complaints are truthful, or are at least uninformed. Our processes actually make it impossible for the stains featured in ******'s photos to even happen. Understand - laundry is not laundered at the cabin. It is laundered in a commercial facility in 145 degree water. Then the wet sheets are hand fed into a $200,000, 23 foot long, sheet dryer / presser / folder that spreads the sheet out on a huge drum, scans it for stains, dries it, presses it, folds it, and sends it back to our staff on a conveyor belt. The kind of stains featured in ******'s photos are literally impossible. Despite knowing that information our staff wants every guest to leave satisfied, so ****** was offered a reasonable adjustment and a discount on a future stay. He refused. Consumer Response /* (3000, 10, 2022/11/08) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) Absolutely an unacceptable response and solution. Let's be clear thag the cleaning fee refund offered was $100 of a $1400 stay. The photos and videos I have provided your office are of your cabin, are they not? I'm not doubting your washing machine, I'm doubting that it was cleaned in the first place. Also would like to point out that the mold and dust build up isn't from a lack of cleaning ONE TIME, it's a failure to properly clean multiple times. I do not feel that $100 refund and a 25% discount on a future stay is a reasonable solution. Again, I should not have to spend time out of MY vacation to address something that shouldn't even be a concern to begin with. I care nothing about a future discount as I do not wish to stay with American patriots any longer. The stains are not impossible and your staff I spoke with even stated that they should've used a stain remover on the stains. I have my doubts that the cabin was cleaned AT ALL. Business Response /* (4000, 12, 2022/11/09) */ We manage privately owned homes and are not supposed to issue any refunds at all for issues unreported during a guests stay. Our guest services office is open 12 hours every day and a supervisor is on call 24 hours a day for anything our guests need. However, even so our staff offered ****** a 100% refund of his cleaning fee and 25% off a future stay. We offered this despite the fact ****** never called our office, never voiced a concern, and never requested service before demanding a full refund after checking out from his 4 day 3 night stay. And it was offered despite the disingenuous nature of some photos he used to request the refund. We cannot now go back and refund ******'s room rate. We manage privately owned homes and have an obligation to both our guests AND our homeowners. We will not be refunding anything additional.

• Initial Complaint

  07/26/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  We stayed at a property Mountain Celebration managed by this company on 7/14-7/19 of this year. There were several issues with the property that I tried to contact them about while we were there and after we got back. I got a generic "sorry for the inconvenience" emails and ultimately got a pathetic email back trying to give me a discount for the "next" time we would stay with them which is infuriating and unacceptable. I'm filing a complaint because there is no way to directly review their company on their website or a way to log in to any of my previous information. I have left a review on Google directly but they post all of these amazing reviews on their website giving them 4.8/5 stars. There's NO WAY that's accurate. There's also no way to review the property we stayed at directly that I can see. All I got from them was a survey that isn't publicly posted anywhere and went to the Mary person that contacted me. If other vacationers had the same problems we had there would be quite a few more negative reviews that would be posted. I don't feel like they are posting all the reviews they receive and certainly don't try to resolve the issues. The pictures they posted online did NOT reflect the current state of the property and we expected better for the cost. Also, if they do not fix the issues present, someone could get hurt, especially with leaks in the ceilings and water coming into the living area. If someone gets hurts because of lack of maintenance of the property, they're gonna have a lot bigger problems than me.

  

  Business response

  08/17/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/07/27) */ This note is in response to BBB complaint # 8077958 booked Mountain Celebration, a Luxury rated, beautiful,m 3 bedroom Gatlinburg home we manage that can be viewed here: https://patriotgetaways.com/cabins/in-gatlinburg/mountain-celebration.html booked the home online herself on 02/02 for a 6 day 5 night stay from 07/14 - 07/19 of this year. checked in. She stayed. We assumed she enjoyed her vacation. Our office never heard from during her visit at all during her 6 day stay. She did not try. Someone from our office is available to guests by phone 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our guest services office in Pigeon Forge is open every day but Christmas and fully staffed at least 12 hours each and every day. We work hard to be available for our guests. Unfortunately did not reach out. It was not until after check out that we heard from. We actually prompted her for a survey. In that survey response she listed some minor maintenance concerns. Our staff emailed her a response to the survey thanking her for the information, assuring her it would be followed up on, and offering her a 25% off discount code for a future stay. Apparently wanted a big refund. That is not going to happen. We manage privately owned homes. We cannot issue a refund after a guests stay for unreported issues that we did not have the chance to legitimize or service. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/07/27) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) I DID RESPOND DURING OUR STAY!!!! I HAVE A CALL LOG TO PROOVE IT!! I CALLED ABOUT THE LEAKS IN THE CEILING AND WATER COMING INTO THE MAIN LIVING AREA!!! THEY SAID THEY'D SEND ME A NUMBER TO SEND PICTURES TO AND THAT NEVER HAPPENED!!! Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2022/07/27) */ stayed 6 days and 5 nights. Our office was open all that time at least 12 hours a day and a staff member was available to 24 hours per day. never contacted our office during her week in the Smokies. She left a survey after checking out asking for a refund. Our staff responded to her survey and offered a promotional code for a discount on a future stay. We manage privately owned homes and have an obligation not only to our guests but also to the homeowners whose homes we manage. We have just a few common sense rules regarding request for a refund. We cannot refund after check out for issues unreported during a guests' stay. Homeowners are paid at checkout. We cannot refund for easily serviceable issues. Maintenance is available 12 hours a day for minor maintenance requests at no cost to the guest. Thats it. concerns were unreported and if reported - easily serviceable. Often service requests are even user error, or guest inflicted damage. We cannot refund after her week long vacation.

• Initial Complaint

  06/27/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Do not recommend! Be advised these people are unreal. Arrived at Mountain Glory Cabin on Monday. Cabin was filthy. Had not been vacuumed , red crayon melted on floor, cobwebs across mirrors on dressers and bulbs shattered and missing above pool table and hot tub was disgusting. Called them and messaged them pics on their fb page. Now its the guests fault they couldn't clean because we said we didn't want anyone in cabin when we aren't there. CABIN SHOULD HAVE BEEN CLEANED BEFORE YOUR GUESTS ARRIVE! We should not have to plan our vaca around when your people decide to show up to do their jobs! 2 different people were up there and saw the state if the cabin and hot tub. Both called their managers to report and this person is basically saying that they don't know what they are talking about. Unreal! Offered a $50 refund. This is unacceptable. The cabin is also rented out as a 1 bedroom. There is no "bedroom" The bed is in an open section next to kitchen. Missing 2 walls and doesn't have a door. This is not , by law , a bedroom. Shady practices, misleading descriptions and horrid customer service. I am requesting a refund of rental price for the week.

  

  Business response

  07/07/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 5, 2022/06/27) */ This note is in response to BBB case # 8077484. Our staff is familiar with stay. reserved Mountain Glory in March of 2022 for a 5 night stay checking in on 06/20. The day after check in on 06/21 called the office with a complaint about cleaning. Guest reported finding a crayon (tucked between the flooring and the baseboard), a single strand of cob web across a mirror and one light bulb burned out. The call was recorded in our office. Our staff offered housekeeping service for those minor concerns. declined service saying she would call back when they were at the cabin. Our staff did not hear from again until the 4th day of her stay on 06/23. On 06/23 called our office a second time reporting that the hot tub quit working. It was working, but now it stopped. They asked for housekeeping immediately since they were at the cabin and our staff obliged - sending housekeeping to the cabin immediately. Then the next day - Day 5 - of stay, she called back asking that the hot tub be cleaned again. Although we don't normally clean hot tubs mid-stay and after guests have been using them for 5 days, our staff again obliged and send housekeeping up to clean the hot tub on 5th day. was truly offered exceptional service. Even so, she still demanded a refund, which - I suspect - was her motivation all along in calling our office. Our staff offered a 100% refund of the cleaning fee that paid with her reservation, despite the minor nature of, and immediate service for, her reported issues. That refund was already processed back to credit card. However, since the intention of correspondence is to unreasonably demand, she was unsatisfied with 100% refund of her cleaning fee. She stayed 6 days and 5 nights in Mountain Glory, and was well cared for by our staff. will not be issued any additional refund. Consumer Response /* (3000, 7, 2022/06/28) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) What this company states as "minor" housekeeping issues might not be how guests think of "minor" issues. Tbe cabin was NOT cleaned prior to arriving. Period. And that is correct, I dis not want someone in the cabin cleaning while we were not present with our stuff. And shouldn't have had to, like I said cabin should have been cleaned prior! You are admitting but downplaying for your benefit that the cabin had obvious house cleaning issues. And also like I stated, no your people do not "come right out" it took hours for tbe lady who eventually cleaned the hot tub. I called that in at around 10am she said she didn't even get the request til 3pm and took a while to get to the cabin. And you expecting guests to just wait around for you all day is just crazy. And to say that a complete refund was my goal all along is insulting. My "goal" was to arrive with my family at a clean cabin! That was my goal. And I am in awe how you are downplaying your companies apparent lack of standard of cleanliness. You have heard of Covid correct? Next time you might want to have those "minor" issues taken care of. Business Response /* (4000, 9, 2022/06/28) */ We are not offering any additional refund. The house was cleaned. She searched hard to find the issues she did, and has already been issued a 100% refund of her cleaning fee for those concerns. A special, extra, hot tub cleaning requested on the last day of a guests' stay after they have been using the hot tub for 4 days, is not something we normally do. Rather they are serviced between every reservation. However, we did that for , and we did it the same day. It is amazing she can complain about the timing. Yes, I am sure the housekeeper did have to finish some other job respnsibilities before we could complete the extra, same day, guest requested, hot tub cleaning.

• Initial Complaint

  06/24/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Here are the transaction details which was broken into two payments. First payment was on February 6, 2022 for $1325.75 and the remaining balance was paid on May 27, 2022 for $1091.28 for a total of $2417.03 This is their website link for the cabin that we booked which sleeps 12 people and has 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. Amenities are a Mountain View, Screened in Front Porch and secluded: https://patriotgetaways.com/cabins/in-pigeon-forge/leconte-view-lodge.html We arrived at the cabin and nearly fell after trying to go up the stairs as most of them are rotten and one broke apart. The real problems began after going inside. The A/C was not working at the temp was 80 degrees. The fridge was empty and had both doors closed and was not cooling in the main top compartment. We gave the A/C 1.5 hours to begin cooling and it never did so we called customer service. In addition to this I nearly feel off the back steps as there are 4-5 steps with no handrail and the top step is held together with Duct Tape. The TV and dinning room table was also held together with tape. We also found pet claws and hair caked under the table. The bunkbed section of the home smelled like urine. Customer service sent out a HVAC repair tech, but ignored the fridge issue. The A/C tech told us that it would take 1-2 days to repair the A/C so I called back and spoke to Lisa. She moved us to different cabin for one night. We spent 8 hours packing/unpacking two vehicles in the heat and moving cabins. When I called in the next morning I asked for a refund, but they refused. We were then moved to a smaller cabin which sleeps 8, 3 bedrooms, 2 baths and none of the amenities that I originally paid for listed above. The price difference was nearly $800 and my guests had to sleep in the dirty floor. The company would only offer a one night free stay with many restrictions and a one night refund. I was told on June 15th to allow 5-7 business days for the refund and never received it.

  

  Business response

  07/12/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2022/06/28) */ has corresponded extensively with our office already and agreed to a one night refund and one night on a future stay. The refund was processed yesterday and should show on his card soon. It just depends on how long his credit card company takes to post credits. If you know anything about merchant services, the money comes immediately out of our account when processed. We cannot control the time it takes bank to post credits. The credit our staff agreed to issue would normally of been processed a little faster, but our office manager missed 7 days of work with COVID. This was explained to, but he continues to harass our staff for the refund that has already been processed. two concerns that were actually reported to our office from the original cabin he booked - LeConte View Lodge - were with an AC issue and a fridge repair. They were reported the evening of his check-in on 06/06. When called our staff with those concerns our staff did immediately schedule repair. The HVAC company came out the next morning and got the unit running, but the part needed for the permanent repair did not come in until the following day and the unit was not completely repaired until the 8th. Tri Country Appliance was also immediately dispatched for the fridge repair. They are the only on-call appliance repair service in Sevier County. The fridge issue was not "ignored". It was dispatched immediately, but Tri County was not immediately available. called back on the 7th, and was accusatory and upset with our staff for not having an update on the fridge from Tri County. demanded a move to another cabin. Our staff relocated at our expense (we paid the extra cleaning fee) to another cabin we manage called Cabin Fever. knew when he moved it would be only for one night as the cabin was only available for one night. It gave us time to work on the appliance repair. The next day still wanted another cabin so they were relocated to Lucky Logs, another 3 bedroom cabin we manage. Again our staff moved at our expense and paid another extra cleaning fee. Then called the office and wanted a refund since the new cabin was smaller that LeConte Ldge - the one he originally chose. It is also a three bedroom cabin but is smaller by 300 sq ft. It was the only cabin that we had available and our staff rushed to make it available for. And now we are here - leaving a bad review because of unpredictable mechanical problems, (It was a 100 degrees that week so AC units were stressed) and despite our staffs effort to accomodate his service needs, relocation requests, and ultimately a negotiated partial refund. That refund has been processed. Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2022/06/28) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) You misrepresented your company by stating that the refund would be processed in 5-7 business days. If you have only one person in your company who can process refunds, then I suggest adding a backup person. I'm sorry to hear that she was sick, but that's no excuse to not follow through on your promise. Can you please provide any emails or calls where I've "harassed" your company? I've been very professional during this entire situation. It seems you've turned passive aggressive as a defense mechanism which is unfortunate for the image of Patriot Getaways. If you paid $2400+ for a clean and up kept family vacation cabin you would seek resitution as well. My family and friends were presented with multiple filthy cabins to live in and not enough beds to sleep in. Anyone would be upset with this type of service. The cleaning fee should not be included in either of the Two Cabins, "Leconte View Lodge" or "Lucky Logs". You can read in my prior message about how filthy both properties were. I didn't even go into full detail about how nasty they were because it makes me nauseous to think about it again. It's not my fault that you had to move me to a different small cabin. You stated in your reply that you moved us to another cabin "at your expense". What expense was this? I paid for the fuel and had to pack & unpack several vehicles three times in the heat. You also caused us to miss 2 full days of our vacation time. It is the responsibility of your staff to make sure a cabin is clean and functioning before the guest arrives and this was not done at two cabins. We only stayed in "Cabin Fever" for about 8 hours, but it looked to be a newer property and not as dirty. Although we still had black socks after walking in the kitchen for 15 minutes before leaving. I'm requesting a second night refund in place of a free night voucher which has so many date booking restrictions on it that I want be able to use it. If that is provided then I feel that most of the money will be repaid to what I've lost. Business Response /* (4000, 11, 2022/06/29) */ It is not a debit. It is in fact a credit. The partial refund agreed to has already been issued, and issued correctly. Our manager has already spoken with him again today, reassuring of the same. is reading his statement incorrectly. If he is patient then he will see it in his account. I dont know how to better communicate with. He is just gonna have to hold his horses and wait for his bank to process his statement. We are done. original cabin had a mechanical failure we could not predict during a time of extreme weather. The cabin literally checked out the same morning checked in. It had been occupied since May 27th with two different sets of back to back guests. No issues with the fridge or AC were reported. Sometimes things break and when they do, we are happy to provide service. When reported, our company acted on service requests. Both the fridge and the AC unit were back up and running the next day. refused to go back to the cabin because our staff could not get an update from Tri County Appliance to confirm the refrigerator was working. Tri County did infact repair the fridge on the 7th, but our staff did not receive that confirmation before was already demanding a relocation - "I'm not going back to that cabin". If he had gone back, he would of found it fixed already by Tri County. So, our staff relocated just as he requested. We work to please. Our team relocated at our expense. Twice. Even so, we know moving is a hassle and issued a full night's refund and a free night on a future stay. It is compensation agreed to, but now he demands more. Each of our cabins are privately owned and stayed in three of them. We cannot issue any additional refunds. It is unfortunate his stay was impacted by a mechanical failure, but he was well serviced by our staff, and well compensated for the trouble.

• Initial Complaint

  06/03/2022

  Complaint Type:

  Product Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  I booked a cabin named A Stunning View which is labeled a "luxury plus" cabin. Bookedand paid in full 12/26/2021 for a stay 5/20 check in, 5/24 check out. I have received a partial refund in the amount of $1046.77 which was not the amount of $1085.31 that I was told would be refunded.That still leaves us paying $1493.02 for a 3 night stay (everyone checked out Monday instead of Tuesday including two couples that just went home early due to being so fed up with the accommodations). I called every time while we were there to report issues. I went in to the office 2 hours after placing the call the day we had no water due to not being provided an update as to when the water would be working. I have email correspondences with the company. They refuse to refund any further money. List of issues the company was notified of: 2 of 3 nights with no AC, one of the three days with no water (Monday- called at 10am, spoke to someone finally at 10;30am then was told it hadn't been verified there was an actual problem? Upon return to the cabin at 4pm to grab our belongings there was still no working water or AC), mice running about when we checked in Friday which was reported and the maintenance man literally walked away when we asked for mouse traps, a cockroach sighting in the cupboard, and trash on the outside of the property that the same maintenance man took a picture of and said they would clean it up when we left. Mind you there are bears in the area so paper plates and beverage containers among other items strewn about the yard near the hot tub is very dangerous let alone I don't expect to see trash everywhere in a luxury plus cabin. I was also told by (forgive me if spelled incorrectly) that if I posted any bad reviews I would not be eligible for any refund. That is appalling but due to the fact that our family members had to find alternate lodging the last night of our trip I accepted the money so I could give it to them to pay for their hotels.

  

  Business response

  06/24/2022

  Business Response /* (1000, 6, 2022/06/07) */ We have communicated several times about the HVAC repair and water issue at the cabin. Our staff refunded 15% off their stay, 100% of the cleaning and processing fee they paid, and a full night's refund for their early check out, even though and her guests did not depart the cabin until about 8 pm. Normal checkout time is of course 11 am so there was no opportunity to clean or re-rent the home for last day. Even so, she was refunded 100% of that last night in addition to the extra credits. The recorded calls show that was satisfied with the resolution at the time of the call, so we are a bit surprised to see a bad review anyway. Surely everyone knows that mechanical systems do fail and repairs cannot always be predicted. When something we cannot quickly repair arises, we issue partial refunds in hopes of making things right with our guests. Our accounts where squared with for the inconvenience and leaving a bad review anyway is a bit below belt. Our staff estimated tax calculations for on the call. Actual tax calculations came in slightly less when the refund was processed. She was refunded one full night, 15% off her other nights, and 100% of the cleaning & processing fees paid with her booking. Consumer Response /* (3000, 8, 2022/06/11) */ (The consumer indicated he/she DID NOT accept the response from the business.) The day we checked out was due to no water in the cabin. It was reported between 10-11am, no update after two hours so I physically went to the cabin office then was called and told we could get a refund for the last night if we wanted to check out that day. We were all packed and out of the cabin by 5pm as I told on the phone we would be. At that time the water was still not working nor was the AC. The "normal" check out time does not apply to this situation and how would a cabin that had no ac or working water be rented?! When I was at the office I made it very clear I was not satisfied with 15% refund. I asked for anyone higher up contact information and was told it was a family ran business. I responded to the survey immediately voicing my dismay with the situation. 15% is not acceptable. That would insinuate that 85% of our stay was acceptable which it was not. We should be compensated 75% due to one night only if the four booked nights was acceptable as far as the ac and water worked. I even replied to the email that I was giving the company a chance to make it right before making a complaint with the BBB. I attached the emails as proof. This company has been WELL AWARE of my feelings. There was still no resolution with the mice nor the trash. There is a review on google for the same cabin two weeks prior that voiced the same issues with no water and the mice so this obviously is not a new issue-they we're aware. I would like a minimum of 75% refund- that is fair. I appreciate the cleaning fee being refunded already for the simple fact that the place was not clean as evidenced by mice and cockroaches. This experience was horrible to say the least. I have uploaded photos of the complaints as well as videos of the lack of working water in my previous response. I believe there is even a phot of one of the mice! Business Response /* (4000, 10, 2022/06/13) */ Again - was refunded 15% PLUS: 100% of the housekeeping fee 100% of the processing fee 1 Full night refund despite the late check out. The refund of that night does in fact make the late checkout relevant.

*Some consumers may elect to not publish the details of their complaints, some complaints may not meet BBB's standards for publication, or BBB may display a portion of complaints when a high volume is received for a particular business. ↩