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Extortion-Parking fee, car kept hostage

jmeador74

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This unfolded right in front of me at Wyndham Skyline Tower. I was waiting to checkout (checking out early at 5pm the day prior) and the CSR was arguing with a guest, that they had to pay the parking fee.

The guest had already checked out earlier in the day and left their car at the resort. When getting their car and trying to go through the gate the parking pass didn’t work at like 5pm. The attendant told them to pay the fees at the desk and they would be let out. At the desk, the lady was arguing with the CSR and the CSR wasn’t budging from their stance of pay the parking fee. I had about enough of waiting and I only saw the last 5 mins of what this lady went through. Her husband had already left and was on the road home from earlier. So, I gave her my parking pass as my car was already out and the CSR rep was trying to tell me that I can’t do that. He explained that you have to swipe in, in order for the kiosk to let you swipe out. I was like whatever, I tried to swipe without the car and that didn’t work because it had to sense the car, so I drove my car up and swiped, handed the lady my pass and she swiped out and I backed out of the entrance and parked the car and decided to go back inside to tell these guys that they were poor representatives of Club Wyndham and they did not see anything wrong in what they were doing. I have had enough of paying exorbitant amounts of parking, especially in NJ. One day in Wildwood, NJ last year, I paid over $75 for parking. I’m just glad, that they now have price differences between owners and non-owners. But, twenty years ago, I don’t remember paying for parking at Skyline Tower.


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dioxide45

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This unfolded right in front of me at Wyndham Skyline Tower. I was waiting to checkout (checking out early at 5pm the day prior) and the CSR was arguing with a guest, that they had to pay the parking fee.

The guest had already checked out earlier in the day and left their car at the resort. When getting their car and trying to go through the gate the parking pass didn’t work at like 5pm. The attendant told them to pay the fees at the desk and they would be let out. At the desk, the lady was arguing with the CSR and the CSR wasn’t budging from their stance of pay the parking fee. I had about enough of waiting and I only saw the last 5 mins of what this lady went through. Her husband had already left and was on the road home from earlier. So, I gave her my parking pass as my car was already out and the CSR rep was trying to tell me that I can’t do that. He explained that you have to swipe in, in order for the kiosk to let you swipe out. I was like whatever, I tried to swipe without the car and that didn’t work because it had to sense the car, so I drove my car up and swiped, handed the lady my pass and she swiped out and I backed out of the entrance and parked the car and decided to go back inside to tell these guys that they were poor representatives of Club Wyndham and they did not see anything wrong in what they were doing. I have had enough of paying exorbitant amounts of parking, especially in NJ. One day in Wildwood, NJ last year, I paid over $75 for parking. I’m just glad, that they now have price differences between owners and non-owners. But, twenty years ago, I don’t remember paying for parking at Skyline Tower.


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Why didn't the guest want to pay the parking fee?
 

jmeador74

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You have to pay the parking fee, upon checkin for the duration of your stay. I guess there is a time you have to be out by on the day of checkout. I don’t know what time that is. I guess her family went to see some sights and then went back to pick her car up and couldn’t leave unless she paid another fee.


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Floridaman76

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"car held hostage" seems a bit melodramatic, you can argue about why there should not be parking fees at urban resorts, and be wrong about it. That's your preogative.

I've never been to this resort, but i'm guessing Wyndham does not own the parking facilities and sub it out. Owners at urban resorts do not want their MF increased to pay for other people's travelling decisions.

There's lots of chatter on facebook about this by naieve owners, and they are all wrong.
 

Sandi Bo

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The Queen Mary was gracious enough to us - to allow us to leave our car after checkout (as well as our luggage). They didn't charge us an extra day for the few extra hours we needed their services. We certainly appreciated it and left with a nicer feeling than the person OP assisted.
 

HitchHiker71

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"car held hostage" seems a bit melodramatic, you can argue about why there should not be parking fees at urban resorts, and be wrong about it. That's your preogative.

I've never been to this resort, but i'm guessing Wyndham does not own the parking facilities and sub it out. Owners at urban resorts do not want their MF increased to pay for other people's travelling decisions.

There's lots of chatter on facebook about this by naieve owners, and they are all wrong.
It's been a couple years since we've been to Skyline Tower, but last we were there, the parking garage is in the tower itself. Doesn't mean it's owned by Wyndham, but it's not a separate building and/or public parking - it's dedicated to Skyline Tower IIRC. Wonder what the parking rate is these days, when we last stayed, IIRC it was $15/day. Best guess the people in question checked out earlier in the day, paid whatever the balance was upon checkout, probably never mentioned that they would be leaving a vehicle in the garage until later in the day when checking out, and then pitched a fit when prompted to pay for parking for that day. A little advance notice and communicative courtesy goes a long way when it comes to situations like this IME. Had the guest simply told the resort and/or parking garage personnel what they were planning to do ahead of time, the outcome likely would have been much smoother. People make assumptions about how the world should work, then are surprised when the world doesn't align with their own internal perspectives. Baffling to someone like me really, but that's me. You get what you give in situations like this.
 

VacationForever

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This unfolded right in front of me at Wyndham Skyline Tower. I was waiting to checkout (checking out early at 5pm the day prior) and the CSR was arguing with a guest, that they had to pay the parking fee.

The guest had already checked out earlier in the day and left their car at the resort. When getting their car and trying to go through the gate the parking pass didn’t work at like 5pm. The attendant told them to pay the fees at the desk and they would be let out. At the desk, the lady was arguing with the CSR and the CSR wasn’t budging from their stance of pay the parking fee. I had about enough of waiting and I only saw the last 5 mins of what this lady went through. Her husband had already left and was on the road home from earlier. So, I gave her my parking pass as my car was already out and the CSR rep was trying to tell me that I can’t do that. He explained that you have to swipe in, in order for the kiosk to let you swipe out. I was like whatever, I tried to swipe without the car and that didn’t work because it had to sense the car, so I drove my car up and swiped, handed the lady my pass and she swiped out and I backed out of the entrance and parked the car and decided to go back inside to tell these guys that they were poor representatives of Club Wyndham and they did not see anything wrong in what they were doing. I have had enough of paying exorbitant amounts of parking, especially in NJ. One day in Wildwood, NJ last year, I paid over $75 for parking. I’m just glad, that they now have price differences between owners and non-owners. But, twenty years ago, I don’t remember paying for parking at Skyline Tower.


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I can see both sides but CSR was simply doing their job. If I were the guest, I would have paid the extra day of parking and be done. To me what you did was not right but it did resolve a deadlock situation.
 

jmeador74

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I knew that posting in here would receive both differing opinions on what happened and took place. I guess that chivalry is dead and that a woman in distress being flanked by three men and her husband wasn’t there, that I felt a responsibility to step in. Let alone I was watching this unfold while having to wait to checkout. And some of you would say that I could have just left the room keys and left. But, I was trying to be nice to let the staff know that I was leaving the hotel a day early and that they can prepare the room earlier for the next days guest’s arrival for the room to be available earlier in the day. Whether the resort would take action to prep the room early that is/was up to them.


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jmeador74

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The parking for owners is $12/day and for non-owners is $20/day at Skyline tower


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jmeador74

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When there is no clearly displayed information with regard to parking at the front desk as to time and hours you are able to park. It becomes arbitrary that you paid to park for that night and into the next day regardless of when you retrieve your vehicle. Unlike your room key locking you of your room at the checkout time that is clearly mentioned to you at checkout time. Every other parking lot that you have to pay for parking, “lays out” what you will pay and for how long or will tell you what time you have to be out by and it is clearly stated to you verbally or in writing on a sign. With this so called third party parking system at skyline tower, which in fact is a parking garage in the structure of the resort, I think is a load of crap. Like I said before, I was staying at this place twenty years ago and dont recall having to pay for parking. I shouldn’t have to pay now either because I should be grandfathered just as my points are grandfathered at each resort when the resorts were built and/or acquired into the system. Meaning point cost for a room doesn’t change over time at the resort. They are locked. I don’t like the fact that I have to pay a local occupancy tax when staying at Angels Camp when using Club Wyndham Points, but that’s an another discussion.


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HitchHiker71

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I knew that posting in here would receive both differing opinions on what happened and took place. I guess that chivalry is dead and that a woman in distress being flanked by three men and her husband wasn’t there, that I felt a responsibility to step in. Let alone I was watching this unfold while having to wait to checkout. And some of you would say that I could have just left the room keys and left. But, I was trying to be nice to let the staff know that I was leaving the hotel a day early and that they can prepare the room earlier for the next days guest’s arrival for the room to be available earlier in the day. Whether the resort would take action to prep the room early that is/was up to them.


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I likely would have done the same thing as you primarily for expediency's sake related to problem solving since you were behind her in line. A chivalrous response to the "damsel in distress" type issue is sometimes no longer appreciated in modern times unfortunately. I've been on the receiving end of unappreciative responses to intervention in situations like this enough that I now think twice before attempting to intervene. My first inclination after performing problem remediation is to then always ask myself how the problem could have been avoided in the first place, hence my "you get what you give response" in my first reply.
 

HitchHiker71

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When there is no clearly displayed information with regard to parking at the front desk as to time and hours you are able to park. It becomes arbitrary that you paid to park for that night and into the next day regardless of when you retrieve your vehicle. Unlike your room key locking you of your room at the checkout time that is clearly mentioned to you at checkout time. Every other parking lot that you have to pay for parking, “lays out” what you will pay and for how long or will tell you what time you have to be out by and it is clearly stated to you verbally or in writing on a sign. With this so called third party parking system at skyline tower, which in fact is a parking garage in the structure of the resort, I think is a load of crap. Like I said before, I was staying at this place twenty years ago and dont recall having to pay for parking. I shouldn’t have to pay now either because I should be grandfathered just as my points are grandfathered at each resort when the resorts were built and/or acquired into the system. Meaning point cost for a room doesn’t change over time at the resort. They are locked. I don’t like the fact that I have to pay a local occupancy tax when staying at Angels Camp when using Club Wyndham Points, but that’s an another discussion.


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I do agree there's typically a sign out front of parking lots that outlines the rules - not sure if that's the case at Skyline Tower though. That said, I always err on the side of personal responsibility, meaning if it's not clear, then I choose to communicate to ensure I understand the rules so as to not have to navigate an unintended outcome, as was the case here with the person in front of you in line clearly. You get what you give (Wyndham included in this case - they didn't give clear parking instructions - so they get a confused and upset guest). I checked the resort description just now and this is what it states for parking:

1736953650189.png


Where we will agree to disagree is on the "things should never change" type reply, where you feel that the parking shouldn't cost anything, that it should be a part of MFs for owners for example, which would push up the cost of MFs quite a bit realistically. So owners would park for free but non-owners and guests would not? I'd rather pay lower MFs and have the choice to pay for parking. If anything, Wyndham could choose to allow free parking for deeded owners at Skyline Tower, but that's about as far as I could see them going. Big picture, change is the only constant in this life is my overall point. Just because something was free 20 years ago, doesn't mean it's going to be free today, because a lot has changed over the past 20-30 years. Costs are going up all over the place, and Wyndham isn't exempt from having to manage persistently increasing costs, just like any other business. Those costs are passed along to the consumer, just like every other business, in various forms. Overall, Wyndham has polled owners on this topic over time, and the resounding answer has been that owners would rather have the choice of paying for parking, as opposed to having to pay higher MFs to include free parking especially in urban areas where parking costs are considerably higher.
 

VacationForever

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I knew that posting in here would receive both differing opinions on what happened and took place. I guess that chivalry is dead and that a woman in distress being flanked by three men and her husband wasn’t there, that I felt a responsibility to step in. Let alone I was watching this unfold while having to wait to checkout. And some of you would say that I could have just left the room keys and left. But, I was trying to be nice to let the staff know that I was leaving the hotel a day early and that they can prepare the room earlier for the next days guest’s arrival for the room to be available earlier in the day. Whether the resort would take action to prep the room early that is/was up to them.


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Chivalry and a woman in distress is not an appropriate description here. Like what I had posted above, if she had paid up none of these would have escalated. BTW, I am a woman and it would not have taken a man to resolve this situation. Man or woman, the same situation would have arisen when the guest refuses to pay for parking to get the car out. You did resolve a deadlock situation, right or wrong. But pointing fingers at Wyndham as the guilty party and calling it extortion and keeping the car hostage is stretching it.
 
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Floridaman76

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It was a nice thing to do, for sure, I wouldn't say chivalry. But polite, human, kind maybe. I just took offense to the claim of "car held hostage", which was clearly inaccurate and embellishment. And we are calling $15 "extortion"?

The woman clearly owed for her parking fee. And didn't want to pay the ($15?) to get out. That would have been the quick and easy way to "escape her captor". But she made a choice not to, and luckily got bailed out by a friendly co-owner.

The attendant could have been rude, none of us were there, so don't know. But it's Jersey, so... you get what you get.

I don't know if I would have gotten involved in a situation like that, because you never know when it could come back on you. The attendant makes a stink and sometimes nothing good came come out of that.

I guess it worked out for everyone in the end. And some of us got some education.
 
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jmeador74

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I appreciate everyone's responses, good or bad. Thank you, it helps to better understand the climate of what people think of as the, "right thing" to do. I never meant to include "all women" as the woman that I was helping. From my perspective, she looked as though she needed help and did not refuse my help. At any point this lady could've told me to mind my own business and to back off, but at no time did she say that. She did say thank you to me before leaving. When I say chivalrous, I mean in the context of what has been socially accepted as chivalry over the past half century or more. Not talking about, placing one's life on the line, but talking about doing good deeds. We don't use chivalry today for acts of bravery or putting one's life on the line. At no time in my 26 years of service in the Army has anyone awarded me with an award or certificate that said anything chivalrous. Thank you again to those that responded.

Side note, I did hear back from Wyndham with regards to my stay (from feedback survey) and further explained everything that happened. And the gentleman on the phone apologized to me for having to experience that. I, only recommended that with a little bit of expectation management would go a long way. Erecting a sign that shows the times for parking and for how long. If guests wish to stay longer to speak with a customer service representative.
 

VAlegacy

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If it were me I too would have assumed that parking was charged by the night and not the time of day.
Since this isn't the norm unless you're at a parking garage I would have been perturbed also and probably not just folded up and handed my card over.
Feeling like you're being taken advantage of doesnt normally bring out the best in ppl.
 

davidvel

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The danger of course is that OP arguably assisted the woman in theft of an innkeeper. Yes, it's only $25 arguably, but most states have pretty strong innkeeper statutes that make this a crime. Though I probably would have done the same. The tell you you can check your bags and use the resort all day on check out day, so who would think otherwise with the parking?
 

Floridaman76

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The danger of course is that OP arguably assisted the woman in theft of an innkeeper. Yes, it's only $25 arguably, but most states have pretty strong innkeeper statutes that make this a crime. Though I probably would have done the same. The tell you you can check your bags and use the resort all day on check out day, so who would think otherwise with the parking?

That's exactly why I would not have gotten involved. Also it's Jersey, so you never know who's connected, who wants their cut, who wants to get back at you, etc
 

PamMo

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…They tell you you can check your bags and use the resort all day on check out day, so who would think otherwise with the parking?
I agree with this. ^^^ We stayed at the Marriott Vacation Club in downtown San Diego over the holidays, and left our car in the garage into the afternoon (checkout was 10am). There was no extra charge. I did ask beforehand if it was OK, though, as parking was something like $60/day.
 

dioxide45

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Most parking that is colocated with a resort or hotel, you use your room key to get in and out. Is that the case at Skyline?
 

jmeador74

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The danger of course is that OP arguably assisted the woman in theft of an innkeeper. Yes, it's only $25 arguably, but most states have pretty strong innkeeper statutes that make this a crime. Though I probably would have done the same. The tell you you can check your bags and use the resort all day on check out day, so who would think otherwise with the parking?
It's not theft of an innkeeper if the parking is handled by a third party. Even though Wyndham collects the money. They specifically mention that parking is taken care of by a third party.

Most parking that is colocated with a resort or hotel, you use your room key to get in and out. Is that the case at Skyline?
This is not the case at skyline, you receive a seperate hang tag for your mirror to have displayed and that tag has the barcode to let you in and out.
 
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