Hotel's 'complimentary' phone service cost traveler $50

Christopher Elliott's latest Travel Troubleshooter column reminds us that it's important to question whether the word "complimentary" in a hotel really means "free."

Here's what happened, according to Elliott's column: Traveler Tyson Howard of Cincinnati told Elliott that he checked into the Wingate by Wyndham Charlotte Airport and his cellphone was acting up.

He knew that Wyndham properties offer free long distance, so he checked his room's directory and found a sentence that says, "Local calls are free of charge. Long-distance access in the United States is complimentary." He took it to mean that long-distance calls would be free, so he made two calls to his wife totaling around an hour.

"I was charged almost $50 for these calls," he told Elliott.

"After getting the runaround for a few days, I was finally put in contact with the assistant to the general manager. She informed me that only the access is free, not the actual long-distance charges," he told Elliott.

The situation, he wrote, was like being told that Internet access was free — but then later being told that only the access to the Internet was free and usage cost extra.

Elliott's take: Elliott agreed with Howard that the guest directory made it seem as if long-distance calls are free. He advised him to avoid calling Wyndham; instead, he said, sending a "brief, polite e-mail would have been far more effective and less stressful, and wouldn't have required you making multiple inquiries."

In the end, Elliott contacted Wyndham based on Howard's behalf and a representative called Howard and told him that Wyndham's corporate office would reimburse him for the phone bill.

Readers: Has a hotel ever charged you for phone calls that you thought were free?