Renaissance Newark Airport hotel bad experience

[Wineart]

If you stay at this hotel, be careful about asking them to call a cab to the cruise port. We stayed here last month, and asked the desk staff to call us a cab. We were picked up by a woman in a minivan, and were charged over $80 for the trip for 2 people to the port. Had we been picked up by a limo or town car, we would have known to ask the fare in advance! Cab fare would have been about $45. I'm sure the car service is taking care of the desk staff, but I really resent them calling a car service (if you can consider a minivan a car service!) instead of a cab as we requested. I left a message for the hotel manager asking him to call me so I could let him know what his staff is doing. However, it's been 3 weeks and I still have not received a return call.

[138east]

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. The advice we give on this forum is to book a car service for a prearranged price. NJ cabs are not regulated when they go from one town to another like from Newark to Bayonne so they can charge what they like as they seem to have done in your case.

 

Perhaps Meg can suggest how to deal with the Renaissance. It's a lovely hotel and they should not want their guests to get ripped off. Another Marriott property Fairfield Inn has cards for Independent Driver in their lobby. Not at all fancy, but definitely the most reasonable quotes in the area between the airport and the port.

[greatam]

If you stay at this hotel, be careful about asking them to call a cab to the cruise port. We stayed here last month, and asked the desk staff to call us a cab. We were picked up by a woman in a minivan, and were charged over $80 for the trip for 2 people to the port. Had we been picked up by a limo or town car, we would have known to ask the fare in advance! Cab fare would have been about $45. I'm sure the car service is taking care of the desk staff, but I really resent them calling a car service (if you can consider a minivan a car service!) instead of a cab as we requested. I left a message for the hotel manager asking him to call me so I could let him know what his staff is doing. However, it's been 3 weeks and I still have not received a return call.

 

This is VERY, VERY typical of using hotel procured taxi or car service in the NJ/NYC area. Car service/taxis pay fees to hotels to either use their parking lots or be the first on the list to be called. They are generally called "slot fees". And they recoup the fees from unsuspecting passengers.

 

Whoever picked you up was obviously first on the list (car service OR taxi-doesn't matter) and you got stuck paying the surcharge.

 

A word to EVERYONE-DO NOT allow hotels in the NYC/NJ to call for transport. You WILL get stuck paying a surcharge. Either make your transport arrangements in advance or have the numbers of local taxi services with you and make the call yourself.

[Wineart]

I never received a callback from the hotel manager. I escalated it to corporate customer service, and I received an email from Renaissance customer service Friday of last week that they have contacted the property and I should be hearing from someone within 3-5 days. It's been 4 days, and I have not heard from anyone.