By BEN EDOKPAYI

Have you ever stayed in a hotel where what was supposed to be a pleasant experience turned nightmarish?

Well, one such experience occurred at the Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel in San Diego while attending the 2010 conference of the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) conference.

It was four days of interesting sessions on digital journalism education and career development that attracted Journalists, PR professionals, students and educators from across the United States and Canada. After each day’s session all I looked forward to was a good night’s rest, but persistent and cranky noise from the air conditioning unit made it impossible to sleep. After the second night I had to complain to the hotel’s front desk who then sent a night duty staff to check into my complaints.

The hotel never really explained what was responsible for this technical inconvenience, even after I sent an online feedback. But one thing I know for sure is I will never be staying at San Diego’s Grand Hyatt, even though it has one of the best views of the Harbor.

Four years later I had another hotel experience that was equally horrendous, this time in Abuja, Nigeria.

The nightmare started when Kola nut droppings from next door male guests at the hotel prompted my request to move from the room, and then the new room became an additional nightmare with two men next door arguing violently in the middle of the night, prompting my complaint to the housekeeper.

It was indeed a strange and bizarre experience, especially when one of them, who I think was trying to flee from the other one, tried to force his way into my room thinking it was an exit.

For my own safety (having never encountered a situation like that) I had to place an emergency call to the house keeper, prompting the men to hurriedly check out. Well, that will be another hotel I won’t be using anytime soon.

And then of course how can I forget the Driskill, the iconic hotel in Austin, Texas where I stayed while attending the 2010 conference of the American Association of State Compensation Insurance Funds (AASCIF).

For those who don’t know, the Driskill, where President Lyndon Johnson met his future wife in 1934, is one of the oldest operating and best known hotels in the USA. Its other claim to fame is the alleged supernatural activity throughout the building. But as a family member (a lawyer with the Texas Association of Schools Board) picked me up for the ride to the Bergstrom Airport (after checking out) I wondered about all the stories of haunting.

I am not a ghost-buster but after a three night stay there all the stories seemed kind of far-fetched to me.

The fact is every hotel in the world bids you goodbye with the hope that your first stay was pleasant enough for you to return. That is the essence of good customer service.