Woman and cat refused shelter from storm

Posted 10/3/22

A Sarasota woman claims the Okeechobee Days Inn denied her entry prior to Hurricane Ian, despite her reservation.

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Woman and cat refused shelter from storm

Posted

OKEECHOBEE — A Sarasota woman claims the Okeechobee Days Inn denied her entry prior to Hurricane Ian, despite her reservation.

Robin Costello spoke to the Lake Okeechobee News on Sunday, Oct. 2, saying she wanted to prevent others from ever going through what she did.

According to Costello, she was concerned prior to the hurricane that, living in Sarasota, she might have to evacuate. Just in case, she looked for a hotel that accepted pets. She found the Days Inn advertisement claimed it was pet friendly, so she called the reservation hotline to make a reservation. On the phone, she double-checked to be sure the hotel accepted pets and was told it did, so she made the reservation.

On Tuesday, the day before the hurricane, Sarasota received word the area was under a mandatory evacuation, and Costello thanked her lucky stars she had a reservation. She packed up her cat and her important things and headed for higher ground.

Imagine her surprise though when she arrived at the hotel and was allegedly told the hotel does not allow cats. “I said, the website said you take pets, and my cat is a pet!” Costello said the person at the desk told her they only accept dogs. When Costello asked if they could please make an exception due to the approaching hurricane and the fact there were no rooms available anywhere else, she said the woman told her she would check with her manager. Unfortunately, the manager still refused to allow them in, said Costello.

Costello said she called Wyndham customer care to see if they could help but was told that despite the hotel being listed on Wyndham’s website and the reservation made through Wyndham’s reservation line, there was nothing they could do because the hotel was privately owned.

“Where was the humanity during this situation? I am a widow, and I take care of my disabled son. I cannot begin to tell you how horrific and traumatizing that experience was,” said Costello.

A call to the Wyndham Hotels’ official number by the Lake Okeechobee News resulted in the same answer. The hotel is privately owned and makes its own rules.

A call to the Days Inn was met with a refusal to comment. All questions should be directed to Pier2resorts@gmail.com, she said. However, there was no reply to the email.

The Days Inn by Wyndham and the Pier 2 are both owned by the Florida Property Trust LLC out of Windemere, Fl.

Where did the traveler and her cat wind up? After the initial communication with the Lake Okeechobee News, she has not responded to requests for more information.

Days Inn, No room at the Inn, pet friendly, no cats

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