Hall of Shame

    If you have spent any time at all on this web site, you may have run across various statements that we've made in an effort to describe exactly what we are in a direct and honest manner. We think we have a nice hotel and many of our guests agree, but we try not to go overboard with hype.
    We don't "over-sell" our hotel. There are a couple of reasons for this: First and foremost is that to lie about our place just isn't right. That ought to be all there is to it. But another reason is that the Roosevelt Inn is a small, family owned and operated hotel and, as such, if we book someone by making false claims, we are the ones that have to listen to the gripes. As humans, we'd rather not have to deal with that particular headache.
    Sadly, not everybody thinks that way and over the years we have been repeatedly amazed by false and misleading words and pictures we've seen in regards to lodging. Some years ago we started collecting some of the worst examples in a "would-you-believe-this?" file. Here are some examples:

Properties that are nowhere near Mt. Rushmore -- In this category there are almost too many perps to count. Most of these motels are in Rapid City at least 25 miles away from Mt. Rushmore. But you would never know that from their rack cards and ads. Here's what they do:
- Show their property with Mt. Rushmore superimposed somewhere on the picture.
- Say they are only X minutes away from Mt. Rushmore when the actual time is an hour or more.
- Use Mt. Rushmore in their name as if they are right there. One egregious example even has text that says "come join us on the mountain." The place is actually on a different mountain (a hill really) some distance away from Mt. Rushmore.
- Claim to be a short drive away: i.e "The <named perp> is just a short drive away from Mt. Rushmore National Memorial" -- actual distance, 59 miles.
Properties that intentionally mis-describe themselves -- These are properties that intentionally claim to be what they are not. Examples:
- A motel with nothing more than a pool and hot tub that calls itself a resort.
- A motel that doesn't even have a meeting room calling itself a convention center.
- A motel in a built-up area claiming to be surrounded by "tall pines." (True, but the trees are a mile away and the motel is in a treeless urban area of Rapid City.)
- A 48-year-old property that claims to be "newly opened." (True in summer, because the motel is seasonal and closed all winter.)
- A property that was built in the 1970's calling itself "historical." Old is more accurate. Run-down also comes to mind. Properties must be at least 50 years old to be classed as historical according to AAA guidelines.
- A property that shows a picture of Mt. Rushmore that was allegedly taken from a room. Prehaps it was true, but knowing the location of the property and a little bit about cameras, we'd say the photograph was taken with an extremely high powered telescope.
- A property that runs a picture of a room that isn't even in the motel and claiming it's one of their rooms.
Properties making misleading rate claims -- Examples:
- Properties that advertise unrealistically low rates. For example, a motel that advertises rooms for $49.95 all summer long then tells would-be guests the $49.95 room is "not available" or the rate applies at some other time.
- Properties that offer huge discounts off artificially inflated prices. For example, a motel that offers $195 rooms for half price when even at $97.50 the rooms are over-priced.
- A motel that advertises "kids stay free" then defines "kids" as children under the age of five.
- Properties that pack in hidden or unexpected charges. For instance, a property that advertises "Free HBO" then charges guests $1 for ice, $1 cents for every phone call, adds a per-minute "surcharges" on 800 calls and charges $5 for each lost keycard.
- Properties that do not clearly state that their rates are based on "per person" charges.
- Properties that offer worthless coupons. Typically these offer $5 off a published rate which they never charge anyway. They also may offer "meal deals" for poor-quality restaurants they own that are vastly over-priced.
- A property that adds a $14 per day "set up fee" to allow guests to dial 800 numbers from their room telephones.
- A property that adds $17.95 a day for WiFi access.
Properties that imply they have some official connection to Mt. Rushmore. -- Examples:

A group of properties that are all named "Mt. Rushmore's <something or other> which implies they have something to do with Mt. Rushmore ... or are at least located there. They are not. Nor do they have any disclaimers noting that they are not affiliated with Mt. Rushmore. Their extensive list of billboards imply they are right at Mt. Rushmore.
Properties which claim to have new rooms which they do not. One property we know of is now (2010) going on it's tenth year of advertising "new rooms" for the same rooms that were built in 2000.
Another group of properties that imply they are some sort of central booking agency for Mt. Rushmore. Their web site and promotional material looks official and they make no disclaimer of any Mt. Rushmore affiliation. All the properties are have the same owner.
A reservation service that implies some sort of connection to the National Park Service and only books to properties that guarantee them a very high commission. They do have an inconspicuous disclaimer noting that they are not affiliated with the National Park Service, but you have to look for it.

Properties that employ "social networking" shills --
Examples:
- A properrty that specializes in tour-bus business and is owned by a corporation with offices all over the midwest has employees post rave reviews on sites such as trip advisor. We've since learned that a number of their reviews have been posted by a salesman for one of their other businesses who frequently travels around the USA and posts reviews under assumed identies.
- A phony on-line review of a property in Keystone with description that is physically impossible. -- obviously posted by a paid reviewer.
- Several national chains have "social networking" experts who post fake reviews and/or assume fake identies on Twitter and/or Facebook to "improve preceptions" of their franchised properties. (Nothing new here, tobacco and drinks companies have been doing this for years. Now the hotel chains are catching on.)
- Motel owners who meet as various franchise or lodging conferences and agree to "exchange" favorable reviews.
- Unscrupulous property owners or managers who post fake reviews slamming the competition.
Unfortunately these practices undermine the usefulness of on-line review sites to the point were they have become practically useless.

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