just thought soem of you might get a kick out of the events some of us endured at the ramada at the MI show. If you were displaced, plase write! Pam The Ferrets of Pet Pals Rescue & Adoption Service 7402 Joseph Court Annandale, Virginia 22003 703-354-5073 Internet: [log in to unmask] HFS - Ramada Steven Belmonte President of Ramada 339 Jefferson Rd, PO Box 278 Parsippany, NJ 07054-0278 201-428-9700 June 12, 1996 Dear Mr. Belmonte, I am writing to tell you of a recent experience I had at one of your Ramada hotels. Please give it serious attention. Sometime back in April or May of this year, I decided to attend a Ferret Show (similar to a cat show) being organized by the Great Lakes Ferret Association, in Michigan. I used my Price Costco membership to reserve a room at the Romulus Ramada outside Detroit, 8270 Wickham Rd, which was the location of the show itself. I arrived around 3:30 PM on June 7. The people behind the desk were pleasant, admired my Master Card which has a picture of a ferret on it, set me up in a room exactly as I had reserved it (ground level, king size bed, non-smoking) and told me which door was nearest my room for bringing in my ferrets. I noticed a lot of my friends had already checked in. An hour later, I'm chatting with friends in the lobby when a desk person asks another ferret person to come talk with her. I thought there might be a problem with having a dog in the room since she had one and it was not a "caged" animal. My husband goes to assist this ferret person when she has a look of distress on her face. It appeared that the Management had a sudden change of heart with having ANY animals in the hotel rooms. Even though the conference rooms were booked to have a pet show, and special room rates were given to guests stating they were with the ferret show, the General Manager, Irvin Earnshaw, said he didn't think people would have animals in their rooms. How absurd! We asked to see the regulation book which he said stated a no pets policy for his "type" of hotel in Michigan, but he refused to produce it. He threatened to call the police - we should have let him - if we did not vacate our rooms and move to the hotel next door. Mr. Earnshaw said the same man who "owned" the Ramada also owned the Villager Lodge and we would get the same room rates there and they would welcome our pets. I can't say how many of us moved out in the next hour, but I will say the rooms at the Villager were nicer with the added touch of the refrigerators and the doors opening to the parking lot rather than a sterile hallway. They also had a sign in each room saying "no pets", but obviously an exception was being made for the ferret show participants. I refused to buy food or drinks at the Ramada the next day while attending the show. My ferret took best in the Silver Specialty and again took best in the Alter Championship Class. I have traveled all over the Eastern part of the country to attend ferret shows. Ramadas have been used many times for rooms as well as providing the halls for the events themselves. But I have NEVER been treated so poorly. We made no secret about our pets, all the reservations and room occupations were very above board. It is also my understanding that the conference rooms were double booked, and the other groups who had come after the ferret show contract date had to be moved to hotels across the street. I was also unable to get the name of the "owner", other than Joe (because he liked his employees to call him by his first name). If this is the way you like your hotels run, then I will be taking my business elsewhere. I would like an investigation on your part into why we were evicted from a Ramada hotel AFTER we were checked in. If there was a no pets policy, why was the front desk staff completely unaware of it? Why was the Great Lakes Ferret Association allowed to have a block of rooms reserved for show participants if pets were not allowed? Why was the show hall double booked, and the GLFA having to negotiate until midnight to secure the space they had paid for and reserved by contract months before? Who's idea was it to suddenly not allow ferrets and is that person still involved with Ramada? I'm sure you will be hearing from a lot of other ferret people who were at the show and treated the same as myself. I will be posting your name, address and phone number on the Internet, as well as sending copies of this letter to the GLFA, the Ramada in question, and "Joe". Ferrets became legal pets to own in Michigan in 1994. They are to be treated with the same respect as dogs and cats. Their owners should be accorded the same courtesies as any other human being. I would appreciate hearing from you directly. Sincerely, Pamela Grant Director cc: GLFA Joe, c/o Ramada [Posted in FML issue 1603]