Holiday Inn Express Lebanon by IHG

We were falsely charged for my wife' service dog. My efforts to get the issue corrected were to no avail. Following is the complete e-mail conversation I had with someone who responded to my e-mails to their e-mail address but never identified himself/herself. Edited to remove personal stuff.
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On Mon, Mar 16, 2026 at 2:55 AM [Guest] wrote:

Hello,

My wife and I stayed at your hotel in Lebanon, Indiana on 3/8/2026. [bill details removed]. We stayed in room xxx. My wife has a certified psychological service dog. When we checked in the evening desk clerk told me that we would not be charged a pet fee because the dog is a service dog. She crossed out the fee on the pet agreement form that I signed and she initialed the crossing out of the fee. When I checked out on the morning of 3/9/2026 I noticed on the bill that there was a pet fee for $30 and and associated taxes ($2.10 and $1.50). When I talked with the morning clerk about the fee he took a note about the fee and the fact that the dog is a service dog and stated that someone (the manager?) would call me about it. I have not as yet received a call and when I just checked my credit card account I do not see any reimbursement for that erroneous charge. Please take care of wrongful charge and reimburse the $33.60 to my credit card.

Sincerely,

[Guest]

On Mar 16, 2026, at 11:37 AM, Holiday Inn Express wrote:

Dear [Guest],

Thank you for your email and appreciate your concerns.

We are looking into it. Service animals have to be with the owner all the time. When the hotel finds out that the owner was going out and coming in without an animal ,we consider it a regular pet. This is as per ADA. Service animals are there to protect owners and emergencies may occur at any time. That is why animals must be owners all the time.

We will get back with you once credit is issued.

Thank you for understanding.

On Mon, Mar 16, 2026 at 7:52 PM [Guest] wrote:

Hello,

Thanks! My wife’s dog was with her in the room and while entering and leaving the premises; or with me when he needed to go out to pee or poop.

Sincerely,

[Guest]

On Mar 17, 2026, at 3:06 PM, Holiday Inn Express wrote:

Thank you for the explanation. Just wondering how you will handle emergencies when Dog is not with the owner but with someone else for poop and pee?

This is just for our knowledge for future guests.

Please advise

On Tue, Mar 17, 2026 at 10:44 PM [guest] wrote:

Hi,

I don’t think there is any one answer for that. It would depend on the nature of the emergency; the type of service animal; and the nature of the owner’s reasons for having the service animal. I expect that it is rare that a service animal has to be with the owner 100% of the time. All animals have to be able to take care of their own needs. Just like human attendants. I am sure hotels would not want the animals to relieve themselves in the suites. The easiest means of dealing with an emergency would be for the owner to contact the attendant taking care of the animal’s needs. Such as by calling the attendant’s cellphone. Or pushing an emergency button that they wear which signals the attendant electronically.

There is a show on TV that we regularly watch which often features service dogs and their owners. AKC Good Dog TV. See [links removed]. You probably would find it interesting and informative. It airs on Saturday morning in our city.

Sincerely,

[Guest]

On 3/21/2026 9:50 PM, Holiday Inn Express wrote:

Thank you so much for the info!

We will take care of it after going through internal surveillance footage.

Thank you again
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21 days later and still no reimbursement. Two stars because they have really good breakfast options and the hotel was clean and the front desk people I interacted with were pleasant.

Breakfast was ok, would have liked real sausage or bacon instead of kind of hot dogs masquerading as sausage

Everything was great

Tv didn’t work and the door key reader had to be repaired when I arrived.

Somewhat loud with 65, not the fault of hotel

Clean, comfortable and convenient to the freeway.

Fast and efficient check in!! Great stay!!

Breakfast was great

My grandkids loved the pool and hot tub and they provide plenty of clean towels. We also enjoyed the hot breakfast and the 24 hour complimentary coffee/hot tea/hot chocolate. Friendly staff and relaxing atmosphere. I will definitely stay here again.

The Holiday Inn & Suites was exactly as advertised. It was clean, rooms were nice, comfortable beds, nice shower. The breakfast was very good. Overall, an exceptional value.

The staff was friendly and helpful. Breakfast was great! Hot tub worked.

It was amazing

Very loud surroundings. Suite was so-so.

Room felt like new.

Complimentary breakfast was great.

Great hotel. Not far from Purdue where we were moving our daughter in. Great rate, comfy beds, wonderful breakfast and nice pool. Staff were awesome. Highly recommend.

We were traveling from North Carolina to just west of Chicago, do to a family emergency. After a long day of traveling we hoped to find a place for the night. Amanda, warmly welcomed us like family, checked us in and told us to enjoy our stay. After a rest filled night and fantastic breakfast, we went on to continue our trip only to find out we had car trouble. I explained our situation to the young lady at the front desk (Kim G.) who offered to let us stay until 12:30, without charge. Kim G. jumped into action, helping us find a highly reviewed wrecker service to tow our vehicle to the dealership. At 12:15 or so I walked down to the front desk to tell Kim G. we would need to stay another night as the dealership did not have the parts we needed in stock, that they needed to be ordered. Kim G. never hesitated and allowed us to stay in the same room. Staying here has been like staying at home! Amanda came in that afternoon while we were sitting outside, is was a hot day to say the least, and kindly offered the 3 of us each an ice cold water. We have traveled a lot over the years and I can honestly say this place was like being at home! Thank you so much...Amanda and Kim G. I sure hope the two of you are recognized for your outstanding job! You both deserve it!
Sincerely ~
The McGee Family
8/14/2025

Terrible room…tears in the carpet and the window shade.
The shower floor was unbelievably slippery
The shower fixtures were loose and not attached as they should have been
This is a 15 year old hotel and looks 30.
Needs to be updated, was not clean and the counter people were barely friendly.
Avoid this place !!!
I wouldn’t stay here again if it was fee and it was very pricey.
We told them about the issues and then they had the nerve to call and offer points or a small discount if we gave them 8 or better marks. Bribery …disgusting for sure.

Go to the Whitestown HI Express..it is very nice!

The showers get slippery so be careful

Couch was not supportive like sink in and felt musty/damp- bathroom needed better cleaning. Room 309. Otherwise good like all holiday inn express locations