LANSING, Mich. (WXMI) — Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel reached an agreement with the operators of several hotels and tourism groups around Mackinaw City.
The Assurance of Voluntary Compliance agreement follows an investigation into business practices related to customer reservations.
Nessel issued a Notice of Intended Action in February after consumers complained that they booked hotel rooms and confirmed their reservations at hotels that closed without notice. The attorney general’s office says the consumers also could not get their money back.
Nessel’s Corporate Oversight Division, which handled the investigation, found that the tourism website advertising the hotels was owned and operated by people who also have ownership interests in the entities running the properties in question.
The attorney general’s office reached this AVC with the following entities:
- Enjo Properties LLC
- Jade Enterprises, Inc.
- Lieghio’s Hamilton Inn Select, Inc.
- Mackinaw City Chamber of Tourism, Inc.
- Mackinaw City Chamber of Tourism, Inc., d/b/a Hotel Jabber Travel Advisor
- Quality Properties of Mackinaw, Inc.
- Queen’s Properties, Inc.
Nessel says those entities run several hotels throughout Mackinaw City, so this agreement also binds the following properties:
- Crown Choice Inn & Suites Lakeview & Waterpark
- The Beach House
- Bayside Hotel of Mackinac
- Waterfront
- Bridge Vista Beach Hotel & Convention Center
- Bell’s Melody Motel
- Bridgeview Motel
- Budget Inn Mackinaw
- Cabins of Mackinac
- Capri Motel
- Calrion Hotel Beachfront
- Comfort Inn Lakeside
- Days Inn Lakeview
- Fairview Beachfront Inn
- Hamilton Inn Select Beachfront
- Mackinaw Beach & Bay
- Northwinds Motel
- Best Western Plus Dockside
- Quality Inn & Suites
- Ramada Inn Waterfront
- Starlite Budget Inn Mackinaw
- Super 8 Beachfront
- Super 8 Bridgeview
- Sunrise Beach Hotel
- Thunderbird Inn
- Waterfront Inn
- Welcome Inn
As part of the AVC, the listed hotels cannot take room reservations for hotels that are closed for the season. If the hotel cannot fulfill the reservation, consumers must be able to cancel and get a refund.
Tourism entities have to remove the “official seal” from the Chamber of Tourism website. Also, they must include the following disclaimer on each website: “This site and all the hotels on this site have common ownership by a fifth-generation local family that has owned, developed and personally managed Mackinaw City hotels since 1955.”
Consumers have 90 days to submit a reimbursement claim. Entities must give a full refund if the consumer can document a fully paid reservation at a hotel that was closed for the season, with the consumer getting transferred to a different hotel, since Jan. 1, 2017.
The entities are responsible for up to $25,000 total in consumer payments. They also have to pay the state $5,000 and pay $35,000 to the Michigan Strategic Fund.
If you believe you’re qualified for a refund via this agreement, you can file a consumer complaint online.
