INDEPENDENCE, Ohio — The Ramada in Independence doesn’t seem to be up to standards. According to hotel guests, the rooms are filled with stained sheets, dirty toilets, and dead bugs.
News 5 Investigator Sarah Buduson spoke with about a dozen guests staying at the hotel, and the conditions they spoke of were terrible.
“It had stains on all the blankets and pillows,” said Gene XXXX, a guest of the hotel. “The microwave had somebody else’s food in it.”
That wasn’t the only bad report the hotel received, but the hotel disputes that things are actually that bad.
“There’s been a couple of minor housekeeping issues. Nothing serious,” hotel manager Elizabeth White said. “I didn’t see any issues as far as feces or mold. Nothing like that.”
She also blamed these issues on the lack of employees the hotel currently has as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I blame it on the government stimulus. No one wants to work.”
Hotel owner Sharif Omara echoed the sentiment shared by White as far as the employment situation goes.
“It’s a housekeeping issue in any hotel with the shortage of staff and the labor market happening now,” Omara said.
The hotel also has been used as a homeless shelter during the pandemic, and the staffing shortage has led to not being able to properly clean up the place.
Omara said that things would be done to make up for the condition of the hotel, including refunds.
“Of course, if we need to do that, we do that,” Omara said. “It’s not only about business, it’s about the human connection.”
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