Opinion ID: 2977994
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Contacts With The Hotel

Text: In the summer of 2004, the plaintiffs decided to marry. They tentatively settled on a wedding date of October 8, 2005, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where Mrs. Keck lived. Because Mr. Keck was living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, at the time, Mrs. Keck did much of the wedding-related work alone. Nevertheless, Mr. Keck made several weekend visits to No. 08-2024 Keck v. Graham Hotel Sys., Inc. Page 3 Ann Arbor and, when present, accompanied Mrs. Keck on visits to potential wedding reception venues. The plaintiffs began looking for venues during a weekend visit by Mr. Keck in June 2004. During the visit, the plaintiffs stopped by the Hotel (then operating as the Crowne Plaza), looked around the facilities, and spoke to an employee at the front desk about wedding receptions at the Hotel. Based on what they saw and heard, they decided to have their reception at the Hotel and filled out an official “Sales & Catering Walk-In Inquiry Form” for the Wedding Specialist. On the form, the plaintiffs listed their names and phone numbers, a desired wedding reception date in October 2005, and estimated the number of attendees to be 150 to 200. No one from the Hotel responded to the Inquiry Form. Mrs. Keck attempted to contact the Wedding Specialist. Throughout late June and early July, she left several telephone messages, made two walk-in visits to the Hotel, and filled out a second Inquiry Form at the front desk. Still the Wedding Specialist did not respond. Several weeks later on July 21, a subordinate in the Catering and Sales Department contacted Mrs. Keck to inform her that the Wedding Specialist was currently on vacation. The Catering and Sales Department also faxed a copy of the Hotel’s food and beverage options for receptions to Mrs. Keck at her request. Mr. Keck made another trip to Ann Arbor at the end of July and, on July 30, the plaintiffs visited the Hotel again. Upon arrival, they were informed that the Wedding Specialist was not in, but were given a tour of the reception hall, honeymoon suite, and guest rooms by the Restaurant Manager. At the end of the visit, the plaintiffs repeated their interest in booking the Hotel for their reception and again requested an appointment with the Wedding Specialist. The Wedding Specialist did not respond. Instead, in mid-August, while the plaintiffs were on vacation, a subordinate left a telephone message stating only that the plaintiffs’ desired date was still available. Mrs. Keck returned from vacation on August 19 and immediately returned the call. Although unable to speak to the Wedding Specialist, Mrs. Keck secured a ten-day hold on her desired reception date, but the hold expired without a return call from the Hotel. No. 08-2024 Keck v. Graham Hotel Sys., Inc. Page 4 In early September, Mrs. Keck attempted to arrange a meeting with the new Wedding Specialist, Ms. Bratton, to coincide with an upcoming visit by Mr. Keck. She decided to visit the hotel in person to make the arrangements, but before doing so, she called ahead to ensure that the Wedding Specialist would be in. After being told that the Wedding Specialist was in, Mrs. Keck proceeded to the Hotel and requested to speak to Ms. Bratton, asking for her by name. An employee at the front desk responded that Ms. Bratton would be right with her and asked Mrs. Keck to wait in the lobby. After waiting for nearly an hour, Mrs. Keck returned to the front desk to inquire about Ms. Bratton and was informed that she had since left for the day. Mr. Keck arrived from Philadelphia the following week, and the couple visited the Hotel on Friday, September 10. Upon arrival, they asked an attendant at the front desk to see the Wedding Specialist. The attendant then called the Catering and Sales Department and, after exchanging a few words over the telephone, told the plaintiffs that the Wedding Specialist was in but could not see them without an appointment. The plaintiffs responded that they had been trying to schedule an appointment for weeks, but the attendant did not relent, and the plaintiffs left. The plaintiffs returned to the Hotel for the final time on Saturday, September 11. When told that the Wedding Specialist was not in, the plaintiffs insisted on speaking to someone with authority. After several minutes, the Hotel’s Director of Sales and Marketing emerged from her office to the crowded lobby where she spoke to them briefly (the plaintiffs attribute significance to the fact that they were forced to speak in the lobby, instead of being invited to the privacy of the Hotel office). The plaintiffs told the Director of their repeated attempts to meet with the Wedding Specialist and sign a contract, and asked to pay the deposit and to sign a contract for their reception that very day. The Director refused, explaining that only the Wedding Specialist had the authority to issue contracts. However, the Director put another ten-day hold on the plaintiffs’ desired date and said that the Wedding Specialist would call them on Monday, September 13. The Wedding Specialist did not call and, for a second time, the ten-day hold expired without any contact from the Hotel. Now convinced after three months of effort that the Hotel was refusing to deal with them because of their race, the plaintiffs abandoned their efforts with the Hotel and sought out another venue. No. 08-2024 Keck v. Graham Hotel Sys., Inc. Page 5 The plaintiffs claim that, during this roughly three-month period in 2004, they made seven walk-in visits to the Hotel, left numerous telephone messages, filled out two Inquiry Forms, and placed two holds on their desired reception date. On three occasions, the plaintiffs offered in-person to pay the $1,200 deposit and to sign a contract for their desired date. And on two occasions, the Wedding Specialist was present but declined to speak with the plaintiffs — leaving while Mrs. Keck waited in the lobby the first time, and refusing to see the plaintiffs for want of an appointment the second time. Despite the plaintiffs’ repeated overtures, they were never able to speak to the Wedding Specialist or permitted to pay the $1,200 deposit and sign a contract.