RHYTHM HOTEL

I initially contacted the hotel with a greeting of “Salaam,” but received no response. Given my experience staying in Turkiye, where most Muslim hosts would respond to such a greeting, this lack of acknowledgment raises concerns about whether the owners are Muslim. Many secular Turks may not prioritize providing halal food, which could be problematic for Muslim guests. I mention this because I was informed by a Muslim Turk that if a Turk does not respond to “Salaam,” it is often an indication that they may not be Muslim. I booked the hotel on Tuesday and was planning on staying on Saturday, unaware of the cancellation fee, noticed a discrepancy with my booking at work, I had to cancel on Thursday. As I could no longer attend the trip to Turkiye, I sought to change the booking dates but due to the uncertainty of when I would be able to attend I asked for a voucher for future use. As booking.com gave the option to the hotel to waiver its cost so it wasn’t the case they could not do it, I was informed that the manager said such options were not available due to the booking’s proximity, even though I had issued the waiver at least 2 days prior to the booking and if booking.com found this unreasonable they wouldn’t have offered the hotel a chance to waiver. Although the financial loss isn’t the main issue, it highlights a deeper problem. Hotels often quickly take your money but fail to offer genuine customer service when issues arise, such as stolen items or genuine assistance needs, such as problems being in the room, food etc and will only try their best to make more money out of you. This hotel’s response revealed exactly that! a lack of care and support, making me grateful I didn’t experience their service firsthand. I would prefer a 1-star hotel with supportive staff over a 5-star hotel with poor management and customer service. I have stayed in Turkiye numerous times to know that it’s the Muslim Turks who really look after their customers regardless if they are Muslim or not and it’s the secular Turks that don’t and don’t be fooled with their names either as secular Turks have Muslim names too! I have documented the communication and will provide evidence if the hotel try to say differently, I wouldn’t be surprised if they start greeting everyone with “Salaam” now either!