HOUSTON — Hotel rooms were hard to find after Beryl tore through Southeast Texas causing widespread power outages and destruction.
Many were seeking relief from the heat of their powerless and damaged homes.
Some KHOU 11 viewers said they made reservations at a Houston hotel only to show up and find out the power was out. One viewer said the desk clerk told them: "You didn't say you wanted a room with AC."
Timothy Loving drove 250 miles to find his first room. The next day, he went online and found a room at the Holiday Inn Express in the Galleria area -- much closer to home. But, when he got there, he found out the hotel didn't have power.
"They didn't tell me anything about the hotel not having power on the reservation," he said.
Sherry Lane also reached out to KHOU 11 to tell her story. She said she made a reservation for her sister, also at a Holiday Inn Express -- this one in Spring. She said she specifically requested air conditioning.
When her sister left her hot home and got to the hotel, she realized it didn't have power, either.
KHOU 11 Reporter Shern-Min Chow checked online and some hotels, such as the Hampton Inn and Suites in the Cypress area, showed they didn't have power.
Others, like the Holiday Inn Express in the Galleria area, didn't provide that information online.
We reached out to the Texas Hotel & Lodging Association to get answers.
"It is incumbent upon those lodging operators to notify their hotel brands if they don't have availability because of electricity and sometimes they have failed to do that," spokesperson Justin Braigel said.
Sometimes that information isn't front-facing because the individual hotels are dealing with power and computer outages themselves, Braigel said.
Since hotels are often franchised by big chains, if you weren't notified of power issues before your arrival, you can take your complaint to the parent chain.
"Hotel companies run very robust customer support centers and will offer, may offer, compensation to the individual in some circumstances. You know, certainly, if there is an issue where the hotel is not maintaining its brand standards, that hotel chain may have the ability to sanction the franchisee in some cases," Braigel said.
You can also contact the Texas Hotel & Lodging Association.
Holiday Inn Express' parent company, Intercontinental Hotels Group, hasn't responded to a request for comment.