By Harriet Baskas

Travel writer

MSNBC contributor

updated 7:59 a.m. MT, Thurs., May. 22, 2008

It was a four-star hotel in a prosperous mid-western city. I arrived late in the evening and the fresh-faced desk clerk told me I was “darn lucky” to get the last empty room.

Maybe “darn lucky” has a different meaning in Indiana.

The “non-smoking” room smelled of cigars. French bread flew out of the register when I turned on the heat. And there was an open box of condoms in the nightstand drawer.

Alarmed, I called the front desk to complain. The response: “We’re totally full, ma’am. But how ‘bout I send someone up there to vacuum the bread off the floor and take the condoms away.”

Not exactly the four-star solution I expected. But then again, my initial sputtered “complaint” might have come across as an unformed whine. A more pointed chat with the manager a short while later secured a more satisfactory response: I spent a complimentary night at a much cleaner hotel down the road.

The season of our discontent
Hotel rooms cleaned incorrectly, restaurant meals prepared and presented improperly, overpriced rental cars, lost luggage, and airplane trips that get delayed for hours — there are plenty of things that can go wrong on the road, anytime of year.

This summer will be no different. In fact, it may be a bit worse: airlines have been shaving schedules in response to rising fuel costs, and planes are already flying to near or full capacity. And while gas prices and worries about the economy may keep many Americans closer to home this summer, travel industry expectations will be high as everyone tries hard to squeeze the most of out of their travel dollars.

Complaining 101
As travelers, we can find plenty to complain about — but does complaining help? You bet. You should get what you pay for. And airlines, hotels, restaurants, rental car agencies and attractions should fix what goes wrong. But as well-mannered travelers know, how you complain can make a big difference in whether or not a situation is resolved.

So what works?

Do — don’t stew
If something is wrong, try to resolve your problem right away — not after a sleepless night in a hotel room listening to that running toilet, after a cross-country flight spent seated in front of a toddler who keeps kicking your seat, or an hour into that “quick” lunch that’s taking forever to arrive. Before you get all worked up, bring your issue to the attention of someone who has the power to take action. The front desk clerk might give you a different room; a flight attendant might find you a different seat; and the restaurant manager might speed things up in the kitchen.

Enlist — don’t enrage
“When it comes to travel, sometimes it’s inevitable: things just go wrong,” warns frequent traveler and etiquette book author, Peter Post of the Emily Post Institute. “At that point, it’s how you deal with people that will make a huge difference in their response and the amount of help you get.”

Alarmed, I called the front desk to complain. The response: “We’re totally full, ma’am. But how ‘bout I send someone up there to vacuum the bread off the floor and take the condoms away.”

Not exactly the four-star solution I expected. But then again, my initial sputtered “complaint” might have come across as an unformed whine. A more pointed chat with the manager a short while later secured a more satisfactory response: I spent a complimentary night at a much cleaner hotel down the road.

The season of our discontent
Hotel rooms cleaned incorrectly, restaurant meals prepared and presented improperly, overpriced rental cars, lost luggage, and airplane trips that get delayed for hours — there are plenty of things that can go wrong on the road, anytime of year.

This summer will be no different. In fact, it may be a bit worse: airlines have been shaving schedules in response to rising fuel costs, and planes are already flying to near or full capacity. And while gas prices and worries about the economy may keep many Americans closer to home this summer, travel industry expectations will be high as everyone tries hard to squeeze the most of out of their travel dollars.

Complaining 101
As travelers, we can find plenty to complain about — but does complaining help? You bet. You should get what you pay for. And airlines, hotels, restaurants, rental car agencies and attractions should fix what goes wrong. But as well-mannered travelers know, how you complain can make a big difference in whether or not a situation is resolved.

So what works?

Do — don’t stew
If something is wrong, try to resolve your problem right away — not after a sleepless night in a hotel room listening to that running toilet, after a cross-country flight spent seated in front of a toddler who keeps kicking your seat, or an hour into that “quick” lunch that’s taking forever to arrive. Before you get all worked up, bring your issue to the attention of someone who has the power to take action. The front desk clerk might give you a different room; a flight attendant might find you a different seat; and the restaurant manager might speed things up in the kitchen.

Enlist — don’t enrage
“When it comes to travel, sometimes it’s inevitable: things just go wrong,” warns frequent traveler and etiquette book author, Peter Post of the Emily Post Institute. “At that point, it’s how you deal with people that will make a huge difference in their response and the amount of help you get.”