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Here's the text, slightly modified, of an email I just sent to a guest. Who is in the right here, and who is in the wrong?
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Dear Ms. Guest,
Thank you for bringing your issues with your stay to our attention.
After investigation of your complaints we have concluded the following:
According to your reservation you reserved a handicapped-accessible room with double beds at the rate of $9.95 plus tax for the first night and $59.95 plus tax for the second night. However, when you checked in, you asked instead for a standard room with two queen-size beds. When we changed the room type the rate changed to $99.95 plus tax for July 8 and $59.95 for July 9. The entry of a rate of only $9.95 was a clerical error, but we would have been obligated to honor it had you stayed in the room type originally reserved. As you did not, we will honor the rate for the room type you chose instead. By signing the registration at check-in, you agreed to the rates for the room type you chose – $99.95, plus tax, and $59.95 plus tax.
We understand that you found the condition of your room unsatisfactory upon check-in, and for that we apologize. When you informed us the next morning, we told our housekeepers to pay special attention to your room. However, you left your dog unattended in the room. When housekeeping went to clean the room the dog was barking loudly and our housekeepers were afraid to open the door. You told us later that your dog was in a cage, but from the other side of the door, our housekeepers had no way of knowing if a barking dog is harmless and caged, or loose and liable to attack if it sees an unfamiliar face.
According to hotel policy, the dogs should not be left unattended in the room, and housekeeping will not enter a room with unattended animals because housekeepers have been injured by doing so in the past.
When you called the desk about your room having not being cleaned, our desk clerk apologized and explained why the room had not been cleaned. He then offered to move you to another room that had been cleaned that day. You declined because you had “a lot of stuff” and did not want to move it all, despite the fact that you kept one of our two luggage carts, which are provided for use of all guests, in your room for the duration of your stay.
Regarding the issue of a maintenance man entering your room without knocking, the man who walked into your room was not hotel maintenance. We understand that your daughter left the room door open when she left to walk the dog, and can only assume that a male guest wandered into the room by mistake or deliberately. Our clerk did not tell you that the man was a member of hotel staff. While we urge you to be more cautious in the future, when you checked in, you signed the registration and thus an agreement that hotel management is not responsible for accidents or injury to guests on our property. While we apologize and understand your being upset over this matter, and while we are very glad that no harm came to you, we are not responsible, and only would have been had our desk clerk given out a key to your room. Again, we urge you to be more cautious in the future.
We are very sorry that you were not happy with your stay at our property. We sympathize, but we are not liable for any inconvenience you might have experienced. We hope we have provided you with sufficient explanation, but if we have not, please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
The Boss
Blah Inn of Hendersonville
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Dear Ms. Guest,
Thank you for bringing your issues with your stay to our attention.
After investigation of your complaints we have concluded the following:
According to your reservation you reserved a handicapped-accessible room with double beds at the rate of $9.95 plus tax for the first night and $59.95 plus tax for the second night. However, when you checked in, you asked instead for a standard room with two queen-size beds. When we changed the room type the rate changed to $99.95 plus tax for July 8 and $59.95 for July 9. The entry of a rate of only $9.95 was a clerical error, but we would have been obligated to honor it had you stayed in the room type originally reserved. As you did not, we will honor the rate for the room type you chose instead. By signing the registration at check-in, you agreed to the rates for the room type you chose – $99.95, plus tax, and $59.95 plus tax.
We understand that you found the condition of your room unsatisfactory upon check-in, and for that we apologize. When you informed us the next morning, we told our housekeepers to pay special attention to your room. However, you left your dog unattended in the room. When housekeeping went to clean the room the dog was barking loudly and our housekeepers were afraid to open the door. You told us later that your dog was in a cage, but from the other side of the door, our housekeepers had no way of knowing if a barking dog is harmless and caged, or loose and liable to attack if it sees an unfamiliar face.
According to hotel policy, the dogs should not be left unattended in the room, and housekeeping will not enter a room with unattended animals because housekeepers have been injured by doing so in the past.
When you called the desk about your room having not being cleaned, our desk clerk apologized and explained why the room had not been cleaned. He then offered to move you to another room that had been cleaned that day. You declined because you had “a lot of stuff” and did not want to move it all, despite the fact that you kept one of our two luggage carts, which are provided for use of all guests, in your room for the duration of your stay.
Regarding the issue of a maintenance man entering your room without knocking, the man who walked into your room was not hotel maintenance. We understand that your daughter left the room door open when she left to walk the dog, and can only assume that a male guest wandered into the room by mistake or deliberately. Our clerk did not tell you that the man was a member of hotel staff. While we urge you to be more cautious in the future, when you checked in, you signed the registration and thus an agreement that hotel management is not responsible for accidents or injury to guests on our property. While we apologize and understand your being upset over this matter, and while we are very glad that no harm came to you, we are not responsible, and only would have been had our desk clerk given out a key to your room. Again, we urge you to be more cautious in the future.
We are very sorry that you were not happy with your stay at our property. We sympathize, but we are not liable for any inconvenience you might have experienced. We hope we have provided you with sufficient explanation, but if we have not, please feel free to contact us with any questions you may have.
Sincerely,
The Boss
Blah Inn of Hendersonville
[/sarcasm]
But it was cool, only one room had a live one in it. My room only had a dead one. And that in the bar fridge. We didn't give them a hard time about it, but at one point, I had to swear blind to them the snakes were all gone before they'd come into our rooms. 
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