For three nights in November, Lucas Oil Stadium will be packed with Taylor Swift fans. Tickets for all three shows sold out quickly, and hotels in the area have been fully booked for months. However, some dedicated fans, known as "Swifites," have discovered that their hotel reservations have been unexpectedly canceled.
One such fan, Amy Swift from Wisconsin, had planned since August to attend night two of the Eras Tour in Indianapolis. She had secured tickets for the concert and booked a room at the Sheraton City Centre hotel downtown. It wasn't until Sunday that she noticed her reservation had been canceled after coming across concerns shared on a Facebook group.
"What frustrated me the most was that the hotel didn't inform anyone about the cancellations. We had to find out through these Facebook posts," Amy lamented.
Gracie White, a Taylor Swift fan from Georgia, also noticed her reservation at the same hotel had been canceled. When she called the Sheraton City Centre, she was told that they had tried to charge the card on file, but it had come back as insufficient funds, resulting in the cancellation. However, Gracie's sister, whose card was on file, had not received any notifications of an attempted charge, and she had enough funds in her account to cover the reservation.
Numerous others in the Facebook group shared similar experiences, with over a hundred comments pouring in. FOX59/CBS4 managed to reach out to several more Swifites from different states, all of whom confirmed that their reservations at the Sheraton City Centre had been unexpectedly canceled. Despite having sufficient funds or paying with a credit card with a suitable limit, the hotel claimed to have found insufficient funds during attempted charges.
One fan, Madeline Newberg from Tennessee, received a text notification from the hotel informing her of the cancellation. However, when she called to inquire, a representative claimed she had canceled the reservation herself, which she adamantly denied. The representative then offered her a room at a more expensive hotel farther away from the stadium, but Madeline had planned to stay downtown to avoid additional transportation costs. Ultimately, she had to scramble to find another hotel, paying an additional $700.
It is important to note that none of the affected fans were ever charged for their reservations or lost any money from the Sheraton City Centre. Their concerns revolve around the lack of communication and notification regarding the cancellations. They worry that fans who are not active on social media or are unaware of the situation may show up at the hotel only to discover their reservation has been canceled.
Attempts to reach the Marriott Press Office and the Sheraton City Centre in downtown Indy for comments have been unsuccessful thus far. Fans are advised to double-check their reservations at the Sheraton City Centre if they have booked a room for the Eras Tour weekend. Any impacted individuals can file a complaint with the Indiana Better Business Bureau, who can provide guidance on hotel bookings. The Indiana Attorney General's Office also confirmed that a hotel reservation cancellation may potentially be a violation of consumer protection, and affected customers are encouraged to file a complaint if they believe they have been harmed by the hotel's actions.
Caption: Fans express their frustration after their hotel reservations at the Sheraton City Centre were unexpectedly canceled.
