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8 Wood Carmen From: Sent: To: Subject: Edward Starkman Friday, December 23, :36 PM Hansell Judi Fwd: Reservation Confirmation for Edward & Nancy Starkman Judi, Further to my last you will see below that the revised confirmation I received also failed to note any minimum stay requirement. Thank you, Edward Starkman From: The Grand Hotel in Salem <reservations@grandhotelsalem.com> Sent: Tuesday, November 1, :06 AM Subject: Reservation Confirmation for Edward & Nancy Starkman To: Edward & Nancy Starkman <ejstar@hotmail.com> Click here to view the web version Dear Edward & Nancy, Thank you for choosing The Grand Hotel in Salem for your upcoming visit to the Salem area. We look forward to welcoming you as our guest! Please review the information below and if you should have any questions please feel free to contact us at or reservations@grandhotelsalem.com. Your confirmation number is , arriving on Sunday August 20, 2017 and departing on Monday August 21, Reservation Information: 1

9 Confirmation Number: Guest Name: Edward & Nancy Starkman The Grand Hotel in Salem 201 Liberty St. SE, Salem,OR Telephone: Check-In: Sunday August 20, 2017 Check-Out: Monday August 21, 2017 Number of Guests: 2 Room Description: Grand Governor Suite Cancellation Policy: All reservations require a credit card guarantee. 24 Hour cancellation notification is necessary to avoid 1st night room rate plus tax penalty. Nightly Rate: $ Total Charges: $ Deposit: $0.00 Balance Due: $ Directions to The Grand Hotel in Salem The Grand Hotel in Salem 201 Liberty Street SE Salem, Oregon Forward to a friend or colleague This message was intended for ejstar@hotmail.com Unsubscribe Now or reply to this and place 'unsubscribe' on the subject line. To ensure you receive future The Grand Hotel in Salem s, please add info@grandhotelsalem.com to your address book. Help The Grand Hotel in Salem. 201 Liberty Street SE Salem, OR

10 Wood Carmen From: Sent: To: Subject: Edward Starkman Thursday, December 08, :19 AM Hansell Judi Re: Generated Message from Oregon Department of Justice Judi, Thank you for your reply. I quite understand that the DOJ is simply trying to facilitate the resolution of the matter and I do appreciate your prompt efforts. However, I also thought that the DOJ should be aware of just how repellent the hotel's approach and offer was found to be. I have to consider whether it would ever be in my interest to transact any business with a hotel that would act in such a manner in the first place and then compound the problem with an insulting "offer" to simply do what they contracted to do in the first place. Luckily, we live in a commercially competitive system within which we have choices. Regards, Edward From: Edward Starkman <ejstar@hotmail.com> Sent: Tuesday, December 6, :13 PM To: judi.a.hansell@doj.state.or.us Subject: Fw: Generated Message from Oregon Department of Justice Judi, I received a call last night from a Philip Harris (503) He identified himself as an attorney representing The Grand Hotel in Salem. He asked if I would talk with him and I asked him to explain why he was calling. Mr. Harris expressed an apology for my having to file a claim with the DOJ regarding this matter. I listened patiently as he then began to add insult to injury: The hotel would honor the original nightly rate as long as I would: 1. Sign a release stating that I would withdraw my complaint with the DOJ 2. Sign a release stating that I would not criticize the hotel on social media, etc. I made it quite clear that I would sign absolutely nothing. The hotel is neither doing me any favors nor offering anything other than what they had originally agreed to offer - the originally agreed room rate. I will not sign anything that limits my First Amendment rights in return for simply getting what we originally agreed. I have absolutely no interest in publicly criticizing the hotel and was a bit surprised by their assumption. It made me feel that they are quite used to being called out for improper behavior. 1

11 I am aghast at the litigious attitude taken by the hotel as opposed to a simple effort to honor their originally proffered rate. The entire approach was a bit sleazy. I would appreciate your thoughts. Thank you, Edward From: Coonrod Jodi A <jodi.a.coonrod@doj.state.or.us> Sent: Monday, November 14, :49 PM To: 'ejstar@hotmail.com' Subject: Generated Message from Oregon Department of Justice Our File Number: FF Complaint About: GRAND HOTEL IN SALEM 2

12 Wood Carmen From: Sent: To: Subject: Edward Starkman Friday, December 23, :30 PM Re: Your confirmation (Grand Hotel in Salem) No CANCEL Please CANCEL this reservation No I would appreciate a return confirming the cancellation. Thank you, Edward Starkman From: reservations@grandhotelsalem.com Sent: Wednesday, July 20, :27 PM Subject: Your confirmation (Grand Hotel in Salem) No To: <ejstar@hotmail.com> Grand Hotel in Salem Subject : confirmation for reservation # Dear Edward & Nancy Starkman, We are pleased to confirm this reservation with Grand Hotel in Salem. Below is a summary of your booking and room information. We look forward to making your stay gratifying and memorable. When you're traveling away from home, you can always count on Grand Hotel in Salem. Grand Hotel in Salem 201 Liberty St SE SALEM, OR USA Toll free : Phone: Fax: Website: info@grandhotelsalem.com If you have any questions or require additional information, don't hesitate to contact us. Please do not reply to this message. It was sent from an unmonitored address and we are unable to respond to any replies. Informations regarding your 1

13 reservation Reservation for Guest Name : Edward & Nancy Starkman Confirmation #: Arrival Date : Sunday, August, 20, 2017 Departure Date : Monday, August, 21, 2017 Voucher Number: Booking type : Guest Adult : 2 Child : 0 Childrens : Rate Information Rate Currency: $ Room Rate: per night. Rate description: Plus tax when applicable First Night Rate With Tax: Insurance : 0.00 Service Charge: 0.00 Total Stay Amount: Deposit Amount: 0.00 Balance Due: Rate Program: Best Available Rate Room Information Number of Rooms: 1 Room Type: Grand Governor Suite Description: Grand Governor Suite-one King Bed Guarantee Method: Visa Required Deposit: 0.00 $ Room Address:,, Room Criteria None Special Request None Confirmation notes None Modify/Cancel To modify or cancel your reservation call in the U.S. and Canada. Rates From To 20-Aug Aug

14 Field:RoomPhotosTable not found Thank you for choosing Grand Hotel in Salem. This was sent 20-Jul-2016 at 4:24PM. 3

15 HARRISHOSPITALITYLAW PHILIP S. HARRIS Direct (503) Admitted in CA, OR, and WA TAMSEN L. MCCRACKEN Direct (415) Admitted in CA Via to Department of Justice Civil Enforcement Department 1162 Court Street NE Salem, OR Attn: Mrs. Judi Hansell, Enforcement Officer December 22, 2016 Re: FF Edward Starkman Dear Mrs. Hansell, I am writing on behalf of my client The Grand Hotel in Salem (the Hotel ), regarding the complaint filed by Mr. Starkman on November 2, I personally called Mr. Starkman in an effort to resolve his concerns, but since he is unwilling to withdraw his complaint, the following is the Hotel s formal response. FACTS: On August 21, 2017, Salem, Oregon will be the largest metropolitan area and the first state capital to be directly in the path of a total solar eclipse. According to an August 28, 2016 article in the Salem Statesman Journal, Travel Salem reports that hotels are booked out throughout the state, sometimes for years in advance. Naturally, this event has generated considerable interest from domestic and international visitors who wish to witness the eclipse. Mr. Starkman is one of these visitors. In July 2015, two years in advance, Mr. Starkman contacted the Hotel to request a room at the Hotel for the night of August 21, At that time, the Hotel s Front Desk Manager, who took the call, following the Hotel s procedure for Eclipse reservations, informed Mr. Starkman that while the Hotel was prepared to hold a room for his arrival, the Hotel had not determined the price or other terms of the booking, and that it would re-contact Mr. Starkman in September or October of 2016 to provide him with these details and confirm the reservation. After some discussion, Mr. Starkman determined that he was interested in a Governor Suite at the Hotel, a room that typically sells for $269 per night, plus applicable taxes. In July, 2016, still one year in advance, and before the time he had been advised that eclipse rates and minimum stays would be published, Mr. Starkman contacted the hotel and requested a written confirmation of his reservation from a staff level front desk agent (and not the Hotel s Front Desk Manager). Since the Hotel had, as previously advised, not yet published the eclipse 17 Frances Avenue, Larkspur, California E-Fax (270)

16 FF Edward Starkman December 22, 2016 Page 2 rate and minimum stay requirements, that staff level agent unwittingly ed Mr. Starkman a confirmation that reflected a one-night stay at the Hotel s June 2016 regular rate. The Hotel did not consider this communication to be an offer, but merely a confirmation that it was holding a room for Mr. Starkman from its inventory, pending agreement upon the price and any minimum night requirements, once determined. It is this confirmation that Mr. Starkman asserts creates a binding offer. It does not because the Hotel had already communicated alternate procedures for room reservations with respect to this particular event consistent with what each Eclipse event guest had been told when he or she initially called to book a room at the Hotel. The Hotel s procedure was (i) to re-contact those guests that had requested a room be held for them, (ii) provide the pricing and minimum night stay details for the room, and (iii) if the guest then desired to move forward with the reservation, send the guest a written contract including a prearrival payment obligation. Consistent with these procedures, in October 2016, the Hotel recontacted Mr. Starkman and informed him that the nightly rate for the Governor Suite was $599 plus tax, and that there would be a three night minimum. In response, Mr. Starkman filed the above referenced complaint with the Department of Justice. The Hotel has followed the above-described procedures with all 193 persons requesting rooms for the nights of the Eclipse. As of this writing, 91 guests have already returned their fully executed and accepted contracts. The remainder have been mailed to guests for signature and return and the deadline for returning them is not until March 1, COMPETITION IN THE MARKET: The following information regarding competitive pricing is also relevant: The Hotel price-shopped the competition before establishing its own pricing. The Hotel determined that some competing hotels required 5 night minimum stays, others required 3 night minimum stays, and others required 2 night minimum stays. The Hotel also determined that some competing hotels were charging upwards of $500/night plus tax for a single room with a king bed in addition to multiple night minimum stays. The Hotel s pricing for a single room with a king bed is significantly less - $349/night plus tax with a 3 night minimum. The Governor Suite reserved by Mr. Starkman, is a two-roomed suite (there are only 3 of these room types at the Hotel) was priced at $599/night with a 3 night minimum. The other two Governor Suites have been sold to a long time corporate client of the Hotel at a 10% discount from this rate ($549/night plus taxes) in consideration of that client s status as the Hotel s top account. SETTLEMENT OFFER. On December 5, 2016, the undersigned spoke with Mr. Starkman, offered him the opportunity to have an attorney on the call (which he declined) explained the foregoing, and notwithstanding all of the above stated justification of rate and minimum night stays, offered Mr. Starkman the Governor Suite for the night of August 21, 2016 for $269 plus taxes, provided however, that Mr. Starkman would be required to withdraw his complaint with the DOJ and execute a release and confidentiality agreement. Mr. Starkman instructed the undersigned to never call him again, and hung up. Accordingly, the undersigned has not communicated with Mr. Starkman since, nor has he been copied on this response.

17 FF Edward Starkman December 22, 2016 Page 3 ISSUE: Do the foregoing facts give rise to a claim for price-gauging under Oregon law. APPLICABLE LAW - PRICE-GAUGING: ORS provides that a person engages in an unlawful practice if in the course of the persons business, vocation or occupation the person:..(3) violates ORS (abnormal disruption of market). An abnormal disruption of the market means any human created or natural event or circumstance that causes essential consumer goods or services to be not readily available. ORS (1). A natural event or circumstance includes but is not limited to fire, explosion, flood, severe weather, earthquake, volcanic activity acts of terrorism and war. ORS (13). ORS provides that in the event the Governor declares that an abnormal disruption of the market has occurred, merchants are prohibited from offering or selling essential goods or services in an amount that exceed 15% or more than the price for which they were sold immediately prior to the Governor s declaration. DO THE FACTS SUPPORT A CLAIM OF PRICE-GAUGING? Obviously, the answer is no. As of the date of this writing, the Governor has made no declaration that an abnormal disruption of the market has occurred. Furthermore, an eclipse is not a natural event or circumstance under ORS (13). APPLICABLE LAW UNLAWFUL BUSINESS PRACTICES ORS provides that a person engages in an unlawful practice if in the course of the persons business, vocation or occupation the person:..(2) Fails to deliver all or any portion of real estate, goods or services as promised, and at a customer s request, fails to refund money that the customer gave to the person to purchase the undelivered real estate, goods or services and that the person does not retain pursuant to any right, claim or defense the person may assert in good faith. This subsection does not create a warranty obligation and does not apply to a dispute over the quality of real estate, goods or services delivered to a customer;. DO THE FACTS SUPPORT A CLAIM THAT THE HOTEL ENGAGED IN AN UNLAWFUL BUSINESS PRACTICE? No. First, the conditions precedent to the creation of a promise between the Hotel and Mr. Starkman included that the Hotel would contact Mr. Starkman with pricing and minimum stay requirements, obtain the guest s agreement, send a written contract, and receive pre-arrival payment. In this case, the Hotel did contact Mr. Starkman with the pricing and minimum stay requirements; however, Mr. Starkman did not agree to them. Accordingly, the Hotel has not failed to deliver the room as promised. Mr. Starkman may assert that his contacting the Hotel and requesting the confirmation he attached to the complaint constituted a promise; however, first, this was not the arrangement for confirming rooms for the eclipse event; and second, a simple hotel reservation confirmation is not a de facto contractual commitment on behalf of the Hotel because, since the guest can always

18 FF Edward Starkman December 22, 2016 Page 4 cancel the reservation prior to the cancellation cut-off time, arguably the guest has not given legal consideration for the Hotel s promise to make the room available. In any event, Mr. Starkman s complaint should not warrant any further action because the Hotel did offer Mr. Starkman the opportunity to stay at the Hotel for one night for the rate of $269 plus tax provided that Mr. Starkman executed a release of claims. And that offer remains open. Moreover, even if the DOJ determines the Hotel has an obligation to offer Mr. Starkman the room for one night at a rate of $269 plus tax without executing a release, Mr. Starkman s claim is not ripe because the Hotel s obligation to provide the room will not arise until August 21, Therefore the Hotel has not failed to deliver real estate, goods or services as promised. We therefore respectfully request that the Civil Enforcement Division determine that no further action is warranted. Sincerely, Philip S. Harris Cc: Salem Grand Hotel

19 Wood Carmen From: Sent: To: Subject: Edward Starkman Friday, December 23, :23 PM Hansell Judi Re: OUR FILE NUMBER FF Judi, Thank you for your . Here is my response to Mr. Harris' rather tiresome response: 1. I did not tell Mr. Harris not to contact me again. I told him not to call me again. 2. Mr. Harris apparently needs to research the difference between price gouging and price gauging as he wrote in the response. My apologies if price gauging is an actual thing. My search showed nothing about such a term. 3. When I initially made the reservation two years in advance in 2015 I was indeed informed that the room rate had not yet been set and that was perfectly acceptable given the special event. I was never informed by anyone of when the room rate would be set. 4. When I was sent a confirmation a year later after I changed my form of payment it included a quoted room rate of $269 per night for a one night stay. I was never informed of a minimum stay requirement by anyone. Any reasonable person would have taken that confirmation as evidence of the offered room rate. There was no note regarding any coming revision of the rate. 5. In November 2016 I was then sent the new confirmation with the higher rate of $599 with no explanation whatsoever. 6. When the revised confirmation was sent to me I left a voic for the reservations manager at The Grand Hotel. No one ever returned my call. That simple missed courtesy could have negated the need for the filing of my complaint with the DOJ. The hotel's decision to create an officious and litigious response has been even more annoying than the original insult. 7. I have already found my remedy in the form of securing a confirmed reservation at a higher quality hotel charging reasonable rates as opposed to The Grand Hotel in Salem. I will never stay at that establishment for any reason given their methods of conducting business. I have already been required to spend far more time on this matter than should ever have been the case. Thank you, Edward Starkman Get Outlook for ios From: Hansell Judi <judi.a.hansell@doj.state.or.us> Sent: Friday, December 23, :34 AM Subject: OUR FILE NUMBER FF To: 'Edward Starkman' <ejstar@hotmail.com> Greetings Mr. Starkman, 1

20 We received the attached response from Philip Harris, attorney for the Grand Hotel. choose, submit a rebuttal within the next (15) business days. Please review the response and, if you Happy Holidays, Judi Hansell,Enforcement Officer Financial Fraud/Consumer Protection Section Oregon Department of Justice 1162 Court St. NE, Salem, OR Direct Fax judi.a.hansell@doj.state.or.us *****CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE***** This may contain information that is privileged, confidential, or otherwise exempt from disclosure under applicable law. If you are not the addressee or it appears from the context or otherwise that you have received this e- mail in error, please advise me immediately by reply , keep the contents confidential, and immediately delete the message and any attachments from your system. ************************************ 2