Econo Lodge Hotels in Jasper

My wife and I had a bad experience at the Econo Lodge in Jasper, Ala. Since we were traveling with two dogs, I booked the room through Fido.com, which has a list of pet-friendly hotels. We paid $110 for the room and were advised that there would be an extra $50 fee, $25 for each dog. That is fairly standard. When we got to the hotel, the clerk upped the fee to $60, which I paid. He also asked several times for a $100 cash deposit, which I declined, but did agree to $100 credit card hold. The room was mostly fine. The blanket had cigarette burns and holes in it, and some of the towels were old and stained. The remote didn't work but the office gave me one that did. The next morning when I went to check out, the clerk (same, cash-demanding fellow), said the room had to be inspected. He sent up a young man who didn't speak English. The clerk then sent me back to the room where the young man pointed to a few dog hairs on the blanket and made quite a fuss in a language I didn't understand. I went back to the office where the clerk informed me that he could make the dog hairs go away if I gave him $80 cash for dry-cleaning. I suggested any extra laundering required by the dog hairs could be covered by the $60 fee I had already paid, and I left. It's been two weeks, and the Jasper, Ala., Econo Lodge is refusing to release the $100 hold on my credit card. I have challenged the charge with my credit card company. The issue has yet to be resolved. Be careful at this hotel. The multiple demands for cash payouts make me wonder if the clerk and his fussy colleague are running a scam to extract cash from weary travelers with pets.