KISSIMMEE, Fla. – A Florida father said his family vacation to Central Florida theme parks was derailed after his 3-year-old daughter found a sex toy in their resort room at Holiday Inn Club Vacations’ Orange Lake Resort in Kissimmee.
On the second night of their stay in August, Mike Gross told News 6 his daughter walked up behind him in the room with what she called a “present.”
“My daughter, 3 years old, comes up behind me and says, ‘Daddy, I’ve got a present for you,’” he said. “And I’m expecting to turn around and find something cute she’s going to hand me or found around the hotel room or whatever. And she hands me a used vibrator.”
Gross said he reported it to the resort immediately, but he says he didn’t hear anything back that night or the following morning as the family was heading to Disney.
He says the impact on the trip was immediate.
“We’re heading to Disney, and I am not in the spirit of play,” Gross said. “I’m not there with my family. I am stuck in this situation and confusion of how could such a large resort care so little about the situation.”
“The whole trip was ruined at that point,” he added.
Furious, he said he ultimately returned the item to the lobby himself nearly 24 hours later. At this time, he said he completed a security report.
Weeks later, Gross said the company offered him $1,300 and a free future stay. He said the money was not worth what Holiday Inn Club Vacations wanted from him in return.
The father of two young children said the multi-page settlement agreement came with a condition he did not expect: language that would have barred him from speaking about the situation.
“I figured it’d be a boilerplate release,” Gross said. “But when the release came, it was just so broad and overreaching.”
One page of the settlement agreement stipulates that “Guest agrees they will not contact or otherwise communicate with any federal, state, local, municipal or any other governmental, quasi-governmental agency or private consumer protection company (i.e. Better Business Bureau) about the Incident or anything in any way related thereto.”
Another provision of the release deals with non-disparagement. It lists Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Tik Tok, Twitter and television and suggests the guest should not “disparage, defame, impugn, damage or assail the reputation, or cause or tend to cause the recipient of a communication to question the business condition, integrity, competence, good character, professionalism, or quality of Holiday Inn Club Vacations Incorporated.”
The final section states that the agreement “does not constitute an admission of guilt or liability” on behalf of the company.
“Mistakes happen, we get that,” Gross said. “But just the lack of care, speed, attention, it is unacceptable.”
Gross did not sign the agreement. He said he reported the incident to state investigators, including the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services and the Better Business Bureau, instead.
In a written response to the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services, Holiday Inn Club Vacations said, “The Company regrets that Mr. Gross remains dissatisfied with both the underlying incident and his experience following the report. The cleanliness of guest accommodations and the appropriate handling of guest concerns are important to the Company.”
Gross told News 6 the issue was not about a payout, but about accountability and preventing another family from going through the same experience.
“I hope that they make some real changes,” he said. “And I honestly hope that no other child or family has to experience this level of negligence and neglect.”
In a statement to News 6, a representative on behalf of Holiday Inn Club Vacations said, “We take matters involving guest experience very seriously. We have been in contact with Mr. Gross on an ongoing basis regarding his concerns. We have addressed the matter with the appropriate resort teams.”
Due to it being a “specific guest situation,” the company said they could provide further details about private discussions.
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