Holiday Inn - Louisville

We had a volleyball tournament at the Louisville Expo Center very close to this hotel.  2 sets of parents from the team found themselves with double bookings at this hotel.  My wife made a reservation...and so did I.  The process is confusing.  Regardless...Yes...we messed up.  When I arrived I was told that it was too late to cancel one of the reservations (per policy) and that I would be charged for the extra unused room.  Then the phone rang.  The front desk clerk that was helping me took the call and said "sorry...all of our room for tonight are booked" .  I interrupted her call and said " Wait...There is a room right here... We just talked about how I didn't need it."  She hung up the phone and said "Sorry...it doesn't work that way".  They refused to open the room to other travelers. 
I'm frustrated on two fronts:
1) They billed me for a room that could have easily been used by someone else. 
2) Someone may have slept in their car while this room was unused. It dropped below 30 degrees that night.  This is a huge event.  Every room in the city is taken. 
Simply put...the management of this facility lacks good judgements, ethics, and an understanding of good service. 

I thought the staff was professional and courteous. My wife and I are an older couple and we just wanted a nice and quiet stay. The whole time by the pool there was a lot of rowdiness. They compensated for that, which I thought was very professional of them.