Getting them in the door

[Morticia]

What if you say something like "well, our rooms range from xxx$ to xxx$$. Come in and let me show you what I have available." Hopefully that will get them in the door and then you can discuss the price when you take them to the room and get them away from the other guests..

What if you say something like "well, our rooms range from xxx$ to xxx$$. Come in and let me show you what I have available." Hopefully that will get them in the door and then you can discuss the price when you take them to the room and get them away from the other guests.

OK, stating a range of prices might work if I have more than one room open at the time. Thanks!
.

What if you say something like "well, our rooms range from xxx$ to xxx$$. Come in and let me show you what I have available." Hopefully that will get them in the door and then you can discuss the price when you take them to the room and get them away from the other guests.

OK, stating a range of prices might work if I have more than one room open at the time. Thanks!

That is also what I d, I tell the the price starts at XXX and goes to XXX, depending on the room. Most people either walk right away or the come in and usually end up paying full price.
.

What if you say something like "well, our rooms range from xxx$ to xxx$$. Come in and let me show you what I have available." Hopefully that will get them in the door and then you can discuss the price when you take them to the room and get them away from the other guests.

OK, stating a range of prices might work if I have more than one room open at the time. Thanks!

That is also what I d, I tell the the price starts at XXX and goes to XXX, depending on the room. Most people either walk right away or the come in and usually end up paying full price.

Altho, what has happened is I've quoted prices for the high end and the low end rooms and then been asked, 'Can we have the high end room for the low end price?' Which is why I hate it when the polar opposite rooms are avail. It's just a BIG difference in price.
.

Our rates range from ____ to ______
'Can we have the high end room for the low end price?'
"Oh that room is taken. However we do have a room available for ____. And how many nights were you planning to stay?"
.

Our rates range from ____ to ______
'Can we have the high end room for the low end price?'
"Oh that room is taken. However we do have a room available for ____. And how many nights were you planning to stay?"

So you think I should quote rates for room that aren't avail? If I do that, I have to knock off the low rate if that room isn't open or it seems like a bait and switch.
We've already had one lookie lou today. Blew in here like a bat out of hell, 'Whadda ya got?' Blew right back out again. I watched him go up and down the street, zip in, jump out of the car, jump back in, blow out of the driveway to the next B&B.

 

[Penelope]

So these guys are worse than bed kickers. They are vultures

 

[gillumhouse]

What if you say something like "well, our rooms range from xxx$ to xxx$$. Come in and let me show you what I have available." Hopefully that will get them in the door and then you can discuss the price when you take them to the room and get them away from the other guests..

What if you say something like "well, our rooms range from xxx$ to xxx$$. Come in and let me show you what I have available." Hopefully that will get them in the door and then you can discuss the price when you take them to the room and get them away from the other guests.

OK, stating a range of prices might work if I have more than one room open at the time. Thanks!
.

What if you say something like "well, our rooms range from xxx$ to xxx$$. Come in and let me show you what I have available." Hopefully that will get them in the door and then you can discuss the price when you take them to the room and get them away from the other guests.

OK, stating a range of prices might work if I have more than one room open at the time. Thanks!

That is also what I d, I tell the the price starts at XXX and goes to XXX, depending on the room. Most people either walk right away or the come in and usually end up paying full price.
.

What if you say something like "well, our rooms range from xxx$ to xxx$$. Come in and let me show you what I have available." Hopefully that will get them in the door and then you can discuss the price when you take them to the room and get them away from the other guests.

OK, stating a range of prices might work if I have more than one room open at the time. Thanks!

That is also what I d, I tell the the price starts at XXX and goes to XXX, depending on the room. Most people either walk right away or the come in and usually end up paying full price.

Altho, what has happened is I've quoted prices for the high end and the low end rooms and then been asked, 'Can we have the high end room for the low end price?' Which is why I hate it when the polar opposite rooms are avail. It's just a BIG difference in price.
.

Our rates range from ____ to ______
'Can we have the high end room for the low end price?'
"Oh that room is taken. However we do have a room available for ____. And how many nights were you planning to stay?"
.

Our rates range from ____ to ______
'Can we have the high end room for the low end price?'
"Oh that room is taken. However we do have a room available for ____. And how many nights were you planning to stay?"

So you think I should quote rates for room that aren't avail? If I do that, I have to knock off the low rate if that room isn't open or it seems like a bait and switch.
We've already had one lookie lou today. Blew in here like a bat out of hell, 'Whadda ya got?' Blew right back out again. I watched him go up and down the street, zip in, jump out of the car, jump back in, blow out of the driveway to the next B&B.
.

He asked your rates and you are telling him your rates - not your availability, your rates. Availability has a different answer. You can then answer with the available room is ___ (you do not have to name the room for the big ears to hear, just we have a room available for____.
As for We've already had one lookie lou today. Blew in here like a bat out of hell, 'Whadda ya got?' Blew right back out again. I watched him go up and down the street, zip in, jump out of the car, jump back in, blow out of the driveway to the next B&B. Do you really want him?

 

[Morticia]

So these guys are worse than bed kickers. They are vultures

.

So these guys are worse than bed kickers. They are vultures

I don't care anymore that they don't like the price. They are driving up the coast seeing signs along the highway for $80-$90 rooms. Heck, there's a sign out 2 miles from here that says '$59!' but I've heard they have ONE room that is $59. If they skipped the pricier towns along the way, this town comes as a shock to them. If they started up north, tho, this town is cheap.

 

[Penelope]

So these guys are worse than bed kickers. They are vultures

.

So these guys are worse than bed kickers. They are vultures

I don't care anymore that they don't like the price. They are driving up the coast seeing signs along the highway for $80-$90 rooms. Heck, there's a sign out 2 miles from here that says '$59!' but I've heard they have ONE room that is $59. If they skipped the pricier towns along the way, this town comes as a shock to them. If they started up north, tho, this town is cheap.
.

I don't care anymore that they don't like the price. They are driving up the coast seeing signs along the highway for $80-$90 rooms. Heck, there's a sign out 2 miles from here that says '$59!' but I've heard they have ONE room that is $59. If they skipped the pricier towns along the way, this town comes as a shock to them. If they started up north, tho, this town is cheap.

I admire your sense. So getting them to even stop to see what you're about is a bigger challenge than getting them to come thru the door, isn't it?
I bet the number of people you could convert to B&Bs if they would let themselves be coverted would be huge

 

[Morticia]

So these guys are worse than bed kickers. They are vultures

.

So these guys are worse than bed kickers. They are vultures

I don't care anymore that they don't like the price. They are driving up the coast seeing signs along the highway for $80-$90 rooms. Heck, there's a sign out 2 miles from here that says '$59!' but I've heard they have ONE room that is $59. If they skipped the pricier towns along the way, this town comes as a shock to them. If they started up north, tho, this town is cheap.
.

I don't care anymore that they don't like the price. They are driving up the coast seeing signs along the highway for $80-$90 rooms. Heck, there's a sign out 2 miles from here that says '$59!' but I've heard they have ONE room that is $59. If they skipped the pricier towns along the way, this town comes as a shock to them. If they started up north, tho, this town is cheap.

I admire your sense. So getting them to even stop to see what you're about is a bigger challenge than getting them to come thru the door, isn't it?
I bet the number of people you could convert to B&Bs if they would let themselves be coverted would be huge
.

I don't care anymore that they don't like the price. They are driving up the coast seeing signs along the highway for $80-$90 rooms. Heck, there's a sign out 2 miles from here that says '$59!' but I've heard they have ONE room that is $59. If they skipped the pricier towns along the way, this town comes as a shock to them. If they started up north, tho, this town is cheap.

I admire your sense. So getting them to even stop to see what you're about is a bigger challenge than getting them to come thru the door, isn't it?
I bet the number of people you could convert to B&Bs if they would let themselves be coverted would be huge

I don't think it's that hard to get them to stop. What happens is they just drive 100 miles seeing $80, $90, $59 and now, when they pull in, they hear $150. It's a disconnect. They had it in their heads that it wouldn't be more than $100 and would probably be a lot less. Right now, my prices won't get them in if they weren't B&B people because the hotels are hurting and their prices have not gone up to their usual $250. They are still around $160-$170 and you get breakfast for that price and a pool. So it's an effort to get non-B&B to try a B&B at those prices.

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

was that a double post?

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

Talk about disconnect.....
This whole phenonemon and others like it is the direct result of the "Dave Ramseys, etc..." using their airtime to ignore that "we" as in innkeeprs, hoteliers, etc. are also part of the economy and encouraging people to NOT make advance reservations and prod for a generous discount last minute.
My hope is that enough people will spend a few nights in their cars, at inferior hotels, get dinged by added fees, etc.. to snap them back to reality on doing what used to make the most sense, book in advance, go where you really want to go and understand that we are all in this together.
People better realize that we're all not immune to the economic pressures or somehow able to absorb less bookings, for less overall money, and more demands. If people like the look of a place, they should patronize it, be grateful for whatever discount they are offered, or maybe the next time, it'll be gone or under new maybe less generous ownership in some cases.
I just got the second call in two months from the same person looking for a room at the government per diem rate for a two week stay. All the hotels and motels where he is working are fully booked because of the project he's coming to work on, so he thought he'd "give us a another chance at his business"
His exact words....
It was as if the entire conversation from last month didn't register in the slightest. The per diem here is $84 and he wanted the lodging tax included in the $84. We could have made it work in our lowest priced room for all of his days except two but he wouldn't budge an inch, so he barely thanked me for the effort and who knows where he ended up.
We're 15 minutes away from where he'll be working, but he'll probably end up 45 minutes away in a dump just to make sure his employer reimburses him for every penny he spends including the higher tax he'll pay. He has to be at the job site at 7:30am each day, so he just robbed himself of an extra half hour of sleep each day to save a few more bucks.
I was willing to give him the room at $95 plus tax, a $40 per night discount despite us having to get up earlier each morning to get him breakfast and run the risk of him distrurbing any of our leisure guests staying here the next two weeks.
The only thing he was willing to hear was "Yes, we can do it for $84 tax included" He tries it again next month, and he won't get the time of day out of me.
So ten minutes later this wonderful woman calls and tells me her husband has just been sent from Dallas to work on this same project and she is trying to secure him a room somewhere for 12 nights with no luck whatsoever. She might be joining him for part of the stay and that will be fun for them as they've never been here before together.
Totally respectful, really impressed with our place, very friendly, grateful I am even trying to help her, etc.. He doesn't need to be up there until 8:30 each morning, so no big impact on the breakfast schedule like the other guy.
I offer her husband the same room as the other guy for $88 per night plus tax and give her the website for a few other hotels near here, for the couple of nights we couldn't accommodate him.
See what a little respect and friendliness will get you?
She calls back ten minutes later and got him a room until we are ready for him, is so grateful that he isn't driving from Dallas and be forced to sleep in the car his first few nights and we've got a room blocked out for 12 days straight.
Win....win for everybody.
So, its at a big discount, we'll make it up somewhere else. We helped someone in need and who wasn't strategically doing no planning, his boss said "they need you up there, get in your truck and go, NOW"
That kind of goodwill is tough to pay for.
I'm afraid this lack of planning stuff probably isn't going to go away any time soon though.

 

[Morticia]

was that a double post?.

I'm afraid this lack of planning stuff probably isn't going to go away any time soon though.

9 PM with 2 kids in tow wondering what the rate is and saying it's too much is a big lack of planning, but we see it all the time. I can't do per diem rates, it's just too low. The per diem about 3 hours north is much higher but here it's about $90 for gov't employees. A friend of mine wanted to get his whole team in here for 6 weeks at a time but they get rates of $75 at the hotels, so no way his company is paying twice that. Plus, I think they're happier at a hotel where they can go to the bar at night and smoke in their rooms. (Even tho in-room smoking is not allowed anywhere in this state, some hotels turn a blind eye (and nose).)
And, me? I think guests who stay longer than a week get too comfortable anyway. They start wanting amenities like kitchen privileges and laundry service. That's too relaxed for me.
I don't know who Dave Ramsey is, is he local to you?

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

was that a double post?.

I'm afraid this lack of planning stuff probably isn't going to go away any time soon though.

9 PM with 2 kids in tow wondering what the rate is and saying it's too much is a big lack of planning, but we see it all the time. I can't do per diem rates, it's just too low. The per diem about 3 hours north is much higher but here it's about $90 for gov't employees. A friend of mine wanted to get his whole team in here for 6 weeks at a time but they get rates of $75 at the hotels, so no way his company is paying twice that. Plus, I think they're happier at a hotel where they can go to the bar at night and smoke in their rooms. (Even tho in-room smoking is not allowed anywhere in this state, some hotels turn a blind eye (and nose).)
And, me? I think guests who stay longer than a week get too comfortable anyway. They start wanting amenities like kitchen privileges and laundry service. That's too relaxed for me.
I don't know who Dave Ramsey is, is he local to you?
.

Arrrghhh! and arrrgghh!
The woman I was so nice with just called and cancelled saying the husband's work plans now have him working nowhere near here. AND wants the entire deposit waived. We're talking about an $1,100 booking with tax and she doesn't even want ot commit to $100.00 for our trouble.
She's like, "Well can we sit on it a few days and see if anybody else books some of the nights?
Sure, let me give you enough time to call your credit card company and have them put a red flag on any charges we try to run on her card.
I'm ready to spit bullets here and she isn't nearly as nice as she was yesterday.
Well, the upside is that all the great advice and knowledge I've gleened from these pages the last few months has raised my patience level that I handled it with a level of diplomacy and tact that even my most ardent enemies would be proud of.
Yeah lady, times are tough for everybody, you should have double checked all the details before you had a small struggling business who has gotten over 130 hits to his website each of the last three days to block out his now most popular room for the next 11 freakin' nights.
Dave Ramsey is one of those financial "thrift" talk show hosts on CNBC or MSNBC, I forget. He and all the other hosts like that give financial advice have been spouting this stuff since about January.
Doing it with kids in tow seems so weird and ripe with the makings of a lousy vacation.

 

[swirt]

What if you say something like "well, our rooms range from xxx$ to xxx$$. Come in and let me show you what I have available." Hopefully that will get them in the door and then you can discuss the price when you take them to the room and get them away from the other guests..

What if you say something like "well, our rooms range from xxx$ to xxx$$. Come in and let me show you what I have available." Hopefully that will get them in the door and then you can discuss the price when you take them to the room and get them away from the other guests.

OK, stating a range of prices might work if I have more than one room open at the time. Thanks!
.

Would most of your in-house guests know how many rooms you have open at any given time? Ours are usually oblivious. Use a range no matter what.
.

Would most of your in-house guests know how many rooms you have open at any given time? Ours are usually oblivious. Use a range no matter what.

That's why I said I have to get rid of the complimentary guest computer where you can look up the rooms with a click of the mouse, should you be so inclined. But, no, I don't think most guests know what rooms are open or how many. But I do think they'd know that I was charging a lot less than they paid for their big room but not realize the small room is tiny.
.

That's why I said I have to get rid of the complimentary guest computer where you can look up the rooms with a click of the mouse,
Or you could block that page from the browser (same way you block pages for a child).

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

Talk about disconnect.....
This whole phenonemon and others like it is the direct result of the "Dave Ramseys, etc..." using their airtime to ignore that "we" as in innkeeprs, hoteliers, etc. are also part of the economy and encouraging people to NOT make advance reservations and prod for a generous discount last minute.
My hope is that enough people will spend a few nights in their cars, at inferior hotels, get dinged by added fees, etc.. to snap them back to reality on doing what used to make the most sense, book in advance, go where you really want to go and understand that we are all in this together.
People better realize that we're all not immune to the economic pressures or somehow able to absorb less bookings, for less overall money, and more demands. If people like the look of a place, they should patronize it, be grateful for whatever discount they are offered, or maybe the next time, it'll be gone or under new maybe less generous ownership in some cases.
I just got the second call in two months from the same person looking for a room at the government per diem rate for a two week stay. All the hotels and motels where he is working are fully booked because of the project he's coming to work on, so he thought he'd "give us a another chance at his business"
His exact words....
It was as if the entire conversation from last month didn't register in the slightest. The per diem here is $84 and he wanted the lodging tax included in the $84. We could have made it work in our lowest priced room for all of his days except two but he wouldn't budge an inch, so he barely thanked me for the effort and who knows where he ended up.
We're 15 minutes away from where he'll be working, but he'll probably end up 45 minutes away in a dump just to make sure his employer reimburses him for every penny he spends including the higher tax he'll pay. He has to be at the job site at 7:30am each day, so he just robbed himself of an extra half hour of sleep each day to save a few more bucks.
I was willing to give him the room at $95 plus tax, a $40 per night discount despite us having to get up earlier each morning to get him breakfast and run the risk of him distrurbing any of our leisure guests staying here the next two weeks.
The only thing he was willing to hear was "Yes, we can do it for $84 tax included" He tries it again next month, and he won't get the time of day out of me.
So ten minutes later this wonderful woman calls and tells me her husband has just been sent from Dallas to work on this same project and she is trying to secure him a room somewhere for 12 nights with no luck whatsoever. She might be joining him for part of the stay and that will be fun for them as they've never been here before together.
Totally respectful, really impressed with our place, very friendly, grateful I am even trying to help her, etc.. He doesn't need to be up there until 8:30 each morning, so no big impact on the breakfast schedule like the other guy.
I offer her husband the same room as the other guy for $88 per night plus tax and give her the website for a few other hotels near here, for the couple of nights we couldn't accommodate him.
See what a little respect and friendliness will get you?
She calls back ten minutes later and got him a room until we are ready for him, is so grateful that he isn't driving from Dallas and be forced to sleep in the car his first few nights and we've got a room blocked out for 12 days straight.
Win....win for everybody.
So, its at a big discount, we'll make it up somewhere else. We helped someone in need and who wasn't strategically doing no planning, his boss said "they need you up there, get in your truck and go, NOW"
That kind of goodwill is tough to pay for.
I'm afraid this lack of planning stuff probably isn't going to go away any time soon though..

"See what a little respect and friendliness will get you?"
Yeah, that one really worked in this case.

 

[Morticia]

Talk about disconnect.....
This whole phenonemon and others like it is the direct result of the "Dave Ramseys, etc..." using their airtime to ignore that "we" as in innkeeprs, hoteliers, etc. are also part of the economy and encouraging people to NOT make advance reservations and prod for a generous discount last minute.
My hope is that enough people will spend a few nights in their cars, at inferior hotels, get dinged by added fees, etc.. to snap them back to reality on doing what used to make the most sense, book in advance, go where you really want to go and understand that we are all in this together.
People better realize that we're all not immune to the economic pressures or somehow able to absorb less bookings, for less overall money, and more demands. If people like the look of a place, they should patronize it, be grateful for whatever discount they are offered, or maybe the next time, it'll be gone or under new maybe less generous ownership in some cases.
I just got the second call in two months from the same person looking for a room at the government per diem rate for a two week stay. All the hotels and motels where he is working are fully booked because of the project he's coming to work on, so he thought he'd "give us a another chance at his business"
His exact words....
It was as if the entire conversation from last month didn't register in the slightest. The per diem here is $84 and he wanted the lodging tax included in the $84. We could have made it work in our lowest priced room for all of his days except two but he wouldn't budge an inch, so he barely thanked me for the effort and who knows where he ended up.
We're 15 minutes away from where he'll be working, but he'll probably end up 45 minutes away in a dump just to make sure his employer reimburses him for every penny he spends including the higher tax he'll pay. He has to be at the job site at 7:30am each day, so he just robbed himself of an extra half hour of sleep each day to save a few more bucks.
I was willing to give him the room at $95 plus tax, a $40 per night discount despite us having to get up earlier each morning to get him breakfast and run the risk of him distrurbing any of our leisure guests staying here the next two weeks.
The only thing he was willing to hear was "Yes, we can do it for $84 tax included" He tries it again next month, and he won't get the time of day out of me.
So ten minutes later this wonderful woman calls and tells me her husband has just been sent from Dallas to work on this same project and she is trying to secure him a room somewhere for 12 nights with no luck whatsoever. She might be joining him for part of the stay and that will be fun for them as they've never been here before together.
Totally respectful, really impressed with our place, very friendly, grateful I am even trying to help her, etc.. He doesn't need to be up there until 8:30 each morning, so no big impact on the breakfast schedule like the other guy.
I offer her husband the same room as the other guy for $88 per night plus tax and give her the website for a few other hotels near here, for the couple of nights we couldn't accommodate him.
See what a little respect and friendliness will get you?
She calls back ten minutes later and got him a room until we are ready for him, is so grateful that he isn't driving from Dallas and be forced to sleep in the car his first few nights and we've got a room blocked out for 12 days straight.
Win....win for everybody.
So, its at a big discount, we'll make it up somewhere else. We helped someone in need and who wasn't strategically doing no planning, his boss said "they need you up there, get in your truck and go, NOW"
That kind of goodwill is tough to pay for.
I'm afraid this lack of planning stuff probably isn't going to go away any time soon though..

"See what a little respect and friendliness will get you?"
Yeah, that one really worked in this case.
.

"See what a little respect and friendliness will get you?"
Yeah, that one really worked in this case.

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be nice. Or to go out of your way to accommodate someone. If any of us could just figure out WHEN it's not worth it, life would be so much easier. So we bumble along being nice to as many people as we can and hope it does some good with our karma if nothing else!

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

Talk about disconnect.....
This whole phenonemon and others like it is the direct result of the "Dave Ramseys, etc..." using their airtime to ignore that "we" as in innkeeprs, hoteliers, etc. are also part of the economy and encouraging people to NOT make advance reservations and prod for a generous discount last minute.
My hope is that enough people will spend a few nights in their cars, at inferior hotels, get dinged by added fees, etc.. to snap them back to reality on doing what used to make the most sense, book in advance, go where you really want to go and understand that we are all in this together.
People better realize that we're all not immune to the economic pressures or somehow able to absorb less bookings, for less overall money, and more demands. If people like the look of a place, they should patronize it, be grateful for whatever discount they are offered, or maybe the next time, it'll be gone or under new maybe less generous ownership in some cases.
I just got the second call in two months from the same person looking for a room at the government per diem rate for a two week stay. All the hotels and motels where he is working are fully booked because of the project he's coming to work on, so he thought he'd "give us a another chance at his business"
His exact words....
It was as if the entire conversation from last month didn't register in the slightest. The per diem here is $84 and he wanted the lodging tax included in the $84. We could have made it work in our lowest priced room for all of his days except two but he wouldn't budge an inch, so he barely thanked me for the effort and who knows where he ended up.
We're 15 minutes away from where he'll be working, but he'll probably end up 45 minutes away in a dump just to make sure his employer reimburses him for every penny he spends including the higher tax he'll pay. He has to be at the job site at 7:30am each day, so he just robbed himself of an extra half hour of sleep each day to save a few more bucks.
I was willing to give him the room at $95 plus tax, a $40 per night discount despite us having to get up earlier each morning to get him breakfast and run the risk of him distrurbing any of our leisure guests staying here the next two weeks.
The only thing he was willing to hear was "Yes, we can do it for $84 tax included" He tries it again next month, and he won't get the time of day out of me.
So ten minutes later this wonderful woman calls and tells me her husband has just been sent from Dallas to work on this same project and she is trying to secure him a room somewhere for 12 nights with no luck whatsoever. She might be joining him for part of the stay and that will be fun for them as they've never been here before together.
Totally respectful, really impressed with our place, very friendly, grateful I am even trying to help her, etc.. He doesn't need to be up there until 8:30 each morning, so no big impact on the breakfast schedule like the other guy.
I offer her husband the same room as the other guy for $88 per night plus tax and give her the website for a few other hotels near here, for the couple of nights we couldn't accommodate him.
See what a little respect and friendliness will get you?
She calls back ten minutes later and got him a room until we are ready for him, is so grateful that he isn't driving from Dallas and be forced to sleep in the car his first few nights and we've got a room blocked out for 12 days straight.
Win....win for everybody.
So, its at a big discount, we'll make it up somewhere else. We helped someone in need and who wasn't strategically doing no planning, his boss said "they need you up there, get in your truck and go, NOW"
That kind of goodwill is tough to pay for.
I'm afraid this lack of planning stuff probably isn't going to go away any time soon though..

"See what a little respect and friendliness will get you?"
Yeah, that one really worked in this case.
.

"See what a little respect and friendliness will get you?"
Yeah, that one really worked in this case.

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be nice. Or to go out of your way to accommodate someone. If any of us could just figure out WHEN it's not worth it, life would be so much easier. So we bumble along being nice to as many people as we can and hope it does some good with our karma if nothing else!
.

"See what a little respect and friendliness will get you?"
Yeah, that one really worked in this case.

Sometimes it just doesn't pay to be nice. Or to go out of your way to accommodate someone. If any of us could just figure out WHEN it's not worth it, life would be so much easier. So we bumble along being nice to as many people as we can and hope it does some good with our karma if nothing else!

Well, just on a hunch this morning I checked the hotel down the road that she supposedly was putting him in at my recommendation until we could get him in here and he never checked in there at all.
Cancelled the same night and she told me last night when she cancelled here that he had stayed there that first night until he found his work location had changed to ABQ.
So now what we do?

 

[Breakfast Diva]

was that a double post?.

I'm afraid this lack of planning stuff probably isn't going to go away any time soon though.

9 PM with 2 kids in tow wondering what the rate is and saying it's too much is a big lack of planning, but we see it all the time. I can't do per diem rates, it's just too low. The per diem about 3 hours north is much higher but here it's about $90 for gov't employees. A friend of mine wanted to get his whole team in here for 6 weeks at a time but they get rates of $75 at the hotels, so no way his company is paying twice that. Plus, I think they're happier at a hotel where they can go to the bar at night and smoke in their rooms. (Even tho in-room smoking is not allowed anywhere in this state, some hotels turn a blind eye (and nose).)
And, me? I think guests who stay longer than a week get too comfortable anyway. They start wanting amenities like kitchen privileges and laundry service. That's too relaxed for me.
I don't know who Dave Ramsey is, is he local to you?
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Arrrghhh! and arrrgghh!
The woman I was so nice with just called and cancelled saying the husband's work plans now have him working nowhere near here. AND wants the entire deposit waived. We're talking about an $1,100 booking with tax and she doesn't even want ot commit to $100.00 for our trouble.
She's like, "Well can we sit on it a few days and see if anybody else books some of the nights?
Sure, let me give you enough time to call your credit card company and have them put a red flag on any charges we try to run on her card.
I'm ready to spit bullets here and she isn't nearly as nice as she was yesterday.
Well, the upside is that all the great advice and knowledge I've gleened from these pages the last few months has raised my patience level that I handled it with a level of diplomacy and tact that even my most ardent enemies would be proud of.
Yeah lady, times are tough for everybody, you should have double checked all the details before you had a small struggling business who has gotten over 130 hits to his website each of the last three days to block out his now most popular room for the next 11 freakin' nights.
Dave Ramsey is one of those financial "thrift" talk show hosts on CNBC or MSNBC, I forget. He and all the other hosts like that give financial advice have been spouting this stuff since about January.
Doing it with kids in tow seems so weird and ripe with the makings of a lousy vacation.
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Arrrghhh! and arrrgghh!
The woman I was so nice with just called and cancelled saying the husband's work plans now have him working nowhere near here. AND wants the entire deposit waived. We're talking about an $1,100 booking with tax and she doesn't even want ot commit to $100.00 for our trouble.
Yeah lady, times are tough for everybody, you should have double checked all the details before you had a small struggling business who has gotten over 130 hits to his website each of the last three days to block out his now most popular room for the next 11 freakin' nights.

There's not much you can do at this point, but take it as a learning lesson for the next time. What I do especially if it is last minute and/or a "deal", is to say rather joke like, "you know, after we hang up, this room is yours whether your two bodies are in it or not". We usually laugh at that point, but it makes them know that there is NO getting out of it. That phrase has worked very well for me over many years.
Sorry that happened to you, but congratulations on how you handled her. I know how tough it is to change your habits and it sounds like you've really been working on your patience. Way to go!!!!