Thrown out of an FBO...

Steve Foley wrote:
Every privately owned hotel I have stayed in has been worse than any chain.

I've actually not found the privately owned hotels to be uniformly worse
than the chains, but I have found them to be much more variable. Chains
hotels are like chain restaurants. They are seldom great, but you
almost always know what you are getting. Private hotels run the gamut
from flea bag dumps to really nice places. The trouble is you often
don't know what you are getting until you get there. This isn't a big
deal if you can get a room elsewhere, but occasionally you have no
choice by the time you find out that you've reserved at a dump.


Matt

I've actually not found the privately owned hotels to be uniformly worse
than the chains, but I have found them to be much more variable. Chains
hotels are like chain restaurants. They are seldom great, but you
almost always know what you are getting.

Absolutely true. You can ALWAYS eat at Burger King, and know (with a
certain degree of assuredness) that your burger will be well done.

However, if you want a GREAT burger, you've simply got to visit the mom
& pop restaurants. There is no substitute.

Private hotels run the gamut
from flea bag dumps to really nice places.

Actually, our experience is a bit different, and it's a small but
important distinction. Private MOTELS are often bad, because they are
often formerly chain motels that have had their brand stripped from
them, for various reasons. (Usually the owner didn't keep updating the
facility, and couldn't keep up with whatever minimum requirements the
chain put forth.)

Private HOTELS, on the other hand, are often what are called "boutique
hotels" -- small, privately owned facilities that were NEVER a chain,
and never will be. Many times these are really over-grown bed &
breakfasts, like ours. Seek them out, and you won't be disappointed.

The trouble is you often
don't know what you are getting until you get there. This isn't a big
deal if you can get a room elsewhere, but occasionally you have no
choice by the time you find out that you've reserved at a dump.

This is where the internet has been the absolute savior of travelers!
Do not stay at ANY hotel that doesn't have their own website. (And I
don't mean the "blanket" "Sheraton" website that talks about the chain.
Those are totally useless...) The flea bags almost certainly don't
have their own website -- which makes them easy to avoid.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

"Jay Honeck" wrote

This is where the internet has been the absolute savior of travelers!
Do not stay at ANY hotel that doesn't have their own website. (And I
don't mean the "blanket" "Sheraton" website that talks about the chain.
Those are totally useless...) The flea bags almost certainly don't
have their own website -- which makes them easy to avoid.

Just curious, but why do you feel having a web site is likely to linked to being
a better independent hotel?
--
Jim in NC

Just curious, but why do you feel having a web site is likely to linked to being
a better independent hotel?

Motels without a personal website (meaning not the blanket "chain" site
that covers the entire brand) have nothing to brag about, and are
usually run by "managers" -- not "owners". This is an important,
often critical difference in the service you will receive.
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On 11 Nov 2006 05:27:53 -0800, Jay Honeck wrote:

Just curious, but why do you feel having a web site is likely to linked to being
a better independent hotel?

Motels without a personal website (meaning not the blanket "chain" site
that covers the entire brand) have nothing to brag about, and are
usually run by "managers" -- not "owners". This is an important,
often critical difference in the service you will receive.

so what has this to do with a website? some (hotels) are small enough to
exist because of word of mouth, they don't need no friggin website.

#m
--
Enemy Combatant http://itsnotallbad.com/

so what has this to do with a website? some (hotels) are small enough to
exist because of word of mouth, they don't need no friggin website.

I don't believe that's going to be true much longer. EVERYONE in the
US either books on-line, or searches on-line, nowadays.

Personally, I use the internet to find a hotel, and then I call them.
(Don't EVER stay at a hotel/motel that doesn't list their *local*
telephone number, by the way. Those national reservation call centers
are a clue that you are dealing with McSuites.)

You can always, always, ALWAYS drive a better price by talking to the
manager or owner, than you can get on-line, because he (like me) would
much rather give YOU the 15% that we have to pay the on-line booking
agencies.

And if they act like they don't know what you're talking about when you
call, they're lying, stupid, or both. (Or you're speaking with a
part-time clerk. Ask for the manager/owner.)
--
Jay Honeck
Iowa City, IA
Pathfinder N56993
www.AlexisParkInn.com
"Your Aviation Destination"

On 12 Nov 2006 06:05:36 -0800, Jay Honeck wrote:

so what has this to do with a website? some (hotels) are small enough to
exist because of word of mouth, they don't need no friggin website.

I don't believe that's going to be true much longer.

IBTD.

EVERYONE in the
US either books on-line, or searches on-line, nowadays.

ah. another generalization.

You can always, always, ALWAYS drive a better price by talking to the
manager or owner, than you can get on-line, because he (like me) would
much rather give YOU the 15% that we have to pay the on-line booking
agencies.

And if they act like they don't know what you're talking about when you
call, they're lying, stupid, or both. (Or you're speaking with a
part-time clerk. Ask for the manager/owner.)

nice. I'd like to not have to bother a manager or owner. Give the person
working this position the right to decide on that. And I like fair prices
and don't like to negotiate that much on any "deals". The price with the
deals deducted is the regular going rate. The listed price is the stupid.

#m
--
Enemy Combatant http://itsnotallbad.com/

On Sun, 12 Nov 2006 06:05:36 -0800, Jay Honeck wrote:
I don't believe that's going to be true much longer. EVERYONE in the US
either books on-line, or searches on-line, nowadays.

Personally, I use the internet to find a hotel, and then I call them.
(Don't EVER stay at a hotel/motel that doesn't list their *local*
telephone number, by the way. Those national reservation call centers
are a clue that you are dealing with McSuites.)

You can always, always, ALWAYS drive a better price by talking to the
manager or owner, than you can get on-line, because he (like me) would
much rather give YOU the 15% that we have to pay the on-line booking
agencies.

I went to Florida for a 2 week dive trip last year... I made no
reservations beforehand since I was planning on just winging it...
Wherever I happened to be that day, I would just find a hotel for the
night... I encountered hotels who would not give me the same rate that I
could get via booking their room via one of the online sites... So, I
drove around the neighborhood, found an open wireless internet connection
and booked it... In one case, the online site brought up a competitor that
was an even better deal, so the hotel actually lost my business... Maybe I
wasn't speaking to the owner or manager, but since they appeared to be
Indian, I at least had a good reason to assume that they were... grin