motorcyclebloggers.com

I’m going. I’m at the Holiday Inn Express in Monterey right by Cannery Row. I’m making a phone call tonight! Not a lot of editorial BS tonight, just the facts that some are getting screwed on their hotel reservations. From Roadracing World.

Article #1 - June 15, 2005

U.S. GP Hotel Trouble: An LRRS Racer Says Reservations Mean Nothing At Embassy Suites
Jun 15, 2005

Copyright 2005, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION

Via e-mail:

I made reservations for the Embassy Suites — reportedly 6 miles from the track — in August, and added an additional day later on in the winter. $290 a night adds up to more then I’m spending to fly out from New York, but the breakfast is complimentary, so I’ve got that going for me …

Or not. Got a call today from Alisha, saying a computer snafu had resulted in overbookings. (”Not a human error, I assure you,” as if HOW it happened would make it less irksome.)

The alternative offer was a room at a regular Hilton 40 miles away, with one night complimentary. The fact that I was borrowing a bike in Oakland, (from my former LRRS teammate at New Hampshire International Speedway) riding down with him and his wife and staying with them at the hotel didn’t matter … “Sir, if I could build 12 more rooms for you, I would.”

“Well, tell one of the other 12 people to bug out — I’m flying in from across the country to stay with my friends, not at a town 40 miles away.”

“Um, I meant 12 floors, sirs, not just 12 rooms. Again, I apologize.”

“Look, it’s just me, and it sounded like a big room. Do you have anything smaller?”

“No sir … everything was overbooked.”

“OK, when do you need my answer?”

“Today.”

“WHAT? You had 10 months to figure out you were overbooked, and now, less than a month from the event, I have to give you an answer before the end of the day?”

“Well, you’re ahead of time, right? Could you call me back by 7:00 AM PST?”

(I promised to call back before the end of the day, and that I’d hold her over the coals to get a few extra days comp’ed at another time, at a hotel on the east coast. Alisha was amenable to that, and to be fair, she was very sweet and apologetic on the phone. And though I’m married, I’m really too much of a flirt to be quite as sarcastic as I’m portraying here, but the gist is correct.)

It turns out I was wrong … my buddy, trying to be a smart husband, upgraded to what is even a fancier place right nearby (Portolo Plaza) to keep his wife happy. His marital wisdom was paying a huge dividends now.

But the Hilton was still 40 miles away. And Alisha’s local info wasn’t too confidence inspiring: When I asked what the drive in was like, she said asked me to hold, and when she came back said “Well, they’re telling me it’s hard to be sure, ‘cos it’s never been as big race as this, but it’ll probably take you 45 minutes to an hour.”

“Well, THAT’s good to know,” I said, tongue firmly planted in my cheek. It’s projected to be one of the biggest events at the track in years, and yet I’ll average 40-50 mph on the main road coming in? Guess all those reports I’ve read about the traffic for the WSB events were exaggerated.

At 4:40 I left a message on Alisha’s voicemail. I got it again at 4:50, and 5:05, so I punched “O”, and learned that “the whole department upstairs has gone home for the day. But they aren’t the reservations department, sir; that’s offsite. She does group planning.”

Cue the lightbulb over my head. 12 rooms, huh?

Problems come up. We understand that. But no one likes feeling that they’ve been lied to. I’m cc’ing Hilton corporate on this, hoping for an explanation that doesn’t sound like snake oil, maybe a certificate for a free week anywhere in the world … or, hopefully, the two nights they originally booked for me almost a year ago. I’m telling YOU because I know your website gets thousands of hits from racers and industry folks every day, and if you posted this the word would get out pretty fast for people to confirm their reservations.

B.J. Worsham
Old Westbury, New York

PS: “No, the breakfast over there is not complimentary, but you could park here, eat the breakfast, and ride the shuttle in.” (See, I told you she was amenable and fair.

Article #2 - June 15, 2005

Embassy Suites Hotel In Monterey Cancels Confirmed Reservations, Blows Off Media Inquiry
Jun 15, 2005

Copyright 2005, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

Reader and LRRS road racer B.J. Worsham e-mailed Roadracingworld.com today because his months-old, confirmed reservation at the Embassy Suites Hotel Monterey Bay – Seaside for the weekend of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, July 8-10, was suddenly canceled yesterday, June 14.

“Got a call today from Alisha, saying a computer snafu had resulted in overbookings. (’Not a human error, I assure you,’ as if HOW it happened would make it less irksome.) The alternative offer was a room at a regular Hilton 40 miles away, with one night complimentary,” Worsham wrote in his e-mail to Roadracingworld.com . We then requested that he FAX us a copy of his reservation confirmation.

Worsham immediately FAXed a reservation confirmation for a Deluxe King, Non-smoking room at the rate of $289/night (plus tax), arriving Friday, July 8 and departing Sunday, July 10, 2005. The FAXed confirmation did not include the date the reservation was made, but Worsham said he booked the room at the same time he booked his flight from New York to California, in August or September of 2004.

Roadracingworld.com Associate Editor David Swarts made unsuccessful attempts to reach the General Manager of the Embassy Suites Hotel in Monterey/Seaside, the hotel’s Assistant General Manager and “Alisha,” whom Worsham had been in contact with, in Group Sales.

At approximately 2:25 p.m. Pacific Time, Director of Sales & Marketing Jim Van Deusen returned Roadracingworld.com’s phone call. Below is the complete, word-for-word transcription of that telephone conversation:

David Swarts: Thanks for calling me back.

Jim Van Deusen: Certainly, how are you doing today?

Swarts: I’m doing OK. I tried to reach a few people over there and was unsuccessful on all attempts. I tried to speak with the General Manager George, and his message said he was out of the office. He referred to an Assistant General Manager Neal, and I left a voice message there…

Van Deusen (interrupting): OK, how can we help you?

Swarts: I’m an editor with a magazine called Roadracing World. We cover motorcycle road racing. Particularly, we will be covering the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

Van Deusen: Great.

Swarts: We had a reader contact us today that his reservation there at the Embassy Suites was canceled due to overbooking, and the only alternative he was given was another reservation with a Hilton hotel about 30-plus-miles away from your location, which is about 35-plus-miles away from the track in total. I just wanted to see what brought this about and if there is an overbooking situation there that we should notify the readers about?

Van Deusen (stuttering): Well, let me ask you, what you would talk to me about today, when would that actually go into print?

Swarts: We publish a website that updates daily and continuously…

Van Deusen (interrupting): Great, great. Well, Mr. Swarts, ah, um, the way that we operate our business is extremely reputable. We’ve run into a little confusion with some of the reservations. We are accommodating those reservations the best we can. Beyond that, how we operate the business is really not for us to go into detail about the if’s, when’s, how’s, why’s or who’s. We are very excited about the event and are doing the best we can to accommodate our guests.

Swarts: OK. This gentleman says he made the original reservation in…

Van Deusen (interrupting): You know, I’m not going to get into that with you, Mr. Swarts. It doesn’t matter. I don’t think it’s any…frankly, it’s none of your business what my conversation or the hotel’s conversation was with one of our customers. Alright? Have a great day. (Hangs up.)

The Embassy Suites Hotel Monterey Bay – Seaside is the “Official Hotel of
Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca.”

Embassy Suites Hotel Monterey Bay – Seaside
1441 Canyon Del Rey
Seaside, CA 93955
(831) 393-1115
(831) 393-1113 (fax)
http://montereybay.embassysuites.com/

Embassy Suite Hotel Monterey Bay – Seaside is one of 175 Embassy Suites brand properties owned by Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC).

HHC is run by Co-chairman Barron Hilton, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen F. Bollenbach, President and Chief Operating Officer Matthew J. Hart and Thomas L. Keltner, Executive Vice President and President - Brand Performance & Franchise Development Group with headquarters at 9336 Civic Center Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90210, 310-205-4656 /310-205-8640.

This just in, via e-mail:

Mr. Worsham wasn’t the only one that lost reservations.

After having reservations made as soon as the race date was announced, I got the phone call Tuesday informing me of the “room issue”.

Todd Fenton
Attack Kawasaki
Santa Fe Springs, California

Article #3 - June 15, 2005

Monterey Hotel Problems Not Limited To Embassy Suites
Jun 15, 2005

Copyright 2005, Roadracing World Publishing, Inc.

FIRST PERSON/OPINION:

Via e-mail:

The Embassy isn’t the only one giving excellent customer service. I just got off the phone with the General Manager at the Hyatt Regency Monterey, who informed me that Red Bull had rented the entire hotel, and that I would not have a room when I arrived. I made the reservations the day it was released to the press that the MotoGP was coming, so this is surprising to say the least. Thanks Red Bull, Thanks Hyatt. Anyone got a room?

David Roy
North Texas Superbikes
Double Oak, Texas

Editorial Note: Roy is a former AMA racer and the former head of Ducati North America’s racing department.

Terrible, terrible, terrible news if folks are getting screwed out of their rooms. Its one thing to boot little guys if Red Bull wants to take an entire hotel (I would probably do it too), but proper and equivalent provisions should have been made for all those displaced.