Gary is just South East Chicago, don’t lump the rest of the state in with those martians. Also Indiana is fine.

I know ;)

The hotel was just probably really busy, though if you were at the end of a hall you were probably in a corner king? Which is generally a more expensive room. I’m blanking on which hotel the Mirage is to envision it’s lay-out, this may be completely inaccurate.

To my knowledge, most front desk agents are welcome to take tips and they’re encouraged to take care of our guests to the best of their ability while being empowered to make decisions regarding customer satisfaction without running it by anyone. Believe it or not, we’re really doing our best to make you happy.

Goose Island was Anheuser-Busch’s first splashy craft acquisition, in 2011, and after a bumpy start when some brewing operations were relocated, most informed drinkers concede that overall GI quality has held steady.

Don’t name your cat Budweiser.

This was hilarious, but that last one is horrifying and totally ruined the mirth.

Good call.

It’s actually one of my favorite things about hospitality finance. Seeing the holistic nature of some commodity markets and the way one simple thing can cause a nightmare for the industry. A couple years ago when McDonald’s did “Wings” the price of purchasing chicken wings became almost prohibitive. We took them off…

Tipping maids is cool and good, but it’s also becoming difficult. Make sure you give it directly to them if you see them. They are afraid to take the money if you just leave it on the night stand. They get blamed for theft every time a guest puts their iPad in the wrong spot in their computer bag. They’re actually the…

Being sold a newer used Saab and being told parts are easy to find.

Your personal affectations on the matter notwithstanding, the point is it really is a low to no cost thing for us to provide upgrades when available.

Bird flu.

I wasn’t. I clearly said face value in my original post.

those coupons are literally given out to a handful of guests who paid for it and an awful lot more on a “do you like this person” basis.

It’s going to be based ENTIRELY off of occupancy. If those rooms aren’t promised to someone and I’m not within a reasonable range of selling out, I have no reason not to give you a bump.

That’s your best bet, desk agents deal with too much crap and angry entitlement. They like nice people and will take care of them if they can.

So the best one is Marriott rewards? Since that’s the only brand listed thats not either a shadow of its former self or a cruddy roadside retread?

Are you a rewards member with Marriott? If so, WiFi is free. You don’t even have to be a status level member, just sign up for the free program, opt out of the e-mails and attach your rewards number to your reservation. Viola, free internet. I also expect the shift is coming to full service hotels offering free WiFi…

Careful though, you might end up paying the desk agent more than the face value of the upgrade. If you’re in my hotel for a night and slip a $20 to the desk and get concierge access, you just paid double for the amenity. Free breakfast? Overpaid. Any personalized amenity? Overpaid. Free internet? Overpaid. Hell, if…