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Hotel Report - NYC

kellybexblog — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 14:10:46 +0000

Hotwire. F*cking Hotwire. I trusted it and it f*cked me. That’s okay tho. Still had a good weekend, despite Hotwire’s f*ckery.

The Frug has rubbed off on me a teeny bit. Actually tried to save money! Not be a spendthrift! Wanted to have a Girls Weekend in the city but didn’t want to horrify him too much and then find myself locked back up in my Life of Servitude forever, kwim? So, I decided to book a hotel thru Hotwire. Have used it in the past and really liked it. Ended up that time at the Parker Meridien a few years ago and loved it. In case you’re not familiar w/Hotwire, basically, you search hotels based on price/location/etc. but you don’t find out what the name of the property is until you book it. So, I searched hotels in Soho (wanted something hip and cute and boutiquey but not too $$$. In Manhattan, how hard could that be?! LOL)…came up a 4 star hotel w/restaurant/bar, pool, fitness center, etc. for $188. Seemed too good to be true, right? Well, it was. (&$@$ I booked it. IT WAS NOT IN SOHO. It was not a cute little boutique hotel. It was a f*cking Hilton. Nothing wrong w/Hiltons at all. Just like there is nothing wrong w/the Olive Garden or Sbarro, kwim? The most painful part was the it wasn’t in Soho at all. Yes, technically, it was South of Houston. But, it was so South of Houston that it was in Lower Manhattan…Financial District. Our room overlooked the footprint of the World Trade Center…Ground Zero. Freaked me out. I swear there’s still dust in the air from 9/11. There is still just a pit there. A huge gaping hole…8 years later. Why??

Anyway, Hotwire is going to be getting a sternly worded letter (okay, email) about the location! NOT SOHO, did I mention that part yet? The hotel itself, the Millenium Hilton, was very, very nice. Clean, decently sized for Manhattan…the Frug and I stayed at the W back in ‘00 and our room was smaller than a cruise ship cabin! So, we had a room w/2 double beds, etc. that was just not where it was supposed to be…but, it worked out. Had a lobby bar…3 drinks (1 round for us girls) for $50…welcome to Manhattan, baby!

Death to HOTWIRE.COM!!!

dublin7emh — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 07:07:48 +0000

You totally get what you pay for with Hotwire.

You want cheap? You got it. But at what cost?

I will tell you at what cost. It will cost you frustration. It will cost you time. It will cost you money. It may even cost you your dignity. No matter what it costs you, Hotwire.com owned by Expedia, will NOT care nor will they do anything to fix it without you having to pull teeth, fuss and bitch, complain and climb the corporate ladder.

It all started with a map.

Simple right? There is a map. It is labeled “La Guardia Airport Area- Flushing”. So you would think that your hotel will be where? In the La Guardia airport area in Flushing. Nope. And you better hope you are familiar with ANY area you are traveling to. Why?

Because “It is the customer’s responsibility to know the area and call the hotel listed to make sure they are where they need to be.” – Supervisor Tina M. in the Midwest area call center.

I find this difficult to swallow. One, because they hide the names of the hotels until after your purchase, there is NO WAY you would even know where to begin calling within that map. Two, because if you are not from an area, and you look at a map labeled “Flushing”, would you not assume that everything in that area is Flushing? I did. Stupid me. Being from North Carolina, I should have just “known” that East Elmhurst was an entire area aside from Flushing and not a burb name like SoHo.

Now, I had to go over this point with 2 reps before I even got to Tina M. The first one hung up on me when I asked for her supervisor. She was a B-I-T-C-H. I called her on it. She didn’t like that. Click.

The second, Bob C., put me on the compulsory pretend-to-get-my-supervisor hold, came back and lied to me about a supervisor not being around. Now, I work in a call center and have for years, both as a rep and a supervisor. I know damn well they don’t leave 500+ reps sitting around without supervision. So when he gave me that line of hooey, I told him I knew it was crap and that I would hold while he “found someone”.

You know what he did?

He asked me for my name and number, as if he didn’t already have that information right in front of him, and started his “canned closing”. I asked him if he heard me when I said I would hold. He gave me the closing again. I asked him straight out if he was going to hang up on me. He gave me his closing speech again. I asked Bob C. again if he was going to hang up on me. He finally asked if I would hold because, “I think a supervisor just became available.” Like magic, all of a sudden Tina M., supervisor in the Midwest Area was on the line.

Not that it helped.

So now we are back to it being my responsibility to call hotels randomly and check maps for exact streets to make sure they are in an area I know nothing about. This is a load of CRAP. You know how I know it is a load of crap? Because as a “courtesy” to me, aka “please shut up and leave me alone you crazy lady”, I was offered a FULL REFUND. Of course, you KNOW there was a catch. There was no way of knowing when that refund would be “processed” by their offices. Now, because I didn’t have almost $400.00 extra dollars to toss around for the FIRST hotel room, I sure as HELL didn’t have an additional $400.00 for a second hotel room while I waited for Hotwire.com to get off their asses and process my refund in a “minimum of 7 to 10 business days”.

So I asked them to not refund my money, but to book a room of the same rating, etc in a hotel actually IN Flushing, NY.

This apparently was laughable, as they were doing me such a HUGE favor by offering me a refund to begin with. I was refused. So I did what I do when I feel that the service I have been given was equally as laughable. I asked for the name and contact information of the CEO / President of the company where I could lodge my complaint about the service I was given. Again, I was refused. Why?

Because Tina M., supervisor in the Midwest Area call center did not know his name.

What she DID however provide me with was a P.O.Box in Green Bay and a phone number in the 920 area code. Then I was given the super helpful information of only a name of a “corporate customer care contact”. Enter stage left: Ms. Amy Monfils. No number for Amy, no email for Amy. Only her name. Amy Monfils. I was to assume, I guess, that I was able to contact her at the long distance number I was provided earlier. I wasn’t told that, however. I should have just “known” it. Kind of like I should have “known” that the map titled “Flushing” included areas that were not Flushing.

So being the smart and resourceful girl I am, I hopped on Google.

Holy crap! The things you hear about someone on Google. Especially when they are not known for helping, but for their canned email answers and abilities of merely repeating back what your concerns were but never really addressing them. It was in these numerous posts that I found where someone had posted her email address. Guess what? Ms. Amy Monfils is not listed as Amy Monfils at all, but as akent@hotwire.com. I guess I should have “known” that she had gotten married and I should have “known” what her married name was. If that is even the case, as it was never really clarified. (BTW- if you need an alternate email for her, try HotwireCorpEsc@apacmail.com which is another way I found her listed in blogs as well as how her address is published in her replies to me.)

Now after all this… you would think they would be falling all over themselves to make things right. WRONG.

Now, don’t get me wrong. Ms. Monfils is very good at restating your concern. It’s an active listening technique they teach all of us good customer service people. And as one of the top ranked quality surveyed specialists in my center, I would know. This would be great if she actually used that skill to listen and help as opposed to fill space and deflect. For example:

Me:

—–Original Message—–
From: XXXXXXXXX
Sent: Thursday, November 05, 2009 9:28 PM
To: HotWire Support – Temp Forwarding
Cc: akent@hotwire.com; akent@hotwire.com
Subject: RE: ‘CustSrvTH=181-921′ Hotwire Help: Hotels
Importance: High

Dear Sirs,

While I do certainly find your site’s information and maps to be incorrect, misleadingly labeled and lacking, I find your customer service and supervisors even worse. I have been in customer service and call center supervisory roles for 13+ years and I have never kept employed any reps who would talk to a customer the way I was spoken to today. Also, I have always been able to tell a customer who inquired, the president and/or CEO’s names upon request and expect my employees to be able to do so as well. It is shameful the way this situation was handled by your employees, therefore your company.

If you will note, I did not refuse the refund I was begrudgingly offered because it was an unacceptable solution, but because of the fact that the funds would not be returned to me immediately, making purchasing another room in the CORRECT location impossible. As I have a disability, I do not have extra money to throw around while your company takes its time to make this right. I will be using the reservation as it stands, not because I agree with your bad business practices and horrible customer service, but because I have no other feasible choice.

Monfils:

From: HotwireCorpEsc@apacmail.com
To: XXXXXXXXXX
Date: Mon, 9 Nov 2009 09:05:31 -0600
Subject: RE: ‘CustSrvTH=181-921′ Hotwire Help: Hotels

Dear XXXXXX,

I am writing in response to your inquiry to Hotwire regarding a hotel reservation in East Elmhurst.

I understand you booked a hotel reservation in the La Guardia Airport LGA – Flushing Area, New York expecting the hotel to be located in Flushing. Upon confirming your reservation you discovered the hotel’s address was not within Flushing. As such, you reached out to Hotwire Customer Care and were dissatisfied with the service you received.

I regret your Hotwire hotel experience was less than exceptional and appreciate you took the time to express your concerns. Customer feedback is an important component in ensuring quality products and services at Hotwire.

To ensure our customers concerns are handled properly, we hold our Customer Care Associates accountable by recording all our phone calls. I personally reviewed the conversations you had with three of our agents and determined the calls were properly handled.

I understand one of your concerns was the name of our CEO was not provided when you spoke with one of our supervisors. The corporate contact address provided was correct; the name of the President of the Hotwire Group is Clem Bason. Please understand I handle all customer contacts on his behalf which is why my name is provided by our agents.

Our goal is to exceed your expectations; we regret we were unable to do so on this occasion.

Best regards,

Amy L. Monfils

Customer Care Relations

Hotwire Corporate Office

Ms. Monfils did very well at repeating my concerns. Right before she essentially told me “Too bad, so sad.”

Me:

—–Original Message—–
From: XXXXXXXXXXX
Sent: Monday, November 09, 2009 4:14 PM
To: akent@hotwire.com
Subject: RE: ‘CustSrvTH=181-921′ Hotwire Help: Hotels
Importance: High

Ms. Monfils,
If you had indeed truly listened to all 3 calls, which we both know that calls are randomly recorded and that not every call is captured, you would not feel that the calls were handled properly. Additionally, though your name was given, your contact info was not, also something you would know had you actually heard all 3 calls. I had to research the web for info on you which I only found in other negative blogs and posts about your company where the writer posted your verbatim canned email responses. Your email address that we are corresponding on now isn’t even in your name. I lucked out finding that. Had I not taken the time to do the research, my ability to stand up for myself against your company’s misleading maps and map titles would have had to stop there.

Considering that you feel that nothing was wrong in how things were addressed nor in the way the map is listed, I will have no choice but to make VERY certain that everyone I know learns of what has transpired with your company. Something that I’m sure you would agree on, again had the calls truly been listened to in their totality and entirety, is that I do not have a problem being very vocal about my opinions. Neither do my friends or family. I’m sure the executives at Hotwire and Expedia Travel will be thrilled to learn that a negative blog was published in a high traffic area about an experience that very easily could have been made right with even the smallest amount of effort on anyone at Hotwire’s part.

Additionally, aside from the map issue, I have a LARGE complaint about the actual hotel where I stayed. This place was atrocious. Semen stains on the bedspread when I checked in to my first room – which was barely big enough to hold the king size bed with any additional room to move. The “new” room I was placed in had mismatched dingy sheets and the towels were also dingy and mismatched as well as rougher than sandpaper. The room’s carpet was filthy, the bathroom water faucet ran constantly, and the doorknob fell off twice. These issues were addressed with the staff and not properly corrected. Heat / AC were interchangeable, as neither worked properly. The “pad” of paper supplied was ONE sheet ripped off a tablet and the pen had something sticky and crusty dried all over it. The ironing board fell off its hook and smacked me in the head and the luggage rack collapsed the moment I placed my bag on it. The “breakfast facilities” were dirty and the food was stale and disgusting. If I had paid $40.00 for this room, it would have been too much, let alone $89.00 before taxes. The fact that this hotel, with it’s “Grand Opening” sign hanging out front, is being sold to any customer is an affront to your customers’ intelligence and their pocketbook.

BTW- This hotel was a Clarion on Ditmar in East Elmhurst, also known to Hotwire as “Flushing.”

Monfils:

From:	akent@hotwire.com (HotwireCorpEsc@apacmail.com)
Sent:	Tue 11/10/09 10:57 AM
To:	XXXXXXXX

Dear XXXXXXX,

I am writing in response to your additional correspondence with Hotwire regarding a reservation with the Clarion Hotel La Guardia Airport and your Hotwire Customer Care experience.

I understand you doubt whether or not I reviewed all three phone conversations you had with Hotwire Customer Care because calls are only randomly recorded. Additionally, you intend to voice your concerns regarding the information provided to customers throughout our booking process and the way you were treated by our Customer Care Associates. Finally, you were dissatisfied with your stay at the hotel due to several quality issues.

Again, I assure you I was able to review all three phone conversations as all calls at the call center you reached are recorded. While speaking with our Customer Care Supervisor, Tina, she provided my name and phone number when you asked for the name of our President as contact information for our CEO is not provided to customers. I regret she was unable to provide you with the name of our CEO, however, I do feel she provided the correct contact information for the next level of customer interaction.

Regardless of a hotel’s star rating; you should expect a quality experience from our hotel suppliers, including a clean, comfortable room. As this was not the case with your reservation, please accept our apologies along with 50 HotDollars toward your next Hotwire Hot Rate car rental, hotel, or flight reservation. Your HotDollars are valid for up to one year, expiring on November 11, 2010.

Our goal is to exceed your expectations; we regret we were unable to do so on this occasion. We look forward to better serving your needs in the future.

Best regards,

Amy L. Monfils

Customer Care Relations

Hotwire Corporate Office

Fifty bucks? Is she kidding?!?

I paid $89.00 plus taxes PER NIGHT and you want to give me $50.00 in Hot Dollars?? In so many words, I emailed her back and told her that her $50.00 would not cover one night let alone 3 and that her $50.00 would only force me to frequent their site again and give them more money to pay the difference.

As of 1:32 a.m. on 11/12/09…. I have yet to receive a response.

Soooo… with all this said, I shout from the rooftops,

“DEATH TO HOTWIRE.COM!!!” (Then I mumble as an afterthought, “Oh, and if not death, at least a really uncomfortable wedgie to Expedia for having such a substandard division.”)

PS- I am now as we speak being stalked, I mean “followed” on Twitter by Hotwire…

Also check out:

http://www.cgstock.com/essays/hotwire

http://www.chasingcleanair.com/chasing_clean_air/2009/08/hotwirecom-hot-wired-my-money-lied-to-me-and-has-zero-credibility-in-my-opinion-.html

http://www.rateitall.com/i-57788-hotwire.aspx

for additional Hotwire horror stories!!

Living Like Stars!

jordanandjax — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 20:00:57 +0000

As much as this is a budget holiday, we have managed to treat ourselves with some impressive rates f

2010 PR Grad Schemes

Ben Cotton — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:17:28 +0000

I was thinking the other day what would have made my life easier in my final year at university. Looking back it was a hectic period – amongst all the deadlines, presentations, portfolios and exams we were looking for that dream graduate job. At times it was difficult balancing the two: trying to clear the immediate university workload, whilst attempting to plan for the future, namely searching and applying for jobs (all over the country) in the industry. It was an uncertain time.

So to make things a bit easier for PR students, I have put together a list of 2010 PR Graduate Schemes, when they open, close and links to apply. I’ll be updating it over the coming months. I hope you find it useful.

Note to companies: if you have a scheme please email me and I’ll add you to the list.

Band & Brown (via Facebook)
Open: Now
Closes: 30 November 2009

Blue Rubicon
Open: Now
Closes: 31 January 2010

Brando (via Facebook)
Open: Now
Closes 30 November 2009

Chime Comms
Open: Now
Closes: 15 January 2010

Diffusion PR
Open: Now
Closes: 31 January 2010

Edelman
Open: Now
Closes: December 2009 and February 2010 depending on when you want to start.
Edelman has an intake in January and September 2010.

Fishburn Hedges
Open: Now
Closes: 11 January 2010 and 8 February 2010 depending on when you want to start.

Fleishman-Hillard
Open: Now
FH continually run a scheme which lasts 6 months and candidates may be offered a job at the end.

Four Comms
Open: December 2009
Closes: TBA

Hill & Knowlton
Open: April 2010
Closes: TBA

Hotwire
Open: December 2009
Closes: TBA

Shine Comms
Open: January 2010
Closes: TBA

Weber Shandwick
Open: TBA
Closes: TBA

SUBSERIES.COM ANSWERS DIVERS PRAYERS!

subsexy4ever — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 01:36:07 +0000

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HAIR AND SKIN CARE TO DIVE FOR!

WWW.SUBSERIES.COM

Week 4

newtoncom425 — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 23:20:17 +0000

Q.7. Priceline’s terms and conditions state that they have a “no-cancellation, no-refund policy” after a customer has named their price for airline tickets, hotel rooms, car rentals, Vacation Packages and the purchase has gone through. This policy may seem unreasonable but it is enforced because Priceline offers the price hotel, airline, car rental agency with the promise that the service would be sold and the seat or hotel will be filled, or the car will be rented.

Priceline and its main “opaque travel-service” competitor, Hotwire won’t publish full flight information until after a customer has committed a credit card. Unlike Priceline, Hotwire publishes prices. However they still don’t reveal what flight you’re on.

Because Hotwire publishes its fares, it takes the uncertainty out of the process, but on the whole I think that Priceline has better rates available on travel services than Hotwire.

Q.8. Priceline.com uses one of the most advanced, sophisticated technologies to ensure that the data the customer sends remains absolutely confidential and secure. The website uses Transport Layer Security (TLS) technology to encrypt all personal information, including the Customers’ name, address, and credit card number/social security number to prevent it from being read during transmission over the Internet. These hardware and software systems work together to protect their customer’s privacy at all times.

GeoTrust is a large digital certificate provider.

Also, as mentioned in Week 3, The Hotel booking process on the Priceline website is secured by GeoTrust. GeoTrust is a large digital certificate provider. The digital certificates enable Priceline to secure e-business transactions and validate website identities, instilling confidence in consumers to boost online sales.

Priceline are committed to protecting the customer’s privacy and take their responsibilities regarding the security of credit card information very seriously. Credit card information is sent via a certified secure server which encrypts all customer details so that credit or debit card information cannot be read by anyone else.

Q.9. Priceline state on their website that they may use site tracking software to protect the security of their site, monitor usage and traffic patterns, and to assist with the design and development of priceline.com.

Priceline also uses “cookies” to enable the company to display the website in the User’s preferred language and measure the proportion of bookings that come from customers who have previously booked with Priceline.

Priceline cookies in Firefox

Many e-commerce websites use cookies to register customer’s preferences. Cookies are a system whereby a message is given to the Users’ web browser by the Priceline web server. This text message is stored by the Users’ browser. Each time the browser requests a page from the server, this text message is sent back.

A cookie’s main objective is to allow the Priceline server to identify visitors to the website and gives them the opportunity to tailor the site to the Users’ needs. For example, if the User chooses to view the site in French, Priceline may set a “cookie” on their machine so that the next time they return to the site, it is automatically shown in French. The User may disable cookies by setting their browser accordingly. However according to Priceline, if the User chooses not to accept cookies, they may have a less satisfactory experience on the site.

Hotwire 2.0

andrewmcintyreyyc — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:49:37 +0000

The coming issue of Hotwire marks the start of new chapter in member communications for CPRS Calgary. To fill you in, Hotwire’s previous editor Doug Lacombe is now the CPRS Calgary Board’s “Director-at-Large – Digital Media.”

I’m Andrew McIntyre, a CPRS Calgary member since 2007, current Member Communications Director and a rapacious consumer and creator of social media… You probably know where I’m going with this.

My agenda is the encouragement of the transition of CPRS Calgary into CPRS Calgary 2.0. Acknowledging the immense and accelerating growth of web based communication, and in recognition of the impact online “word of mouth” is having on public relations, I see my position as an opportunity to move beyond the quarterly newsletter. I want to foster an ongoing conversation.

My real goal is to encourage the CPRS Calgary community to take the plunge into social media. The water is warm.

While I will continue publishing Hotwire as a newsletter, I will also be blogging the Hotwire articles, CPRS events and any cool links I come across – that are worth sharing – at blog.cprscalgary.com. I welcome guest posts from any member with a point of view to express or a question to ask or anything else you think other CPRS Calgary members would value.

As the indispensable educator and journalist Clay Shirky said in a TED talk earlier this year: “the moment we’re living through is the largest increase in expressive capability in human history.” It is time for us, as professional communicators, to ensure we can keep up with the public we’re tasked with relating to.

Clay Shirky’s TED Talk on how the Internet is changing everything in how we communicate.

TripIt Offers Developers a Cut

Jennifer Martinez — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 07:00:31 +0000

TripIt, which aggregates people’s travel arrangements from various web sites into one web itinerary, is rolling out a referral program today that lets developers who build apps on top of its API receive a 10-20 percent cut of the sales from its TripIt Pro premium subscription service. The San Francisco-based startup released TripIt Pro, which offers customers real-time flight information for $69 a year, in June.

More than 250 developers are using TripIt’s API to build web and mobile apps, according to founder and President Gregg Brockway. Though the company offers a free iPhone (s appl) application, its API is also used by developers on other mobile platforms and travel applications, and by online address book and social network service Plaxo. TripIt also developed an application for LinkedIn last year.

Separately, TripIt is partnering with travel web site Hotwire, which Brockway co-founded before leaving some five years ago. The deal will let Hotwire users send all their travel information to TripIt, which will then create a free web travel itinerary for them.

The startup pulled in $5.1 million in Series B funding last spring from Sabre Holdings, O’Reilly AlphaTech Ventures and European Founders Fund, bringing the total amount raised to $6.1 million.

hotwire.com

Daniel Thompson — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 03:20:28 +0000

A dica de site da semana é válida para quem vai viajar para os Estados Unidos, mas é uma tendência que está passando para o resto do mundo!

Hotwire.com é um site de reservas de produtos turísticos como passagens aéreas, aluguel de carros, diárias de hotéis, entre outros.

A grande diferença é que, ao fazer a reserva, o cliente não sabe exatamente o que é o que está comprando. Não entendeu? Pois é, não é simples, mas vou exemplificar!

Você reserva um hotel em promoção (e são preços incríveis), sabe que ele fica em determinada cidade/região, sabe qual a categoria, mas só fica sabendo realmente qual é após realizar a reserva! E agora, entendeu? Pois é, o mesmo pode acontecer com a compra de uma passagem aérea. Compra-se um trecho, mas só se descobre a cia. aérea depois de efetivar o pagamento! Vale pelo preço!

Vai encarar? É quase uma viagem às escuras, mas é certeza de economia!

Summer Weekend in Rancho Mirage/Palm Springs

Mom — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 21:27:23 +0000

Family Travels on a Budget just returned from a lovely weekend in Rancho Mirage/Palm Springs. Priceline www.priceline.com had a great $75 per night deal at the Westin Mission Hills Westin Mission Hills http://specialoffers.starwoodhotels.com/westinmissionhills/so.htm?PS=PS_aa_SoCal_Google_westin_mission_hills_082806_NAD_FM

I selected a 4 star property anywhere in the Palm Springs area and we were off. The Palm Springs area is starting to become my Vegas alternative. It’s so much easier and less expensive. However, beware that many hotels there have been charging resort fees of about $20 or so a day lately. You may want to look into it before you bid. The Westin had a resort fee of $20 per day that we did not know about until check-in. It included parking and internet.

I’ve been loving Priceline and Hotwire ever since I found www.betterbidding.com and was able to access their lists of participating hotels based on location and star rating. I knew that wherever we ended up, I would not be disappointed.

We arrived by 11 AM on Friday and the hotel graciously allowed us to check into our room early. The room itself was huge. We had plenty of room for the three of us including a dining area inside and on the patio outside. The couch pulled out for our 6 year old and she loved it and we slept on the signature Westin Heavenly Bed. I thought I remembered a feather bed on these but I guess I was wrong. Bathroom was 2 separate rooms which was great for privacy. Products were lovely. The service at the Westin is amazing. A friend had gifted me a massage as it was my birthday weekend and I received a call immediately on check-in that informed me of this. So I promptly made my massage appointment for the next day and we headed right for the pool.

Although we were arriving to the pool rather late, lounge chairs with umbrellas were easy to find. And considering that it was 110 degrees, this was important.

I’d read several reviews of the Westin Mission Hills and some mentioned that there weren’t enough umbrellas and that the cement and railings by the pool were too hot. All weekend we never had a problem finding a shaded area by the pool no matter what time we went out. And regarding the hot cement and railings, that’s insane. It’s the desert and it’s 110 degrees, use some common sense and wear your flip-flops to the pool’s edge. The heat falls under the act of god clause and not the hotel’s responsibility so it’s up to you to keep your child and yourself safe from the heat. I also read several reviews that there was no security at the pool and many locals would take over. Security was heavy during our visit and you had to give your name and room number for entry. Some complained security was too stringent and searched coolers. I brought a big bag with beverages and snacks in it and was fine. They never searched. I think it’s all about how flamboyant you are with sneaking stuff into the pool area. Just be discrete and be friendly. They are doing their job after all so don’t be flagrant by wheeling in a cooler as they will get in trouble for not ignoring you.

The highlight of the pool was the water slide and our daughter went on it multiple times. We visited both the resort and the villa pool. The villa pool water slide was much bigger and that pool is more family-oriented due to the fact that it is the pool for the timeshares. You can bring a cooler etc. in here, but not at the resort. It was a bit weird that several parents let their young children run around completely unsupervised. One boy who was about 10 was in the Jacuzzi with us and informed us that his Mom, Dad and Nanny were all still asleep. Crazy.

Although we brought small snacks and water etc. in my bag to the pool we did eat lunch via their Poolside service one day. It was the usual grossly overpriced poolside service. $8 for a hotdog and fries. I had a $16 cobb salad and the turkey was a bit scary. I was very disappointed in my salad. We only ordered two drinks at the pool, a Don Julio margarita and a Mai Tai. Both were heavily watered down and not very good. We vowed to not eat at the pool again for both financial and quality reasons. The hotel provided a refrigerator in the room so we were able to keep beverages and leftovers etc. in there and walk back to the room for lunch and eat out on the table on the patio.

If I had one complaint about the facilities it’s that the outside lights don’t come on until quite late so we were fumbling to our room in the dark. Conversely, I have to rave about the deep tissue massage I had with Joyce. She did a great job and very intuitively worked out some kinks for me.

Our first night there we drove into town looking for a place we wanted to eat. There are many chains and high-end restaurants, but when we saw the sign for “Big Momma’s Soul Food” we knew we were in.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/big-mamas-soul-food-restaurant-cathedral-city

For $35 we fed 3 people plus had enough leftovers for lunch the next day. Our 6 year old went gaga over the Catfish and baked beans. Hub had the BBQ Chicken, mac & cheese and greens. I gorged on the Veggie plate with greens, sweet potatoes, mac & cheese and potato salad. For dessert we all shared a huge Sweet Potato Cobbler which hub salivated over.

Saturday night we went into downtown Palm Springs for dinner and went to a Mexican restaurant called Maracas.

http://www.yelp.com/biz/maracas-restaurant-palm-springs.

I don’t understand some of the negative reviews as it was really, really good. While this was more expensive, I think we paid $50 for the 3 of us with tip and my husband and I each had a really yummy margarita. Oh my goodness were they delicious. We picked up a Palm Springs Visitors Guide at the hostess counter and got 10% off with the coupon inside. Sweet! My Salmon in tequila sauce with spinach and chipotle mashed potatoes was super yummy. We sat outside on the patio and people watched. Downtown Palm Springs is so much fun. I think the next time we go up we’ll stay closer. Maybe we’ll go back to the Riviera http://www.psriviera.com/that we stayed at this spring and got a great rate for on Hotwire.

While at the Westin we did do something we never thought we’d do. We got hit up a few times to do the timeshare presentation and declined initially. But after speaking with a woman at the pool who called herself and her husband “timeshare whores” we decided to check it out. She described staying at so many fabulous places free just by listening to the presentations and being firm when they decline the offer.

The Westin time share presentation offered us a $100 Amex gift card but that was actually a room credit. They also provided childcare for our daughter during the hottest part of the day so it was a relief for her to get out of the sun. The presentation was an hour and a half and was pretty interesting in terms of how timeshares work. If it wasn’t for the ridiculous maintenance fees inherent in timeshares, our ears may have been perked. The $100 paid for our food and resort fees so we had nothing additional to pay upon check out.

Whenever we drive through Cabazon on the 10, we always stop at our favorite taco stand,Crazy Coyote Tacos. http://www.yelp.com/biz/crazy-coyote-tacos-banning

It’s just off the 10 near the outlets exit and it borders the Indian reservation. It’s a small shack with picnic tables and fake dinosaurs but has the most amazing tacos. We always go for the giant chicken tacos. Sooo delicious and spicy. The tortillas are so thick that they seem like fry-bread tacos. Mmmmm.

We’re always on the lookout for cheap, kid-friendly vacations to the Palm Springs area. We’ll definitely stay closer to downtown next time so we can enjoy more of it. Next time we’d love to try the tram. Anyone have tips for tram discounts?

Stay tuned for posts from Oahu, Tucson and Vegas…

For Deals on Hotels, Choose a Neighborhood and Follow the Stars

Emy — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 13:39:05 +0000

Negotiating hotel costs may be a great way to keep travel within a budget. As people take fewer trips or look for cheaper fares and lodging in response to the recession, hotels are more and more likely to honor requests for discounts and accept lower offers. And even if haggling is not your thing, you can still take advantage of that.

Besides the standard hotel offers found in internet travel sites, priceline.com also has a “name your own price” option, which allows you to bid for a better deal on flights or hotels. For flights, you can only choose the dates on which you want to fly and the price you will pay, and priceline.com commits to billing you only if it finds a flight with one stop at most. But you do not get to pick the time of day for arrival or departure, airline, or length of the layover.

Using priceline.com for hotels is a much safer bet. You can select the neighborhood in which you want to stay and the number of hotel stars, and, unless you really want to stay in a specific hotel (e.g., for a conference or wedding), that really is all the information you need. The only catch is that, with both flights and hotels, you are required to give your credit card information when you make the bid, and, if priceline.com finds an airline or hotel that accepts your bid, you are billed immediately. So this is not a website for researching trips; it is for when you are sure of where and when you want to go.

But if you’ve already settled on your destination and travel dates and are hesitant to make a bid, worrying whether your offer might be too high (overpaying for a hotel) or too low (being rejected and having to wait 24 hours to re-bid), check out BetterBidding. This is an online forum where people discuss bidding tactics for hotels on priceline.com and guessing which hotels are featured in the site’s closest competitor, hotwire.com. Importantly, users list the bids they made on priceline.com and whether these were accepted or rejected, enabling other users to make informed offers themselves. Take advantage of that. You may think that $120 per night on a hotel that is offered in other travel sites for $180/night is a great deal – but wouldn’t it help to know that someone else snagged a stay in that hotel for the same dates for $100/night?

So if you are planning a vacation and have already settled on your destination and travel dates priceline.com may be a good way to get a deal. And knowing what other travelers have bid may help you make that into a great deal.

The Fourth Wall Comics Podcast - Episode 60

State of the Art — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 08:13:16 +0000

Show Notes:

indies
INCOGNITO #6 [01:51]
IRREDEEMABLE #6 [06:14]
HOTWIRE #4 [10:45]
NORTH 40 #3 [14:21]
SWEET TOOTH #1 [15:50]
CHEW #4 [20:25]
NORTHLANDERS #20 [28:50]

mainstream
ULTIMATE COMICS: SPIDER-MAN #2 [31:46]
GHOST RIDERS: HEAVENS ON FIRE #2 [44:10]
EXILES #6 [50:08]
MARVEL ZOMBIES RETURN #1 [51:08]
STRANGE TALES #1 [55:15]

trades
BATMAN: GOTHAM AFTER MIDNIGHT TP [61:15]
WONDERFUL WIZARD OZ HC [64:24]

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?c1wjtmd0iii

The Fourth Wall Comics Podcast – Episode 60

fourthwallpodcast — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 06:38:25 +0000

The Fourth Wall Comics Podcast – Episode 60 Show Notes: indies INCOGNITO #6 [01:51] IRREDEEMABLE #6

Hotwire.com Update

burchmanu — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 11:11:15 +0000

Picking up from the last post, thought I’d give an update as to where this stands. Sent an email to the folks over at Hotwire, as it appears very difficult to contact anyone in person outside of the 1-800 number they provide for customer support. In the email I explained the situation that we found ourselves in and how all other sites reviewed the hotel differently. Very promptly I received a response from their customer service department that gave a fairly canned answer regarding the hotel ratings and that the hotel had been reviewed on August 29th.

After a quick reply explaining how companies in their own group of companies all rate the hotel as a 3 star, I once again received a similar answer from a different individual within customer service. Once again, fairly quick response. After receiving a similar answer, I asked if there was someone from management that could contact me as I’d like to be able to discuss the situation with them. At this point, I once again received a quick response, stating that I could write a letter to the address they provided. Of course, that would be far too long since our reservation is not that far out. Again, I respond stating the situation and if someone can contact me. Again, quick response stating my issue has been sent to corporate and they will contact me in 7-10 business days. Well, that may not be in enough time as well, so back to the email stating I’d just like to speak to an actual human, not an alias, and review the situation.

Appears there may be a policy at Hotwire that they do not speak directly with their customers and do not give out any email addresses or phone numbers, because as soon as I ask to speak to someone personally I have not received a response. All the emails I received from customer support are signed by an individual but no contact information is provided, only the support alias. I always find it crazy that a company does not want to talk to the people that actually purchase their product or service. Boggles my mind actually.

We’ll see what happens from here.

Preview - Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead #4

Stefan Engman — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 17:59:04 +0000

Hotwire: Requiem for the Dead #4, release September 2, 2009

From the revolutionary storytelling of Steve Pugh and Warren Ellis comes the electrifying climax! What do you do when your city is under siege from a riot, your personal war against the “blue lights” has spun into all-out chaos, and all the good choices are long gone? If you’re Alice Hotwire, you risk everything to face the horror of Amir Malik and uncover a truth that could both save the city—and destroy it at the same time.

The Hotwire Deception

burchmanu — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 05:08:40 +0000

Tonight, we had the unfortunate experience of learning the hard way while booking a hotel reservation through Hotwire.com. We have used this site before when booking a room downtown Toronto and even on our trip to Paris, both those times we were very satisfied in the results and actually recommended it to others…that opinion has just changed! So, if I recommended it to you previously, I would say have a read and than make up your own mind on whether to use the site for yourself. I’ll provide you with as much information as I can so that you can make your own judgment.

We have some time planned to spend in Montreal in the coming weeks and have been looking for hotel rooms for the past couple of weeks. Finally tonight, we decided to take the time to make our reservation. After much research, we finally decided to go with Hotwire, for a few reasons: previous experience, price, and ease of booking. Since we had done some research we were fairly confident in the types of hotels we would be situated in with the reservation requested. We were looking for a 3 1/2 star hotel in downtown Montreal. By searching many of the other leading travel sites we were able to pretty much get it down to a few hotels that fit that criteria including the Hilton, Chateau Versailles, and Meridien Versailles were consistently showing as 3 1/2 star hotels in downtown Montreal.

Based on the star rating criteria that Hotwire posts on there website (shown below) we were fairly confident that we’d end up at one of these hotels but were aware their might be others that make the list. Here is the criteria that Hotwire claims it uses directly from it’s website as well as what is expected from a 3 1/2 star hotel:

“How we calculate our Star Ratings:

Take the average rating on three top travel sites
Factor in customer feedback — we receive over half a million reviews per year
Adjust the ratings downward if a majority of customers say we should

Regardless of a hotel’s star rating, you should expect a quality experience from our hotel suppliers. This includes:

A clean, comfortable room with daily housekeeping service (weekly for extended stay properties or condos)
A private room
Listed amenities in proper working order

If you encounter a problem during your stay, contact us and we will work directly with the hotel to solve it.

All decisions by Hotwire regarding the Star Ratings Guide, rebooking or compensation are final and binding.

Classic 3.5-star hotels

These classic, polished hotels feature an excellent service level with quality amenities found at better hotels. They usually offer:

A well-known, on-site restaurant
Large, quality rooms
Room service
Health and fitness center
Business administrative center

These properties are frequently located near convention centers and attractions.

Our 3.5-star hotel suppliers include the Hilton, Millenium, Crowne Plaza and other respected hotel brands.”

Fully aware of the rules that state all bookings are final, and no refunds are provided, we were excited to book the room and see what hotel we would be booked in. Of course, you can assume what happened. Once we clicked the final button to book our room we found out we’d be staying at the Holiday Inn Montreal Midtown. The Hilton, Millenium or Crowne Plaza and the Holiday Inn??? OK a bit of a shock but hey, why not check it out before getting too worked up about it. Well this is where things started to lean toward being not right.

As it states above, directly from Hotwire’s website, they take the average rating of the top three websites. Maybe I don’t know all the travel websites in the world but here are the ratings that I have found on all other websites for the Holiday Inn Montreal Midtown:

-TripAdvisor: 3 star (by the way 51% of the reviewers do not recommend)

-Hotels.ca: 3 star

-Expedia.ca: 3 star

-Travelocity.ca: 3 star

-Priceline.com: 3 star

-Orbitz.com: 4 star

-Mytravelguide.com: 3 star

Now, I’m not sure but that doesn’t look like an average rating of 3.5 stars to me? The second portion of the rating system is based on customer feedback and reviews, just have a look at the reviews on TripAdvisor and you’ll see that 51% of people do not recommend this hotel.

After a bit further research, and something that makes this even more interesting, is that Hotwire is actually a part of the Expedia Family of companies. Expedia Inc. is a publicly traded company and by reading through it’s latest annual report you will see that the Expedia Inc. have a portfolio of brands including: Expedia.com, hotels.com, hotwire.com, the TripAdvisor Media Network, their private label programs, Classic Vacations, Expedia Local Expert, Egencia, eLong Inc. and Venere NetS SpA. Hmmm, so the brands that are part of the family of companies include Expedia, Hotels.com, and TripAdvisor…all of which rate this hotel as a 3 star yet Hotwire.com has decided to rate it a 3.5 star.

Right after booking and looking into the other ratings Jen called to discuss this with someone at Hotwire who continued to state that there was nothing that could be done and all sales were final. The customer service agent than stated that it is rated as a 4 star on the Orbitz.com website. I can handle that but she couldn’t name any other sites that had this hotel rated higher than a 3 star. What happened to the average and customer feedback from one of your companies (TripAdvisor) that is part of the Expedia Inc. family? She than stated that once we get to the hotel we could than call and they may be able to do something for us. What? You think I want to spend the first part of my vacation arriving at a hotel to than call and see if something can be done and find my way to a new location, if and only if, they are kind enough to help us. By the tone of her voice on the help we received during this call I don’t have too much of a positive outlook for something happening once I have checked in!

At this point I have sent an email to their customer support alias (couldn’t find contact information for an actual individual) to help to see if they can rectify the situation, and more importantly better explain their star rating system. Hopefully, I will receive some positive news but it’s not looking like that will be the case. I will update this post with an update either way once I hear back from them to let you know.

So, my friends, next time you are looking to book a room and will be using a site like Hotwire…be aware. No matter how much research you do you may still find yourself in a bit of a conundrum.

Tekin 1:8th Scale RX8 ESC & Motor Brushless System

rcmart — Sat, 01 Aug 2009 01:51:34 +0000

TEKIN

Track Side Report

——————————————————–

1:8th Brushless Systems

Tekin’s RX8 is big power in a small package. Based off of the proven RS series Speed Control the RX8 takes large scale current demands in stride. Leading the industry not only in power handling ability but size and features with Drag Brake, Neutral width, Throttle Profiles, Voltage Cut Offs for Lipos and much more. The RX8 sits at only 1.5 x 2.22 x 1.46, a small foot print making it easy to install on any chassis.
Don’t negotiate the track, attack it with extreme prejudice!

Until next time, tight lines!

Team Tekin

Source: Team Tekin

Buying things Online

moneywinks — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 20:44:40 +0000

Anytime I buy anything online I always do my research. For example, if I need airfare I go to the airlines I prefer to fly on and see what is the lowest price they are offering. From there, I go to some of the other travel sites such as Travelocity, Expedia & Hotwire and see if they can beat the prices I have found. Sometimes they can and sometimes they can’t.

Most of the time with the people I chat with just book and really do not shop around. I always think there is a better deal out there. So I spend a little extra time searching and end up saving quote a bit of money. This just does not apply to airfare it can also apply to buying furniture, cars, electronics, hotels, and anything else you can buy online. More times than not you will find a better price. Good luck and search for deals.

MOLFT: Episode 1 (Priceline sucks)

deadman — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:35:19 +0000

I’m usually an easy customer. It doesn’t take much to please me. Just treat me fair and show me respect. Work with me if you’ve made a mistake. Just basic, simple stuff.

Do this and I’m yours forever. Because I’m loyal, too. I’ll return over and over again to your business and I’ll sing your praises to everyone I know. Amazon.com is a company that fits this bill. If I can find it on Amazon, I’m buying it there, even though they include sales tax now in New York and their prices are rarely the best available. In years and years of buying stuff on Amazon, they have rarely done me wrong, and when they have, they quickly made it right.

But if you do something stupid, even if it’s something little, and treat me like you don’t care about having me as a customer, then it’s bad news. As Bruce Banner often warned potential transgressors, ‘Don’t make me angry. You wouldn’t like me when I’m angry.” No matter how much I may like your product or service, if you cross me and don’t make amends, I will never spend another dollar with you again.

A couple of years ago, I started using a JetBlue AmEx credit card almost exclusively, spending thousands and thousands of dollars on it so that I could earn free tickets on an airline I absolutely loved (the new planes, the leg room, the fair pricing, the friendly employees, the TVs – just awesome).

Then I found out that their much-advertised promise that your miles will never expire as long as you use the credit card wasn’t quite accurate – the miles may technically not expire, but once you fly or spend enough so that those miles turn into a free ticket award, that ticket does expire. It’s a joke of a system, and while I should have read the fine print more closely, I thought the company was being deliberately misleading. And I didn’t realize this until it was too late and a couple tickets expired.

When I continued to get canned negative responses to my elaborate, detailed requests to have an expired free ticket reinstated, I told JetBlue I was tearing up the card and using the airline only out of necessity or convenience. It wasn’t an easy decision, but as a customer, sending your dollars elsewhere is the only recourse you really have. Dell (a classic story of corporate arrogance and ineptitude) and AT&T Wireless are two other companies to which I have vowed not to send any more of my money.

(I may relax the AT&T ban since their offense of atrocious customer service was many years ago, and I can at least rationalize to myself that it’s a new company now that they’ve merged with Cingular – but mostly I just really want an Iphone. I hear AT&T’s service still sucks, however, and I really like my current provider T-Mobile, a company that knows how to treat its customers)

Unfortunately, Priceline has become the first My One Least Favorite Thing of the week award recipient, and may soon become the next blacklisted company on my shopping shit list.

Until yesterday, I’ve always loved using Priceline, so when I wanted to find a reasonably priced four-star or better hotel on the Las Vegas Strip for a trip I’m planning there this Labor Day, it was one of the first sites I checked out. Unfortunately, my ‘Name Your Own Price’ bid was accepted by a hotel – the Westin Casuarina – which markets itself as an ‘off-strip’ venue. Granted its only a block and a half off the strip – but these are Vegas blocks we’re talking about here, and in any case, it’s more a matter of principle.

Now Priceline says that the area I checked was ‘Strip Vicinity’ and that the Casuarina is located within that region. But as I told them in my letter, I’m no cartographer; how am I supposed to know which hotels are within the poorly defined shaded circles on the map – the site gives you no way of checking in advance, a sorely lacking feature. All I know is when I clink on a box saying I want a ‘Strip’ hotel I should get a Strip hotel.

Priceline has a policy where they cannot cancel or change a reservation made using their ‘Name Your Own Price’ system. I understand that policy as a general rule, given that the whole reason hotels agree to offer their rooms to users at much lower rates is because they believe they are dealing with brand-indifferent consumers. But there are times when exceptions must be made, or at the very least something should be offered as a way to compensate an aggrieved consumer, perhaps a significant discount on a future purchase.

Again, maybe I should have been a more diligent researcher. But I wasn’t trying to game the system, and the bottom line is I didn’t get what I expected or wanted. Why can’t the company make a relatively small gesture to keep me happy and a returning customer?

What truly pissed me off the most about the experience was the hour-long call to the customer service hotline, where two different agents did nothing more than repeat the line – over and over again, like it was some sort of holy mantra – ‘I’m sorry. Our contract with the hotels does not allow us to refund or cancel your reservation.’

I stayed as calm as I could, begged them to go off script for a second, to just really listen to me for a moment, and at least pretend to understand where I’m coming from. But they were no better than robots.

Afterward, I sent an email to management, which I think was pretty clever (attached below). Alas, I don’t expect a response, at least not one of the non-canned variety.

And if I don’t get one, it’s goodbye Mr. Shatner and Priceline, and hello Hotwire. My business may not mean much to them and they may not give a damn, but it will sure make me feel better.

Kinda like this blog post.

—————————————————————————————————————————————————–

My Letter to Priceline Management:

Hello there. First of all, I want to say I appreciate Priceline offering customers this ability to contact management in order to address issues and problems. Not all companies do that, so it’s very nice to see, and I sincerely hope someone high up enough to make a difference reads the entirety of this email (it’s a long one!) and follows up in a reasonable time.

I just got off the phone with customer service regarding a problem I had with Request Number: 628-999-***-**.

I was looking to book a hotel and name my own price for a Vegas trip I am taking this Labor Day with my fiancee. After a couple of failed offers trying to bid for 4- and 5-star hotels on the North Strip, I checked the South Strip box and tried again.

This time, my $85 offer was accepted by the Westin Casuarina. Even though I had never heard of the hotel or remember seeing it, at first I was happy about it because the price was decent and I am a regular Westin customer.

But then I went on the Westin website and noticed that the hotel itself markets it as being ‘off-strip’. And taking a look at the map showed clearly it was a block and a half off the strip, which posed a problem because my traveling companion sometimes has trouble moving around and as you know if you’ve been to Vegas a block and a half there is not your normal block and a half and pretty much means you’re looking at a 20-30 minute walk to get to any hotel on the strip.

I frankly felt duped by Priceline. I have used Priceline in the past many times, have sung its praises to friends and colleagues over and over again. I consider it a great, unique service and have never had a bad experience before, but this was just uncool.

My assumption is that the Westin is in fact within the circle on the area I selected in the name the bid process, and that Priceline wasn’t outright lying by including it. And perhaps I should have been more careful but I am not a cartographer, and can’t be expected to know every hotel that is offered within a poorly defined circle on a Website map (especially because Priceline does not have any way – that I could find – to show customers which hotels are in fact in that shaded circle area. That is a feature that should be added tout de suite). What I do know is that the Westin Casuarina is NOT a Strip hotel, which is clearly what I was after.

I know the ‘no-changes, no-refund’ policy of Priceline associated with the name your own bid process. And as a general rule, I understand it. But clearly there are times when exceptions should be made and I thought this was one of them.

So I called Priceline customer service expecting to get some customer service. Instead I ended up spending nearly an hour on the phone with two agents who had to be about as unhelpful as customer service people could possibly be.

As I tried in a very calm, respectful manner to explain my situation as fully as I could, the ONLY thing they’d say, and they kept repeating it like it was a holy mantra, was ‘I’m sorry. Our contract with the hotels does not allow us to refund or cancel your reservation.’

The second agent – who was I guess supposed to be higher along the customer service food chain – was as unhelpful as the first guy but even worse, in that he didn’t even seem sympathetic to my issue. His name was Matt, and his ID # was *********.

In any case, I’ve gone on long enough. But needless to say, if no one can help me out, then I suppose my much-anticipated trip to Vegas will be dampened unnecessarily. And given that it’s the only recourse as a consumer I have, I will have no choice but to not use Priceline ever again and try to convince others in my circle to not do so either and use Hotwire or some other service instead. I may not be as good at convincing people not to use Priceline as William Shatner is at convincing them to use it, but I will try my best.

Given that I really like Priceline, and love Shatner (heck, I feel just by writing this letter I’m being The Negotiator he is constantly imploring us to be), I’d much rather feel like someone at your company cared enough to go the extra mile to make me happy so I can continue to use your services and sing your praises. While for therapeutic reasons I was going to write this letter regardless (nothing is perhaps more frustrating that being stonewalled by two customer service agents who clearly enjoy not helping customers), I’m hopeful that it will get a non-canned response and a satisfactory resolution.

Thanks very much. Yours truly,