how not to win my business
Posted: March 7th, 2007 | Author: Lori Paximadis | Filed under: reality check, wedding | 3 Comments »Be one of the two hotels likely to be decent based on brand name that are close to my home. Answer your phone with a mumble. Listen to my explanation about wanting to see a room this afternoon and to possibly put in a block request for a wedding, then transfer me to sales, where I have to repeat my explanation. Tell me that someone else in sales handles those requests and that you’ll transfer me to their extension. Do not mention that said person is out of town and won’t call me back until the next day, even though I clearly stated that I need to deal with this that day. Be unconcerned that the transferer didn’t mention your out-of-townness and failed to handle the request herself or at least hand it off to someone who was physically there. Mention that you checked your messages yesterday afternoon but couldn’t be bothered to call me back until this morning. Validate the pretty bad online reviews of your hotel (which, in retrospect, I should have checked before even calling). Make me glad I didn’t even have a chance to see a room or have to contemplate sending a nice chunk of business your way.
Looks like Error Code “ID10T” on their part. Good thing you didn’t book with them.
My bride and I had similar conclusions when we managed our wedding a few years ago; we should compare notes, although we were looking more at East side venues then your West side ones. Still and all, we found good chains and bad ones. There’s a couple good ones over there; be patient: you’ll be rewarded.
We went to my cousin’s wedding in Philadelphia last spring. She kept things simple and easy, accommodations top shelf. Went with my brother and his wife (westsiders, like me, originally), and we had a blast — which goes to prove that it has nothing to do with the money, but everything to do with the people, and what you can do to make them as comfortable as possible.
Get the best hotel available, close to the church. Don’t care about the money, but if they give a group rate, all the better. Make sure it has a competent restaurant and bar — and test it. Make everyone stay there if you can, and have someone in your wedding party start the rumor that things will continue after the wedding at the hotel bar after the reception. It’ll cook, let me tell you…
Best wishes,
Will
Thanks, Will. My other experiences over the years with Holiday Inns have been good, but this one truly sucks.
We ended up with a block at the Residence Inn — nice rooms, a pool, close to Crocker Park and Huntington Beach. We don’t have a ton of out-of-towners who need hotels — most have already arranged to stay with family or friends — but we thought it would be easiest to keep them on this side of town, close to us for the prewedding festivities, with an option to go downtown if they want something more upscale. Our venue is at University Circle, but Glidden House is already full and I don’t want the InterContinental neighborhood to be our guests’ main experience of Cleveland. Unless they need a transplant or something.
The wedding is in the morning and the reception should be wrapped up by midafternoon, so we’re preparing a packet for the out-of-towners listing other things to do: Ansel Adams show at CIA, Little Italy, WRHA/Crawford, etc., etc., etc.
Wow, Lori! I’m sorry to hear that the Holiday Inn on Crocker sucks now. I worked there one summer as a front desk clerk, and it was run well at the time. We even had the stinkin’ NY Yankees stay there that summer.
Glad you found somewhere else to book, though.
Here’s hoping your wedding planning is stress free, and your married life always joyful.