After over four years, I finally got my chance to publically explain what really happened to our Super Bowl Bid.
If you're wondering what I mean read this column penned by the Oakland Tribune's Monte Poole.
Tuesday, February 01, 2005
In Atlanta, not Jacksonville
Last week, I learned that my Mom has Breast Cancer, and was due to go into the hospital on Monday of this week. So last week, I decided to cancel my Super Bowl trip and come here to Fayetteville, GA, to be with my Mom and Stepfather, who has been battling Prostate Cancer.
My Mom's upset that I didn't attend what was to be my 4th Super Bowl, but I'll tell ya I feel a lot better being here than worrying.
Besides, the 2005 Super Bowl should be in Oakland, not Jacksonville.
My Mom's upset that I didn't attend what was to be my 4th Super Bowl, but I'll tell ya I feel a lot better being here than worrying.
Besides, the 2005 Super Bowl should be in Oakland, not Jacksonville.
Monday, January 24, 2005
Paris Hilton Mad Over Paris Hilton Tape - Snatches Copy From Video Store
This story is unfortunate. I don't blame her though. I hope the LA County Sherriff's Office has better things to do and drops the charges...read on:
January 22, 2005 (Associated Press)— Paris Hilton is being investigated for suspicion of petty theft, authorities said.
"There was an incident, and she is alleged to have taken something," sheriff's Deputy Steve Suzuki said without disclosing further details.
Calls to Hilton's publicist, Gina Hoffman, were not immediately returned.
On its Web site, the TV show "Celebrity Justice" posted a security video taken last month of Hilton as she bought several magazines at a newsstand and was given change. It goes on to show her grabbing her infamous sex video and walking off with it.
Gerry Castro, an employee at Swing News in West Hollywood, told "Celebrity Justice" that Hilton became enraged after spotting the sex video "One Night in Paris" on sale at the newsstand.
"She threw her 80 cents change at me and took the video and said, `I'm taking this and I'm not buying it,"' Castro told the show.
Castro declined to comment when contacted Friday by The Associated Press, but he told KABC-TV of Los Angeles that Hilton and her bodyguards attempted to rip up a poster and pull down a display advertising the video.
"Nobody steals on my shift," Castro said.
Paris' sister, Nicky, told KABC that Castro overreacted.
"She did something anyone would have done in this situation," Nicky Hilton said. "It's not a big deal. Whatever _ she doesn't care. I think this guy is trying to make it into a big deal, to get some publicity for his newsstand."
The sex tape surfaced in 2003 just before the start of Hilton's reality TV series "The Simple Life." She has said she was embarrassed and humiliated that the tape ever became public.
Deputies were expected to present the case next week to prosecutors, who will then decide whether to file any charges, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
The Sheriff's Department decided to announce details of the Dec. 15 incident after getting numerous phone calls from reporters, Suzuki said.
January 22, 2005 (Associated Press)— Paris Hilton is being investigated for suspicion of petty theft, authorities said.
"There was an incident, and she is alleged to have taken something," sheriff's Deputy Steve Suzuki said without disclosing further details.
Calls to Hilton's publicist, Gina Hoffman, were not immediately returned.
On its Web site, the TV show "Celebrity Justice" posted a security video taken last month of Hilton as she bought several magazines at a newsstand and was given change. It goes on to show her grabbing her infamous sex video and walking off with it.
Gerry Castro, an employee at Swing News in West Hollywood, told "Celebrity Justice" that Hilton became enraged after spotting the sex video "One Night in Paris" on sale at the newsstand.
"She threw her 80 cents change at me and took the video and said, `I'm taking this and I'm not buying it,"' Castro told the show.
Castro declined to comment when contacted Friday by The Associated Press, but he told KABC-TV of Los Angeles that Hilton and her bodyguards attempted to rip up a poster and pull down a display advertising the video.
"Nobody steals on my shift," Castro said.
Paris' sister, Nicky, told KABC that Castro overreacted.
"She did something anyone would have done in this situation," Nicky Hilton said. "It's not a big deal. Whatever _ she doesn't care. I think this guy is trying to make it into a big deal, to get some publicity for his newsstand."
The sex tape surfaced in 2003 just before the start of Hilton's reality TV series "The Simple Life." She has said she was embarrassed and humiliated that the tape ever became public.
Deputies were expected to present the case next week to prosecutors, who will then decide whether to file any charges, said Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County district attorney's office.
The Sheriff's Department decided to announce details of the Dec. 15 incident after getting numerous phone calls from reporters, Suzuki said.
The Passing of Johnny Carson - A Signpost
Johnny Carson passed away on Sunday. For 30 of my 42 years on this planet, I made "The Tonight's Show" a part of my life. When he hosted his last show in 1992, I remember feeling that a major part of my life had not so much went away, as was made dormant.
Johnny Carson was one of those "signposts" I referred to earlier in my blog. What I mean is that he helped shaped the cultural conversation of the day: what you talked about at school or at work, and what movies or commedians you were motivated to see.
Frankly, he had some funny jokes. Take when he did his last show, when he said "I feel like a chicken and Colonel Sanders is cooking up his 11 herbs and spices." Now, you know what he was referring to. He had a way of taking popular culture references, and using them in his jokes. (One could also remark that it was a great way to plug Kentucky Fried Chicken, but I feel it's a sign of how much a product becomes a part of popular culture.)
Johnny Carson was the first talk show host to become powerfully successful from television; at one point, 17 percent of NBC revenues came from his show. The show had a unique time placement: right after the evening news. So, every NBC affiliate was a lead in for The Tonight's Show.
I can't see another John Carson today. What are the new signposts? I'll have to think about that one. Any ideas?
Johnny Carson was one of those "signposts" I referred to earlier in my blog. What I mean is that he helped shaped the cultural conversation of the day: what you talked about at school or at work, and what movies or commedians you were motivated to see.
Frankly, he had some funny jokes. Take when he did his last show, when he said "I feel like a chicken and Colonel Sanders is cooking up his 11 herbs and spices." Now, you know what he was referring to. He had a way of taking popular culture references, and using them in his jokes. (One could also remark that it was a great way to plug Kentucky Fried Chicken, but I feel it's a sign of how much a product becomes a part of popular culture.)
Johnny Carson was the first talk show host to become powerfully successful from television; at one point, 17 percent of NBC revenues came from his show. The show had a unique time placement: right after the evening news. So, every NBC affiliate was a lead in for The Tonight's Show.
I can't see another John Carson today. What are the new signposts? I'll have to think about that one. Any ideas?
Saturday, January 22, 2005
"The Superjumbo" - An Idea For McDonald's - Before They Use It
I posted this idea on the Fast Company website. I thought I'd replicate it here, for posterity. Here it is:
I think McDonalds need to focus it's efforts on new products. I vote for a replacement to the aged "Big Mac." I would call it "The Superjumbo" and work a marketing deal with Airbus Industries as they roll out the A-380. I'd even have a contest, where the winner is the buyer of every 10,000th Super Jumbo and that person wins a trip on, you guessed it: The A380. The Superjumbo jet.
I think McDonalds need to focus it's efforts on new products. I vote for a replacement to the aged "Big Mac." I would call it "The Superjumbo" and work a marketing deal with Airbus Industries as they roll out the A-380. I'd even have a contest, where the winner is the buyer of every 10,000th Super Jumbo and that person wins a trip on, you guessed it: The A380. The Superjumbo jet.
Ticketmaster's Control of Presidential Inaugural Tickets
Get Presidential Inaugural Tickets - click here.
According to Brian Becker of ANSWER Coalition, the reason why it was so hard to get Presidential Inaugural tickets is that the Presidential Inaugural Committee let Ticketmaster have control of distribution of the tickets. If you called Ticketmaster to buy them, they asked for you ID number. If you were a major party donor, you got a number. Or if you were Ticketmaster, you could go out and resell the tickets. That's why the tickets started poping up, first, on Craigslist, then other brokers bought them.
How did I find this out? Well, C-SPAN. Then I went online to check out the fact, and founf an article in the Washington Post. You can click READ to read it, or check it out below:
An antiwar group filed suit yesterday alleging that President Bush's inaugural committee has for weeks blocked the public from getting tickets to the inaugural parade route and has allowed only selected donors and supporters to purchase seats.
Although Presidential Inaugural Committee officials have repeatedly said that the tickets along the Pennsylvania Avenue route are available to the public, the suit alleges that individual members of the public are blocked from buying them unless they are Bush donors or supporters who have received an invitation and special identification number from the committee.
The lawsuit, filed by the ANSWER Coalition, seeks to stop the National Park Service from cordoning off large sections of Pennsylvania Avenue for Thursday's inauguration. A federal judge is expected to hold a hearing on the case early next week.
"Pennsylvania Avenue is considered American's Main Street," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, an attorney with the Partnership for Civil Justice, which helped file the suit. "For the government to come in and take this space, to say you may only have access to this event if your viewpoint is approved by the incoming administration, is a fundamental violation of all of our First Amendment rights."
An inaugural official called the suit frivolous but did say that some parade bleacher seats were held in reserve for presidential supporters.
Steve Schmidt, communications director of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, said the public has lots of access to the inauguration. "Many of the inaugural events require tickets to attend," he said. "A great many require no tickets and are open to the public. The lawsuit is being reviewed, but this inaugural committee is operating no differently than any other inaugural committee for both Democratic and Republican presidents."
People answering phones at Ticketmaster yesterday said callers needed an invitation and identification number to buy a ticket. "As of right now, the only way you can get a ticket is if you get an invitation," one said. "We haven't heard anything yet, but I don't think they're going to release any to the public."
The lawsuit says the coalition has documents from a related suit showing that the 2001 Presidential Inaugural Committee prevented members of the general public from purchasing bleacher seat tickets for that inaugural parade and provided those seats only for Bush donors, fundraisers, supporters and invited guests.
The coalition stresses that it is not contesting President Bush's right to select who sits near the Capitol to watch his swearing-in or in VIP seating at Lafayette Square and near the White House.
"We're only talking about the part that the general public thinks they're allowed to go to," Verheyden-Hilliard said. "If they oppose war in Iraq, they should be allowed to express that. If they are supporters of the Bush administration, they should be allowed to express that."
Anne Wilson, a coalition volunteer, submitted an affidavit as part of the lawsuit saying that she tried this week to purchase a parade ticket, as instructed by the Presidential Inaugural Committee. She called Ticketmaster, was routed to the presidential inaugural ticketing center and was told she needed an identification number and invitation to buy a ticket. She expressed her dismay and was told to call the Presidential Inaugural Committee, she said.
Tracey Schmitt, spokesman for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, said last night, "People now interested in getting tickets should go to the Web site," though she warned, "There's an overwhelming demand." She said previously that anyone can walk up to watch the parade from various locations along the route.
Earlier yesterday, Jeanne Phillips, the inaugural committee chairman, said inauguration tickets were still available.
"We are still selling tickets," she said. "I mean, you can safely say we always have a few tickets at will call. We will be selling tickets until the last one is gone. It is going to be tight, but if you hurry on Sunday you might be able to get the last few."
The parade is expected to start at 2 p.m. Thursday after Bush's swearing-in on the Capitol steps.
Post staff writers Timothy Dwyer and Susan Levine contributed to this report.
According to Brian Becker of ANSWER Coalition, the reason why it was so hard to get Presidential Inaugural tickets is that the Presidential Inaugural Committee let Ticketmaster have control of distribution of the tickets. If you called Ticketmaster to buy them, they asked for you ID number. If you were a major party donor, you got a number. Or if you were Ticketmaster, you could go out and resell the tickets. That's why the tickets started poping up, first, on Craigslist, then other brokers bought them.
How did I find this out? Well, C-SPAN. Then I went online to check out the fact, and founf an article in the Washington Post. You can click READ to read it, or check it out below:
An antiwar group filed suit yesterday alleging that President Bush's inaugural committee has for weeks blocked the public from getting tickets to the inaugural parade route and has allowed only selected donors and supporters to purchase seats.
Although Presidential Inaugural Committee officials have repeatedly said that the tickets along the Pennsylvania Avenue route are available to the public, the suit alleges that individual members of the public are blocked from buying them unless they are Bush donors or supporters who have received an invitation and special identification number from the committee.
The lawsuit, filed by the ANSWER Coalition, seeks to stop the National Park Service from cordoning off large sections of Pennsylvania Avenue for Thursday's inauguration. A federal judge is expected to hold a hearing on the case early next week.
"Pennsylvania Avenue is considered American's Main Street," said Mara Verheyden-Hilliard, an attorney with the Partnership for Civil Justice, which helped file the suit. "For the government to come in and take this space, to say you may only have access to this event if your viewpoint is approved by the incoming administration, is a fundamental violation of all of our First Amendment rights."
An inaugural official called the suit frivolous but did say that some parade bleacher seats were held in reserve for presidential supporters.
Steve Schmidt, communications director of the Presidential Inaugural Committee, said the public has lots of access to the inauguration. "Many of the inaugural events require tickets to attend," he said. "A great many require no tickets and are open to the public. The lawsuit is being reviewed, but this inaugural committee is operating no differently than any other inaugural committee for both Democratic and Republican presidents."
People answering phones at Ticketmaster yesterday said callers needed an invitation and identification number to buy a ticket. "As of right now, the only way you can get a ticket is if you get an invitation," one said. "We haven't heard anything yet, but I don't think they're going to release any to the public."
The lawsuit says the coalition has documents from a related suit showing that the 2001 Presidential Inaugural Committee prevented members of the general public from purchasing bleacher seat tickets for that inaugural parade and provided those seats only for Bush donors, fundraisers, supporters and invited guests.
The coalition stresses that it is not contesting President Bush's right to select who sits near the Capitol to watch his swearing-in or in VIP seating at Lafayette Square and near the White House.
"We're only talking about the part that the general public thinks they're allowed to go to," Verheyden-Hilliard said. "If they oppose war in Iraq, they should be allowed to express that. If they are supporters of the Bush administration, they should be allowed to express that."
Anne Wilson, a coalition volunteer, submitted an affidavit as part of the lawsuit saying that she tried this week to purchase a parade ticket, as instructed by the Presidential Inaugural Committee. She called Ticketmaster, was routed to the presidential inaugural ticketing center and was told she needed an identification number and invitation to buy a ticket. She expressed her dismay and was told to call the Presidential Inaugural Committee, she said.
Tracey Schmitt, spokesman for the Presidential Inaugural Committee, said last night, "People now interested in getting tickets should go to the Web site," though she warned, "There's an overwhelming demand." She said previously that anyone can walk up to watch the parade from various locations along the route.
Earlier yesterday, Jeanne Phillips, the inaugural committee chairman, said inauguration tickets were still available.
"We are still selling tickets," she said. "I mean, you can safely say we always have a few tickets at will call. We will be selling tickets until the last one is gone. It is going to be tight, but if you hurry on Sunday you might be able to get the last few."
The parade is expected to start at 2 p.m. Thursday after Bush's swearing-in on the Capitol steps.
Post staff writers Timothy Dwyer and Susan Levine contributed to this report.
Thursday, January 20, 2005
Jacksonville Super Bowl XXXIX Hotel Room Fiasco - Pt 8
Well it appears that this hotel room shortage problem started because Jacksonville had signed letters and not contracts claiming the 17,000 rooms. For evidence, read this article I found: http://www.hotel-online.com/News/PR2002_4th/Nov02_SuperRooms.html
I learned today that in 2000, my competitors at Jacksonville's Super Bowl Bid Committee did not have hotels signed under contract, but simple letters of support and rooms from some of the hotels in the surrounding area. I and others (including the Bay Area Media) were led to believe that they had signed contracts, each 13-pages long, totalling 17,000 rooms.
The Oakland bid effort I led had about 7,000 rooms under contract, and a letter from the San Mateo CVB for 12,500 more. So, where I felt bad because we didn't have enough contracts, it turns out we had more rooms under contract at the time of our bid presentation on the morning of November 3rd 2000 in Atlanta, and yet Jacksonville won.
I remember Robert Gammon, who wrote for the Oakland Tribune at the time, as refering to the Oakland Super Bowl Bid as "failed." Well folks, we didn't fail. I didn't fail.
I believe to this day, we should have won -- the Super Bowl should be here in Oakland. But I do feel a high degree of personal vindication. Given what I had to put up with -- a less-than-supportive Jerry Brown, and no shortage of people telling me we could not do it -- I can officially say that I and the people that helped me with that bid did a hell of a great job. We can all officially say we got more hotels under contract than Jacksonville. We did what we didn't think we did.
Think the Oakland Tribune will report that? Hmm? Hmm?
Well, the other problem is a Jacksonville hotel gouging and reservations issue that may rank as one of the largest in sports events history.
I learned today that in 2000, my competitors at Jacksonville's Super Bowl Bid Committee did not have hotels signed under contract, but simple letters of support and rooms from some of the hotels in the surrounding area. I and others (including the Bay Area Media) were led to believe that they had signed contracts, each 13-pages long, totalling 17,000 rooms.
The Oakland bid effort I led had about 7,000 rooms under contract, and a letter from the San Mateo CVB for 12,500 more. So, where I felt bad because we didn't have enough contracts, it turns out we had more rooms under contract at the time of our bid presentation on the morning of November 3rd 2000 in Atlanta, and yet Jacksonville won.
I remember Robert Gammon, who wrote for the Oakland Tribune at the time, as refering to the Oakland Super Bowl Bid as "failed." Well folks, we didn't fail. I didn't fail.
I believe to this day, we should have won -- the Super Bowl should be here in Oakland. But I do feel a high degree of personal vindication. Given what I had to put up with -- a less-than-supportive Jerry Brown, and no shortage of people telling me we could not do it -- I can officially say that I and the people that helped me with that bid did a hell of a great job. We can all officially say we got more hotels under contract than Jacksonville. We did what we didn't think we did.
Think the Oakland Tribune will report that? Hmm? Hmm?
Well, the other problem is a Jacksonville hotel gouging and reservations issue that may rank as one of the largest in sports events history.
Tuesday, January 18, 2005
Jacksonville Super Bowl XXXIX Hotel Room Fiasco - Pt 7
OK. For a recap, how did this hotel room problem start? Well, it goes all the way back to the year 2000, when Jacksonville reported that they signed up cruise ships to add 3,500 rooms to their bloc of 10,000 rooms under NFL contract. Well, as you can see if you read this blog and my series on this problem, Jacksonville gave the NFL the cruise ships, period plus another 3,500 rooms, not 10,000 rooms. In other words Jacksonville came up with only -- let's see -- about 7,000 rooms.
Oakland had about that many under contract, not including a letter from Ann Le Clair, who was the Executive Director of the San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Well, that letter pledged an additional 12,500 rooms, so we would have been able to give the NFL their rooms, not including the 30,000 rooms in San Francisco, and the 40,000 rooms in the Bay Area, all within one-hour's drive of The Oakland Coliseum.
Want evidence of Jacksonville's promise? Click here : Press Release Oh, in the release, Jacksonville officials claim that they have over 17,000 rooms. Geez.
The question is what will the NFL do after this? You can be sure that Jacksonville's getting a game will be a problem in the future, but the bottom line is tha the Jax executives signed binding NFL contracts promissing rooms. So, I'll bet the league's pissed. What am I writing, I know they are.
The other big problem is the undoubtely large number of instances of hotel room booking fraud. I think that the law should change to prohibit those who are not registered hotel travel agents from booking rooms, and that of those registered, they and the hotel manager are required to report all transactions to the parent company, even if the parent company does not own the property.
Then, that the parent company is responsible for the resolution of all potentially frauduent transactions. This will cause them to police their properties better.
Oakland had about that many under contract, not including a letter from Ann Le Clair, who was the Executive Director of the San Mateo County Convention and Visitors Bureau. Well, that letter pledged an additional 12,500 rooms, so we would have been able to give the NFL their rooms, not including the 30,000 rooms in San Francisco, and the 40,000 rooms in the Bay Area, all within one-hour's drive of The Oakland Coliseum.
Want evidence of Jacksonville's promise? Click here : Press Release Oh, in the release, Jacksonville officials claim that they have over 17,000 rooms. Geez.
The question is what will the NFL do after this? You can be sure that Jacksonville's getting a game will be a problem in the future, but the bottom line is tha the Jax executives signed binding NFL contracts promissing rooms. So, I'll bet the league's pissed. What am I writing, I know they are.
The other big problem is the undoubtely large number of instances of hotel room booking fraud. I think that the law should change to prohibit those who are not registered hotel travel agents from booking rooms, and that of those registered, they and the hotel manager are required to report all transactions to the parent company, even if the parent company does not own the property.
Then, that the parent company is responsible for the resolution of all potentially frauduent transactions. This will cause them to police their properties better.
Jacksonville Super Bowl Hotel Room Fiasco - Pt 6
Well, I finally got a hotel about 50 miles (!) out from Jacksonville, and yes in Jekyl Island, GA. That reported, it sounds like a nice resort. But this whole deal is not over just because I have a room.
I got an e-mail from a friend who has an exhibit at the NFL Experience, so he has more Super Bowl experience than I do. This is what he wrote:
"Hi Zennie,
I relate to your issues. When I first started my negotiations with the NFL this year, they told me that I would be responsible for securing my own rooms because there is a huge room issue for this year’s game. I told them that I would increase my fees to reflect the change in policy. The next conversation, they had only 2 rooms secured for the 3 of us, and that they would pick up the tab, as always. The problem with these rooms is that they are more than 30 minutes away from the NFL Experience, so I also had to rent cars for my staff."
So that's proof there's a real problem. Oh, and Best Western? They called to tell me what I already know, that my name was not on a reservation. What I was trying to determine is if the ticket broker actually had a room in the first place, and also get a room for myself.
I've got a room, but I'm going to bring this whole matter to the attention of whoever will listen in Congress. This is ridiculous, and I'm not going to stop until hoterliers are discouraged from inviting fraudulent practices.
I got an e-mail from a friend who has an exhibit at the NFL Experience, so he has more Super Bowl experience than I do. This is what he wrote:
"Hi Zennie,
I relate to your issues. When I first started my negotiations with the NFL this year, they told me that I would be responsible for securing my own rooms because there is a huge room issue for this year’s game. I told them that I would increase my fees to reflect the change in policy. The next conversation, they had only 2 rooms secured for the 3 of us, and that they would pick up the tab, as always. The problem with these rooms is that they are more than 30 minutes away from the NFL Experience, so I also had to rent cars for my staff."
So that's proof there's a real problem. Oh, and Best Western? They called to tell me what I already know, that my name was not on a reservation. What I was trying to determine is if the ticket broker actually had a room in the first place, and also get a room for myself.
I've got a room, but I'm going to bring this whole matter to the attention of whoever will listen in Congress. This is ridiculous, and I'm not going to stop until hoterliers are discouraged from inviting fraudulent practices.
Monday, January 17, 2005
Jacksonville Super Bowl XXXIX Hotel Room Fiasco Pt 5
I have not had a great time with this matter of hotels. I didn't here from the Best Western people today, but that could be because they're investigating this matter -- as they said they would do. It's also Martin Luther King's birthday holiday, ....but hey, I did talk to the Best Western people on Sunday, huh? Hmm...
This will be resolved in some way. I was contacted by a reporter for the Florida Times-Union not on this problem, but on my remarks that the economic impact of the Super Bowl is under-estimated. The reporter's passing my hotel problem story to a person in their business section.
Maybe I'll have a public voice about this stuff, if only to get a room. But there's a real problem down there in Jax. For example, I finally used the website at jacksonvillesuperbowl.com for more than just maps. They've got a website for hotels and a hotline. Used the website but the closest hotel I located at a $150 price was in Georgia. Yep, South GA is about an hour's drive. But that's a whole hour.
When I called the hotline, I discovered that the guy on the other end of the line was just using the same website, because when he told me to go to the Jacksonville website, I said "I'm already there," and he said "That's what I'm using." Geez.
Oh, so you would think that the hotline guy was located in Jacksonville, and could tell me something about the area, like where to get Chicago-style pizza,right? Nah. He was in Chicago. Geez. If this were The Apprentice, who would The Donald fire?
After fishing around the Internet, I thought I found a room at the Florida Inn on Amelia Island, and at $169 a night as reported on their website. Check out their website by clicking on the word LINK. Then type in the dates of Feb 3rd to arrive and Feb 7th to get out of Dodge, as they said in Gunsmoke.
Notice that their are rooms at $169, right. Right? Yeah. So, I called them, with a smile. They person did report the room as available and at that rate!!!
But then they fax out this room form for me to fill out (fine), and the rates on the paper are from $600 for the same room, up to $900. And that's per night. Per night. Per night. Should I repeat this?
So, I called the Inn, and the person on the phone agreed that the prices were too high, but she didn't set them. She agreed that the price was set at a "scam level." I'm not kidding. She also told me that the Inn elected not to sign up with the Host Committee.
I'm not sure if that was a good move or a bad one.
I still need a room.
This will be resolved in some way. I was contacted by a reporter for the Florida Times-Union not on this problem, but on my remarks that the economic impact of the Super Bowl is under-estimated. The reporter's passing my hotel problem story to a person in their business section.
Maybe I'll have a public voice about this stuff, if only to get a room. But there's a real problem down there in Jax. For example, I finally used the website at jacksonvillesuperbowl.com for more than just maps. They've got a website for hotels and a hotline. Used the website but the closest hotel I located at a $150 price was in Georgia. Yep, South GA is about an hour's drive. But that's a whole hour.
When I called the hotline, I discovered that the guy on the other end of the line was just using the same website, because when he told me to go to the Jacksonville website, I said "I'm already there," and he said "That's what I'm using." Geez.
Oh, so you would think that the hotline guy was located in Jacksonville, and could tell me something about the area, like where to get Chicago-style pizza,right? Nah. He was in Chicago. Geez. If this were The Apprentice, who would The Donald fire?
After fishing around the Internet, I thought I found a room at the Florida Inn on Amelia Island, and at $169 a night as reported on their website. Check out their website by clicking on the word LINK. Then type in the dates of Feb 3rd to arrive and Feb 7th to get out of Dodge, as they said in Gunsmoke.
Notice that their are rooms at $169, right. Right? Yeah. So, I called them, with a smile. They person did report the room as available and at that rate!!!
But then they fax out this room form for me to fill out (fine), and the rates on the paper are from $600 for the same room, up to $900. And that's per night. Per night. Per night. Should I repeat this?
So, I called the Inn, and the person on the phone agreed that the prices were too high, but she didn't set them. She agreed that the price was set at a "scam level." I'm not kidding. She also told me that the Inn elected not to sign up with the Host Committee.
I'm not sure if that was a good move or a bad one.
I still need a room.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
Jacksonville Super Bowl XXXIX Hotel Room Fiasco - Pt 4
(This is the fourth installment on the problem I'm having getting a hotel room in Jacksonville for this year's Super Bowl. For the others scroll down below.)
There's more news in this unfolding nightmare. After I had the great conversation with Best Western's Paul Alben, I checked my cell phone voicemail, only to find a nasty message from my friend's friend who was supposed to have the room at the Best Western Executive Inn.
I had specifically instructed his accountant not to run my credit card until I called him. What I really did was use one of my debt cards that didn't have money on it, until I found out I actually had a room.
Well, on Wednesday I called to express concern that I didn't have the proper hotel confirmation. Well, his accountant seemed to understand my fear. But the guy who runs this brokerage firm in New York didn't. He basically started yelling at me that "He was only doing this as a favor," and "He wasn't making money on the deal anyway."
I tried to make light of the conversation by simply laughing or basically calming him down, but in my mind I was more nervous that ever. So, I kept calling Best Western until I received call backs starting Thursday.
Anyway, it turns out that they decided to run my card, without my permission. So, of course it came up declined. Now get this, the hotel rep I talked to when I called to report the cell phone message told me that some other firm seemed to have control of the rooms. There are 61 of them.
So if I placed $700 on that card's account, I may not have had the room anyway! The very fine print of the credit card authorization reads "All orders on on a try to fill basis." Plus, the document refers to tickets and not hotel rooms. Geez. A ticket broker trying to move hotel rooms.
Whew!
I hope Best Western comes through.
There's more news in this unfolding nightmare. After I had the great conversation with Best Western's Paul Alben, I checked my cell phone voicemail, only to find a nasty message from my friend's friend who was supposed to have the room at the Best Western Executive Inn.
I had specifically instructed his accountant not to run my credit card until I called him. What I really did was use one of my debt cards that didn't have money on it, until I found out I actually had a room.
Well, on Wednesday I called to express concern that I didn't have the proper hotel confirmation. Well, his accountant seemed to understand my fear. But the guy who runs this brokerage firm in New York didn't. He basically started yelling at me that "He was only doing this as a favor," and "He wasn't making money on the deal anyway."
I tried to make light of the conversation by simply laughing or basically calming him down, but in my mind I was more nervous that ever. So, I kept calling Best Western until I received call backs starting Thursday.
Anyway, it turns out that they decided to run my card, without my permission. So, of course it came up declined. Now get this, the hotel rep I talked to when I called to report the cell phone message told me that some other firm seemed to have control of the rooms. There are 61 of them.
So if I placed $700 on that card's account, I may not have had the room anyway! The very fine print of the credit card authorization reads "All orders on on a try to fill basis." Plus, the document refers to tickets and not hotel rooms. Geez. A ticket broker trying to move hotel rooms.
Whew!
I hope Best Western comes through.
Jacksonville Super Bowl XXXIX Hotel Room Fiasco - Pt 3
Hey. Best Western's Will Jansen did call me. He said that they were concerned about what was going on down there, and would check to see if the room was indeed there for me. Then I just now got a call from Mr. Paul Alben who represents Best Western's customer relations department. He's also going to check into the hotel matter. He agrees that third-parties should always give you a hotel confirmation number.
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