Owner: Get A Room! URL:http://getahotelroom.blogspot.com Join Date: Thu, 20 Dec 2007 22:34:41 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: Tips and advice for business and leisure travelers, meeting planners and travel agents from the Director of Sales and Marketing for The Landmark Hotel Group in Virginia Beach, VA. Site statistics:Click here
"Wow" Hotel Experiences 2008-03-03 19:01:00 How often has a hotel done something "above and beyond" that simply "wowed" you?
I know how impressed I was with the engineering staff at one of our hotels following a snowy night a few years ago. They hit the parking lot early in the morning clear the snow, and while they were at it, they cleared the windshields of the cars parked at the hotel. Imagine how surprised and delighted the hotel's Read more:Hotel
Negotiating Reality Check 2008-02-28 20:10:00 Every now and then something happens during the week that makes me wonder "what are they thinking?"
Not once, but twice this week, clients who have negotiated rates for their groups, signed contracts, made their reservations, and are less than a month away from walking through the doors of one of our hotels called me to see if they can "get a 'better' rate."
Why? (All together now:) "Because Read more:Check
Googling to "Get A Room!" 2008-02-22 18:34:00 I love Googling
.
It's like the search engine that sends their spiders into your brain and can find exactly what you had hoped to find. These Google guys are mind-readers, I tell you.
Having said that, I've been entertained by the Google searches that have led people to Get A Room!. Of course, a part of me would like to think that people are searching specifically for this blog, but I
Getting a Grip on Sports Groups 2008-02-14 20:42:00 Your child's sports team has qualified to travel to an out-of-town tournament and you've been tasked with finding accommodations for the entire team.
First of all, congratulations! Now what?
Relax. In many cases, the hotels already know the tournament is coming to town. The first thing you should find out is if the tournament has secured the services of a housing bureau, which the Read more:Sports
, Groups
What's in a Name, and Why Should You Care? 2008-02-10 22:26:00 When we opened the Candlewood Suites in Virginia Beach, it was a new brand to this area. In case you're unfamiliar, Candlewood Suites specializes in extended stays of seven nights or more, has fully furnished kitchens equipped with full-sized refrigerators, DVD players, storage space, a Candlewood Cupboard, free laundry facilities, is pet-friendly, and offers weekly housekeeping.
It is not a
ABA Marketplace Virginia Beach: Right On! 2008-02-07 20:39:00 What a blast this week has been! It's been both productive and exhausting! The City of VirginiaBeach
has much to be proud of. To Jenny, Al, Teri, and the entire staff at the Virginia Beach Convention and Visitor's Bureau, a heartfelt congratulations on an outstanding job. And I mean outstanding! I cannot believe that what we've been talking about nonstop for the past three years has come to Read more:Marketplace
, Right
Conventions and Carnivals! 2008-02-02 19:07:00 GET A ROOM!
SELECTED AGAIN IN TRAVEL BLOG CARNIVAL!
I took a break from the preparations for the ABA Marketplace in Virginia Beach this week long enough to see that another post from Get A Room! has been selected for the Travel Blog Carnival hosted by Darren Cronian at Travel Rants.
Thank you, Vicky, and the Highland Business Research's "Tracking Tourism" blog for selecting Get A Room's post on Read more:Carnivals
...And Speaking of Buses 2008-01-30 17:06:00 VIRGINIA BEACH WELCOMES
THE AMERICAN BUS ASSOCIATION 2008 MARKETPLACE
Yes, we're having company in my hometown. About 3,000 of our closest friends are converging on Virginia Beach, Virginia for a week of networking, socializing, and getting down to business. This is one of my favorite trade "shows" each year, as I'm able to reconnect with old acquaintances and develop new relationships with Read more:Speaking
, Buses
The Wheels On The Bus... 2008-01-27 16:20:00 Opportunities for students to travel are everywhere. There are educational school trips, scouting adventures, band and choir performance trips, high school senior trips, sporting events... Our kids are on the move, or at least have the chance to be, no matter where their interests lie.
Allowing our children to see the world outside of our homes and communities is a truly enriching experience. Read more:Wheels
Confronting Complaints 2008-01-22 20:15:00 Any hotel worth its salt is doing its best to provide you the cleanest, most comfortable stay that they can provide. Unfortunately, it's not the raves that make online consumer sites like TripAdvisor, so before I begin, I'd like to encourage you to take the time to gush over those great hotel experiences on these sites when you have them. I surf the web and sometimes it looks like one giant
Pre-occupied with VacantReady 2008-01-21 21:02:00 I never know what a post will bring or where it will land me. It's like I find a blog I really enjoy (BedJump.Com), write a post about it, and then find out that the blogger has another blog where he shares what he likes about my blog. Of course, now I like his other blog, too! As fellow hoteliers, it makes perfect sense, I guess, that we would have discovered each other's blogs.
Thanks,
Week 2: "Get A Room!" is Featured Again! 2008-01-10 21:17:00 In Week 1 of the Travel Blog Carnival, Darren at Travel Rants selected a post from Get A Room! and wrote:
Don, from the Get a Room blog wrote an interesting and very concise blog post about the ‘lingo’ you’ll see when searching and booking a hotel. He also gives some really useful advice about booking a hotel room and the glossary.
Guido at the Happy Hotelier, as one of the bloggers selecting Read more:Featured
, Again
Reaping Rewards 2008-01-09 18:36:00 Many business travelers have subscribed to the rewards programs offered by the different franchises and brands looking to develop guest loyalty. What could be better than earning personal freebies for trips your company pays you to be on, right?
Whether a guest becomes loyal to the brand--or loyal to rewards programs in general-- is anyone's guess. I've seen many travelers who have five or six Read more:Reaping
, Rewards
My Life on the T-List 2008-01-09 08:19:00 A huge thank you and Happy New Year to the Happy Hotelier who created a little Steve Martin "the new phone book is here! I'm somebody!" excitement for me when I checked his T-list and found that Get A Room! had made it onto the updated 2008 list at #247!
As a new blogger in this arena, it's nice to see the name "in lights," so to speak. After all, any recognition is a sign that someone's
Hotel Bed Jumping 2008-01-07 20:27:00 I have long known that guests were having their way with the beds in our hotel rooms. Hotel
s have gone through complete make-overs to provide guests with the best night's sleep possible by installing luxurious sleep "systems" and providing additional "sleep amenities," and this is what we get. Thanks to this website dedicated to pictures of people who jump on hotel beds, I now have proof that all Read more:Jumping
100% Satisfaction Guarantee 2008-01-03 22:02:00 Don't you get excited when you check into a hotel room and find that little table tent proclaiming the hotel's "100% Satisfaction
Guarantee" policy? It truly is an effort on the part of the hotel to make sure that you are completely satisfied with your stay, but so many people fail to read the rest of that little table tent. Yes, there is fine print, but it's not so fine that you'd be unable to
The Carnival's in Town! 2008-01-02 08:48:00 Everyone loves a carnival, and Darren's having one over at Travel Rants, where they're featuring a carnival of articles from new travel-related blogs.
A Travel Blog Carnival
? I couldn't help myself. I had to submit an article, so I chose to submit the post about hotel "lingo," if only for the opportunity to get into the Coke-bottle ring-toss and maybe, just maybe, attract a new reader or two
Happy "New You" Year! 2007-12-30 20:56:00 If you're New Year's Resolution is to get in shape--or to simply lose weight--but your travel schedule makes that prospect seem like an impossible one, take a look at all that can be accomplished in a typical hotel room!
From Jeff Kunard:
From Craig Ballantyne:
Of course, if there's a fitness center at the hotel in which you're staying, feel free to utilize it!
Happy
Trails, and have
Just Tell Me HOW MUCH! 2007-12-17 13:13:00 What's with all the questions the hotel sales managers ask when you call them to find out about how much rooms will cost your (choose whichever is appropriate from the list below)
wedding guests
sports team
family members at reunion
associates at your corporation
government employees
tour group
client
when all you truly want to know is HOW MUCH DO YOUR ROOMS COST?
(If you haven't read my post
L-I-N-G-O 2007-12-15 18:41:00 As in any industry, there are terms that hoteliers will use that can sometimes confuse consumers, especially if the terms aren't explained up front. Because we use them all the time, it's easy for us to forget that you don't hear them all the time. I promise, we don't do this to purposely aggravate you. It's just the language we speak, and very much a part of our "at work" culture. And while
Hotels and the Internet 2007-12-15 16:47:00 I can't help but notice all the "help" there is online for people looking for a hotel these days.
I've seen advice from Oprah, CNN, sites like TripAdvisor, travel agents, and marketing gurus, but I didn't see much in the way of advice from people who actually work in the hotel business. That is the purpose of this blog. I hope to draw on my ten years in the hospitality industry to help make Read more:Hotels
, Internet
When Scammers Target Hoteliers 2008-03-06 18:10:00 Please, never write an e-mail to a hotel that reads like this.
Am Morgan Philips from United Kingdom, my friends and I will be coming to your country for some holidays and I will like to book for four single rooms for the days my friends and I will be staying in your country. Below is the details of my reservation: check in:12th/5/2008 check out:16th/5/2008 ROOM TYPE: FOUR SINGLEROOMS Names Read more:Target
ABA Hotels and Motorcoaches Rock 2008-03-14 19:54:00 If you are a tourist who is interested in traveling by motorcoach, a good place to begin is with a registered ABA member. In addition, I would check to make sure your motorcoach operator is driving you to a hotel that also holds a membership in this important organization.
I have once again been featured as a guest blogger on the American Bus Association's Blog, where I discuss the far too Read more:Hotels
Defining AAA Diamonds 2008-03-14 10:19:00 Hotel & Motel Management Magazine has done a great job in communicating to hoteliers how the AAA Diamond rating works. For the consumer, the chart above should help understand the differences AAA looks for when issuing diamonds to hotels.
Remember a time a couple of years ago when it was "hit or miss" as to whether a hotel's diamond rating indicated whether it had high speed wireless Internet, Read more:Diamonds
The Blissful Blogger 2008-03-18 18:41:00 While this blog deals primarily with the business of doing business with hotels, I'm aware that if you're doing business with hotels, you're probably traveling. Whether you stay within the confines of the U.S. borders, or venture across the globe to exotic locations where you can truly "get away from it all," there's a great blog that will take you to the far reaches of the planet with
a mere Read more:Blogger
Yeppie Nation Workout Detour! 2008-03-21 12:54:00 If you are clicking through from Yeppie Nation's "Jeff Pumps You Up, in Your Hotel" post, you will find the collection of Jeff Kunard hotel workout videos in Get A Room's "New You Year" post. You may either click on that link, click on the detour sign to the left, or on Jeff's head above to get there! Read more:Workout
Dirty Hotels: From "Wow!" to "Whoa!" 2008-04-02 09:14:00 We took a look in an earlier post at some hotels that have provided a "wow" experience for their guests.
Now it's time to travel to the dark side.
In case you haven't seen it, TripAdvisor has come out with its 2008 List of the Dirtiest Hotels
in the U.S., and in the U.K.
I'm also sure you've all seen the news report about unclean drinking glasses.
I am curious to hear about experiences you
The Ultimate Hotel of the Future 2008-04-07 20:08:00 An article in the Times Online has hotel owners peeking into a crystal ball to predict what hotels of the future might offer. Their predictions ranged from computers replacing televisions in all guest rooms, to mandatory free internet and mineral water.
I found this article fascinating, mainly because the hoteliers were doing the pontificating, not the hotel guests. Given the rush in the U.S. Read more:Ultimate
, Hotel
, Future
Craig's (Super-sized) List 2008-04-20 20:04:00 In my opinion, Daniel Edward Craig
is a genius at this hotel blogging thing. Not only is he an exceptional writer, but as a former hotel general manager, his point of view is clear and his topics are relevant.
His recent post on why others get room upgrades and you don't is a must read for anyone who frequently (or heck, even infrequently) uses hotels.
In fact, I'm in the hotel business and Read more:Super
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