Posted on 09/30/2006 2:08:58 PM PDT by ml/nj
This past week I flew to the Los Angeles area for business. My client purchased my airline tickets for me and made my hotel reservations. I told them I wanted a smoking room. They made reservations for me at a Hilton Garden Inn in Arcadia, and another at the Hilton on Century Blvd near LAX.
When I checked into the place in Arcadia, they informed me that they were out of smoking rooms (which they knew I wanted), and that if I smoked in the room they gave me I would incur a $75 cleaning charge. Maybe they could switch my room for my second and third nights but that was it. Take it or leave it. It wasn't like I really had a choice. I was traveling with the client and his company had made the arrangements. Even changing rooms was an empty opportunity as I wasn't going to return to the hotel in mid-afternoon to see whether they would give me one of their precious smoking rooms. That is, if they had any.
This Hilton Garden Inn had four floors. I stayed on the first, and the first floor was all no-smoking. I had to go up to the second floor for ice, and it too was all no-smoking. I thought about investigating the other floors but I just didn't have time.
My last night was at the LAX Hilton, and there too I was informed that they were "out of smoking rooms." (They also were well aware that I had reserved a smoking room.) This time I asked how many designated smoking rooms they had, and the clerk told me they had 30. When I asked how many rooms they had in the hotel, she told me, "Over a thousand."
So I wonder, is this a California thing? Is it a Hilton thing? I do stay at other Hilton properties (Hampton Inns and Embassy Suites) in other places and haven't had any problem, but then I never used to have a problem at Marriotts either.
ML/NJ
Nothing. I have a marketable skill.
Must be nice not having to watch your twenties.
It is.
It's also nice to get what I want, rather than what is left over.
ML/NJ
"What'd you pay?
Nothing. I have a marketable skill."
Pretty vague, and I'm sure the John is not trading for the room, so how do you get a room for free? Travel agent?
I think if you look at the first post on this thread, you will see that someone wanted me to help them out in California. They paid for my airline tickets, rooms, and quite a bit more.
ML/NJ
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