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I finally got the call I'd been fearing was coming thanks to CES (Consumer Electronics Show) and AVN (Adult Video National convention) descending on our fair town at around the same time it does every year. I will start off by saying this year probably hasn't even been as frantic as past years due to the softened economy (IE there are still rooms left in town (not like the past where we were sold out all the way to Laughlin (90 miles away).
I get a lady on the line for our highest end property of the 7 (you know, the one that was extensively featured in the highest grossing R rated comedy of all time). She gives me dates that tend to fit the pattern of a CES or AVN vendor (coming in a day early staying a day late, couldn't tell which convention she was coming for because she was calling from a place in both the tech belt and the porn belt). I check the availability and let her know that THAT hotel is sold out but I'd be glad to check our others. I ask her what her 2nd choice is (I have to check rates one hotel at a time) and she lets me know "the cheapest possible" (then WTF did you call the highest end one?). I place her on hold and check all of our hotels (it was EASY, everything was sold out except for a lowest end hotel).
I come back on the line and I quote the rates ($3x for the first night followed by $2xx for each remaining nights). TOO LATE!!! I fell into what I think may have been a trap, the guest flips on me and goes into a tirade how it is UNFAIR to have the rates jump like that for the same room. I explain the concept of supply and demand (easier for the average person to understand than what's really going on, that hotel rooms are a perishable product and that selling a room for less than you could most likely get for it is a huge loss in revenue). She played the "are you sure that's as low as you can go? game". I let her know it is discounted (I found a discount that would apply to her) and that due to the very high demand that's the lowest we could go. She lets me know it's too much and she is going to shop around BUT she wanted my advice of where to look lol. I let her know I can't recommend competitors but if it was me I'd consider booking this room before shopping around just to have a fallback plan if needed. She refuses and hangs up.
I got curious a few hours later and checked out travelaxe (an aggregator of the lowest rates for all hotels in vegas) wonder of wonders there is only one hotel left on the strip that isn't sold out for these dates (and it's not even the one I quoted which must have sold out between the call and when I checked).
Dude if your coming to a convention city during the two largest conventions of the year, why not like book more than two days before arrival? Oddly if it was me I did find a few surprisingly good options I could recommend if you know I wasn't at work (the best was all the nights at a hotel within walking distance of the monorail/best way to get to the convention at under $200 total for the entire stay). If your curious the only bet left on the strip is the Scary Clown Hotel and mostly likely there Scary Motel Style Rooms that are closer to Industrial Road (Strip Club County USA) than the strip.
Gotta love lack of planning fun.
I get a lady on the line for our highest end property of the 7 (you know, the one that was extensively featured in the highest grossing R rated comedy of all time). She gives me dates that tend to fit the pattern of a CES or AVN vendor (coming in a day early staying a day late, couldn't tell which convention she was coming for because she was calling from a place in both the tech belt and the porn belt). I check the availability and let her know that THAT hotel is sold out but I'd be glad to check our others. I ask her what her 2nd choice is (I have to check rates one hotel at a time) and she lets me know "the cheapest possible" (then WTF did you call the highest end one?). I place her on hold and check all of our hotels (it was EASY, everything was sold out except for a lowest end hotel).
I come back on the line and I quote the rates ($3x for the first night followed by $2xx for each remaining nights). TOO LATE!!! I fell into what I think may have been a trap, the guest flips on me and goes into a tirade how it is UNFAIR to have the rates jump like that for the same room. I explain the concept of supply and demand (easier for the average person to understand than what's really going on, that hotel rooms are a perishable product and that selling a room for less than you could most likely get for it is a huge loss in revenue). She played the "are you sure that's as low as you can go? game". I let her know it is discounted (I found a discount that would apply to her) and that due to the very high demand that's the lowest we could go. She lets me know it's too much and she is going to shop around BUT she wanted my advice of where to look lol. I let her know I can't recommend competitors but if it was me I'd consider booking this room before shopping around just to have a fallback plan if needed. She refuses and hangs up.
I got curious a few hours later and checked out travelaxe (an aggregator of the lowest rates for all hotels in vegas) wonder of wonders there is only one hotel left on the strip that isn't sold out for these dates (and it's not even the one I quoted which must have sold out between the call and when I checked).
Dude if your coming to a convention city during the two largest conventions of the year, why not like book more than two days before arrival? Oddly if it was me I did find a few surprisingly good options I could recommend if you know I wasn't at work (the best was all the nights at a hotel within walking distance of the monorail/best way to get to the convention at under $200 total for the entire stay). If your curious the only bet left on the strip is the Scary Clown Hotel and mostly likely there Scary Motel Style Rooms that are closer to Industrial Road (Strip Club County USA) than the strip.
Gotta love lack of planning fun.
Now I feel so mean lol with all these people warning me to be nice. Since they already have rooms I likely won't talk to them. I work in a callcenter tucked into one of the casinos on the strip and my department mostly deals with players card members booking rooms. I can also book restaurant reservations, golf tee times, show tickets, and act as an operator when people call my department but really need to be directed to somewhere else.
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