[Heron]

The latest ACBL Bulletin has just arrived, and the letters section has some replies to a piece Jeff Johnston wrote in the Daily Bulletin for the Phoenix NABC titled "No Excuse". It discusses theft, hotel staff abuse, and an action so vile it could not be documented.

If you want to have a read, it's here (starts on the first page, rightmost column): http://www.acbl.org/...lletins/db6.pdf

I wasn't there. People that I know that *were* there didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Anyone have more background? I've certainly seen the occasional "stop being crappy to the hotel" pieces in the ACBL bulletin that suggest an occasionally strained relationship with venues, but this seems like something a lot worse.

[hrothgar]

I heard that there was some confusion between the (free) hospitality tables and the hotel's concession stands.

No idea about the "big" incident.

[aguahombre]

Just another incident of we Americans being crude, gross, self-entitled, etc.

No wonder Steph moved to an urbane, polite country.

Arizona is opportunistic and not good for Bridge tourneys; they will milk us for whatever they can. But, we should not be the aggressors. T, and I actually went there ---and rather than endure what we found was to be expected, drove back home after the first day and had fun elsewhere.

That is called voting with your feet, as opposed to being a typical American boor.

[mike777]

Have read the article and the posts.


Have no idea what any of you are talking about.

Talk about lack of clarity.

Is the discussion are people around the world are "crude, gross, self-entitled, etc."


whatever the discussion Aqau repeats a very key point:
"That is called voting with your feet"

[Siegmund]

I have heard such stories in the past ... but I have to say that the only time I heard this "be nicer to the hotel staff" statement during a tournament I attended... it was at a hotel with a hideously inadequate space and hideously-behaving staff (among other things, a casino venue, and the Keno girls were coming through our ballroom bellowing every half hour.) The organizers knew in no uncertain terms it was not a place to ever go back to.

Voting with one's feet is certainly wise. And, have to say, having been to a few conferences at Sheratons and milked for everything they could get out of me every time, it's one chain I will never voluntarily give a dime to. I have written to the ACBL a few times in the past asking them not to contract with Sheraton for future NABCs. Didn't do any good. They keep going there, and I keep not going to NABCs

Bottom line is, I am sure there are two sides to this story, and hope we will hear the other side of it sooner rather than later.

[mike777]

Siegmund, on 2014-February-02, 23:01, said:

I have heard such stories in the past ... but I have to say that the only time I heard this "be nicer to the hotel staff" statement during a tournament I attended... it was at a hotel with a hideously inadequate space and hideously-behaving staff (among other things, a casino venue, and the Keno girls were coming through our ballroom bellowing every half hour.) The organizers knew in no uncertain terms it was not a place to ever go back to.

Voting with one's feet is certainly wise. And, have to say, having been to a few conferences at Sheratons and milked for everything they could get out of me every time, it's one chain I will never voluntarily give a dime to. I have written to the ACBL a few times in the past asking them not to contract with Sheraton for future NABCs. Didn't do any good. They keep going there, and I keep not going to NABCs

Bottom line is, I am sure there are two sides to this story, and hope we will hear the other side of it sooner rather than later.

what the hell do you not like about sheratons and bridge....again lack of clarity.

I mean is sheraton even a hotel in 2014?


sorry but I think I have not stayed at one in the past 30years

[Bbradley62]

mike777, on 2014-February-02, 23:07, said:

I mean is sheraton even a hotel in 2014?

Yes, Dallas in Spring 2014

[Siegmund]

Apologizing for being off-topic, but replying to mike777:

Yes, Sheraton is still a hotel chain. Emphasizing the downtown convention market. Several years ago the ACBL signed some sort of 5- or 10-year contract to have at least one NABC a year with them.

I have had to stay in five of them in the last five years (Anchorage, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, and Seattle -- an annual conference I had to attend for work had the same kind of multiyear contract with them, accounting for 4 of the 5 stays) and every time I was in a small uncomfortable room at a relatively high price, charged an arm and a leg for wifi (in my room only, none in the meeting room even if I had paid), charged an arm and a leg for parking, and charged an arm and a leg for refreshments even by big-city convention standards ($5 per drink even for soft drinks at an evening cash bar.) Admittedly four of the five did have working coffee makers and plumbing that didn't back up. Only Kansas City struck out in those two departments.

I have had isolated bad experiences at individual units of other hotel chains, but Sheraton is unique in batting .000.

I have no experience with the Phoenix facility, or with playing bridge at a Sheraton (but the Kansas City and Atlanta facilities have hosted previous NABCs.) But I am in a mindset where I expect there to be legitimate complaints underlying whatever incidents occurred.

Again, I hope someone who actually stayed there chimes in.

[Vampyr]

I have read the article, and wonder whether it shoul be the ACBL dealing with theft, or the police.

[Cthulhu D]

Vampyr, on 2014-February-02, 23:30, said:

I have read the article, and wonder whether it shoul be the ACBL dealing with theft, or the police.

It's almost impossible to get people for shoplifting unless you catch them red handed. Prevention is much better than any prosecution from the retailers perspective.

[mike777]

Siegmund, on 2014-February-02, 23:23, said:

Apologizing for being off-topic, but replying to mike777:

Yes, Sheraton is still a hotel chain. Emphasizing the downtown convention market. Several years ago the ACBL signed some sort of 5- or 10-year contract to have at least one NABC a year with them.

I have had to stay in five of them in the last five years (Anchorage, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, and Seattle -- an annual conference I had to attend for work had the same kind of multiyear contract with them, accounting for 4 of the 5 stays) and every time I was in a small uncomfortable room at a relatively high price, charged an arm and a leg for wifi (in my room only, none in the meeting room even if I had paid), charged an arm and a leg for parking, and charged an arm and a leg for refreshments even by big-city convention standards ($5 per drink even for soft drinks at an evening cash bar.) Admittedly four of the five did have working coffee makers and plumbing that didn't back up. Only Kansas City struck out in those two departments.

I have had isolated bad experiences at individual units of other hotel chains, but Sheraton is unique in batting .000.

I have no experience with the Phoenix facility, or with playing bridge at a Sheraton (but the Kansas City and Atlanta facilities have hosted previous NABCs.) But I am in a mindset where I expect there to be legitimate complaints underlying whatever incidents occurred.

Again, I hope someone who actually stayed there chimes in.

First of thanks for your kind reply.


But this always gets me.

you tell me this is a ***** hotel ...yet you go back year after year......

tell the ceo this is a ***** hotel

No on ever calls upte ceo

-----------------------


short but true story:

I buy box of stuff
the stuff sucks

I call up ceo on phone and tell him


guys call the ceo of hotel and tell him/her

call the ceo of bank...whatever and tell them when it sucks.
------------
In USA we have aCBL.....if you think it is horrible...pick up the phone and call the ceo of ACBL

[barmar]

Maybe I just don't pay enough attention, but all the big hotel chains that host NABCs seem pretty much the same to me. Rooms and prices are similar, the elevators can never handle the capacity near game time, Wifi is expensive. These hotels primarily target business travelers, so their prices are aimed towards people charging to the company, not paying out of pocket.

It's not like there's a huge set of choices of hotels with capacity to hold us.

[Mbodell]

I didn't notice anything at Phoenix. I heard second hand that there was some confusion especially about beverages which were paid but not that close physically to where they were doing concessions. It wasn't helped by the space in front of the national rooms being too narrow to have the players before the game and also the concessions.