I don’t recall another hotel with that policy and I decided against staying there because I think they are gouging.
I stayed there 2 years ago and although we liked it, for the reason you mention, I decided to not give them my money. There are enough places elsewhere in town that do not have this requirement!
This must be new because I stayed there this year and they didn’t require that. I booked in February of this year.
Not uncommon.
Northwoods Inn required 1 night at booking and the other 4 nights 30 days in advance.
I do think there was some sort of refund policy prior to 30 days, but I am not sure.
The lack of a refund policy at Crowne Plaza is the issue. It’s not as if they won’t be able to resell the room if someone cancels 30 days in advance. They have virtually no risk and yet they require a $300 non-refundable deposit. I’ve never seen it before and I hope it’s not the trend.
Of course you’ve seen it before. You agreed to it when you signed up to participate in the event. They must be adopting the IM business philosphy.
Fair point although the IM offers a $150 refund. Imagine if one suffered an illness or emergency and couldn’t participate- loss of $325 balance for the event and $300 for the room. That’s a big sting.
YIKES! I booked two rooms on August 6th on-line and don’t recall any of those policies. Pulled the e-mail and here is the fine print…I think I’m clean should alternate accomodations come up (that or my wife kills me for signing up for IMLP).
They must have just invoked this policy?? I will call hotel and double check. Most disturbing.
Come to think of it, I don’t believe they even whacked me for the first night thus far…
**Deposit Required:** A deposit for the entire stay is due by 6:00 PM on 16 June, 2008.
“Canceling your reservation after 6:00 PM (local hotel time) on 16 June, 2008, or failing to show, will result in a charge equal to the entire stay per room to your credit card. Taxes may apply. Failing to call or show before check-out time after the first night of a reservation will result in cancellation of the remainder of your reservation.”
Had the same thing from Comfort Inn this year. I thought this was just standard practice. Hotels for IMFL did the same thing 2006. One night deposit (at tripple rate) then the rest due 30 days prior.
I don’t think anyone is complaining about the one night’s deposit, or even paying in full prior to the date (common in Kona). It’s the NON=REFUNDABLE part. Yes, let’s take advantage is what it reeks of.
clm
I don’t recall another hotel with that policy and I decided against staying there because I think they are gouging.
From what i see at all the IM’s, at all the places I stay, they have ALL moved to a one-night, non-refundable deposit and then require complete payment upfront, sometimes a month in advance.
At the same time, I often book the week of an IM at the host hotel and find open rooms.
Is it true that the LP tourism board (or some such org.) books all the rooms in town and then resells them at a higher rate?
Originally for LP this year I booked through them at a dump for a ton of $ per night. Then this spring after all the cancellations I got a sweet room on the lake at the Hilton for 1/3 less per night by going directly to the Hilton hotel. Fortunately I didn’t get stuck paying anything for the room I cancelled, but it still would have been worth it.
I agree, it is taking advantage. Of course all those rooms are going to get booked, esp. in Lake Placid.
FWIW, I’ve always been able to get a room close to the race date b/c of cancellations. If the hotels all switch to this policy, are people going to start rebooking their rooms themselves in order to avoid losing the deposit???
I was going to book one of those family suites at the CP and called the hotel the day after IMLP last month and they told me both by phone and email I had to wait until Aug. 13th to book. Then, I find out they’re sold out when I checked on Friday! I was pissed! Emailed the manager who made me a fair offer for an alternative, but honestly, the price I would have paid for that was more expensive than the 2 bdrm house we ended up renting. Crazy the way they jack up the prices for IM week!
Mountain View Inn has the same policy. First night’s deposit required at sign up with no refund. Balance due by the end of March. Also they won’t take a credit card. Check or cash only. They had the same policy last year. It bugs me to stay there but they are close to transition so I don’t have far to crawl after the finish.
Mountain View Inn has the same policy. First night’s deposit required at sign up with no refund. Balance due by the end of March. Also they won’t take a credit card. Check or cash only. They had the same policy last year. It bugs me to stay there but they are close to transition so I don’t have far to crawl after the finish.
The Mt. View is the worst example of a “local” gouging tourists. I stayed there 3 years, with escalating degrees of frustration, despite always having a good rapport with the owner and going out of my way to be an excellent guest, particularly in keeping our rooms clean and accomdoating their terrible parking. The last time I was there they screwed up the reservation and put us in a single for the first night (when I had a family of four and one friend) he refused to refund the considerable difference and made it sound like he was accomodating me for his mistake!
FWIW, local tourist boards do not book all the rooms (as none are set-up to be reservation system), but in the IMNA negotiation with the town, the big draw is that all hotels can jack their rates up and require strict terms such as upfront payments, no refunds and 5 night minimums.
IMLP is the single biggest commercial week for LP.
That’s not true of Madison and Tempe - both those cities have plenty of hotel rooms.
That’s not true of Madison and Tempe - both those cities have plenty of hotel rooms.
In my experience calling around both places the last two years, the good, convenient rooms are all booked up right after registration closes.
I booked my room @ the Crown Plaza 10 days prior to IMLP this year!
Fred.
for this year IMLP, I wanted to stay @ the Marriott (staying mainly @ Marriott while on business trips) and they told to go sometime in Feb (forgot the exact day) when the inventory would be available, since the Marriott is brand new. Well I call @ 7AM and the hotel was already fully booked!!!
Do folks start calling @ midnight in those cases or what???
Fred.
Oh yeah! We originally tried to book the Golden Arrow and called the minute they said we could (9am, two days after the race). My wife dialed furiously for 1/2 hour and constantly got a busy signal and finally got through and of course…sorry…sold out! Damnit! Anyway, we’ve since booked a house on the north side of Mirror Lake, but booking a place for IMLP '08 was a big stress for me!