When I call a hotel direct....

what irks me more than anything is to be transferred to an agent at a central reservations center. I have those numbers as well, so why in the world would I want to pay a long distance phone call if I didn't need someone at the hotel direct?? OK, so maybe they don't know I prefer someone in the hotel. In most cases, the agents in central reservations don't know all of the little secrets and special negotiated rates which hotels sometimes offer to their corporate clients who bring alot of business there way. Sometimes they're able to help and sometimes not. If it weren't so obvious that I got someone someplace other than where I had called, I might not get so defensive. I try to work with them, but most of the time, the call is simply a waste of my time as well as the agent who made the attempt to help me.

Sometimes, it's fine if they have all of the same negotiated rates that the actual hotel does, but if you're not persistent and just settle for whatever they tell you, it can turn into a real pain. What really amazes me even more is when the "negotiated rate" is so much higher than the rate that I secured through my airline system.

So, no luck on that call......

So, now I need to call the hotel back again (thank goodness for Verizon unlimited calling) as I pay for my phone bill personally and it is NOT tax deductible. OK, so I tangent :-)

I ended up having to leave a voice message for someone else in the groups and catering??? Not reservations either. I guess I should be glad my phone call wasn't shipped to their inhouse agent setting in one of the 3rd world countries which I've come to despise. That has been my biggest frustration as of late. So, after all of that frustration, I'm back where I started. Same rate that I had before.

Tomorrow is a new day.