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Guest Zyvellin

Anyone have any suggestions of a hotel, preferrably some place cheap, where I could possibly get a room the evening of the 7th? Sheraton botched my reservation and instead of giving me 7th - 11th they gave me 8th - 12th. They're all booked so they can't fix it. I'll be arriving on the 7th *tickets already paid for* and I don't have any desire to sleep on the street.

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Anyone have any suggestions of a hotel, preferrably some place cheap, where I could possibly get a room the evening of the 7th? Sheraton botched my reservation and instead of giving me 7th - 11th they gave me 8th - 12th. They're all booked so they can't fix it. I'll be arriving on the 7th *tickets already paid for* and I don't have any desire to sleep on the street.
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This is veering off topic, so I'm going to try and keep this focused on attendees behaviors within hotels, not the scope in general.

I'm not denying that the behavior of the kids has gotten wilder and destruction, when it does occur, has gotten to the point of being downright shameful. Nor should I be interpreted as suggesting that things should be swept under the rug or ignored. I've been observing the culture very critically.

My point, and the reason I chose the word "myth", was not to imply this was all fiction, but rather that the awful behavior of attendees running rampant and destroying hotels has become a recurring narrative, a story that gets and expounded on to such wild degrees that it mischaracterizes the behavior of attendees as a whole. Hotels absolutely don't want to hear that congoers are going to destroy all of their rooms by cramming fifteen partygoers into a room while will procceed to break the mirrors, spill things on carpet, light the sheets on fire and toss the potted plants out the window, nor do I imagine they especially want to feel especially inclined to have their management staff sit in lobbies and watch everyone hawkishly and warily. There is a difference between obnoxious vandals and obnoxious, squealing cosplayers, just as there's a difference between the congoers who have been drinking and the underagers on a spree of destruction. If the community as a whole starts painting the general con behavior as near-riotous, though, the hotels will do the same, and effectively "those kids" will have ruined it for everyone. The community has proven its ability to notice itself in-house; now it needs to start more effectively policing itself in-house without painting everybody with broad strokes.

Does that make sense?

On a less philosophical and more focused note, a step that would be immensely helpful would be to provide simple 'tips' in the program guide, opening ceremonies, or scattered throughout the con center in general to establish general etiquette. Establishing a friendship with one's neighbors, for example, has always helped my own crew establish when noise and activity levels at night might be a little much, for example, and befriending (and tipping!) hotel cleaning staff, who often won't get to see the inside of your room until you leave, makes them feel a little bit more comfortable with whatever-you're-doing-in-there.

What I'm a little curious about is simply how much communication goes on with the troublemakers. Does Otakorp, in general, get informed as to who's been causing trouble in the hotels? How are rampant teens, many of whom can't get hotels in their own name without a parent, getting away with this sort of thing without any sort of fees, fines, talking-tos, or anything that might justify at least notice that they're doing wrong? I, personally, have always made a point of having my crew -thoroughly- clean out a hotel room, "as if we were never there," so as to avoid leaving any sort of negative impression. Why aren't other people doing this, and what can be done to encourage them to do so?

This has rambled on for a bit, and as has been mentioned, this convo is steering a bit off-topic, so if a mod feels it best to move somewhere else, I'd absolutely encourage that, because I'm -very- interested in thorough reflections on what can be done to moderate and temper the destructive behavior, instead of elevating it to legendary status. (And rest assured, the Sheraton kids were certainly bragging about their 'EPIC" party and youtubing it up for some time.)

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Wonky: Thanks for clarifying.

My point, and the reason I chose the word "myth", was not to imply this was all fiction, but rather that the awful behavior of attendees running rampant and destroying hotels has become a recurring narrative, a story that gets and expounded on to such wild degrees that it mischaracterizes the behavior of attendees as a whole. Hotels absolutely don't want to hear that congoers are going to destroy all of their rooms by cramming fifteen partygoers into a room while will procceed to break the mirrors, spill things on carpet, light the sheets on fire and toss the potted plants out the window, nor do I imagine they especially want to feel especially inclined to have their management staff sit in lobbies and watch everyone hawkishly and warily. There is a difference between obnoxious vandals and obnoxious, squealing cosplayers, just as there's a difference between the congoers who have been drinking and the underagers on a spree of destruction. If the community as a whole starts painting the general con behavior as near-riotous, though, the hotels will do the same, and effectively "those kids" will have ruined it for everyone. The community has proven its ability to notice itself in-house; now it needs to start more effectively policing itself in-house without painting everybody with broad strokes.

Does that make sense?

It does. But at the same time, there is a danger that unless WE (community, not the con staff who frankly have enough to do) start doing something about it, it will get worse. In fact, it HAS reached a tipping point.

People do stupid pointless crap like that because they don't see consequences, and we only find out about it after the fact.

I think your desire to avoid tarring all our members with the same brush is admirable -- and certainly we don't think all our members are utter idiots like the ones in the youtube video. But there is a danger that people will think "oh, it's not me doing it so it's not my problem". In fact, there's at least anecdotal evidence that people ARE thinking that way; being privately embarrassed by their friends' idiocy but failing to call them on it. We want to believe that it can't possibly be cool Otakon buddies doing this, or we say "but we're not as bad as the Shriners or the Yankees fans" and think that's enough. It isn't anymore.

When we were known as "those weird, but nice, kids" -- as recently as 2004-2006 when I was actively working with hotels myself, and negotiating in person -- the hotels were happy to have such a large group that wasn't so destructive. Our members went to the con, and came back, and slept, and went to the con. Other than having to go through extra towels and restock the soda machines more frequently, they were pretty happy about our impact on the hotels. They told us horror stories about drunken sports fans and rowdy businessmen. Aside from accidental damage (someone's hair dye ruined some sheets and towels), the worst we generally had to deal with was a bad rep with the Sheraton (due to hostile management and confusion with another convention at the same time) that has since been happily resolved.

That is no longer the case. We are in danger of being the horror story they tell others about. The fear you have about the snowball effect? It's already begun -- not because we discuss it internally, but because hotels share information and gossip. It takes only a few incidents like those we saw last year to ruin things for several years. The hotels don't read our forums, generally; they don't care about what we do or say when we're not in town. It doesn't factor into their thinking. If the hotels don't cooperate, we don't get credit for booking the rooms, and if we don't have that, the BCC will cost us more, and if that happens your con rates will continue to climb along with the room rates. The effects will be cumulative and it is not too much of an exaggeration to say that it could damage the ability of the con to run in Baltimore -- a city that *wants* us there.

Yes, we're not *yet* in that "bad, don't renew" category. But it would not take much to put us there.

On a less philosophical and more focused note, a step that would be immensely helpful would be to provide simple 'tips' in the program guide, opening ceremonies, or scattered throughout the con center in general to establish general etiquette. Establishing a friendship with one's neighbors, for example, has always helped my own crew establish when noise and activity levels at night might be a little much, for example, and befriending (and tipping!) hotel cleaning staff, who often won't get to see the inside of your room until you leave, makes them feel a little bit more comfortable with whatever-you're-doing-in-there.

With all due respect, we have been doing that for YEARS now. On the website, in the program book, in person, on the BBS, in responses to emails.

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i think such disruptive idiots are giving some con-goers second thoughts about reserving a hotel. After last years Sheraton incident my buddies and I have decided to commute to the BCC for otakon rather than stay in the hotels where such problems are beginning to abound.

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Almost the entirety of the past two pages of this thread have been nothing but an argument. As a first-time attendee of Otakon, I found this to be most disheartening. It serves only to harm the excited outlook that some first-timers may have about attending Otakon. If my reservation at the Sheraton Inner Harbor and flight were not confirmed such chatter might be enough to persuade me not to attend. So rather than argue about what has or has not been the general trend in attendee behavior over the past five years, I should like to say that this effort would be better spent discussing what can be done about it. What would you do in the aforementioned situations, or would like to see done?

If not this more proactive outlook, shouldn't this thread be kept on topic?

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Almost the entirety of the past two pages of this thread have been nothing but an argument. As a first-time attendee of Otakon, I found this to be most disheartening. It serves only to harm the excited outlook that some first-timers may have about attending Otakon. If my reservation at the Sheraton Inner Harbor and flight were not confirmed such chatter might be enough to persuade me not to attend. So rather than argue about what has or has not been the general trend in attendee behavior over the past five years, I should like to say that this effort would be better spent discussing what can be done about it. What would you do in the aforementioned situations, or would like to see done?
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Almost the entirety of the past two pages of this thread have been nothing but an argument. As a first-time attendee of Otakon, I found this to be most disheartening. It serves only to harm the excited outlook that some first-timers may have about attending Otakon. If my reservation at the Sheraton Inner Harbor and flight were not confirmed such chatter might be enough to persuade me not to attend. So rather than argue about what has or has not been the general trend in attendee behavior over the past five years, I should like to say that this effort would be better spent discussing what can be done about it. What would you do in the aforementioned situations, or would like to see done?

If not this more proactive outlook, shouldn't this thread be kept on topic?

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Which Sheraton? "Sheraton next to the BCC" or "Sheraton that used to be the Wyndham"? Remember that, like most chain hotels, they are not necessarily run by the same people.

I've stayed in a number of hotel chains, around the country (and indeed, around the world) and the experience can vary quite a bit -- and it can be completely different in the same hotel a year later.

My one real complaint about MOST hotels is that they're often using horrible reservation system that make it difficult for group rates and room transfers and such to occur.

If you have a problem with your room, notify them immediately, and make sure it gets fixed. Sometimes, especially during full weekends, you're not necessarily going to get it fixed right away, but the hotel SHOULD do something to try to make it right. If the AC isn't working well and they simply can't fix it immediately, they should at very least provide fans. Busy weekends are rough because the staff are tapped out.

From what *I* heard last year, the BCC Sheraton was just fine to work with, and (despite some confusion due to new personnel) the Sheraton (former Wyndham) was pretty much okay too, with some of the prior year's complaints having been addressed pretty well.

Most of the problems in *our* hotels are honestly attributable to their age -- and most of them have been refurbished in the last two years, so that should be a bit better now.

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Which Sheraton? "Sheraton next to the BCC" or "Sheraton that used to be the Wyndham"? Remember that, like most chain hotels, they are not necessarily run by the same people.
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Personally throughout the years I've encountered no major problems with any of the Inner Harbor hotels I've stayed at, only minor inconvenient ones for the most part. This year I'll be staying at the Sheraton, former Wyndham. I'm curious to see how it's changed from when I stayed there in '05 & '06. I've never stayed in a Sheraton before, shall be an experience for me.

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Personally throughout the years I've encountered no major problems with any of the Inner Harbor hotels I've stayed at, only minor inconvenient ones for the most part. This year I'll be staying at the Sheraton, former Wyndham. I'm curious to see how it's changed from when I stayed there in '05 & '06. I've never stayed in a Sheraton before, shall be an experience for me.
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i have a room at sheraton for $195. if you still need a room please e-mail me @ srgoldiner318@yahoo.com or im @ amiboshi0078.

For now, the correct rates for this hotel is $289 (read contract incorrectly when typing up the info).

Well that clears up that mystery. I called the Sheraton (Inner Harbor) and it was different. Oh, btw, if it's worth mentioning, only double rooms were available at con rate as of about 10:45 pm.

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The thing to remember is this: anytime the hotel isn't giving you what you paid for, you should tell them. First, because you paid for standard amenities and you should have them; second, because if they don't know there's a problem, they can't fix it, or ensure it doesn't happen again.

Let me stress that again: if you don't let the hotel know that something's wrong, they cannot fix it.

The hotel manager cannot personally inspect all 200+ rooms every day. He can't magically deduce whether people are happy with his hotel unless they tell him.

You don't have to cause a scene -- and in fact it's almost always better to start by simply being matter-of-fact about the problem. If the rooms suck, that's one thing, but if there's a correctable problem, how they address it is what marks a good hotel.

Case in point: on a recent business trip, I stayed in a rather pricey "business" hotel on a package that included business amenities. (I'd stayed across the street in a cheaper family-oriented hotel the prior year, but switched this year to collaborate with my client more effectively.) To my vast annoyance, the wireless wasn't working properly -- in fact, the presence of the elevator shaft (and accompanying noise insulation) effectively blocked the signal from getting to my room because it worked fine in the hall. So I notified the hotel of the problem, and they were pretty full, so they sent someone up with a signal booster which didn't help at all. They were obviously trying to make it right with the least inconvenience, but I needed a functional internet, so I said "Look, just put a note that the wireless won't hit that room, put me in one where it does work, and we'll all be happy. I can't afford to waste any more time on this, and I don't mind moving -- and by the way there bathroom light makes a buzzing sound." They moved me -- and in fact, they sent a bellhop to apologize, and carry my things to the new room, and he was accompanied by a maintenance person to look at the light. At another hotel, I never got my wake-up call, so they sent the shuttle to take me to the airport.

Having said that the hotel deserves a chance to make it right -- and most are more than willing to try -- you need not accept the unacceptable. If the hotel makes no effort on your behalf, it's worth escalating strongly; if they're trying but suck, that's worth following up too. If they're slow sending someone up, that's a staffing issue (possibly; also it's possible that they're dealing with a lot of arrivals when you happen to phone). It's worth cutting them SOME slack during Otakon when they're slammed, but if you have trouble with anything there, you really should let them know.

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Now, if the Sheraton that was formerly known as the Wyndham was still the Wyndham and I made a reservation with my Wyndham by Request, I'm quite sure I would get the same welcome stuff that usually waits for me (it has always been my experience at a Wyndham Hotel, since the Wyndham by Request has your preferences written down and prepared for your arrival at the Hotel. At times, you even get an extra coupon for free breakfast).
Edited by Daniel Perales
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Having said that the hotel deserves a chance to make it right -- and most are more than willing to try -- you need not accept the unacceptable. If the hotel makes no effort on your behalf, it's worth escalating strongly; if they're trying but suck, that's worth following up too. If they're slow sending someone up, that's a staffing issue (possibly; also it's possible that they're dealing with a lot of arrivals when you happen to phone). It's worth cutting them SOME slack during Otakon when they're slammed, but if you have trouble with anything there, you really should let them know.
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As someone whose worked as a Front Desk Clerk & stayed in numerous hotel/motels in her lifetime, I agree that hotel staff will work with you to fix any solvable problem that arises during your stay if in anyway possible. Unless your calling the front desk multiple times a day with complaints that is. LoL I'm kidding, then they'll just get annoyed with you, you're not their only guest after all. However, not every problem is solvable, such as you being in a room next to a noisy stairway or highway etc, & they can't place you in another room at that time because they have none available. One must try to understand in some situations.

Anyways what I'm saying here is that when you have a problem, & have hotel staff willing to work with you, they will find a way to solve the problem to please you, as their business doesn't thrive unless guests leave happy with them. Word of mouth goes a long way as I'm sure you know. I'm sure if you have a problem with a possible solution, & are polite with the staff, your problem will be resolved. Sometimes you have to push the staff to resolve your problem, because unfortunately not every hotel is a good one.

However in my experience staying at hotels in the Inner Harbor, I've never really had a problem with hotel staff, from front desk, concierge, maids... I've truly found many to be nice & helpful. In fact I have a very nice memory of talking with the concierge at the Wyndham in '06. She was a nice lady, I'm sure I'll learn this year if she stayed thru the change of hands.

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  • 3 weeks later...
Ahh the perks of having a family member who works with Marriott, I get a 2-bed room for 40 USD a night.
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Maybe it's from lack of experience, but Otakon-wise I'd gauge my value of a hotel by how close it is to the con. The hotel to me is a place to get 1 shower, maybe late night/early morning snack, and a few hours of sleep. I also put my bags in there.

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Hotels will correct the problems you encounter but sometimes you must really address the problem with them or their main branch.

From my personal experiences with the Inner Harbor hotels, I never had any major problems (I

Edited by Eddie 2
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Maybe it's from lack of experience, but Otakon-wise I'd gauge my value of a hotel by how close it is to the con. The hotel to me is a place to get 1 shower, maybe late night/early morning snack, and a few hours of sleep. I also put my bags in there.
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I would also like to note too, that at all my hotel stays, I never encounter a problem with other Otakon members causing problems. Although if I did, I would tell them to cut out the monkey business.

Well, you've stayed at the 2 very "posh" hotel in the area. Meaning that if there is any a hint of trouble, they would have taking care of it before you know it. ;)

Edited by Eddie 2
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Is there anyone who is going to be staying at the biltmore....because I don't want to be alone at the hotel with just my few friends dressed all funny XDD......Yes..

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Yeah the second one...That...Do that..yes...Please....thank you muchly.

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that was the hotell i stayed at for my first con i love that place. heads up dont take the elevator just load your bags on it and send them up while you take the stairs(there elevator really sucks) oh and take advantage of the closeness of the light rail

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most might not care much about this but...........

has anyone had the "thin wall experience"? meaning, can you hear what people are doing or saying in the next room [or they can hear you] because the walls between rooms are so thin? I've noticed this in a few hotels that I've stayed in. f

For example, the Lord Baltimore I stayed in last year had thin walls. Me and my roomies were in our room after midnight and were talking [not even loudly]. The people next door to us asked us to keep it down and that they could hear everything that they were saying. we were shocked 'cause the last thing we want is to annoy or be a nussiance to anyone. but at the Amerisuits hotel [that's closer to the BWI airport] I didnt experience "thin wall" at all.

maybe some annoyances between con-goers and hotel guests can be eliminated if we know about this problem before hand. certainly not being loud and immature is one thing - but my group and I have never acted out that way in a hotel and yet a conversation was able to travel to the next room. have any of you experienced this? and which hotels?

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Older hotels tend to have less soundproofing, as do cheaper hotels; newer, modern-style hotels (most Suites and Courtyard style hotels) that are geared to longer stays tend to have better soundproofing. Often hotels will try to space "event" groups out a bit or provide a buffer of empty rooms; however, hotels that are very full don't have the option to try to space people out with rooms between them.

Consider, though, that a TV or normal speaking voice can be heard through several walls under many circumstances, and that after midnight especially you need to be VERY cautious about speaking above a whisper.

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Older hotels tend to have less soundproofing, as do cheaper hotels; newer, modern-style hotels (most Suites and Courtyard style hotels) that are geared to longer stays tend to have better soundproofing. Often hotels will try to space "event" groups out a bit or provide a buffer of empty rooms; however, hotels that are very full don't have the option to try to space people out with rooms between them.

Consider, though, that a TV or normal speaking voice can be heard through several walls under many circumstances, and that after midnight especially you need to be VERY cautious about speaking above a whisper.

Edited by Duelistbluerose
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I was looking around on Hotels.com so I could find a hotel to stay at for Thursday Night and noticed that the hotel I booked last November says Must be 21 to check it. I found this very confusing due to no other website says anything about that, they had no such info when I made the reservation last November and I was just wondering is there anything I can do to make sure I dont get screwed over in this? I was able to lock the hotel's rate in at $199 a night, which is now ~$300 a night for a lower quality room and I don't want it so I go up there they tell me some bs that I can't have my hotel room I reserved and paid for.

Is this just a Hotels.com thing or am I completely screwed over now for otakon? (Im 19 and my roommate is 18, and the hotel is the Baltimore Inner Harbor Residence Inn)

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I was looking around on Hotels.com so I could find a hotel to stay at for Thursday Night and noticed that the hotel I booked last November says Must be 21 to check it. I found this very confusing due to no other website says anything about that, they had no such info when I made the reservation last November and I was just wondering is there anything I can do to make sure I dont get screwed over in this? I was able to lock the hotel's rate in at $199 a night, which is now ~$300 a night for a lower quality room and I don't want it so I go up there they tell me some bs that I can't have my hotel room I reserved and paid for.

Is this just a Hotels.com thing or am I completely screwed over now for otakon? (Im 19 and my roommate is 18, and the hotel is the Baltimore Inner Harbor Residence Inn)

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I was looking around on Hotels.com so I could find a hotel to stay at for Thursday Night and noticed that the hotel I booked last November says Must be 21 to check it. I found this very confusing due to no other website says anything about that, they had no such info when I made the reservation last November and I was just wondering is there anything I can do to make sure I dont get screwed over in this? I was able to lock the hotel's rate in at $199 a night, which is now ~$300 a night for a lower quality room and I don't want it so I go up there they tell me some bs that I can't have my hotel room I reserved and paid for.

Is this just a Hotels.com thing or am I completely screwed over now for otakon? (Im 19 and my roommate is 18, and the hotel is the Baltimore Inner Harbor Residence Inn)

I browsed around and it says 21 as a minimum age to check in. I recommend you call the hotel and explain your situation. By the way... if one person is 21 and the other 20? will the hotel allow them to check in? specially if they are not family members. I've never checked in and I've that doubt.

T

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I was looking around on Hotels.com so I could find a hotel to stay at for Thursday Night and noticed that the hotel I booked last November says Must be 21 to check it. I found this very confusing due to no other website says anything about that, they had no such info when I made the reservation last November and I was just wondering is there anything I can do to make sure I dont get screwed over in this? I was able to lock the hotel's rate in at $199 a night, which is now ~$300 a night for a lower quality room and I don't want it so I go up there they tell me some bs that I can't have my hotel room I reserved and paid for.

Is this just a Hotels.com thing or am I completely screwed over now for otakon? (Im 19 and my roommate is 18, and the hotel is the Baltimore Inner Harbor Residence Inn)

I browsed around and it says 21 as a minimum age to check in. I recommend you call the hotel and explain your situation. By the way... if one person is 21 and the other 20? will the hotel allow them to check in? specially if they are not family members. I've never checked in and I've that doubt.

T

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I was looking around on Hotels.com so I could find a hotel to stay at for Thursday Night and noticed that the hotel I booked last November says Must be 21 to check it. I found this very confusing due to no other website says anything about that, they had no such info when I made the reservation last November and I was just wondering is there anything I can do to make sure I dont get screwed over in this? I was able to lock the hotel's rate in at $199 a night, which is now ~$300 a night for a lower quality room and I don't want it so I go up there they tell me some bs that I can't have my hotel room I reserved and paid for.

Is this just a Hotels.com thing or am I completely screwed over now for otakon? (Im 19 and my roommate is 18, and the hotel is the Baltimore Inner Harbor Residence Inn)

I browsed around and it says 21 as a minimum age to check in. I recommend you call the hotel and explain your situation. By the way... if one person is 21 and the other 20? will the hotel allow them to check in? specially if they are not family members. I've never checked in and I've that doubt.

T

Where did you find that info? I'm probably going to call them tomorrow and try to clear it up, and hopefully be able to pull it off. I talked to my father about it and he said it should be a problem due to his name will be attached to it with the rewards number (Hes been a member for 10+ years and is highest level or something). Hope this goes well.

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I was looking around on Hotels.com so I could find a hotel to stay at for Thursday Night and noticed that the hotel I booked last November says Must be 21 to check it. I found this very confusing due to no other website says anything about that, they had no such info when I made the reservation last November and I was just wondering is there anything I can do to make sure I dont get screwed over in this? I was able to lock the hotel's rate in at $199 a night, which is now ~$300 a night for a lower quality room and I don't want it so I go up there they tell me some bs that I can't have my hotel room I reserved and paid for.

Is this just a Hotels.com thing or am I completely screwed over now for otakon? (Im 19 and my roommate is 18, and the hotel is the Baltimore Inner Harbor Residence Inn)

I browsed around and it says 21 as a minimum age to check in. I recommend you call the hotel and explain your situation. By the way... if one person is 21 and the other 20? will the hotel allow them to check in? specially if they are not family members. I've never checked in and I've that doubt.

T

Where did you find that info? I'm probably going to call them tomorrow and try to clear it up, and hopefully be able to pull it off. I talked to my father about it and he said it should be a problem due to his name will be attached to it with the rewards number (Hes been a member for 10+ years and is highest level or something). Hope this goes well.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest motorola_otaku

Heads-up to everyone who has (or thinks they have) reservations at the Hyatt:

I reserved my room with them on Friday, August 17th of last year, when rates were posted here. At that time, they told me they hadn't "finalized the contract" or had it "entered incorrectly" or some such nonsense, and to call back on Monday (the 20th) to have the Otakon rate applied. I did as I was told, and on Monday I was given a total for 3 nights at the Otakon rate. A friend of mine did likewise at the same time, and had the same result. Well, fast-forward to yesterday: I called to double-check that everything was still good with my room, and they gave me a total that was significantly higher than the one I originally had. Turns out that whoever I talked to last year did not apply the Otakon group rate to my room and they had me down for the regular rate of $459/night. My friend, who made his reservations at the same time I did, got shafted even harder: not only did they not apply the group rate to his reservation, they somehow "forgot" to put him down for 3 nights and had him checking out on Saturday. After much haggling and arguing, they refused to give me the Otakon group rate on my room (even though I had been verbally quoted a Otakon group rate total over the phone last year), and my friend and I ended up canceling our reservations with them. I have a complaint ticket open with them, but I don't expect it to go anywhere productive, and now we are staying at the Marriott.

Moral of this story is: if you have a room at the Hyatt, CALL THEM NOW to make sure you still have it at the Otakon rate. I have been con-going for 6 years now, and this is the first time ever that I have had a problem with a hotel.. so I'm guessing this probably isn't an isolated incident. Good luck.

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Heads-up to everyone who has (or thinks they have) reservations at the Hyatt:

I reserved my room with them on Friday, August 17th of last year, when rates were posted here. At that time, they told me they hadn't "finalized the contract" or had it "entered incorrectly" or some such nonsense, and to call back on Monday (the 20th) to have the Otakon rate applied. I did as I was told, and on Monday I was given a total for 3 nights at the Otakon rate. A friend of mine did likewise at the same time, and had the same result. Well, fast-forward to yesterday: I called to double-check that everything was still good with my room, and they gave me a total that was significantly higher than the one I originally had. Turns out that whoever I talked to last year did not apply the Otakon group rate to my room and they had me down for the regular rate of $459/night. My friend, who made his reservations at the same time I did, got shafted even harder: not only did they not apply the group rate to his reservation, they somehow "forgot" to put him down for 3 nights and had him checking out on Saturday. After much haggling and arguing, they refused to give me the Otakon group rate on my room (even though I had been verbally quoted a Otakon group rate total over the phone last year), and my friend and I ended up canceling our reservations with them. I have a complaint ticket open with them, but I don't expect it to go anywhere productive, and now we are staying at the Marriott.

Moral of this story is: if you have a room at the Hyatt, CALL THEM NOW to make sure you still have it at the Otakon rate. I have been con-going for 6 years now, and this is the first time ever that I have had a problem with a hotel.. so I'm guessing this probably isn't an isolated incident. Good luck.

I'm calling them this week and will let them know about the problem. They did switch reservation system last year.

However, as we repeatedly advise, and as any good travel site will recommend, GET IT IN WRITING. Always, always ask for a reservation number and have them email you a copy if you can.

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Does anyone have experience with this Best Western?

http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/pr...pertyCode=21035

Myself and a few friends will be staying there, we already have reservations for it. It was the closest hotel that I could find that would not blast all of my con money away.

Just wondering if anyone has experience with it and any pros and cons.

That hotel is a few miles east of the Harbor and the Convention Center, in an area that's not great but isn't as bad as some parts of B-more. It anchors a large truck stop/ "travel plaza". You shouldn't try to walk to the BCC (too far, and not great neighborhoods), and your best bet is probably a cab.

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Does anyone have experience with this Best Western?

http://book.bestwestern.com/bestwestern/pr...pertyCode=21035

Myself and a few friends will be staying there, we already have reservations for it. It was the closest hotel that I could find that would not blast all of my con money away.

Just wondering if anyone has experience with it and any pros and cons.

That hotel is a few miles east of the Harbor and the Convention Center, in an area that's not great but isn't as bad as some parts of B-more. It anchors a large truck stop/ "travel plaza". You shouldn't try to walk to the BCC (too far, and not great neighborhoods), and your best bet is probably a cab.

Edited by Spetsnaz
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Guest motorola_otaku
However, as we repeatedly advise, and as any good travel site will recommend, GET IT IN WRITING. Always, always ask for a reservation number and have them email you a copy if you can.
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Oh, I'm not one of the co-founders! I'm just a very visible staffer and former Chair.

We always take the problems seriously, but there is often little we can do beyond making sure management is aware of our concerns.

I always try to print out hotel reservation paperwork (and other travel plans stuff) and stick it in a folder, so it's handy when I need it.

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