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Dallas was “ice cold”

Arrived in Dallas @ 9:15 Monday morning (6:00 AM Flight out of ILM) and it was cold. Strong winds and low temperatures make for piercing cold. Grab the Uber and get to the hotel. Check-in’s a breeze, greeted as a Elite Member, asked if I wanted the late checkout (Yes) and proceeded to present my card for incidentals and head up to my room. As I exit the elevator, I know this isn’t going to be good. It’s super cold in the halls and my room is right is caddy corner to the Elevator and across from the Elevator Mechanical Room. I was right, it sucked! Listened to the elevator go up and down all night long! I got some sleep and woke early. Opened my curtains and there’s ice on the inside of the window. This isn’t good. Hoping I used the HVAC incorrectly I raise the heat a bit and head out for work. I return and “Housekeeping” has left behind the micro fiber towels she uses, didn’t refill the water or the coffee and turned the heat down, allowing moisture again to accumulate on the inside of the window and freeze. Well it’s cold on one side of the room (window side) and warm on interior facing side. Unfortunately there is too much ice for me to “Melt” it. I head down to the desk to speak with an agent. I explain the deficiencies and ask that the windows be “De-Iced” and the heat be left where I set it. OK, get done with work and head back to my room. Window is clean, no ice at this time and temperature setting was untouched. Great start. There an event I attend and back to the hotel for a late night drink and rest. Uneventful night but after heading out for work, housekeeping forgot, turned down the temp, froze my windows and left. Oh well, I’m leaving tomorrow, too late now. Apparently Dallas doesn’t see many days with those types of temperatures, so they’re not used to it. That said, neither am I. Happy Hotel Stays and follow us on all Social media for what’s good, what’s bad and what’s ugly.

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Dallas on Monday!

Off to Dallas for a business conference. Looking forward to a good week. Always enjoy Dallas and all it has to offer. Being a huge Cowboys fan doesn’t hurt either. Yes, they’ve been bad for a while and it appears with the latest Coaching hire it going to be a long time until they see another Ring but I’m faithful, so I have hope. Sheraton, Dallas is the destination so look for thoughts early next week. Until then stay safe, happy and healthy!

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Terrible Customer service

Stayed at the Embassy Suites @ 4800 S. Tryon Street in charlotte on Tuesday. I booked the Honeymoon Suite because it is larger, has a larger bathroom and is on a higher quieter floor. I arrived at 3:15 and was told the room wasn’t ready. That was an outright lie as no one stayed in the Honeymoon Suite on Monday (I called and verified) The Desk Agent said they had an Executive Suite ready and I was told it was the same room as the HM Suite. Again that was an outright lie. The room is not larger, the restroom is not larger and my room was #306 which is directly above the Sliding front Door, so I got to listen to that all night. When I checked out in the morning I was given a bill for the HM Suite. When I pointed out that was not the room I was given the Desk Agent started arguing and yelling at me. I asked her to have a manager call me and she kept arguing. Worst stay in a long time. Won’t return to that property ever again. There are too many other Hilton Properties available. I did contact the Diamond Desk and that agent was awesome. I’m still waiting for a manager to call. I doubt that will ever happen. Unfortunately for them if I don’t get the call to correct the billing the entire charge will be disputed. I will not pay for something not received. Keep following us to see where to stay and where not to stay when traveling the Carolina’s! 2/21/2025 Update. Tired of being lied to by a Hotel and it’s front desk staff. Should be ashamed of their employees behavior. Lies and BS, not acceptable. I’ve taken it to the masses so I’ll let Social Media deal with them. Watch for the TikTok

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Another wild week

A stop in Conway for an ASE test, then off to Charlotte to pick up my new car. Swap everything over and it’s off to Greenville, SC. because Asheville still has area’s with limited services. Get to the embassy Suites on Riverplace and it’s off to the reception. It’s nice, cocktails and snacks. snacks are always the same but nonetheless, a snack. Two drinks and it’s up to “Up On The Roof” one of the hotel restaurants (Ruth’s Chris is the other) An order of the Deviled Eggs and a Smash burger and it’s a wrap (The smash Burger is nothing to rave about, very dry and tasteless) Bartenders are great, their friendly and fast! Wednesday it’s up to Asheville for my investigation. 159 pictures and a Data collection and it’s back to Charlotte because I left my gate opener in my old car. A 3:27pm arrival in Charlotte, grab what I forgot and another 3 hour ride home. Been a long day and week considering I was supposed to be on vacation until the end of the year. And now comes the holidays. It’s December 19th, Christmas is less than a week away and I haven’t done a thing. OK, enough blogging, time to get to work. The staff (me) @ HotelHiccups.com would like to wish all of our readers and followers a very happy holiday season and a safe and prosperous new year! Stay safe, happy & healthy!

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100% total Incompetence

My beautiful Samsung Range had some corrosion inside the Digital Control Panel. I contacted the extended service plan, Assurant and asked for a service call. Long story short, they cannot locate my account, to bad, nothing they can do for me. Frustrated, I give up. Two months later I get an email asking me to renew my “Protection Plan” with Assurant. Someone knows I have an account, right? I write a letter to the “Office of the President” and he passes it off to the Executive Team at Assurant to resolve. I speak with a wonderful woman, Kimberly and she figures out some issues and restores my account and arranges a service call. Yesterday, two guys show up (Maybe a father son team) for the repair. After watching them for over 12 minutes yank, pull and pry on everything it’s apparent they have no clue what they’re doing. They removed the Control Knobs with a Channel Lock Pliers and now they’re ruined as well. They continue and finally remove the Control Panel. While taking it apart they break it. Now after an hour and a half of watching 100% total incompetence, they tell me they have to get another Control Panel Knob and that it will be after Thanksgiving. After I fall off my chair I say, “That’s not acceptable, it’s two days before Thanksgiving and now I have no stove” Gentleman answers “Well then you better get on the phone and call” So I did. Now that “FISCHER APPLIANCE” ruined my holiday, Kimberly @ Assurant stepped up and offered me a credit to get a new Range. Awesome, except I still don’t have one for the biggest food holiday of the year! The Staff @ Hotel Hiccups would like to wish all it’s readers and followers a safe, happy and health Thanksgiving! Ps: DON’T EVER USE FISCHER APPLIANCE REPAIR FROM HORRY COUNTY, SC.

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Asheville Devastation

Asheville may not have been a good idea. The devastation along I-26 is visible for miles. Downed trees, damaged home and cars, Power Poles down and workers everywhere. Trucks are staged along the Highway and into town. The hotel I’m in is staging for 1st Responders. Currently the hotel has no running water and that presents a major issue (No bathroom) Also they need to alert people that many restaurants are closed. I thought I was being smart by calling yesterday and was not told of about any of this. I wanted to support the local businesses. I get it, shit happens but because my schedule is flexible, I would have skipped the area and come back after further recovery. I will leave in the morning if necessary. Now for dinner? Not sure what’s available so a ride it is. Speaking of rides; It’s getting more crazy on the highways. Trucker’s not paying attention to the road and drifting across lanes and off the sides of the road, not to mention running right up on your rear bumper, amatuer race driver’s who think passing within 1-2 feet is safe and those that instead of paying attention and understanding they are operating a “Killing Machine” are staring at their phones. It’s out of control and we need some minimal enforcement to cut down on “Distracted Driving” I don’t want to become a statistic because of stupidity. Stay Safe, Happy & Healthy!

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What Else Can We Charge For?

Seems today, more and more hotels are looking for ways to add BS fees. Lately it is “Parking” which by the way is a parking lot, not parking garage. There is no Security, just the fee. Then if you’re not a Hotel Rewards member the water is $2.00 – $5.00 per and you definitely need it for the disgustingly dirty Coffee maker in the room (Using the “Salt Conditioned” tap water is gross for making coffee) There is no more all night coffee in the lobby of most hotels. As mentioned the Coffee machines in the rooms are cleaned only when requested or when a new one is placed in a room. Always fun when housekeeping leaves “Pods” for a Filter machine or Vice -a -Versa. Last week was the Keurig that took all my water and just kept saying “Add Water” It never made coffee. Internet and Resort Fees are all the Rage and just another BS charge. Internet is the cost of doing business in this writer’s opinion. Hotels can’t run their operations without Cloud / Internet access. Spread it to the guests. Resort Fees, what are those? The Pool? Having a pool does not make you a Resort. Yes, I understand it’s 2024, almost 2025 and greed makes the world go round. Keep trying to squeeze every dollar to add to the bottom line, but remember, road warriors make you profitable, not weekend warriors!

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Hotel Hiccups

Welcome to Hotel Hiccups. The site follows my life as a Road Warrior spending 125 – 225 days a year in hotels. I’ll cover the good, the bad, and the ugly. I do belong to all major hotel brand rewards programs. Diamond Member @ Hilton, Silver Elite @ Marriot, and Silver Elite @ Holiday Inn. Most stays are in Hilton properties. As a Road Warrior, it is apparent to me that hotel rooms are not designed by travelers. From Bathroom Doors that clear the Toilet by less than a 1/4 inch (Poor idea) to the newest Bathroom Doors, Sliding Barn Style, that if you don’t remove your hand and let it go by itself it will smash your hand (Even worse idea), to hotels facing highways with thin glass for windows so you get to listen to the cars and trucks traveling all night long to 1/2 the Shower Doors that move making it impossible to set the temperature without getting inside, the current design and construction of rooms, leaves a lot to be desired. After Covid, life as a Road Warrior became much more difficult and much less fun. Hotel restaurants for the most part are not really restaurants. They have very limited menus’, in most cases the food is not fresh, doesn’t taste all that good and the prices are nuts! If you opt for a food delivery service, it’s very hard to eat for less than $40.00 – $50.00 with the menu markup they add (Yes, Uber Eats, Grubhub and all the rest markup a restaurants menu pricing to add to their bottom line) the “Fee’s” (Those are just pure nonsense) and the Tip that begins suggesting @ 25 or more percent. If you don’t tip well, the driver’s don’t care and they’ll get to you when they do. I can’t count the number of never deliver orders from Grubhub, and Uber Eats or the mistakes from the restaurants themselves. Please join me for my adventures and travels. Daniel@hotelhiccups.com

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