Out of Rooms? Need Extra Room for Chicago Hilton on 15th

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Discussion Overview

The thread discusses the challenges participants are facing in securing hotel accommodations for the night of the 15th during an upcoming conference at the Chicago Hilton. Several participants express frustration over the lack of available rooms and share their personal experiences regarding hotel bookings.

Discussion Character

  • Opinion-based
  • Anecdotal
  • Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant, identifying as a consultant, expresses frustration over the unavailability of rooms at the Chicago Hilton for the night of the 15th, noting this issue occurs every year.
  • Another participant offers to share their hotel room at the Hilton if space allows, indicating a willingness to help others in need.
  • Several users mention that they are exploring alternative hotel options due to the lack of availability at the Hilton.
  • One participant shares their experience of staying at the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, describing it as a stress-free option compared to other hotels.
  • Another participant notes that they have booked a room at the Sheraton, citing good service from their previous stay.
  • Some participants speculate that the hotel management did not reserve enough rooms for the expected number of attendees arriving on Sunday.
  • One participant mentions contacting the Hilton and Travel Planners to express dissatisfaction with the room availability situation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Views differ regarding the hotel availability issue, with participants expressing frustration and sharing various personal experiences. No clear consensus emerges on a solution to the problem.

Contextual Notes

Participants are primarily Pampered Chef consultants attending a conference, discussing their individual hotel arrangements and experiences related to the event.

Who May Find This Useful

Consultants looking for insights on hotel accommodations and experiences related to the upcoming conference may find this discussion relevant.

Hmmm... I wonder if I can switch to wave 3.






















Just kidding!!! I am very, very happy with my own DH!!!!!
 
You are too funny. He's a very FUNNY guy, too. Cute AND entertaining.
 
Glad you got in Beth! Travel planners told me that if I didn't hear from them by Friday to call & check......I have to get my email back up & running today, maybe I have an email waiting for me!
 
Well, my director told me yesterday to keep my reservation. She called me back with one name and said that she'll find me 2 more. YAY!!!

I also spoke to someone at TP yesterday and was told (when I joked about getting me moved to the Hilton since that's where my ED and D will be) that they are working hard on getting more rooms. She put me on the dreaded wait list. :D

I'm back to being excited about NC and seeing all of the new products (from the sound of it, there are a LOT of them!). :D
 
If she doesn't find anyone, I might know someone...
 
Anyone, anyone?
 
I still haven't heard if we're in on the 15th or not....I'll probably call on Monday.
 
lacychef said:
I still haven't heard if we're in on the 15th or not....I'll probably call on Monday.
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Sorry to hear that. Yes! Give them a call. Now that Beth and I aren't harrassing them, surley their phone lines have freed up!
 
  • Thread starter
  • #129
NOT happy with TP
lacychef said:
I still haven't heard if we're in on the 15th or not....I'll probably call on Monday.
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I was put on the "night request" list 10 days ago. I was told it'd take 7-10 days to hear something. I just called TP and was told (in a VERY "sorry about your luck" tone of voice) that "there are 100's of consultants on the night request list" and that "we update the list every two weeks, the hotel might decide to give us more rooms or not, you don't need to keep calling us back, we don't know". Excuse me?? What kind of customer service is that?? That came from a supervisor! The first guy I talked to couldn't answer any of my questions so he transferred me.

ERRRR.....NOT happy with them today :mad: Sorry, just had to vent that!
 
Lisa: That is just awful! Your feelings are completely justified. What a crappy answer. If it were me, I'd give them a day or so, and then make reservations at Travelodge. That's what I was going to do moments before I got the confirmation email.
 
  • Thread starter
  • #131
GeorgiaPeach said:
I was put on the "night request" list 10 days ago. I was told it'd take 7-10 days to hear something. I just called TP and was told (in a VERY "sorry about your luck" tone of voice) that "there are 100's of consultants on the night request list" and that "we update the list every two weeks, the hotel might decide to give us more rooms or not, you don't need to keep calling us back, we don't know". Excuse me?? What kind of customer service is that?? That came from a supervisor! The first guy I talked to couldn't answer any of my questions so he transferred me.

ERRRR.....NOT happy with them today :mad: Sorry, just had to vent that!
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Hmmmm....maybe TP has lurkers on here!!! :eek: I posted this....went to pick my kids up from school and when I got home there was a message on my machine from the supervisor telling me he had gotten me a room for the 15th! What a coincidence!! ;)
 
PHEW! I am THRILLED for you!
 
GeorgiaPeach said:
Hmmmm....maybe TP has lurkers on here!!! :eek: I posted this....went to pick my kids up from school and when I got home there was a message on my machine from the supervisor telling me he had gotten me a room for the 15th! What a coincidence!! ;)
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Yeah for you! I am SO NOT impressed with Travel Planners! I get an email from them every week telling me that someting is wrong with my reservation! Thankfully I have the name, email address and phone number of one of the managers. I keep forwarding the emails to him. He keeps apologizing for the confusion.....WTF! Just do your darn job....correctly!
 
Here's the email I just got from TP.....

Dear Guest,



Thank you for registering your special request with Travel Planners for the Pampered Chef’s 2007 National Conference. You are receiving this email because you have been placed on our special request waiting list as one or more of the nights you’ve request is not currently available.



We are working closely with the Conference hotels to obtain additional rooms and hope to have an update for you soon. We wanted to assure you that your request is active and we are continuing to do everything we can to meet your needs.



If you have any updates to your request, do not hesitate to contact us.



You can check availability online at www.pamperedchef.com or by calling us Monday through Friday, 9:00am to 7:00pm ET at 1-800-221-3531, Option 1, to speak with one of our National Conference reservation specialists.



In the meantime, we’ll continue to keep you posted on any developments regarding your request.



The Reservations Team
Travel Planners, Inc.
381 Park Avenue South, 3rd floor
New York, NY 10016
Tel: 212 532 1660, option 1, 800 221 3531
Fax: 212 779 6128
Convention Housing. Unconventional Service

hopefully I'll hear good news soon! I was just going to call them today, then I got this email. I guess at least I know they haven't forgotten about me:rolleyes:
 
That's funny, Lacy... I never got an email saying I was on a wait list. I guess I just had to trust them. LOL
 
  • Thread starter
  • #136
I received this same email today AFTER I received a call yesterday saying I had a room for the 15th! My guess is that since they are having trouble getting rooms they want to send the email so that they aren't bombarded with phone calls from irate consultants (like that girl from Georgia that called them yesterday!!) ;)
 
GeorgiaPeach said:
(like that girl from Georgia that called them yesterday!!) ;)
Click to expand...

Gotta watch out for her!
 
I received the same email today too!! And I got confirmation that I had my room back on April 25th! I am SOOOOOOOOOOO not impressed with TP. This was the THIRD time I had trouble with reservations through them (and I won't be sure that it's over until I get in the room - the last time they had my room TOTALLY messed up. I had a quad booked and was told by a TP manager that quad according to that hotel was a king and a pull out sofa.:eek: On their records it said "King suite" so I should have realized that - it was not stated that way on anything I had or I would have questioned it!!)

I cannot believe that PC still uses them! I can't believe I am the only one that has trouble time after time.:rolleyes:
 
  • Thread starter
  • #139
When talking to the supervisor yesterday I made the comment that I've been with PC for 9 years and this kind of thing happens every year. He said, "Well, our records show that you had a room for all 4 days last year." It threw me so I didn't respond. Then after hanging up (isn't that when we think of the great comebacks!!) I realized that last year I ended up canceling my reservation and rooming with two girls from another cluster because they had a room for all days and I didn't!!

I SO wanted to call him back and tell him that!! In my opinion, it doesn't matter if in the end I have a room for the days I originally wanted....it's the hassle we go through trying to get it all to work out!! :mad:

HO wants as many consultants as possible to attend NC but when something as simple as making a hotel reservation turns into a very stressful situation, it puts a cloud over the whole thing. Yes, in the end, I have enjoyed every conference I've attended but that is no excuse for poor planning and poor customer service.
 
GeorgiaPeach said:
Yes, in the end, I have enjoyed every conference I've attended but that is no excuse for poor planning and poor customer service.
Click to expand...

YOU COULDN'T BE MORE RIGHT ABOUT THIS!!!
 
GeorgiaPeach said:
When talking to the supervisor yesterday I made the comment that I've been with PC for 9 years and this kind of thing happens every year. He said, "Well, our records show that you had a room for all 4 days last year." It threw me so I didn't respond. Then after hanging up (isn't that when we think of the great comebacks!!) I realized that last year I ended up canceling my reservation and rooming with two girls from another cluster because they had a room for all days and I didn't!!

I SO wanted to call him back and tell him that!! In my opinion, it doesn't matter if in the end I have a room for the days I originally wanted....it's the hassle we go through trying to get it all to work out!! :mad:

HO wants as many consultants as possible to attend NC but when something as simple as making a hotel reservation turns into a very stressful situation, it puts a cloud over the whole thing. Yes, in the end, I have enjoyed every conference I've attended but that is no excuse for poor planning and poor customer service.
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It doesn't pay to argue with them because they are never wrong. They have an answer for everything and have no fault. PC has not responded at all to any comments I have made about TP so they obviously are not seeing the frustration we have. I bet the execs don't have to go through any of this hassle.
 
Bumping this... someone mentioned it in another thread (Lisa!) LOL
 
  • Thread starter
  • #143
AJPratt said:
Bumping this... someone mentioned it in another thread (Lisa!) LOL
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Sorry :) I couldn't remember what I named it :eek: But I CAN remember what I named my children so that's what's important!!! :D
 
GeorgiaPeach said:
Sorry :) I couldn't remember what I named it :eek: But I CAN remember what I named my children so that's what's important!!! :D
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That's good... you're ahead of the game! I spent half of my life being called Jimmy (my brother) by my Mom. LOL
 
  • Thread starter
  • #145
AJPratt said:
That's good... you're ahead of the game! I spent half of my life being called Jimmy (my brother) by my Mom. LOL
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I said that I remembered what I named them...not that I always called them by the correct name!!

I grew up as "Lor-a-Lis" or "Lis-a-Lor". My sister (Lori) is a year younger and my poor dad could NEVER get our name out straight!!
 
That's funny. My Dad used to forget the "e" at the end of my name, so when I'd leave him a note, I'd write: Da instead of Dad,
 
Isn't PC all about the customer always being right... you'd think the companies we associate ourselves with would have this same philosophy; but after reading this thread, they obviously do not!
 
GourmetGirl said:
Isn't PC all about the customer always being right... you'd think the companies we associate ourselves with would have this same philosophy; but after reading this thread, they obviously do not!
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Alison, I know what you mean. Fortunately, I did not have a bad experience with TP. I mean, it was frustrating to be on "the $hit list" but everyone I spoke with was pretty pleasant. After hearing some of the reports from the other posters here, I am glad I didn't run into anyone like they did. With my mouth, I'd be out on the street.
 
OH my goodness Anne...your past few posts are cracking me up:D
(& still nothing for me from TP....)
 
lacychef said:
OH my goodness Anne...your past few posts are cracking me up:D
(& still nothing for me from TP....)
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I've been in a mood lately-- extra ornery! LOL
 
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