While I'm at it...

While I'm at it tonight...

I got a phone call this morning from a gentleman wanting to make a reservation for a room tonight. He asked me the rate and when I told him he says, "Really? That high? On a Sunday night? But you're empty on Sunday night. Are you sure that's your rate? Maybe you should check again."
Well gee, let me check...Oh no, I have a rate special in here just for you...
"Well I was thinking something more like $50."
Sorry sir, a rate like that will cause me to lose my job. And you are now an asshole for expecting me to give you special treatment and get a rate that is ridiculously low for the area.
Boys and girls, when you're looking for a hotel in a small town such as this one, there are a few things to keep in mind...Yes, we may be empty, but we are not going to give you a room for less than half the going rate simply because of that. That means that really, we're paying money for you to stay here. There is a cost to running a hotel, and at this particular one, we need to rent 11 rooms at full price just to break even for a day. Eleven. There are only 39 rooms here. And please believe that there are nights that the 11 doesn't even happen. Tonight there are 12. Most of them are not at a full rate.
ANYWAY...while it is very possible for some of the bigger hotels in bigger areas to go down drastically (I've heard stories of people getting $500 rooms for less than $100) that just doesn't happen here. If you're nice and work with me, I can go down $10. Period.
"Well I know your hotel isn't worth that much."
Okay, I get it. You don't want to pay for a clean, comfortable room. Fine. Go to the hotel that is across town. You'll have mold in your bathroom. OR you can go the hotel that allows you to pay by the hour. Please, feel free to enjoy the bugs that are there. You get what you pay for boys and girls. Yes, there is always a chance that a housekeeper will miss something. They're humans. Not machines. People make mistakes. And please believe that if a person continues to make mistakes, they find themselves looking for another place of employment, but everyone is given a chance.
I keep getting side tracked....too much coffee..
You don't go into a store and start to haggle prices on their products. It's ridiculous to try to haggle prices in a hotel.