Rant: Rude boaters at my hotel

[Koz]

We have a HS bass fishing tournament going on at Oconee this weekend a a number of teams are staying at my hotel. We had them last weekend as well. I normally turn down this business because it's always a pain and these are no exception. But these groups were booked before I took over the property.

 

Last week we had guest room damage and two of our stairwell railings were ripped out of the wall. Today, so far, someone ripped all of the signage out of our elevator. But that's not the worst.

 

The worst is the people that come with their boats and trailers. The other week we had a tournament "pro" who thought it was OK for him to park across 8 parking spaces. We have 8 boat slips on the water and 6 trailer spots with hookups. We explain to these groups that we have limited parking for cars let alone boats and trailers and they should plan to park at the marina 1/2 mile down the road. That marina is also where they are launching for the tournament. They are forewarned that we have limited parking but then show up at 11 pm screaming that we don't have a spot for them to park. We're a small, 80+ room hotel - not a major resort or a marina.

 

We have each of them sign a form that states the parking rules. Among those, all vehicles and trailers must be within the confines of designated parking spots. So what happens today? Joe Extended Cab and his 22 foot trailer block one of the aisles so cars can't pull through the parking lot. When I ask him to relocate he gets ticked at me. I had a number of boats move - including out of our grass - under the threat of towing their vehicles.

 

Guest are also told that they may not run power cords through our parking lots and over our sidewalks. It's a HUGE trip and fall hazard where the hotel can face major liability. So what do they do? Of course there are power cords not only running over our sidewalks, but also in our main front entrance. They were warned. I pulled all of them and will confiscate them next. If a guest trips and falls and gets hurt you can bet they will sue us for as much as they can get.

 

Again, the marina - where they are launching for the tournament - is a half mile down the road and they won't pay the $10 or $20 to park their boats in a secure lot.

 

I've had these guest swearing at me all day. Sorry, but the safety and comfort of ALL of my guests trumps your need to charge your trolling motor. Then I have guests complaining that we don't have enough spots for 30 tournament boats when they were already told it's first come, first served, and we do not have enough parking for boats and that's why we tell them to park at the marina.

 

I had one guy screaming at me because the restaurant next store wouldn't let him park there and our lot was full. I calmly told him that if you go to an Atlanta Braves game and their stadium lot is full you wouldn't complain to the team, you'd go to the next lot (which in this case is the marina). That ticked him off even more.

 

So Monday I'm buying some "No Boat or Trailer" parking signs and in the future there will be a $50 or $100 charge to park a trailer at our property for these tournaments. Our regular guests are welcome to park for free.

 

Sorry folks, this may not be popular but the safety and convenience of all of my guests is more important than tournament anglers charging your trolling motor, blocking access to my parking lot, or parking on my grass and in my flower beds. Use the marina.

[jimmyjoe]

8 minutes ago, Koz said:

  ......  and in the future there will be a $50 or $100 charge to park a trailer at our property for these tournaments.

 

   $50 or $100? You'd best triple or quadruple that.           jj          

[12poundbass]

HIgh School tournament you say? Sounds like great role models these kids have. Lord help us.....

[Junger]

9 minutes ago, 12poundbass said:

HIgh School tournament you say? Sounds like great role models these kids have. Lord help us.....

Yeah seriously.....also, I'm wondering what the chaperones are doing....

[throttleplate]

whos gonna pay for the railing damage,dont you have cctv cameras?

[Way2slow]

I would just put up signs stating that vehicles with trailers over 12ft or so, (I'm sure you have U-Hauls and small campers) will be allowed to park in the lot without prior approval.  All violator's will be towed at owners expense.  Of course, I don't many that can tow a dually king cab with 25ft of boat trailer behind it.

I'm sure most with $100,000 worth of boat and vehicle wouldn't think twice about a $100 fine.  I'm sure it would make them mad, but they would just blow it off and park there anyway.  

A friend of mine used to own a motel/Inn in Thomson Ga, and he finally banned boat trailers in his lot because of the same thing.   A handful of tournament people would totally shut his place down from any other guest getting in or out, and drops cords across the walk and lot.  He didn't care if he never had another fisherman there.

[jbsoonerfan]

If you think fishermen are bad, be glad there aren't oil rigs in your area.

[Koz]

4 hours ago, throttleplate said:

whos gonna pay for the railing damage,dont you have cctv cameras?

We ate the cost. While we have cameras throughout the hotel, there are none in the stairwells. As I mentioned in another thread, I recently took over this property and there a ton of issues that need to be addressed.

[Koz]

It got even better tonight.

 

One guy kept plugging back in despite being told not to and my staff unplugging his extension cord numerous times. He then became verbally threatening with the staff including my son.

 

Then the guy tried to pick a fight with me. I told him that if he didn't comply I would call the police and he would be escorted out of the hotel. He dared me, so I walked away and called the police. At first the guy refused to come out of his room until the police threatened him with arrest. Then the guy was such a jerk he nearly talked the police into arresting him for disorderly conduct.

 

I told the police he could stay if he complied and apologized to my team, otherwise he would be trespassed and booted. He grudgingly sucked it up, but I will inform the school they are no longer welcome at the property.

 

The police asked me if I would reconsider, however I reiterated it was a safety issue and if I gave this guy a pass it would mean everyone could do the same.

 

It's hard to believe this guy was looking to pick a fight. Guest safety and protecting the hotel from liability comes first. If you don't like it, then park at the marina. That's what it's there for. Heck - the marina has a giant, secure warehouse to park your boat - that's more secure than a hotel parking lot.

 

 

[Jigfishn10]

It always amazes me how some grown men get a weekend away and turn so juvenile. 

 

The cord thing would have went up my keister. I’ve been on plenty of projects in my career where I would tell guys not to run cords in public/common spaces. Sure enough there was always 1 or 2 who had to be special. 

 

All power cords and power tools on our projects have to be grounded otherwise we took them out of service. Just a safety issue.

 

I used to carry pliers with me. When I saw a cord running across a corridor or common area space that was outside our project zone, I’d unplug the cord from the wall, pull the ground from the cord and show the workman the noncompliant cord. They had 2 options: Throw the cord away or put it in their truck and get another compliant cord. 

 

If the cord came back on the job, it gets cut in half and thrown in the dumpster.

 

Zero tolerance. For us it was an OSHA deal as well as a liability. Both can be damaging from a monetary standpoint.

[bulldog1935]

The way to accommodate them in the future would be to add a proper outdoor power box close to the trailer parking.  You could keep the power box isolated and locked, allowing your staff to supervise its use (add OSHA cord covers, etc).  It could be generally useful, since people often need power or charge with their parked vehicles.   Also guarantees their choice of parking.  

 

Everyone's comments above about the "grownups" sense of entitlement, while paired off as role models with HS students are spot on.  

 

Something else in the future, may want to hire a temporary security guard for such events, which follows from the statement just above.  A security guard enforcing safety rules and your property integrity wouldn't take abuse, and would release you and staff from the same.  May even find local off-duty LEO wanting the weekend extra income - all he'd need to do is sweep the property on a schedule to keep his presence known - he also comes with jurisdiction authority.  

[gim]

You have a lot of crap to deal with there Koz. A lesser man would have failed.

[A-Jay]

1 hour ago, gimruis said:

You have a lot of crap to deal with there @Koz

The very essence of that job description.

Some days may be worse than others.

A-Jay

 

 

[Koz]

3 hours ago, bulldog1935 said:

The way to accommodate them in the future would be to add a proper outdoor power box close to the trailer parking.  You could keep the power box isolated and locked, allowing your staff to supervise its use (add OSHA cord covers, etc).  It could be generally useful, since people often need power or charge with their parked vehicles.   Also guarantees their choice of parking. 

 

We already have water and power hookups in our designated trailer spots.  We have 6 of those spots for our 81 room hotel. We also have 8 boat slips with power.

 

In addition, we have light poles throughout the parking lot that also have outlets. However, these are owned by the county and not all are working. I placed a work order over one month ago and follow up every week but they still have not been repaired.

 

 

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

You have a lot of crap to deal with there Koz. A lesser man would have failed.

 

Technically, it was a fail. I don't like any guests to be unhappy and I'm sure we'll take big hits on negative reviews. But the bottom line is I refuse to compromise on safety and if I let this one guy go then it negates the entire safety program.

 

There were a ton of additional life / safety issues when I got here and most have been taken care of. The last one is to level our sidewalks. In the meantime there's yellow caution paint everywhere.

[TOXIC]

Easy answer....no more trailer parking period.  Convert your designated trailer spots back to regular spots.  You are going to lose your fishing business with your current policies anyway so just make it permanent.  I travel a lot with my 21 foot boat and everywhere I go, I ask ahead of time if there is designated trailer parking or if trailer parking is allowed.  I also inform them that I will take up to 5 regular parking spots if there is no designated parking.  That way if the hotel is at full capacity they can tell me to look elsewhere or if there is alternate parking nearby.  No problem.  If I am booking ahead of time I will use the satellite view on google to scope out the hotel parking lot and see if it will work.  I just got back from Okeechobee and we stayed in a hotel on the way down.  5 guys 2 trucks/boats.  When we were planning I poo-pooed a couple of suggested hotels because of the parking situation.  There’s nothing like coming out at 6am and finding your truck and boat boxed in by people who don’t understand why you park the way you do.  As for the fishing team, there’s no excuse for that.  I would be calling the school.  Kids will be kids and some extra noise and revelry is to be expected but destruction of property is over the line.  

[bulldog1935]

2 hours ago, Koz said:

 

We already have water and power hookups in our designated trailer spots.  We have 6 of those spots for our 81 room hotel. We also have 8 boat slips with power.

 

In addition, we have light poles throughout the parking lot that also have outlets. However, these are owned by the county and not all are working. I placed a work order over one month ago and follow up every week but they still have not been repaired.

 

 

 

Technically, it was a fail. I don't like any guests to be unhappy and I'm sure we'll take big hits on negative reviews. But the bottom line is I refuse to compromise on safety and if I let this one guy go then it negates the entire safety program.

 

There were a ton of additional life / safety issues when I got here and most have been taken care of. The last one is to level our sidewalks. In the meantime there's yellow caution paint everywhere.

Absolutely astounding - self entitlement is something recent to our society

[Skunkmaster-k]

Dang. Their coaches are supposed to be good role models. Tearing up your stuff and being a nuisance , sheesh. 

[J Francho]

I'd probably follow up with their league/club governing body and have a conversation about what they expect from their teams. 

[Koz]

2 hours ago, TOXIC said:

Easy answer....no more trailer parking period.  Convert your designated trailer spots back to regular spots.  You are going to lose your fishing business with your current policies anyway so just make it permanent. 

On a normal weekend we have more than enough designated capacity for our normal weekday and weekend guest. No hotel - not even the Ritz down the road - is designed to hand boats when there's a tournament with 200+ boats. Again, we have tons of marinas around here including at the tournament launch site.

 

These groups were booked well before I took over the property. Had I been GM then or if any of these other tournament groups come in the future all of this would have been worked out in advance including letting only 1 or 2 boats per team park on our property.

 

I certainly don't understand why some boaters feel entitled to take up 4-6 slots when they can easily pull through and occupy 2 spots within the confines. Or why they think it's OK to block lanes of traffic. Or risk injury by running power cords in walkways even when told why we cannot allow that.

[Log Catcher]

Back in the early 80s I worked in hotel maintenance for a large hotel chain. When the high school teams came to town every year for the sweet 16 basketball tournament it was amazing how much damage was done and how much trash had to be picked up. When the college teams came in there was very little if any problems. Good luck getting things taken care of.

[TOXIC]

20 hours ago, Koz said:

I certainly don't understand why some boaters feel entitled to take up 4-6 slots when they can easily pull through and occupy 2 spots within the confines. Or why they think it's OK to block lanes of traffic. Or risk injury by running power cords in walkways even when told why we cannot allow that.

I totally agree with everything in your post regarding safety cords, etc.  Most hotels I have stayed in do not have rows of parking 2 deep.  That creates 2 problems.  1. My 21 foot Ranger behind my crew cab 1/2 ton truck is longer than 2 spaces front to back and 2. If someone parks on either side of me even if I could fit in the 2 spaces, rarely is there enough room in front of me to pull through and make the turn to exit most hotel parking lots.  Can you tell I trailer a lot??.   But I don’t need electrical and I’m just passing through.  I can see you wanting to keep your dedicated 6 spots but I will bet that unless you totally eliminate trailers,  you will have a lot of people disregard the rules and then you are right back being the bad guy.  

[Glenn]

Hate to say it, but you might want to consider installing a key-card gate. That way only the guests you give keys have access to the parking lot.  Then you can manage how many trailers can park there.

[Boomstick]

On 3/26/2021 at 10:47 PM, Junger said:

Yeah seriously.....also, I'm wondering what the chaperones are doing....

As the parent of two high school age kids I can say probably drinking... and ripping the railings out of stairway walls.

[J Francho]

5 minutes ago, Boomstick said:

As the parent of two high school age kids I can say probably drinking... and ripping the railings out of stairway walls.

Do your kids play hockey?

[Boomstick]

1 minute ago, J Francho said:

Do your kids play hockey?

My youngest does. Neither him nor his team have ever trashed a hotel when away at a tournament either.