Street Parking!

[Arks]

well ... May I ask ... is this outside your place? If so, as your guest, yes ... I would expect you to tell me ahead of time where to park. Do you have parking for guests? If it's a random area in the 'neighborhood,' I hope you would advise me. I wouldn't just guess about that sign but I'd be feeling lost if I didn't know what to do. truth.

I live in the inner city. No different than NYC, Boston, Toronto or Chicago. Would you expect free parking in Manhattan? Would you expect the hotel to somehow find you a free spot on the street? To magically hold it and reserve it for you because you are too damn cheap to pay for one?
I have 2 spots and I'm lucky enough to have them. A parking spot in this city sells for $100K... that's not a garage, that's a piece of land big enough to just put a car on. Half of my street is free parking, if you are patience and read the signs. Half of my street is reserved for the local residents.
And I offer 2 spaces for less than half of what a private lot charges. Reservable online with the room reservation. On the OTAs it clearly says "no parking" or very limited parking, email ahead of time. But honestly, it's the ones that DON'T want to pay that give me that damn look.
I have no problem explaining the signs, explaining where to go to find a spot, or where to find a paid spot. I do have a problem with people who expect me to magically have reserved them a spot on a public street. And a bigger problem with an idiot who walks up to me with their ticket and asks me to pay it.

And I have a problem with the expectation that they can park anywhere they damn well please. It's not "Is that spot legal?" They don't even ask! They assume they can park anywhere and that's that.
.

I live in the inner city. No different than NYC, Boston, Toronto or Chicago. Would you expect free parking in Manhattan? Would you expect the hotel to somehow find you a free spot on the street?

The BIG problem is "which city" can be expected to NOT have parking, and which would? Atlanta isn't on your list. Do you have an expectation that it is "small enough" to have some? What about LA where everybody" is thought to have a car (by tourists who know nothing). What about inns on islands? I think some of the Massachusetts Cape areas are NOT parked-car friendly. And I have to say Narragansett RI was super difficult concerning parking (EXCEPT at the inn).
The larger inn I visit on Pennsylvania Ave. in D.C. always mentions parking options. I suggest you do the same. That way you won't have to hear the complaining...
I'm a big fan of pro-active information dissemination to prevent confusion and whining among guests. MY life is better for it. Never assume what guests don't know.
.

I'm a big fan of pro-active information dissemination to prevent confusion and whining among guests. MY life is better for it. Never assume what guests don't know.

Me too. We explain in the confirmation we have parking for exactly 7 cars, 1 per room. We ask guests to inform us if they are arriving with more than 1 car/room. Not a single guest has ever told us in advance. Fend for yourselves then. We used to move our car. No more.
Every year we repaint the lines in the parking lot. Dozens of times during the year I have to tell guests to properly park their cars so everyone has a space. You can't see the lines? Just because you arrived 3 hours early doesn't mean no one else is arriving later.
If they don't move the cars? Fend for yourselves and don't ask me who owns the car that dented yours.
There is so much info we provide to the guest via conversation, email, website and still probably 50% of guests think they're getting a buffet breakfast or that we're cooking to order from a menu. Because that's how it was at the other place they stayed! (Just an instance of going out of our way to provide info that isn't read or absorbed.)
Just yesterday, doing check in I was showing guests how to access the WiFi.I had the info sheet in my hand, was pointing at it, words were coming out of my mouth and the guest asked, "is there a password for the internet?" Maybe they don't have Wi-Fi in Wisconsin, I don't know. Maybe 'internet' is the word they use.
.

Just yesterday, doing check in I was showing guests how to access the WiFi.I had the info sheet in my hand, was pointing at it, words were coming out of my mouth and the guest asked, "is there a password for the internet?"

Wish I could see how you handle that without calling them a ninny or something. I'm sure it's not easy.
They don't read, and they also don't listen.

 

[Copperhead]

well ... May I ask ... is this outside your place? If so, as your guest, yes ... I would expect you to tell me ahead of time where to park. Do you have parking for guests? If it's a random area in the 'neighborhood,' I hope you would advise me. I wouldn't just guess about that sign but I'd be feeling lost if I didn't know what to do. truth.

I live in the inner city. No different than NYC, Boston, Toronto or Chicago. Would you expect free parking in Manhattan? Would you expect the hotel to somehow find you a free spot on the street? To magically hold it and reserve it for you because you are too damn cheap to pay for one?
I have 2 spots and I'm lucky enough to have them. A parking spot in this city sells for $100K... that's not a garage, that's a piece of land big enough to just put a car on. Half of my street is free parking, if you are patience and read the signs. Half of my street is reserved for the local residents.
And I offer 2 spaces for less than half of what a private lot charges. Reservable online with the room reservation. On the OTAs it clearly says "no parking" or very limited parking, email ahead of time. But honestly, it's the ones that DON'T want to pay that give me that damn look.
I have no problem explaining the signs, explaining where to go to find a spot, or where to find a paid spot. I do have a problem with people who expect me to magically have reserved them a spot on a public street. And a bigger problem with an idiot who walks up to me with their ticket and asks me to pay it.

And I have a problem with the expectation that they can park anywhere they damn well please. It's not "Is that spot legal?" They don't even ask! They assume they can park anywhere and that's that.
.

I live in the inner city. No different than NYC, Boston, Toronto or Chicago. Would you expect free parking in Manhattan? Would you expect the hotel to somehow find you a free spot on the street?

The BIG problem is "which city" can be expected to NOT have parking, and which would? Atlanta isn't on your list. Do you have an expectation that it is "small enough" to have some? What about LA where everybody" is thought to have a car (by tourists who know nothing). What about inns on islands? I think some of the Massachusetts Cape areas are NOT parked-car friendly. And I have to say Narragansett RI was super difficult concerning parking (EXCEPT at the inn).
The larger inn I visit on Pennsylvania Ave. in D.C. always mentions parking options. I suggest you do the same. That way you won't have to hear the complaining...
I'm a big fan of pro-active information dissemination to prevent confusion and whining among guests. MY life is better for it. Never assume what guests don't know.
.

I'm a big fan of pro-active information dissemination to prevent confusion and whining among guests. MY life is better for it. Never assume what guests don't know.

Me too. We explain in the confirmation we have parking for exactly 7 cars, 1 per room. We ask guests to inform us if they are arriving with more than 1 car/room. Not a single guest has ever told us in advance. Fend for yourselves then. We used to move our car. No more.
Every year we repaint the lines in the parking lot. Dozens of times during the year I have to tell guests to properly park their cars so everyone has a space. You can't see the lines? Just because you arrived 3 hours early doesn't mean no one else is arriving later.
If they don't move the cars? Fend for yourselves and don't ask me who owns the car that dented yours.
There is so much info we provide to the guest via conversation, email, website and still probably 50% of guests think they're getting a buffet breakfast or that we're cooking to order from a menu. Because that's how it was at the other place they stayed! (Just an instance of going out of our way to provide info that isn't read or absorbed.)
Just yesterday, doing check in I was showing guests how to access the WiFi.I had the info sheet in my hand, was pointing at it, words were coming out of my mouth and the guest asked, "is there a password for the internet?" Maybe they don't have Wi-Fi in Wisconsin, I don't know. Maybe 'internet' is the word they use.
.

Just yesterday, doing check in I was showing guests how to access the WiFi.I had the info sheet in my hand, was pointing at it, words were coming out of my mouth and the guest asked, "is there a password for the internet?"

Wish I could see how you handle that without calling them a ninny or something. I'm sure it's not easy.
They don't read, and they also don't listen.
.

Just yesterday, doing check in I was showing guests how to access the WiFi.I had the info sheet in my hand, was pointing at it, words were coming out of my mouth and the guest asked, "is there a password for the internet?"

Wish I could see how you handle that without calling them a ninny or something. I'm sure it's not easy.
They don't read, and they also don't listen.

Story of our lives.
This past winter had a guy complain he was cold, his heater did not work. (but it was fine when I checked them in the day before)
After breakfast I went up with them to the room to check things out. Using the remote, that I had shown him how to operate during check in, I turned the unit on and after the unit heated up, bam warm air.
Why had it not worked for him? He said he didn't realize he had to aim the remote at the unit! Wife said he was just pointing in the air.