by JW GoneBad 27 Replies latest watchtower scandals
The WTBTS is not being given special room rates by 2 major hotels at the Long Beach Convention Center area for the upcoming 2020 Regional Conventions & WT is t'd off. Letters are being read in surrounding circuits and congregations. Apparently WT is afraid that other hotels are going to blackball them as well.
Has anyone else heard this? Does anyone know the reasons why? Is this going on in other convention cities?
Maybe they are finally realizing the jw conventions bring little or no economic value or impact
Haven’t heard of this, but I hope it’s a trend.
Imagine being a Dub, missing work to pay your own way to the Con-vention, and then paying even more to stay in a Hotel. And THEN.... you’re asked to cough up more donations...
DD
I would bet that the problem has to do more with the big booking companies (Expedia, Travelocity, etc.) than with the JW's in general.
Hotels will prioritize the big companies over the JW's at any time since the JW's are still a small player in the big scheme of things. And there is only so much you can squeeze out of a hotel. Plus they are not getting the big bucks from the bar or restaurants they may have compared to vacationers or business clients.
And let's face it, many JW's are not that stupid when they log into a travel site and see the rooms at a lower price than what they would pay based on the "recommended" hotels. You can get tired of the BS about how you are getting a better price through the Society. Just check the rates!
It's just a matter of time until the hotel stuff comes to an end.
Rub a Dub
It's not surprising. It is a common practice for Hotels to increase prices when there is a higher demand for rooms.
The hotels will still want them, they just dont want to give them a special rate
Interesting thread here https://www.reddit.com/r/exjw/comments/7cybbg/watchtower_making_money_off_hotel_deals/
I remember talking once to a manager of a hotel that many JWs stayed in for circuit assemblies ( this was before the Society started their own bookings system ) and I asked him how beneficial it was to have lots of JWs staying there.
He said that while he was pleased to have the hotel fully booked which helped his overall occupancy figures , the hotel didn't really find JWs very profitable at all. Hardly any JWs went back for dinner, few took breakfast ( unless it was included in the rate ) , zero lunches of course and very few bought drinks at the bar , so the total revenue per hotel guest ("Trevpar" ) was really low - a fraction of their usual yield. I wonder whether the hoteliers in Long Beach and other areas are starting to do their sums based on previous conventions and coming to the same conclusions.
That is strange.
So many people may not know this, but I do from an elder who is in the negotiations in the Tri-State area.
It is NOT NOT NOT about the price, and getting a better rate for the "friends", as we have all thought.
Any group almost automatically qualifies for a discount rate, and it it not hard at all to get a good rate when any company buys a block, or guarantees at least X will show up on these dates.
So whats it about?
It is about the REWARDS that hotel chains offer!
Instead of individuals getting REWARDS they all go as a block to the WT!!!
This is also their practice with Airlines tix for International Conventions.
You pay the money the WT collects ALL THE REWARDS.
WHen you are talking 10s of thousands and more people regularly, this is a MASSIVE BOON for the WT
It is worth MILLIONS a year to them.
Thats how WT big wigs are always flying 1st class, but the way.
Re: "It isNOT NOT NOT about the price, and getting a better rate for the "friends", as we have all thought."
I agree! I always found that I can get a better deal when booking for a convention at a non-recommended hotel myself and not revealing I'm booking as a witness for a convention.
And I know for sure that here in Pargue hotels pay 15% kick-back to agencies bringing guests. I believe it's this agency fee that the WT is going after while pretending it has negotiated favorable terms for the "friends".
It's always been about WT getting free rooms for the CO's/DO's/Bethelites/etc. I've seen their "rooming dept" give up some of the extra unused "free" rooms to JW families that would be asked for a voluntary "donation" for the value of the room.
