The long and rain-swept road to a small-but-welcome prize
Posted: Thu Mar 13, 2008 10:53 pm
I won a prize today, a book of uncertain value about hotels of high price, but it makes me happy. Even better than the prize, however, is the long story about the odd path that brought it my way.
As most of you know, in July 2003, I was on my way to the airport. I intended to fly to NYC to audition for Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. I didn't get there that day, as I spent more than two hours trapped in my car, which was stuck beneath a 90-foot power pole that had been blown on top of me by estimated 110-mph winds.
By the time I got home again, my plane had long since left. I called American Airlines. They were not sympathetic to my plight. Despite my explanation of the unusual situation that had prevented my arrival at the airport, the customer service bastidge told me that he would be doing me a great favor by permitting me to pay a $100 change fee to rebook the flight IF and only if I did so within the next 12 hours, instead of declaring my entire ticket completely worthless. I could not rebook at that moment, as I was still more or less in shock, and I didn't even know when future auditons might be scheduled. I said I'd call back.
I next called the hotel where I had reservations in NYC. I expected -- based on their published cancellation policy -- to be charged for one night, but I wanted to avoid being charged for more than that. The hotel was the old Empire -- yes, the place that many of us were put up in the prime-time WWATBM days. I was nostalgic; the staff had been super; I felt comfortable in the neighborhood. To my surprise, the reservations guy at the Empire was incredible. After hearing my story, he first asked if I was okay, and then assured me that I would be charged nothing, nada, zip, as I most certainly was not in the category of people who just changed their minds. Because of this, I vowed undying loyalty and future patronage to the Empire. So, of course, the hotel was sold and closed down -- or closed and sold -- within weeks.
Before the 12 hours were up, I called American back and made new reservations, picking a mid-September date at random, figuring I would simply be a tourist if I were not able to audition. I waited a while to make hotel reservations, eventually finding some lesser establishment on the cheap through the internet. I did get to audition, as it turned out, and it went well, yada, yada, "Hello, Meredith."
I kept tabs on the Empire for years. The original purchasers announced renovation plans, but then they sold again, as I recall. Perhaps the hotel also passed through other hands, but eventually it ended up with a group called Tablet Hotels, which has properties around the world. I signed up for the Tablet e-mail list, in hopes that I might learn when and if they reopened the Empire. I still want to go back there someday. I am a loyal Empirian.
The Tablet e-mails have never mentioned the Empire. They are filled instead with photos and links to a dozen or so luxury lodgings in exotic and expensive locales. I have learned where to stay in Bangkok enchantment for, say, $1,200 a night and find a bargain in San Francisco for a mere $440 "and up." The weekly e-mails also usually include a small contest, in which they ask an odd question about one of the hotels featured in that issue, for which the answer can be found in one of the many linked web sites. I've entered in the past, out of curiosity or boredom, but have never been fast enough -- even with an immediate reply -- to be among the first three correct answers to win the prize book. I came to the conclusion that it would be virtually impossible to find the answer and respond quickly enough.
This week, the e-mail arrived around 2:25 a.m. while I was working late to meet a deadline. I read it when I reached a creative "stop" in my project. It occurred to me that perhaps not as many responses would flow quickly in the middle of the night. I searched for the answer to "Which new hotel is its country's first carbon-neutral hotel?" and found it at my third or fourth random attempt. (It was the URBN Hotel Shanghai. Yes, I understand that you already knew that.) Today, I got an e-mail announcing that I was indeed one of the week's book winners.
It all makes me smile. It couldn't have happened without Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, the Empire, and a scary storm.
As most of you know, in July 2003, I was on my way to the airport. I intended to fly to NYC to audition for Who Wants To Be a Millionaire. I didn't get there that day, as I spent more than two hours trapped in my car, which was stuck beneath a 90-foot power pole that had been blown on top of me by estimated 110-mph winds.
By the time I got home again, my plane had long since left. I called American Airlines. They were not sympathetic to my plight. Despite my explanation of the unusual situation that had prevented my arrival at the airport, the customer service bastidge told me that he would be doing me a great favor by permitting me to pay a $100 change fee to rebook the flight IF and only if I did so within the next 12 hours, instead of declaring my entire ticket completely worthless. I could not rebook at that moment, as I was still more or less in shock, and I didn't even know when future auditons might be scheduled. I said I'd call back.
I next called the hotel where I had reservations in NYC. I expected -- based on their published cancellation policy -- to be charged for one night, but I wanted to avoid being charged for more than that. The hotel was the old Empire -- yes, the place that many of us were put up in the prime-time WWATBM days. I was nostalgic; the staff had been super; I felt comfortable in the neighborhood. To my surprise, the reservations guy at the Empire was incredible. After hearing my story, he first asked if I was okay, and then assured me that I would be charged nothing, nada, zip, as I most certainly was not in the category of people who just changed their minds. Because of this, I vowed undying loyalty and future patronage to the Empire. So, of course, the hotel was sold and closed down -- or closed and sold -- within weeks.
Before the 12 hours were up, I called American back and made new reservations, picking a mid-September date at random, figuring I would simply be a tourist if I were not able to audition. I waited a while to make hotel reservations, eventually finding some lesser establishment on the cheap through the internet. I did get to audition, as it turned out, and it went well, yada, yada, "Hello, Meredith."
I kept tabs on the Empire for years. The original purchasers announced renovation plans, but then they sold again, as I recall. Perhaps the hotel also passed through other hands, but eventually it ended up with a group called Tablet Hotels, which has properties around the world. I signed up for the Tablet e-mail list, in hopes that I might learn when and if they reopened the Empire. I still want to go back there someday. I am a loyal Empirian.
The Tablet e-mails have never mentioned the Empire. They are filled instead with photos and links to a dozen or so luxury lodgings in exotic and expensive locales. I have learned where to stay in Bangkok enchantment for, say, $1,200 a night and find a bargain in San Francisco for a mere $440 "and up." The weekly e-mails also usually include a small contest, in which they ask an odd question about one of the hotels featured in that issue, for which the answer can be found in one of the many linked web sites. I've entered in the past, out of curiosity or boredom, but have never been fast enough -- even with an immediate reply -- to be among the first three correct answers to win the prize book. I came to the conclusion that it would be virtually impossible to find the answer and respond quickly enough.
This week, the e-mail arrived around 2:25 a.m. while I was working late to meet a deadline. I read it when I reached a creative "stop" in my project. It occurred to me that perhaps not as many responses would flow quickly in the middle of the night. I searched for the answer to "Which new hotel is its country's first carbon-neutral hotel?" and found it at my third or fourth random attempt. (It was the URBN Hotel Shanghai. Yes, I understand that you already knew that.) Today, I got an e-mail announcing that I was indeed one of the week's book winners.
It all makes me smile. It couldn't have happened without Who Wants To Be a Millionaire, the Empire, and a scary storm.
