Originally Posted by
flydiamond
Disagree and Agree...
The Sheratons, Alofts, Marriotts, Courtyards, Four Points, Indigos and Doubletrees we stay at are not “non branded dumpsters.” Most pilots would be happy to have their families stay there. They’re generally clean, comfortable, and well reviewed on trip advisor. There are a few exceptions... mostly of the LaQuinta, Hampton Inn or Country Inn and Suites variety that are unacceptable and must go..Usually they have that “needs a deep clean” feel or the gym is garbage. Maybe it’s different on the 200 but the 900 id put our average hotel at a Doubletree as well...
Agree with you 100% however need to be put in better locations for our overnights. These industrial or business park areas with no shuttle service because the hotel has an overpriced restaurant or a Waffle House across the street is 100% unacceptable. We either need to reduce the threshold for a downtown overnight to something more industry standard like 16 hours (20 hours is far below industry standard) or have language in our contract that assures us a hotel within walking distance of several (healthy; non fast food) restaurants. If every hotel could be like our hotel in Jacksonville the pilots would be much happier.
And do keep the crew care reports coming in! We successfully changed the buffalo hotel and the Des Moines hotel (changed the new one not the old one), and it looks like for the latter it was a positive change. Unfortunately our flight attendants seem to have a louder mouth than we do, so we need to speak up.
Additionally, please exercise your right for transportation to a suitable eating facility is one is not available at the hotel. If the hotel will not take you, expense a cab or Uber to the company. I’ve done this before and received zero questions.
Stayed at the Country Inn and Suites in Omaha a few days ago. It’s in an industrial park area as well. The hotel is nice, but the only thing nearby is a gentleman’s club, a subway, and a gas station. But you must walk approximately 1/2 mile along a very busy road with no sidewalks. To me that doesn’t seem suitable to only have one food option and unsafe walking conditions. I asked for the van driver to take me to the Old Market Square area. And I was told they needed to wait for a new driver to come in, and that it might be a while. WTF, do they not research these hotels before putting us in them? I did the hotel issues form, and there response was i was promised the shuttle during a period that it was unavailable. There were no airport pickups, so apparently there’s a gap between shuttle drivers. How is any of this acceptable? To me it’s a hassle to even ask for a ride, and more of a hassle to expense a taxi. The Aloft in JAX isn’t one of the nicest hotels, but it’s in a great area. I think we should have 3-4 food options in a safe area near all hotels we stay at. Additionally, I understand how it might be frustrating for those on short overnights. There needs to be separate criteria for over nights near 10 hours