Yeah maybe you're right.


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During the lost decade I was flying corporate for a rather large retailer. The captain was responsible for getting hotel rooms and we were limited to between $100-$130 per night depending upon the size of city. Normally that isn't too much of a problem with enough notice.

One night however we were re-routed to SFO in the middle of the Oracle software convention. There was nothing within 30 minutes of the airport for less than $400 a night (Last minute) so I call up the chief pilot and ask for a waiver on the limit. He says he will call me back in 15 minutes.

A little while later he calls back with "good news". He has found us a Quality Inn on the south side of San Jose for only $99 per night, and we should take the crew car.

The crew car is for everybody, so I rented a car, figuring I'm gonna do a carpet dance but it's defensible.

During rush hour it takes us a few hours to get to what is very likely the worst hotel I've ever stayed in. Filthy, old, possible meth lab. Wouldn't touch the comforter with a rake. It was that bad.

The next morning we encounter rush hour again, and we get to the airport late. Pick up our pax and head home.

When we get there the chief pilot is waiting for us, not to reprimand me about the rental car (he saved that for later) but to find out why we were late. I told him about the piece of crap hotel and the lengthy drive in rush hour.

I asked why he couldn't, on a one time only, non-precedential basis, have allowed us to stay a reasonable distance from the airport?

He says "Well, what do you consider a reasonable distance?"

I said, "I figured ten or fifteen minutes away. What do you think is reasonable?"

He says, "Well, you drive to recurrent in Wichita. That's four hours, so I guess that's reasonable."

Obviously the conversation was over. I stood there staring at him as I realized every other pilot in the office had also stopped what they were doing to stare at us.

Long story short, that was reason number 3,234,908 why I finally left there.

So no. I don't want to source my own hotels.

I DO, however, want a Union hotel committee so I have a pilot advocate to complain to if there is an issue with a hotel. As far as I know we are the only
Union carrier that doesn't have one.


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For the next messy IROP you may find yourselves in, where everyone is scrambling for a hotel room and Crew Scheduling is overwhelmed, I've had great luck with the 'Hotel Tonight' app for the iPhone (I'm sure they must have it for Androids as well). Easy, fast, and always seems to have accurate info...and I have absolutely no connection to the developer.

I read over your post too quickly and thought you wrote ‘Hoes Tonight’

I guess that would be one way to take care of lodging.

What is IROP?

It’s like in Ghostbusters when the Ecto-containment unit gets shut down.

Like someone up thread posted......why the f//k are we even discussing getting our own hotel rooms?! 5th & 20th Club baby, and that would be far too much work and drama. Besides, no other airline does it. That’s Part 91 & 135 stuff. Remember the 5th & the 20th and to hell with all the rest. FUPM and all that....

Holy crap.

I didn't ever have to book a hotel in my old fractional job, but I frequently had to find transportation, and that was frequently a huge hassle. I'll never forget my very first trip, dragging my suitcase through the grass around the airport to the local AVIS location because the town didn't have any taxis. I should have started job hunting immediately.

That was still safer than the 4am cab ride in some little town in Mississippi, where the cab driver had a portable DVD player Velcro'd to the dash, watching a movie (until I objected) while she drove us to work.

So... yeah. Hard no on managing my own logistics on overnights. No way.

I was thinking the same thing. The person that mentioned that is a nut job.. why anyone feel for it , I do not understand.