how can they do this?

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ptguard
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how can they do this?

Post by ptguard »

Just received an email from Xanterra tonight saying they have no rooms available. This after I have been booked for a year. Non-refundable airfare, $500 worth of VIP tickets to the Under the Big Sky music festival, & 10 other days of non-refundable reservations over that time period.

Here’s the email:

Dear Guest:
I wanted to reach out to you regarding your reservations at Many Glacier Hotel.

As we continue to navigate the challenges that Covid-19 has presented, and the resulting pressure it has created on our staff in trying to provide the level of service we aspire to, we have had to make some operational changes that involve the closure of some of our rooms.

At this time, the closures affect a variety of room types, so if you have multiple room types booked, it is possible some of your reservations are unaffected, while other are not.

The room types affected by the closure are the Value Room with one double bed, Value Room with two twin beds, Value Room with one Double and one Twin, Value Room with two doubles, Standard Room with two doubles, Standard Lakeside Room with one double, Standard Lakeside Room with one double and one twin, and ADA Value Room with one double.

As a result of these closures, we have been working diligently to move affected guests to different room types, but have unable to move everyone at this time.

If you are receiving this email, we have been unable to move your reservation to a different room type, and we would like to provide you with different options to avoid cancellation.

The options at this point are:

1) wait to see if we can keep your current dates, but in a different room type

2) move your reservation to new dates where we have availability

3) move your reservation to a room at a different property where we have availability for your current dates

4) move your reservation to 2022, with priority booking before we open general availability at midnight tonight.

IF YOU CHOOSE PRIORITY BOOKING FOR 2022—you must reply to this email as soon as possible, but no later than 10pm Mountain (Denver) time TODAY. Please provide your preferred dates, number of guests, number of beds required, and preferred room type.

The only way to receive priority booking is to reply to this email. Our Central Reservations office will not have availability, and due to the magnitude of the situation, I will be unable to answer phone calls.

For all other options, please reply via email, but it does not have to be done by 10pm today.

Please let me know if you have any questions, but note, I will not reply to any emails today, other than those requesting priority booking.

Sincerely,

Vickie Humes
Property Liaison, Central Reservations

Xanterra Travel Collection
6455 S. Yosemite Street, Suite 600
Greenwood Village, CO 80111
ehumes@xanterra.com | xanterra.com
P 303-600-3482 | F 303-297-3175
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Re: how can they do this?

Post by ptguard »

Well, at least they were able to give me 3 nights at swiftcurrent. It’s not MGH but it at least we avoid the disaster of not having any place to stay.

I wonder how many people will be effected like this? Is it because they can’t hire enough workers?
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Re: how can they do this?

Post by llholmes1948 »

I understand from someone who is working at St. Mary Lodge this summer that there is a dire shortage of workers for the hotels in and around the Park.
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Re: how can they do this?

Post by ptguard »

Yeah, & I’m guessing because there were so many foreign students used who can’t travel this year. I understand the issue but reading the “friends of glacier” Facebook page, this is happening to a ton of people. they had to know prior to 2 weeks before travel was to begin. Doesn’t give people many options.
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Re: how can they do this?

Post by PeteE »

ptguard wrote: Thu Jul 01, 2021 9:28 am Yeah, & I’m guessing because there were so many foreign students used who can’t travel this year. I understand the issue but reading the “friends of glacier” Facebook page, this is happening to a ton of people. they had to know prior to 2 weeks before travel was to begin. Doesn’t give people many options.
Yeah, You and many others got the shaft from Xterra.
They should have said something earlier but I'm virtually certain the "marketing weenies" at the corporate level
likely said no. They would have been afraid of wholesale cancellations. That's my guess.

That said...

It is VERY true about the lack of workers in this area--especially on the low end of the pay scale.
There are "help wanted" signs all over the place. Nobody can find decent help.
We have had a HELL of a time for months finding runners for our one remaining casino.
And the only requirement for being a runner is being 18 years old and able to "fog a mirror".
A good runner can make $200/10hour shift in tips alone---IF, IF , IF they want to WORK.
And that's the problem generally for all businesses from what the vendors we deal with tell me.
Why work when, for now, they can get $600/wk for sitting on their ass?
I really don't blame them for that. The gov't(s) have spoiled people.
And you really don't want to hear me rage about the lack of a "work ethic" in a great many of these so-called "workers".

pete :wink:
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Re: how can they do this?

Post by llholmes1948 »

Link to an item in the Flathead Beacon on the hotel situation in Kalispell:

https://flatheadbeacon.com/2021/07/04/f ... -the-edge/
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Re: how can they do this?

Post by zozeppelin »

Crazy .... They should at a minimum provide lodging elsewhere and refund you the money. It's one thing losing your perfect hotel reservation a couple weeks before the date, but completely another with the current hotel availability and pricing.

How many personnel are we talking here? A couple housekeeping, front desk and ? Just overpay for the season. Get the corporate employees to fly out to wash sheets. GNP needs to hold them accountable.

I would have a different opinion if they didn't have a monopoly on park operations (hotels, shuttles, etc).

It will be interesting to see if staff is 'found', and rooms reopen at higher prices.
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Re: how can they do this?

Post by PeteE »

zozeppelin wrote: Wed Jul 07, 2021 7:46 am Crazy .... They should at a minimum provide lodging elsewhere and refund you the money. It's one thing losing your perfect hotel reservation a couple weeks before the date, but completely another with the current hotel availability and pricing.

How many personnel are we talking here? A couple housekeeping, front desk and ? Just overpay for the season. Get the corporate employees to fly out to wash sheets. GNP needs to hold them accountable.

I would have a different opinion if they didn't have a monopoly on park operations (hotels, shuttles, etc).

It will be interesting to see if staff is 'found', and rooms reopen at higher prices.
Xanterra faces the same(actually worse imo) problem the entire Flathead Valley faces:
Nobody wants to work for what employers of all sorts are willing to pay at the present time.
If local employers can't find anyone to work, what makes you think Xanterra can?

Easy for you/anyone to say, "Just overpay for the season".
If they do overpay to get help, then EXPECT higher room rates.
No free stuff in this world anymore.
I think the $300/week Federal assistance ends, or has ended this month for Montana.
Maybe some who have been enjoying the recent sunshine will decide to get back to work.

pete :wink:
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Re: how can they do this?

Post by teapot57 »

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Re: how can they do this?

Post by zozeppelin »

Hi Pete,
Agree the problem is bigger than Xanterra, and frankly it's bigger than the Flathead Valley.

My point was,
  1. They have a monopoly position at the park's principal businesses (lodging, concessions, restaurants, and jammer fleet) due to their contract (16 years).
  2. They already charge exuberant rates for what they provide (back to #1)
  3. They cancelled a bunch of reservations last minute, leaving people high and dry
  4. How many people are we really talking about here? A handful? Can't they just figure that out? Overpay a handful of people. I'm sure they're more than covered with the rates (back to #1)
  5. Perhaps pull staff from their new Cedar Creek lodge they still were selling vacancies and promoting with discount codes as of last week
  6. Since they do have a contract with the park, I would hope there are obligations in there to serve the public (regardless of their profit margins and state of workforce) and the park is holding them accountable to that end.
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Re: how can they do this?

Post by Jay w »

What they need are people to clean rooms. I don’t think it’s a handful of people either, and when it’s MG, McDonald, East Glacier, I’l bet they draw locals because there’s not enough housing on site for the employees. I’ll guess the locals are not the problem. In the past, they would bring in a bunch of foreigners (Russian, Japan, England just to name a few accents), but I think covid screwed up that. It’s hard to travel. Back in April, I would doubt that some of the US employees that would come weren’t sure what was happening in Glacier this year, so they skipped coming out. A few of your friends don’t go and you don’t go. I can easily see a shortage happening due to “this year.”

Jay
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Re: how can they do this?

Post by Jay w »

I've been thinking about this issue for a while. I heard a podcast yesterday:

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/03/podc ... pe=Article

In short, the employers think the employees are lazy. "They won't even return our calls." The $600/wk means the employees have no incentive to work.

The employees think the job really sucked. They were tired of burns from the deep fryer, long hours and grab-assing by the customers. The time off allowed them to try a different line of work (teacher, postal worker, finish their degree).

Jay
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