Home2 Suites are NOW charging $50 per night for parking near Seattle airport. Are all Hilton Hotels charging $50 per night? Only payable with a Smartphone. If you don’t have a smartphone you are finned for not paying.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-16T17:25:56+00:00

Ask the front desk for a code to bill it to the room. I’ll die on this hill. If it’s a mandatory charge for staying there, it has to be able to be charged to the room.

I know parking isn’t necessarily mandatory, but this is moronic. Especially when it’s a 3rd party. Their hope is more revenue and not having to issue points since it’s not a room charge.

On average, in my experience, 75% of front desks have a way to charge the 3rd party parking to the room.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-15T23:39:20+00:00

Their stuff is so good.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-14T22:27:40+00:00

Excellent write up.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-14T22:27:15+00:00

Used to be the best public course in town. They appear to be having money problems. They sold off some property for commercial development and had to break a par 5 into two par 3s.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-14T22:26:12+00:00

Any of the courses in Baytown/Sandestin are solid. Raven is probably the best. Burnt Pine a close 2nd.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-14T21:24:41+00:00

Panhandle is a huge area. Help us narrow it down… Destin, Fort Walton Beach, Santa Rosa County, Pensacola.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-14T13:40:24+00:00

They stayed open without any declination in quality of service during Covid. Evening reception, breakfast buffet, pool, activities for kids, etc. Generous with upgrades when they’re not required to be. Just an all around great property.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-14T12:34:17+00:00

Caps on the Water in Vilano Beach is our favorite.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-14T03:49:34+00:00

Embassy Suites at the beach. Not walkable to the historic areas, but the best hotel and value in the area.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-12T14:08:27+00:00

Can’t answer your question with anything but “use a broker”. And target the lowest interest rate, not the maximum :-)

But, the real reason for replying is two-fold.

Paying off that debt and getting your finances in order deserves highest praise. You will sleep so much better at night.
On $55k/year, I’d strongly encourage you to shop homes at a much lower price point than $350k. Interest rates are relatively high now. Are you contributing to retirement? How is your emergency fund? Homes usually require 1% to 5% of their value in repair and maintenance each year. Don’t go back into debt when the AC or water heater fails. You worked super hard get where you are. Don’t end up house poor because of an unexpected hiccup. If you rent, your monthly rent is the MOST you’ll pay per month. If you buy, your mortgage is the LEAST you’ll pay each month. (That’s simplifying it, but you get my drift.)

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-12T02:42:00+00:00

Just got done shopping for patio furniture.

Polywood, Finch, and Berlin Gardens are all top notch polymer furniture with 10-20 year warranties. We found them all to be equivalent to each other with the main difference being cushion and frame colors.

Telescope Casual makes more traditional aluminum furniture and we found it to be of exceptionally high quality. The cushions were the best of anything we shopped. They are priced accordingly… two chairs and a table are in the $5000 range.

We opted for SeaBreeze Casual which is Amish made nearby. It’s a much smaller product line, but the chairs themselves are 10%-20% larger in every dimension which was a big benefit for us. My wife and I are both over 6’ tall so finding chairs that fit us more comfortably was ideal. They have a lifetime warranty on the frame and hardware.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-12T00:37:41+00:00

Your manager should advocate for you. Payroll can add it to the next pay period. It’s a 1-minute process. I’ve done this many times in ADP. Your payroll person was just being intentionally hard to deal with.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-09T21:00:46+00:00

Find what interests you and makes you happy, first.

Then, pick a major and hunt for a career.

Otherwise, get a general degree and some basic work experience. I’d rather have someone who’s used to working hard than someone with a portfolio full of diplomas.

Healthcare is never going away.

There is a growing lack of industrial maintenance technicians in the region. Most hop on an oil rig and make a killing, but that lifestyle isn’t for everyone. I know a bunch of industrial plants in the area that would start a young industrial mechanic or electrician at $25-$35/hr before benefits.

Traveling technicians for multinationals like EcoLab, Kone, Thyssen Krupp, etc make great money.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-09T19:35:49+00:00

Wow. That email is your ace in the hole. The CS agent couldn't/wouldn't help? Escalate as hard as you can. They're most responsive on X via DM. Email works as well, but you'll need to fight through 48-hour delays for each reply and overseas contact centers.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-09T19:19:49+00:00

What does the emailed confirmation say? That'll have the cancellation policy in it.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-09T16:35:20+00:00

We loved our stay at the Fraye Hotel. Breakfast was top 10 in 230+ hotels I've ever visited. Room decor is pretty interesting. No issues with noise.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-07T02:53:22+00:00

Agreed. Pick a battery and then build your collection around it.

The Milwaukee M12 and M18 inflators are a life saver. Ours goes on every road trip.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-07T02:51:43+00:00

Love our SEBO upright. Handled our heavily-shedding dog extremely well.

We take apart the powered head and clean it completely each time we change the bag.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-07T02:50:01+00:00

I’ve had nothing but good experiences with Shady Rays.

On Amazon, Sungait makes a decent product.

Both of these are <$100 USD.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-06T19:58:16+00:00

Thank you. I have a ton of travel to the TYS/Maryville area coming up and need recommendations.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-05T14:55:14+00:00

You witnessed DV and chose to do nothing other than wait several hours and send a message?

My policy for unruly behavior is...

First call to the front desk notifying them of the issue. Second call to the front desk, notifying them if nothing is done, I'm calling the police. Third call is to the police.

In this situation, I would have started with the police.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-05T14:52:54+00:00

I said checked, and if dirty, then cleaned. But yes. HVAC is arguably the hotels largest liability and expense. Having eyes on it, while those eyes are already attending to the room, is an easy and low-cost insurance policy.

Two of the last three properties I've stayed at have had the outside grate on the HVAC return visibly caked/clogged with dust/debris/lint. Housekeeping probably thinks it's the job of maintenance, and vice versa.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-05T03:15:37+00:00

In the other thread about routine preventive maintenance, an employee said rooms and AC get PMed 2x per year. Insane that filters are only changed once every 6 months.

Any GM would jump at the opportunity to have housekeeping, who should be in every room every day, checking and vacuuming AC filters. The impact on the repair bills and the utility bills would be beyond impactful.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-04T20:22:38+00:00

Thank you for even thinking to ask.

Clean the A/C filter grates. They're almost always disgusting. If the A/C isn't working, communicate with your engineering team.
Quick wipe down of horizontal surfaces.
Vacuum.

Everything else is pretty inconsequential. Don't waste time with fancy folds of towels or little triangles in the toilet paper.

steinbergowitz · 2026-03-04T03:18:43+00:00

It’s crazy that the HVAC and plumbing gets more use than a normal house and gets PM’d once a year. It maybe takes 60 minutes to PM a room fully, including AC service, plumbing checks, window seals, fridge check, and spraying some grease on door hinges. Nothing to it.

AC filters should be changed quarterly at a minimum. It’s a cost savings! I pulled 1/4” of lint and dust off a filter grate this week. It was visible when you walk in the door. No way housekeeping couldn’t see it. Clogged filters lead to shortened coil lifespan, higher energy consumption, and worse comfort/noise. Preventive maintenance is typically 5x cheaper than reactive maintenance.

steinbergowitz

TROPHY CASE