Originally Posted by
FlyerJT
Totally understand the desire to settle differences and have one event. That's what I tried hard to accomplish, working with Michael Trager to get Stefan to finally communicate with the rest of us (since he still hadn't responded to any of our emails, texts, WhatsApp messages, or phone calls since December 2022). Unfortunately, Stefan's demands involved Chris unilaterally violating his contract with the Holiday Inn Elk Grove Village and banning Chris from being involved with the planning. Since Chris won't agree to break his contract with the hotel, Stefan launched another event. Now that Stefan has since another agreement, both events are locked in -- likely with financial penalties for breaking either contract (I obviously don't know what the details are of Stefan's contract).
Hey! 😜
Call me baccarat_king, those 8,000 posts did NOT post themselves! I want my FlyerTalk street-cred.
We both know what you say is about 72.8% accurate and we both know there are three sides:
- What you say
- What I say
- The truth
I won't get into the rebuttal of what you say above since I believe that negotiation was confidential. What I will say is that we made huge progress with regard to the initial phone call. There was a very fair deadline to respond to, with further negotiation. That further negotiation would not have made anyone happy, I am confident everyone would not have been pleased, but that is how negotiations work.
Chris purposely avoided the deadline, actually doing the most passive-aggressive thing, responding 1 minute after the deadline. (Just facts, nothing more, nothing less.)
I asked Chris multiple times (even the other day) to PLEASE CALL ME so we can talk it out. But he refuses. He refuses to negotiate in good faith; that is my opinion. I know you disagree with that. Even today, I would love Chris to call me to "hug it out" and try to find a compromise so everyone does not hate each other. But he won't. I don't know why.
I wasted a ton of time on this. I tried to be helpful.
I failed.
But, we need to show some grace here, and it's not helpful to keep providing part of the story since everyone knows the "three stories."
I had no incentive here. I wanted to get everyone to the table. I wanted Stefan to apologize.
(he did and accepted all accountability) I think there have been some personal issues over those months, and I don't believe I have any right to know about those issues.
I wanted to solve a problem. Find a resolution. Everyone had to accept some level of unhappiness. We could have gotten there. I am confident we would have gotten there if Chris spoke to me one to one.
I guess nothing can be done anymore. Very sad.