pinniped

Thanks for sending me down an Internet rabbit hole about ship salvage operations. I had no idea this wreck happened...whatever I was doing in September 2019, it didn't include reading any news about this.

TGarza

An even bigger rabbit hole are the cameras for the ship scrap yard in Turkey for retired cruise ships.

You are welcome. 👍

JenniferNAz

So just an update about this. The plot thickens....

I got an email from the property saying that they were unable to honor my reservation due to "unexpected business circumstances" and that it was cancelled. They said I would be refunded.

So I called the hotel to speak with the manager who was listed on the email. There was no answer at the hotel. Just an endless loop. I tried several times. I then called the 800 number on the email which got me to a hyatt customer service center. I was told that the hotel was closed until April 19 due to "unexpected business circumstances". I pushed back a little and said I had called in and was told that something was going on, but that if I had not received a message that my reservation was good, and specifically was told I would get an upgrade. She put me on hold and went to ask someone else. She said that her department was dealing with this hotel and had been told to cancel all reservations and that nothing was available. I shared my disappointment as hotel rooms are more expensive now as several months had passed. She gave me 8000 hyatt points.

So I then call the hotel that is the event hotel for the run (just got the email with those details the same day). I spoke with the sales guy and I said something about the Hyatt. He said he knew what was going on, but wasn't at liberty to share. I thought that was strange and told him so, as he doesn't work for that hotel. He said his hotel got many weddings/groups reservations from the Hyatt and so when they asked him to not share, he would oblige. He did say, however, that it would come out as to what is going on.

I am actually working with another hotel for my reservation and have not asked the sales person there, but will try to slip it in and see what she says.

This all has me curious now as to what is going on. Anyone have contacts in Jacksonville, Fl in the riverfront area??

JenniferNAz

Ok, so I just googled again to see if I could find anything and I found the answer!

​​​​​​https://www.bizjournals.com/jacksonv...ugh-april.html

It will serve as a home base for new Marine recruits to isolate before heading to boot camp. There were 16 companies total who bid on the contract and they won. It is currently till mid April, but could be extended beyond that.

nachosdelux

my guess was the Adult Video Awards. That would make for an interesting stay.

writerguyfl

Thank you for following up and letting us know the reason. Sorry you'll need to find other accommodations.

That hotel hit the jackpot. While Florida is fully open for business* for leisure travelers, very few people would view Downtown Jacksonville as a prime location for that type of trip. With business travel at record low levels, this contract will likely save their year. It's great for employees, too.

*This is a statement of a fact. I'm not endorsing taking leisure trips to Florida during a pandemic.

Badenoch

It depends on the group. I spent a weekend at a hotel that was largely booked out for a Jehovah's Witness convention. The hotel was quiet, the children well behaved at the breakfast buffet and the only problem I had was suppressing the urge to go from room to room knocking on doors as payback for the many times JWs knocked on my door at home.

pinniped

Well, I hope you find good alternative accommodations. The reference to new recruits and bootcamps makes me think a hotel full of 18-year-olds, so I would likely look for alternative options anyway. Trained military personnel likely have orders to not be A-holes at a civilian hotel, and at least some discipline to follow those orders along with consequences for not doing so. I'm not sure a bunch of kids who have yet to set foot on a Marine base would have that kind of discipline.

On the plus side, I find Hyatt points to be reasonably valuable - about 2 cents each without trying too hard.

Wilbur

Those future marines are going to have a harsh transition from a business hotel to boot camp.