Last weekend I needed to fly to Manchester, New Hampshire and spend the night. I compared hotels and made a reservation at the cheapest one that offered a courtesy shuttle to and from the airport: the Econo Lodge.
When I arrived at Manchester Airport I walked out of the terminal and found the parking area for the hotel shuttles. I saw neither a shuttle for the Econo Lodge, nor a sign indicating where to wait. So I headed back into the terminal and used the hotel courtesy phone to call Econo Lodge. I was told that it would be a while before the shuttle arrived and to take a taxi and get a receipt to be reimbused by the hotel. That worked just fine for me.
The Econo Lodge is located in one of Manchester's many old mill buildings. When I checked-in I mentioned that I needed to be back at the airport by 8:30 and I asked about getting a shuttle. "No problem," I was told. I headed up to my room.
Econo Lodge fills a very important niche in the hotel industry. It offers reliably clean and comfortable rooms inexpensively. The Econo Lodge's that I have stayed in have been well worn hotels, but that is fine by me.
The continental breakfast the next morning offered coffee, orange juice, cold cereals (Cheerios and Corn Flakes), and plastic wrapped muffins and danishes. Photographs on the wall of the breakfast room revealed that the building had originally been a shoe factory.
Having eaten breakfast and packed I went to check out and asked when to expect the shuttle to the airport. "Eight o'clock" I was told. It was just quarter till. I bought a copy of the New Hampshire Sunday News (a mediocre newspaper with a conservative editorial line) and sat down to read until the shuttle arrived.
Eight o'clock came and went with no sign of the shuttle. I'm a patient person, I just figured it was late. At ten past I asked, "are you sure there is a shuttle coming?"
"The shuttle is running late. I have called a taxi. It is on its way."
Within minutes the taxi arrived and I was delivered to the airport on time. Obviously the hotel didn't reimburse me for the second cab ride.
I doubt very much that the Econo Lodge in Manchester offers a courtesy shuttle. Maybe they once did. I suspect that they do just as they did with me on the occassions that someone actually asks about it.
1 comment:
Very interesting. The make-believe shuttle concept could be applied to so many things. I'm having a hard time thinking of one, but I'm sure they exist. Manch Vegas is an up-and-coming, yet still-seedy destination. And I think I stayed at that hotel once. Brave. Very brave.
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