The gift that keeps on giving
Wow, does Liz Forgery know how to spend other people's money, or what?
Last year's Destinations International annual conference was held in Montreal (this year's is scheduled for Anaheim, so currency conversion surcharges won't apply) from Tuesday, July 11 through Friday, July 14, and featured NBC's Willie Geist. Let's be generous, and give Ms. Forgery Monday night to get a good night's rest, and Friday night to recover from all the alcohol. That is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday = 5 days. Mr. Forgery stayed 12. Are calendars somehow different in Quebec? Did she have trouble working the deadbolt? I don't know if it was the language barrier or what, but Lizzie had a little trouble with taxpayer money, or no trouble at all, if her intended mission was to burn through a lot of it.
Check out what rooms are currently going for at the L for an equivalent 12 days in July 2018, and ask yourself if this is the kind of luxury Estes Park needs its officials relaxing in the lap of. For those without a calculator handy, Ms. Forgery was spending $321 U.S. per day on her hotel room, and enjoying it so much she spent a couple of extra days at taxpayer expense. Reminder: Ms. Forgery is not the CEO of Chipotle or OtterBox. (Also check out the difference in cost between Canadian dollars and US dollars, and ask yourself if Ms. Forgery was so brazen/stupid she paid in Canadian dollars, while requesting reimbursement from the VEP board in the same number of U.S. dollars.)
This is their rack rate, off their website (i.e., the sucker's rate), without even searching for discounts. (Ignore, for the moment, the myriad cheaper yet completely adequate rooms existing within walking distance of the conference, the bulk of which was held at the Westin or the Palais des Congres, Montreal's convention center). Our local marketing and tourism expert couldn't even bother finding a better rate at the hotel she overstayed in. Even granting her the luxury of a 4-star hotel, which she certainly didn't require or deserve, ten minutes on Trivago turns up the 4-star Hotel Bonaventure near the city center for $189/night for an equivalent time period in July 2018, and the 4-star Le Saint Sulpice for $220, among many, many other choices clocking in at less than $321/night (including the Westin itself, where the conference was held, at $291). And this is for schlubs who weren't attending the conference, rates were obviously going to be discounted for conference attendees.
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| The LHotel in Montreal is not for losers, um, well, unless you want to lose money |
Check out what rooms are currently going for at the L for an equivalent 12 days in July 2018, and ask yourself if this is the kind of luxury Estes Park needs its officials relaxing in the lap of. For those without a calculator handy, Ms. Forgery was spending $321 U.S. per day on her hotel room, and enjoying it so much she spent a couple of extra days at taxpayer expense. Reminder: Ms. Forgery is not the CEO of Chipotle or OtterBox. (Also check out the difference in cost between Canadian dollars and US dollars, and ask yourself if Ms. Forgery was so brazen/stupid she paid in Canadian dollars, while requesting reimbursement from the VEP board in the same number of U.S. dollars.)
This is their rack rate, off their website (i.e., the sucker's rate), without even searching for discounts. (Ignore, for the moment, the myriad cheaper yet completely adequate rooms existing within walking distance of the conference, the bulk of which was held at the Westin or the Palais des Congres, Montreal's convention center). Our local marketing and tourism expert couldn't even bother finding a better rate at the hotel she overstayed in. Even granting her the luxury of a 4-star hotel, which she certainly didn't require or deserve, ten minutes on Trivago turns up the 4-star Hotel Bonaventure near the city center for $189/night for an equivalent time period in July 2018, and the 4-star Le Saint Sulpice for $220, among many, many other choices clocking in at less than $321/night (including the Westin itself, where the conference was held, at $291). And this is for schlubs who weren't attending the conference, rates were obviously going to be discounted for conference attendees.
WTF is going on here? And why are organizations like EDC, who continually went to the mat for her, still taken seriously on any topic involving money or expenses?
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