Post #91431 by CaseyJPS on Sun, May 16, 2004 12:57 AM

Aloha!

You all received a letter with the turndown service on Saturday evening. (Yes, it was different from the letter you received at turndown on Friday.) If you've got it, hang on to it, as it will not be transmitted again, and it offers a great incentive to come and see us again.

I've avoided this posting for well over a year now, as I didn't want to impose--we are grateful for the support and the business we receive from ALL of you--WE MIGHT NOT BE HERE WITHOUT YOU. Now we're asking for another fifteen minutes of your time, plus the time it takes to understand this.

If you recall, our letter also asks for your positive input on TripAdvisor.com as well as CitySearch.com, the two largest consumer travel opinion web sites.

Here's why. Both of these sites are owned by Interactive Corporation (IAC). This MONSTER is quickly approaching a questionable (ANTI-TRUST/MONOPOLY level) of control over the hospitality industry--especially threatening for small operations like the CTR that have to slug-it-out in the world arena of rubber-stamp chain hotels with HUGE sales and marketing budgets.

As a further example, this company now controls over 32,000 urls worldwide, directing travel-seekers to their booking sites--HOTELS.COM and EXPEDIA.COM. And, this is just for starters--there are many other companies they control as well, including Hotwire.Com (travel), the Home Shopping Network, Entertainment Publications (travel), Evite, Match.Com, TicketMaster, LendingTree.com, Interval International(travel), etc., etc.

The opinions on CitySearch.Com and TripAdvisor.Com, are used to rate hotels on their web sites, including Hotels.Com and Expedia.Com, not to mention ALL of the others (see http://www.iac.com). Is this starting to sound a little scary?

What's even scarier, is that we absolutely cannot survive without them. As of the start of Tiki Oasis IV, this monster owed us more than $110,000.00, about 20% of our revenue for 2003. Approximately $30,000.00 was OVER 120 days! They represent hundreds of thousands of guest rooms worldwide, and, on the average, it is estimated they owe at least $1,000.00 per guest room they represent. As of Friday, May 14, some of their investment ratings have dropped to a level 'D.' The overall point is we're doing business with the devil, and there is no light at the end of the tunnel. You might have read or heard about some of the big chains changing their "distribution channels" so they have more or complete control over their pricing--this is not a reality for the CTR. And, like so many others, almost 25 cents of every dollar Hotels.Com takes in, and 33 cents of every dollar Expedia.Com takes in, on our behalf, goes into THEIR pocket. So, until the time I change my name to HILTON or STARWOOD, we're getting kicked in the teeth--this also explains why our rate structure is worked-out the way it is.

ALL OF THAT SAID (and there really is a lot more to tell), please take ten-to-fifteen minutes to enlighten others on one of these opinion web sites and tell potential guests how much you enjoy our FREE breakfast, our luxury mattress sets, our mostly-cotton sheets, custom towels, pool towels, decor, cocktails, complimentary beverages, amenities, daily L.A. Times, custom furnishings, nightly turndown service, and our Great Original 60s Tiki Personality (which is now listed on the Palm Springs top 200 Historical Sites Survey!).

Why is this SOOOO important to us? Because both web sites (TripAdvisor and CitySearch) consistently refuse to remove or research complaints made without merit, and THEY ARE EXTREMELY INFLUENTIAL TO POTENTIAL CUSTOMERS. Eighty percent of those comments on TripAdvisor are known customers to us (we have tracked them), and many have decided to tell less-than-the-truth, to grind an axe. For example, two reviews are from people who HAVE NEVER STAYED WITH US, even though this is against TripAdvisors' own rules. Almost every one of the axe grinders are people who have booked through a wholesale site or 800-service who have been made promises by these third parties and completely un-related to what we offer--just so their company can pocket the huge markup. Many others complain about policies which are completely disclosed at the time of sale AND for which they have signed the registration/contract with us at the time of check-in. What's ironic is that we do a very healthful repeat business, despite this vocal minority.

HOWEVER, this vocal minority, with the muscle of INTERACTIVE COPORATION, has the potentional to sink us, for good. This will happen if we fail to get enough positive comments from the vast majority of our guests who are very happy with our product. Hopefully, THAT IS YOU.

If you're not satisfied, or happy, I REALLY NEED TO KNOW. When guests are disatisfied, and give us an opportunity to turn that around, we can almost always count on their repeat business.

Because of the relationships we have with so many of you, there is a very fine line between what is professional and what is simply too much information. I sincerely hope you are not offended, or feel we are imposing on you in an inappropriate manner, in asking for your help.

I welcome your questions.

Mahalo Nui Loa!