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| Post Number: 11
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Bluehosta 
Group: Members
Posts: 73
Joined: Jul. 2010
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Posted on: Sep. 01 2010,12:22 pm |
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ICU812 My dad said thats Ed Gein's phone number. Had to look him up. Good one.
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| Post Number: 12
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| Post Number: 13
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MADDOG
Group: Moderator
Posts: 7821
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Sep. 01 2010,3:21 pm |
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It must have been about a year ago or better when Holiday was looking to rebuilt about a 66-70 room motel. They were coming. Then they turned suddenly to Northwood instead. 
I can't say with certainty whether the "hospitality" coming from the new general manager of the CountryInn Suites had anything to do with it or not. 
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Actually my wife is especially happy when my google check arrives each month. Thanks to douchbags like you, I get paid just for getting you worked up. -Liberal
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| Post Number: 14
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Alfy Packer
Group: Members
Posts: 1197
Joined: Dec. 2004
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Posted on: Sep. 01 2010,4:37 pm |
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The reason the old Holiday Inn Express is now a Best Western has to do with the franchise demanding a rather large expansion and remodle that the owners were hard pressed to see how the new investment would pay back. I think the owners concerns were well thought out but one does not argue with the franchise once they have made up their mind. Once the change over to Best Western was done, the owners found that Holiday Inn Express was still persuing a hotel on the scale of what they wanted this group to have after the remodeling they were demanding.
I don't know about you, but it does seem to me that much of the year Albert Lea has more that enough hotel/motel beds going begging. Bigger isn't always better, and if the CVB is concerned about it's members, what is the harm it that.
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| Post Number: 15
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MADDOG
Group: Moderator
Posts: 7821
Joined: Aug. 2003
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Posted on: Sep. 01 2010,9:21 pm |
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From what I understand, the old HIE was in need of a required update. I'm not sure about the expansion. I'm not sure that all the owners were together 100% on spending the money. There was also the desire of some to move their motel expansion westward.
I don't know how they could think that if they refused the franchise requirements that Holiday would just go away. I'm not sure that one of the duties of the CVB is to discourage other businesses to move into Albert Lea. In fact I'm pretty darn sure that it's reasons such as this that has kept this town from growing.
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Actually my wife is especially happy when my google check arrives each month. Thanks to douchbags like you, I get paid just for getting you worked up. -Liberal
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| Post Number: 16
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Alfy Packer
Group: Members
Posts: 1197
Joined: Dec. 2004
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Posted on: Sep. 02 2010,8:03 am |
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Aw growth! Where a cheap pice of ticky tacky comes in and an old venue falls into disrepair, fails, and goes out of business. There is an economic model we can all relate to.
You know there is not a single new Mazda car sold in this town today. That is not because you didn't sell one hell of a lot of them back in the day. What happened? Did the dealership requirements change? Did those requirements coming down from on high no longer make any sense in this market? Do more hotel rooms currently make sense in this market? If not, how is this growth? Build it and they will come only works in the movies.
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| Post Number: 17
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| Post Number: 18
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| Post Number: 19
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grassman
Group: Members
Posts: 3858
Joined: Mar. 2006
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Posted on: Sep. 03 2010,6:51 am |
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The rooms are way overpriced.
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git er done!
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| Post Number: 20
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ALAngst
Group: Members
Posts: 49
Joined: Dec. 2008
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Posted on: Sep. 03 2010,3:18 pm |
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(grassman @ Sep. 03 2010,6:51 am)
QUOTE The rooms are way overpriced.
A couple of weeks I was in town for a reunion. Since it was a Saturday night, I thought about staying and I checked Best Western. They wanted $140 for standard room. I told them they were crazy and they were way too high. They tried telling me that was normal for the area, and I asked who else was even close. They said next door at AmericInn. Every other place was around $100, but they were sold out (Country and Comfort). They tried saying they were "almost" a brand new hotel. I told them they were a new brand hotel. I've stayed there before.
Anyway I passed, and decided to go up the Cities because I was going there the next day. When I left that night, I drove out Bridge to get onto I-90. The parking lot for both hotels were about half full. I called Best Western from the interstat, asked if they had any more rooms and they said yes, I asked if they could hold one and they asked how far away I was and I said a half hour. They said they had plenty of rooms so just stop by.
I told my wife about it. She couldn't believe $140 a night, especially since I asked for both Saturday and Sunday night (and the rate was the same). They lowered the rate, and I looked at Labor Day weekend as well, because I was coming to town then too. Now they're asking $120 a night. And no it wasn't Sturgis.
So if you ask me a new hotel in Albert Lea would go over well. Same rates but far newer. I'd stay there instead.
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