Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, October 6, 1993 TAG: 9310060045
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: C6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Having just returned from vacation, I can vouch for this. Calling for a hotel reservation, I was told the room rate would be $140 a night. When I said I'd try somewhere else, the reservations clerk replied: "Wait - it just so happens we're running a special during the time you will be here!"
I got a much lower rate.
With a car rental company, I had a similar experience. Initially, I was quoted a price that included a drop-off fee, required because I was picking the car up in one city and dropping it off several hundred miles away. After hearing the size of the fee, I said I'd call a another agency that I knew had a lower drop-off fee. Then the rental clerk said he'd lease me a car with no fee.
So be nice, but firm.
\ Speaking of hotels - the Hotel Roanoke construction project may seem as if it's not going very fast, but the marketing side is certainly zipping along.
A Phoenix reservations worker with Doubletree Hotels Corp., the company contracted to manage the Hotel Roanoke and the adjoining conference center, said Doubletree has the "historic Hotel Roanoke" in its computer for a 1995 opening. If you want a room, you can get on an information list to receive updates on the project by calling Doubletree at (800) 222-8733. Room rates haven't been set yet, Doubletree said.
\ A note about rental cars: Several major companies have stopped carrying liability insurance, which means the renter's policy is the one in force, no matter what happens. When I picked up my car, the clerk said: "We carry no insurance at all."
Consumer Reports' September Travel Letter said it was the normal until recently for rental car companies to carry primary liability coverage as part of the basic rental rate. That meant the first claim by an injured person would be against the company.
With no insurance, the costs are shifted to the renter's carrier. That means if you rent cars frequently, it's worth a check with your insurance agent to make sure you are sufficiently covered or whether you should buy insurance when you rent.
\ Skinflint News will send you a free sample copy of its newsletter - then, of course, try to sell you a subscription - if you send a No. 10 self-addressed stamped envelope to: Skinflint News, 1460 Noell Blvd., Palm Harbor, Fla. 34683.
Among its latest tips:
Put a package of garbage bags in the bottom of your waste basket so when you throw out the full bag, an empty bag will be waiting.
Shine your shoes with the inside of a banana peel; it works great on real and imitation leather.
Put pantyhose in the freezer overnight and they'll be tough and resist running.
Open bars of soap as soon as you buy them; they will harden and last longer.
\ Fashion Bug stores will discount a new coat purchase by $10 if you turn your old winter coat in for donation to charity. For more details, call (800) FB-FITS-U.
\ The Virginia Lottery has joined other catalogers with its new instant game, "Movies, Music and Money," which allows players to collect bonus tickets and use them to buy from a brochure-size catalog.
Lottery players who don't win money or free tickets have one more chance by scratching the "bonus" area. Tickets that say "Bonus Win-Collect Tickets" can be used pay for CDs and movies. "Fried Green Tomatoes" costs 10 tickets; "Eddie Rabbitt's All-Time Greatest Hits" goes for seven tickets for a CD or five tickets for a cassette.
It's sort of ironic that a promotion inside the catalog proclaims: "Money isn't everything."
\ The situation with Seiferts (La Vogue) stores is confusing. Basically, the previous Seiferts owner, Seiferts Group Inc., declared bankruptcy and the current owner, James F. Seifert, is not responsible for transactions handled by the bankrupt owner. This means if you have a gift certificate or are waiting for a refund for merchandise at a Seiferts store, or if you're a vendor owed money by the stores, you have to make formal claim to the bankruptcy court to get your money.
A claim form can be obtained from Barbara Yong, Seigan Barbakoff Gombert & Kane Ltd., 20 N. Clark St., Suite 1000, Chicago, Ill. 60602. Deadline for filing is Nov. 15.
by CNB