Hotel car parking fees; unavoidable indiscretion.

[WASA38]

Faced a difficult situation today. Notices in the SP's hotel car park warned of a £100 fine for parking except for guests or users of the associated Golf and Leeisure clubs - but even for these, one was required to enter the car's registration number on the touch screen on the reception desk.

When I tried to do this the bloody thing demanded that I enter a PIN and didn't show any letter keys, just numbers.. I had no option but to inform the receptionist that I was briefly visiting a guest and ask what was I to do ?

Hardly the height of discretion. Mercifully he said 'no problem; free for up to two hours.' (My booking was for an hour) and he didn't ask the name of the guest. I'm sure that the SP would have been mortified.

Even now I can't think I did anything wrong . Circumstances were such that parking away from the hotel was pretty well impossible.

[Foxtail17]

Faced a difficult situation today. Notices in the SP's hotel car park warned of a £100 fine for parking except for guests or users of the associated Golf and Leeisure clubs - but even for these, one was required to enter the car's registration number on the touch screen on the reception desk.

When I tried to do this the bloody thing demanded that I enter a PIN and didn't show any letter keys, just numbers.. I had no option but to inform the receptionist that I was briefly visiting a guest and ask what was I to do ?

Hardly the height of discretion. Mercifully he said 'no problem; free for up to two hours.' (My booking was for an hour) and he didn't ask the name of the guest. I'm sure that the SP would have been mortified.

Even now I can't think I did anything wrong . Circumstances were such that parking away from the hotel was pretty well impossible.

As hotels seek to maximise income, or keep the parking spaces for their own guests, this will become more common. One hotel that I use to meet up with friends has introduced restrictions as a new college about 5 mins walk away opened and charged for parking while the hotel was free. The hotel, which has bar, restaurant and conference rooms found their guests struggling.
With this hotel you just go to the touch screen tablet situated at the edge of reception to enter your reg. Quite discreet but you do leave a record of your visit.

[Perrier]

You've left a record as soon as you drive in as they have ANPR cameras on the entrance.

If you don't register, they will issue a 'fine'.

Most half decent hotels have a bar that is open to the public - so if stuck, you can always say you're meeting a friend in the bar.

[OakTree]

The only hotel carparks I use are free ones such as the village hotels. If I see a barrier or cameras I park elsewhere. I don’t particularly want to deal with reception and all the hazards that can involve. Parking can be the weak link for me. Her indoors questioned me once on a pay and display ticket I’d left in the car. Good idea to pay with coins too as you’re leaving a trail paying by card.

[James999]

Surely you just take your punting car and pay with your punting credit card 

[WASA38]

Most half decent hotels have a bar that is open to the public - so if stuck, you can always say you're meeting a friend in the bar.

Guess that's the answer; thanks P. In fact this particular hotel had a bar on the first floor so my heading for the lift wouldn't have raised any suspicion.

[Moby Dick]

Depends on the size of and facilities of the hotel
Just ask for help to register your car.
If asked just say you are meeting a colleague, client, supplier, here for an interview (especially if you are the nervous type), or your meeting your “girlfriend”
Ask where the toilets are, or the bar, or where you can get a coffee.
If it’s a hotel with a gym, then go casual in a tracksuit or shorts and blend in.

No one knows or cares if you are there to fuck a prostitute as long as you don’t look shifty and up to no good.

[king tarzan]

Absolute nightmare at times..
I just prefer public transport..
To keep overheads down..
Petrol and parking fees NO BLOODY THANKS

[scutty brown]

most of the big chain hotels are heading this way, especially those near shopping centres or motorway junctions (they get used as park-and-rides by lift sharers)
In a lot of cases the warning signs are inadequate anyway - I got an invoice in the post for £100 for parking at one hotel one evening. I went back and checked: the signs stipulated a charge of £80, not £100 and 18 of the 20 warning signs were attached to faulty street lamps and could not be read in the dark at the height they'd been set at. Besides which the vehicle registration input machine was hidden behind a sign.
Over the next 12 months I got a lot of threatening letters, but ignored them all, sat back and awaited the court summons. It never came, they must have known they'd get destroyed in court because the invoice was for the wrong value and the signs were illegible. Time has expired now, so I won.
So, to Holiday Inn and Parking Eye, if you're reading this FUCK YOU

[unclepokey]

This and for the reasons mentioned in other threads mean I absolutely hate hotel meets.

And let me add that I've encountered SPs that claim to offer in-calls but which turn out to be hotel locations - sometimes at the last minute claiming that suddenly relatives have turned up at their place or whatever.  Bollocks to the lot of them. They go onto my shite list straight away.

Uncle Pokey

[cunningman]

I've encountered SPs that claim to offer in-calls but which turn out to be hotel locations

Surely a hotel that the girl books IS an incall?  Or are you checking further that its their home?

[Watts.E.Dunn]

Dont mind hotel incalls as now i'm single theres no one to worry about finding out, even the ex knows that I see the odd girl, she found that shall we say intresting;! Kid ye knot!

However must be a real PITA for a married bloke, never know who your going to see there or who works there even. I know that one of our near neighbours has a daughter that works at a Holliday inn in cambridge could be almighltly embarssing that! Or worse:(

Not as yet had a problem parking seem they most all have that sign in here touch screen and for some of them round our way you can park nearby a few hundred of yeads walk isnt to taxing but there always remains that risk of bumping inot someone. A SP kept me waiting in the lobby for 10 mins whilst she was getting readay the other week!

Or is the waiting part of the GF experince??

[unclepokey]

Further to my above I would advocate a three dimensional descriptor rather than just in or out-call.
How about:
In call: Where the SP either lives or routinely operates other than an hotel
Outcall: the punter's own premises
Hotels and other short term premises: The rest.

Any thoughts
UP

[GingerNuts]

Further to my above I would advocate a three dimensional descriptor rather than just in or out-call.
How about:
In call: Where the SP either lives or routinely operates other than an hotel
Outcall: the punter's own premises
Hotels and other short term premises: The rest.

Any thoughts
UP

Incall you go to them. Outcall they come to you.

Easy to understand for most.

[NelsonH]

Most punters can get the difference between in and out, it seems.

[WASA38]

Further to my above I would advocate a three dimensional descriptor rather than just in or out-call.
How about:
In call: Where the SP either lives or routinely operates other than an hotel
Outcall: the punter's own premises
Hotels and other short term premises: The rest.

Any thoughts
UP

I can understand why an hotel venue could be a deal breaker for some but would have thought it easy enough to clarify this in one's initial approach to the |SP.

[Simmo87]

Over the next 12 months I got a lot of threatening letters, but ignored them all, sat back and awaited the court summons. It never came, they must have known they'd get destroyed in court because the invoice was for the wrong value and the signs were illegible. Time has expired now, so I won.
So, to Holiday Inn and Parking Eye, if you're reading this FUCK YOU

Parking Eye are cunts, once your vehicle reg there naughty boys list they harras you for years. I got a parking eye demand for parking in motoway services for 13 days! the anpr camera had clocked me coming in but not leaving on the back on a recovery truck 1hrs 30mins later, along with that I got demands for the parking tickets from previous car owner dating back 3 years.

[dieseldriver]

I've met a few SP's in the Ibis West Thurrock. Never a problem. Just enter my reg number on a touch pad using the visitors option. However, don't know if all Ibis hotels use the same? Outside the hotel is double yellows everywhere. Even on small roads leading to industrial units.
If you do an escort search for RM20, few having the location as Thurrock shown. Most likely in the Ibis? And when a touring SP lists Thurrock as a location on tour calendar, can recon she'll be in the Ibis

[daviemac]

Further to my above I would advocate a three dimensional descriptor rather than just in or out-call.
How about:
In call: Where the SP either lives or routinely operates other than an hotel
Outcall: the punter's own premises
Hotels and other short term premises: The rest.

Any thoughts
UP

You're trying to complicate matters, it's all very simple, incall you go to them, no matter where they are, outcall they come to you, no matter where you are.

Would it not be easier for you to ask the ones you are looking to book if they are in a hotel. 

[nemesis999]

I used to work for a motorway services operator that has some on-site hotels.  On a motorway services you'll only get 2hrs free parking (as required by law).  All the operators use the likes of Parking Eye / CP Parking to issue £100 "fines" for drivers who stay over 2hrs - unless you are a registered hotel guest - but you can only input your reg number when you check-in at the hotel.  At our sites you could pay for parking if you planned to stay over 2hrs - think it was £12 for 24hrs, so not cheap but stops any awkward letters in the post.  When you paid for the parking they input your reg number into the system to exempt you for 24hrs. 

The company website for the company I worked for had all the Site Directors mobile numbers listed on it.  When we started using whichever company it was to enforce the 2hrs, more than a few site directors of sites with hotels started to get angry phone calls [often clearly on speakerphone for the benefit of the wife] from gents denying they had been at the site for over 2hrs & insisting that the fine was wrong and needed cancelling.   

Another site director noticed that the hotel at their site was very regularly (i.e. several times a week) showing as having sold over 100% of the available rooms.  When they did some digging the reception staff said "oh yes, there is this young lady who stays several times a week - always checks-out after a few hours, so we send housekeeping in to clean the room & we re-sell it".  You couldn't make it up! 

[Fat Bob]

...Parking can be the weak link for me. Her indoors questioned me once on a pay and display ticket I’d left in the car.

Just thought I would add my input from a previous thread...
https://www.ukpunting.com/index.php?topic=240730.msg2683726#msg2683726