[ASK1945]

So far the memories have been from the male members of this Forum.

However, there are several female contributors. Perhaps we can hear from some of them – especially with less salacious stories than we have been guilty of recounting?

[LuganoPirate]

These tales remind me of my very first business trip for a company I then worked for in the mid 70’s. I was in my early 20’s, first proper job, and had to go to the west country for an early morning meeting. Can no longer remember where. As I checked into the Trust House Forte around 10pm the night receptionist asked all the usual questions, breakfast in the room, newspaper, wake up call then, a lady for the night. I said excuse me? He pointed over to a small group of ladies and said take your pick, and we’ll put it on your bill as room service so you can claim it on expenses! Of course at that young age I was sorely tempted but managed to resist and went to my room alone!!

[canucklad]

[quote quote=998411]He pointed over to a small group of ladies and said take your pick, and we’ll put it on your bill as room service so you can claim it on expenses![/quote]

Talk about extras with your meal !! God know’s what your tray charge would have been, never mind having to worry about if your order arrive luke warm f

Different scenario, but it reminds me of my mate checking him & my other big pal (now sadly no longer with us) out of a hotel in Newcastle after a Stag weekend.

Peter questioned why the bill was higher than the advertised rate —–” Oh you’ve got a communication charge from last night on your bill”
Whats that ? he asks …. ” you know sir, an in room movie ” ——Penny drops and then ……in the direction of the car park …..
OI – Big Man, get your arse in here —- “ehmmm, Ehmmm, eh I was trying to get the Teddy Bears ( Glasgow Rangers ) on the Telly , and ahhh ehmm –you know”

Quick as a flash, another mate loudly shouted out— ” So you went looking for 11 f*****s and ended up just watching the one ? ”

[esselle]

At the “old” DMK, there was a hotel (Amari?) with a nice exec lounge on the top floor. I was staying there with a colleague, and we had been informed that a request for a “special” was code for overnight company.

We went up to the lounge for a cognac and a cigar, and a very young and timid young waitress asked if we would like anything else.

Without thinking, my colleague said he would like an “espresso”. She looked a bit shocked. I then said I would like a “double espresso”. The blood drained from her face, and she disappeared quickly, not to be seen again.

We concluded that, taking accents into account, it would be very easy to mix up “Special” with “Espresso”.

[capetonianm]

So far the memories have been from the male members of this Forum

I think given the turn this thread has taken I would have said ‘male contributors’ rather than ‘male members’.

When I was staying in a hotel in Bucharest the night manager when I got back used to ask me if I wanted anything sent to my room. It took me a couple of days before I realised that he didn’t mean tea or Milo!

[n166]

Great to hear your experiences guys – funny how a work trip for a few days can leave great long lasting memories!

The reason I started this thread is because I’m in the process of building JoinUs – an app that connects business travellers with other business travellers in the same city, so you’ve got great options if you fancy getting out of the hotel in the evening. Whether it’s dinner, a chilled out drink or two, exploring the city or experiencing the local nightlife, my objective is to help business travellers make new connections and build their network, but most importantly, have a great time.

I am in the process of obtaining feedback to help me proceed – honest feedback would be much appreciated! I am also conducting short interviews to obtain more detailed feedback, so if anyone is interested in participating, please feel free to drop me a message

[capetonianm]

I think it’s a good idea, and I wish you luck with it, for those who are more sociable than myself and might be inclined to us it, but, although I don’t use social media at all, I would suspect that there may already be similar apps out there, and that (i.a.) Facebook, LinkedIn, and so on might offer the same possibility.

[n166]

thank you, appreciate it! there are social media apps out there, but let’s say I’m travelling to Boston for work – I don’t have any friends/contacts there, so Facebook, LinkedIn etc is not really a great option for that. I could use a dating app, but maybe I’m not looking for a date haha

JoinUs would therefore enable me to see if there are travellers outside of my social network in Boston and let me reach out to them to see if they are free for a drink etc

[Cedric_Statherby]

@n166

I agree, could be very useful. But it would need strong filters so one could set boundaries on (a) who saw you were there and (b) what type of person one saw. I am late middle aged, socially conservative, and with limited interest in much of modern culture and no interest at all (despite the subject matter of the bulk of this thread!) in amorous liaisons away from home. But I like gentle discussion and can afford good food and wine. So JoinUs would need to enable me to specify that sort of profile, to avoid me being offered people half my age with very different budgets, interests and expectations.

if you can do that, sounds like you might have a winner.

[capetonianm]

I am late middle aged, socially conservative, and with limited interest in much of modern culture and no interest at all (despite the subject matter of the bulk of this thread!) in amorous liaisons away from home. But I like gentle discussion and can afford good food and wine.

You sound very much like me, same aims and interests. I wonder how many more people out there are the same? Maybe n166 is onto a winning idea if he can indeed get those filters right.

I no longer travel on business but had I been doing so, an app that would enable me to meet likeminded people is certainly something I’d have used.

[n166]

[postquote quote=998450][/postquote]

that is a very good point for sure – having anyone being able to see where you are would bring a lot of red flags, and would reduce the quality of the matches available to you. similar to a dating app (not sure if you’ve used one of those before!), there would be certain filters, such as:
– age
– what you’re looking for (networking, couple of drinks, dinner, city exploring, nightclub etc)
– budget per person (<$20, <$50, <$100 etc)

also, i feel like it needs to be a self regulating environment. if i meet up with someone and, for example, I don’t feel safe around them etc, a review system would be put in place. so afterwards, you can essentially provide quick feedback so that other users know what they are in for when meeting the same person!

[GivingupBA]

capetonianm said, “…..when I got back used to ask me if I wanted anything sent to my room. It took me a couple of days before I realised that he didn’t mean tea or Milo!”

Funny – made me laugh. You may have been as naive and innocent as me. During my first trip to Bangkok (single, age 30, alone. I’m male), a beautiful well-dressed young Thai woman accosted me in the street and said (quote), “Would you like to come back to my flat?” My first thought, believe it or not, was “Oooh people are really nice in Thailand, that’s nice”. There was a horrible long moment while she stood in front of me waiting. Then it suddenly clicked… I mumbled “Errr I’m waiting for my wife” (a black lie, of course) and ran for it without looking back.

1 user thanked author for this post.

ASK1945

[capetonianm]

Reminds me of the lovely scene in a film (I’ve forgotten which) where a naive male character who plays a country simpleton is accosted in the street in NYC by a prostitute. They go upstairs and do the deed, and when done, she says to him : “That will be $50.”
He held out his hand and says : “That’s wonderful, not only do you give me a lovely time but you give me money as well!”

[Inquisitive]

[postquote quote=998449][/postquote]

Boston was mentioned, hence my 2 cents again.

If you want to talk to someone in a bar, you will find a lot of Single people in most hotel bar in USA.

I cannot make easy conversation with strangers, but once or twice I tried, I found Americans in general are very good to talk to a stranger in a bar.
If you find a common interest quickly (and that is the difficult part for me as I have little interest in American Football, baseball or basketball), you can spent Long time in conversations.

Also Bartenders are very good talker anywhere in the world.

One does not really need an apps to spent some time in conversation with someone in a bar (without spending additional money).
If one is willing to spend money, there are so many “possibilities” as many forum members “suggested” and one definitely doesn’t need a new apps for that.

[LuganoPirate]

Many years ago in the 80’s my business tok me to Douala in the Cameroons. I stayed at the Akwa Palace Hotel which was owned by one of my clients, the late Andre Sohaing. Many a memorable time was had there including a birthday dinner for my client prepared by the chef Paul Bocuse who then sat with us for the dessert.

I found out many business people, especially the ladies, would eat in their room, rather than sit alone in the restaurant, so I suggested to Andre he create a business table for dinner. Meet at 7.30 for a glass of champagne offered by the hotel, and then dinner, either a set menu or a la carte. This way people would spend more on food and wine than eating by themselves in the room, be profitable for the hotel and give company to all the lonely travellers. It was very successful with a few business deals being concluded as a result. Guests would be informed on checking in. I was there every month for 3 – 4 days for 5 years and I wonder if it still exists today?

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