I woke up this morning to a notice that my short term rental house in Palm Springs had just been booked again. Normally this would make me very happy. But this booking came through VRBO. Maybe you've heard of them.
I hope I never hear from them again.
They are to the hospitality business what big dumb holding companies are to the advertising industry. There is no humanity there, which is odd in itself considering their business, perhaps more than most, has a direct effect on humans.
Ever stayed at a shitty, dumpy, dirty motel? Like a Red Roof Inn? You know the first thing you want to do is leave. Or, at the very least speak directly to the manager at the Red Roof Inn, Buford.
"Why is there a dead cat in the bathtub?"
VRBO doesn't have people. They have AI. Sound familiar?
And they have used their algorithmic monster to "optimize" their booking process. About a year ago, they instituted an Instant Booking system™. In their rush to streamline the system and collect revenues as quickly as possible, they let potential guests just claim their dates of arrival. Never bothering to inform the rental house Owner/Manager that these travelers would be showing up at their door, in essence unannounced.
That's not how this is supposed to work.
I've invested a lot of time, money and effort into the property, now with own Cornhole court and barely touched firepit...
I'm not about to let any schmuck off the street lay their head down on my also-new 1000 thread count sheets and pillows. I need to do some vetting. Read some guest reviews from other hosts. And weed out any ne'erdowells who might want trash my place and nick my solar outdoor lamps or, god-forbid, my long handled BBQ-ware.
Ain't gonna happen.
And VRBO, know what else isn't going to happen? I'm not paying any "cancellation fee."
One other thing before I take my blood pressure medicine. And I'm going to tread lightly here before any extreme left winger jumps down my throat, when and if I ever get through to a live human being it would be ideal if that human being could speak the same language as this human being. Maybe the surge of adrenalin has thwarted my eardrums, but I swear the people that are intermitently manning your phones are from a place not even listed on the UN Charter of Members.
They're less helpful than the AI Chatbot.
Speaking of AI and occasionally screaming at AI, here are all the attempts it took for me to manufacture the somewhat clever logo you see at the top:
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