Aw, you're getting divorced on my birthday? I'll raise a glass* to you on the East Coast.

(*a glass of club soda, which I shall rose-tintedly call a virgin vodka tonic)

Okay, WTF? I just called a bed and breakfast in Boston to inquire about rooms. I asked for the group sales person, he said that there wasn't one. He told me the rate, and I asked for a group rate, he said that there wasn't one, since they were small. I said "well, what if I wanted to book the whole hotel, can we do anything with that rate?" he said "well, they can call individually and give their credit cards" WTF? Someone calls and says that they want to book your entire hotel, and all you can said is "they can call and give their credit cards" Do they even want business? I got the manager's name, but I'm too annoyed to call back now.

I've had that experience with B&Bs and very small hotels before -- some of them just aren't set up for group sales for whatever reason.

Oh, I get not being set up for group sales, that's not my issue. I would just think that you'd make some sort of effort for someone who wants to book the entire property. Even if you didn't do a price break.

The smart ones (B&Bs) will accommodate groups. We had my mother's 75th birthday party at one and they rented a bunch of rooms, made accommodations for people who couldn't manage steps, catered it, made a GORGEOUS birthday cake, and pretty much turned the entire first floor of the building over to us for most of a day.

eta: and we didn't even book the entire place!

I'm not sure if it was the hotel or the guy who answered the phone. I'll call the manager later.

I'd try the manager - they may have a really tight control on thing s - of course - since you seemed to an unusual situation - I probbably would have said something like - this is unusual - I should have you speak with the manager

One of the hotels in Boston has requested a description of the group before they can quote a rate (@@) anyway, this is what I came up with.

The Buffistas is a non profit organization dedicated to intelligent online discourse across a variety of subjects, including politics, popular culture, writing and literature. Once a year, we gather in order to renew old acquaintances, make new ones and continue discussion. Due to our geographic diversity, we organize our gatherings in a different region each year. Past gatherings have been held in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New Orleans, Chicago, and Washington, DC.

Boy, we sound like stuffy old curmudgeons!

The truth probably wouldn't fly so well with those guys, though.

And how is what i said not the truth?