Chicago Hotel Solution for Missed Connections

[PVD]

Chicago weather can be unpleasant. Imagine missing your connection, and to save a few bucks you have to drag your luggage in the rain or snow from a station to the hotel. I don't think that would go over very well. Plus, the Metra schedule might not be favorable nights and weekends, as well as for the return to Union Station the next day.

 

[CCC1007]

It probably varies based on availability of hotels and number of rooms needed. Further out might be cheaper, but cab fares higher. I got the Swissotel, it was downtown & pretty nice

Why don't they just get hotels near Metra stations? I imagine they would be much less expensive than downtown. I don't think most customers would mind; I would personally rather ride the Metra than take a cab.

If they have enough people going to the same hotel they will charter a bus round trip, costing at minimum $1000 per trip!

 

[CoachSlumber]

Using stationed sleepers might be feasible if they were only dealing with sleeping car passengers, but Amtrak has to put up everybody who misses the connection. That's a lot of sleeper space, which would have to be available every day whether used at all or not.

Anyway, putting people in hotels costs Amtrak a fortune. Airlines only have to do it when a cancellation and subsequent stranding is their fault, and they can use cheaper properties around the airport rather than the downtown hotels Amtrak uses in Chicago. An unfortunate result is the very late departure time of the Lake Shore Limited--which I had to give up taking.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Even if it made financial sense, I can't envision Congress allowing Amtrak to run a "hotel" in Chicago for which, it doesn't charge customers the full going rate.

There was a time when airlines used to own and manage hotels. I don't think they do that anymore but I'm not sure what the reasoning was in either direction.

If they have enough people going to the same hotel they will charter a bus round trip, costing at minimum $1000 per trip!

Source?

 

[PVD]

you are correct, Pan Am owned Intercontinental, and American had Americana, and I know there were a few others that don't come to mind right away.

 

[CCC1007]

If they have enough people going to the same hotel they will charter a bus round trip, costing at minimum $1000 per trip!

Source?

Prior knowledge from attempting to set up a bus charter.

 

[neroden]

Railroads used to own and operate hotels. Good business. Congress probably wouldn't let Amtrak do that directly, though.

 

[railiner]

you are correct, Pan Am owned Intercontinental, and American had Americana, and I know there were a few others that don't come to mind right away.

United used to own Western International Hotels--later known as Westin....

The former PSA owned a hotel at Seventh and Market in San Francisco, that I lived in for a month in December, 1971 when my company sent me there on temporary assignment....

 

[railiner]

Railroads used to own and operate hotels. Good business. Congress probably wouldn't let Amtrak do that directly, though.

The most famous chain was the string of hotels that the AT&SF owned, and had the Fred Harvey Company operate ....

Perhaps the finest of all was the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs owned until recently by CSX....

The chain of hotels in Canada owned by the Canadian Pacific and Canadian National,, now run by Fairmont are no slouches either...

At one time the NYC, and Penn Central successor, owned several hotels in the Grand Central Terminal area, such as the Roosevelt, the Commodore, the Barclay, and the Biltmore...

 

[PVD]

I stayed at the Queen Elizabeth in Montreal when it was railroad owned. CN I believe. TWA owned the overseas (not US) Hilton properties for a while.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Railroads used to own and operate hotels. Good business. Congress probably wouldn't let Amtrak do that directly, though.

How many people, today, would even stay at a hotel where they had to share a hallway bathroom with the other guests?

 

[PVD]

In this country or in Europe?

 

[Bob Dylan]

Railroads used to own and operate hotels. Good business. Congress probably wouldn't let Amtrak do that directly, though.

How many people, today, would even stay at a hotel where they had to share a hallway bathroom with the other guests?

I do it all the time when staying @ Hostels and B.and Bs and also while riding on LD Trains!

 

[Devil's Advocate]

Railroads used to own and operate hotels. Good business. Congress probably wouldn't let Amtrak do that directly, though.

How many people, today, would even stay at a hotel where they had to share a hallway bathroom with the other guests?

I do it all the time when staying @ Hostels and B.and Bs and also while riding on LD Trains!

I don't really need en suite accommodations so long as someone is monitoring things and keeping it clean. When you're staying in a hostel or B&B does anyone go into the restroom to tidy up?

 

[jis]

I don't know what track they used, but it was Superliner equipment.

I saw two Superliner Sleepers parked on the adjacent track to the one that we arrived in, for that purpose, in Chicago Union Station, when I arrived there on the LSL a couple of days back. So yes indeed, this is happening, whether the denizens of AU like it or not.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

In this country or in Europe?

Amtrak... Chicago... I would say USA.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

Railroads used to own and operate hotels. Good business. Congress probably wouldn't let Amtrak do that directly, though.

How many people, today, would even stay at a hotel where they had to share a hallway bathroom with the other guests?

I do it all the time when staying @ Hostels and B.and Bs and also while riding on LD Trains!

Yea, you got my hint. Amtrak's "style" for its LD trains, which would then carry over into any hotels they build/operate.

BTW, I don't lump Hostels into same as Hotels.

 

[railbuck]

I'm surprised nobody has mentioned that the sofas in the new ML are hide-a-beds. h34r:

 

[hessjm]

I went through the missed connection process last night so here's an update on the accommodations. On arrival we were herded into the old metropolitan lounge where we picked up a box lunch and a sofa. While we were eating they sorted out where everyone was to go. It appears the coach passengers go to the sleepers in the station and sleeper folks were sent to customer service for our hotel and cab vouchers.

 

[Eric S]

I went through the missed connection process last night so here's an update on the accommodations. On arrival we were herded into the old metropolitan lounge where we picked up a box lunch and a sofa. While we were eating they sorted out where everyone was to go. It appears the coach passengers go to the sleepers in the station and sleeper folks were sent to customer service for our hotel and cab vouchers.

Completely unrelated, but out of curiosity - have any changes been made to the old Metropolitan Lounge?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

I went through the missed connection process last night so here's an update on the accommodations. On arrival we were herded into the old metropolitan lounge where we picked up a box lunch and a sofa. While we were eating they sorted out where everyone was to go. It appears the coach passengers go to the sleepers in the station and sleeper folks were sent to customer service for our hotel and cab vouchers.

Completely unrelated, but out of curiosity - have any changes been made to the old Metropolitan Lounge?

Just some light remodeling last I heard.

 

[Hotblack Desiato]

On arrival we were herded into the old metropolitan lounge where we picked up a box lunch and a sofa.

I'm curious to know how Amtrak decided it was a good idea to hand out furniture to delayed passengers.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

On arrival we were herded into the old metropolitan lounge where we picked up a box lunch and a sofa.

I'm curious to know how Amtrak decided it was a good idea to hand out furniture to delayed passengers.

What better way to get rid of the old furniture so they can start remodeling the old lounge.

 

[brianpmcdonnell17]

I went through the missed connection process last night so here's an update on the accommodations. On arrival we were herded into the old metropolitan lounge where we picked up a box lunch and a sofa. While we were eating they sorted out where everyone was to go. It appears the coach passengers go to the sleepers in the station and sleeper folks were sent to customer service for our hotel and cab vouchers.

I think that is a smart way of doing things. It gives coach passengers a chance to experience sleeper cars and gives sleeper car passengers what most people would consider a nicer room at a hotel (although I would personally rather be in a sleeper at the station, I realize that this is not the case for most people).

 

[chakk]

On arrival we were herded into the old metropolitan lounge where we picked up a box lunch and a sofa.

I'm curious to know how Amtrak decided it was a good idea to hand out furniture to delayed passengers.

What better way to get rid of the old furniture so they can start remodeling the old lounge.

Or maybe each passenger drags the their sofa to one of Amtrak's 50+ year old baggage cars parked on a station track for a night's slumber