CREW ACCOMMODATIONS
Jody Compton - Chairperson
 Crew
Accommodations Committee Updates
(also see current E-Lines for Hotel
Alerts)
Crew Accommodations Update January 2008
This newsletter serves as my official
introduction. I am your newly elected AFA Crew Accommodations chairperson. My
name is Jody Compton. I have been a F/A since 1981 and have been the PIT Hotel
Rep. since 2003 but, will be based in CLT effective 2/2008. It is a privilege to
work for you. I fly high time and will soon be a commuter so, I too spend a
great deal of time in these hotels.
Just as a bit of background, when a hotel's contract is due to expire, the
company sends out a request for purchase to area hotels. Any hotels who are
interested in our business at the rate this company is willing to pay put
in a bid. An AFA rep., an ALPA rep. and a company rep. then visit all
hotels who bid. Sometimes the incumbent hotel is included, sometimes not,
depending on our history and theirs. After the site inspections, AFA & ALPA make
recommendations based on what we have seen. I will always notify the membership
if the company chooses a hotel that was not recommended by AFA. However, please
keep in mind: we are only seeing hotels who have bid at the rate this
company is willing to pay. This certainly tends to narrow our choices.
Sometimes we end up with great, quality hotels (BWI short), sometimes, not so
much………
Which brings me to PHX long. We currently use 2 hotels in this market. The one
everyone loves can only house 20 crewmembers per night so, most of us get stuck
at the other. We continue to receive complaints about this property but, I have
been advised by the company that only Flight Attendants are complaining. They
claim to receive no pilot complaints and management stays there frequently and
loves the place. I'm not drinking this particular Kool-Aid so, please keep your
OF-310's coming in.
Which brings me to OF-310 etiquette. I don't stay at every hotel every week so
the OF-310 is a valuable tool to advise us of a hotel or transportation problem.
Please keep in mind we are professionals. I know the level of frustration we
feel when we don't get the rest we deserve and are contractually guaranteed. I
know that, by the time you actually write the problem up, you are probably at
your wits end and that, for every complaint we receive, there are probably 50
who didn't bother writing. However, it's impact is negated if you use vulgarity
or disparage the company in the process. For example, if you write: "I stayed in
room 204, there were cigarette burns in the carpet and the towels look used", or
"we called the van at 22:30, it didn't arrive until 23:11", we can forward that
right to the hotel and get immediate answers. If you write "this place is a s&*#
hole where I wouldn't put my dog" or "this company sucks - why can't we stay at
a decent place for a change?" your OF-310 will probably be ignored. If you want
to vent, e-mail me. I'm probably in total agreement with you but the OF-310 is
not the forum for opinion. Just the facts ma'am (or sir). Conversely, if you
stay at a hotel that you absolutely loved, please shoot an OF-310 about that
too. It's nice to be acknowledged for doing something right.
Now to the real business: Site inspections were held in December in LAX long,
PHL long & short, EWR long & short and TPA long and short.. Because the AFA
website is not a secure site, I cannot refer to the actual properties by name. I
will go into detail about each site and the information will be posted on the
AFA boards located in each domicile.
Anticipated upcoming site inspections:
LHR (Heathrow)
ARN
FRA
MSP
RDU
CLT (short)
ORD (long)
Thank you all for your warm welcomes. I look
forward to hearing from you. Stay tuned for next month's newsletter "All about
Bed Bugs"!
Jody Compton - MEC Crew Accommodations Chair
JCompton@afausairways.org
Your  LEC
Committee Members:
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