Rant about fancy hotels

Why do Super 8's have free Wi-Fi and upscale hotels where church gatherings take place charge big $?
And while I'm on the subject, why are church gatherings at upscale hotels? WWJD?
Anon and peace
Chris

Comments

[Erik U.]

I wondered the same thing this past week...and also when feasting sumptuously at The Court of Two Sisters. Regardless, I'm grateful for your presentation, and for the work you're doing at Luther. Peace and love...

[David H]

It is an interesting dilemma, Super Eights don't have meeting space. Or stages, or 350 sleeping rooms so we can all gather in the same building. I guess that's why hotels charge what they do. Show me a discount hotel with 25,000 square feet of meeting space so we can have sessions, exhibits, workshop opportunities and networking opportunities I will be all over that "SHIFT"

[Todd Buegler]

Why does the super8 have free wi-fi and not the fancy hotels? Revenue. I like Leonard Sweet's argument that wifi/internet has become a 'utility' in our nation and just like hotels don't charge extra for heat or air conditioning, they shouldn't charge for the internet. Makes sense to me.

Why does the church do events at fancy hotels?

David is right about the space constraints. We couldn't create an event at the Super8.

But there is also another factor I think that plays in. (and please keep in mind that I can't speak on behalf of all organizations/events...just the ones I am associated with, like the Extravaganza.)

People who work in children, youth and family ministries are frequently living at the bottom of the ecclesiological food chain. They tend to be (insert broad-sweeping generalization alert here!)the lowest paid, receive the least continuing education opportunities and work the weirdest hours in the church. AS we discovered this year, when the economy or giving turn bad, it is the con.ed. funds of the youth ministry leader that is often one of the first things that get cut.

Plus, when they travel, it is usually by 15 passenger van, which they have to drive, or on a bus. They travel on long trips, with 20 hour days, sleeping on church floors for 8-14 days at a time.

So when we look for hotels, we look for:
1. Places that when they walk in, they can say 'wow.' There is a sense of being taken care of and being 'pampered.' It is a moment of appreciation. We have heard back that for some, it's the only time they feel that appreciation.

2. We look for places with nooks and crannies with couches, tables and chairs so people can sit, talk and be present with each other.

Super8's don't have either that vibe, or those kind of facilities.

We go into places like this, negotiate a rate that is usually 50-70% of what a regular rack rate would be to make it border-line affordable, and then work on keeping our other costs (materials/speakers/workshop leaders/etc...) as low as humanly possible.

It's always a good question to ask: "Do we need to do it this way?"

Thanks for asking it. Thanks for the opportunity to explain our thinking.

And again, thanks for your good work this past weekend and your good work at Luther.

Peace,
Todd.

[Chris]

I like that you all are willing to ask the question. I wonder, in part, if we could just much more plainly ask the question when we're at events like this: here we are, in a fancy hotel, following the one who 'had nowhere to lay his head'. Could we actually have worship that just directly addressed that fact, broke open the issues, gathered us around the tensions of our privilege in the midst of cries of suffering.

I know I am in the opposite spot from the youth worker whose job is the bottom of the totem pole. I know that I've got it pretty good. I think these same things when I (regularly) get bumped up to first class because I fly too much.

I so get the "we what to give them some 'wow' so they know they are loved and valued." That's right, and fits the Jesus as party maven. Oh, the wine's run out? Bring me those jugs of water over there . . .
Are there other modes we can find to do that? I wonder. Sometimes I go to (admittedly smaller) conferences at places like St. John's Abbey in Collegeville MN and I see how the 1500 year old Benedictine tradition does feast and hospitality and it is no less lovely, let me tell you, but it is also worlds away from the Sheraton.

Just some thoughts. Love the conversation.

Peace,
Chris