2016 Shootout Hotel Information

got us set up...

called and the guy was nice to work with. He got our rooms set up and was nice to work with.. So now everyone else get your rooms ready for the shoot out....Rich
 
FYI, I called to reserve a room today, and was told they only take reservations M-F before 2 pm. Weird.
 
Anyone else notice that hotels.com has room prices there for $59-$79? Is there anything special about reserving the room through the hotel under the shootout group?
 
Please hold off on booking. Let me speak with the hotel today and see what's up. Our banquet facility rental relies on the number of people that book under our group. So we need to resolve this. . .
 
Anyone else notice that hotels.com has room prices there for $59-$79? Is there anything special about reserving the room through the hotel under the shootout group?

Those sites are showing that they are sold out for that weekend. Maybe it's because of the rooms they have reserved for us?
 
Tanya just called and was told to call back next week because their computers were down. Next week? I doubt a hotel could go all week without making reservations.

She then tried to book online and the site said it was all sold out.
 
Tanya just called and was told to call back next week because their computers were down. Next week? I doubt a hotel could go all week without making reservations.

She then tried to book online and the site said it was all sold out.

Wonder what would happen if you called the nationwide 800 reservation number?
 
I think it's time we pick a real hotel. I spend 3 to 4 nights a week in a hotel for 40+ wks of the year. I never have the reservation confusion we have every year at the shootout. And I'm using corporate rates and group codes all the time... Has anyone been to this hotel, in person, recently?
 
I think it's time we pick a real hotel. I spend 3 to 4 nights a week in a hotel for 40+ wks of the year. I never have the reservation confusion we have every year at the shootout. And I'm using corporate rates and group codes all the time... Has anyone been to this hotel, in person, recently?

I actually raised this issue in the past, several times. I also brought it up in the context of the whole package of hotel and food and I will say that the discussion that ensured revolved solely around the fact that we had so many younger car owners that we were hoping to increase attendance by keeping costs down.

I would argue now, as I did then, that this is an annual event and it isn't that difficult to put away $10 bucks a week for the year and have more than enough money to sleep well and eat good. I won't even bring up the subject of buying parts all year long but not being able to afford the hotel room.

Anyway, this probably isn't the place for this discussion. I don't want to change the subject so I am sorry I even added my comment. Priority #1 right now is to figure out why we can't all get reservations, which by the way, I too still haven't been able to get.
 
Here's the deal - hotel had a fire a few days ago. We just found out. This is why the price dropped (Because they can't provide certain services, etc.) The rooms are okay we're told, but the banquet center is not.

As this all came to a head today, we're still trying to figure out what the best plan of action is. The hotel will give us the lower rate, but they can't guarantee the banquet facility will be back together. Which means we A) have to cater it ourselves outside under a tent, B) find another facility that caters or C) move the catering (And possibly rooms) to another hotel.

Here's the deal on finding a hotel in the first place. First up, we have a month and a half (This time around.) Most places with a banquet hall are now booked.

Second, we have a lot of "requirements" for a hotel. Since most people want the car show, dyno and banquet at the hotel, we try to meet those requirements. Further, hotels in the past don't always want us back after they see us take over their entire parking lot (Leaving little to no room for other guests) and after we complain to them. The hotel last year told us they had to comp a Shootout member their room for the entire weekend because they complained the heater in the hot tub wasn't working and they made a big deal. I'm not going to bat for the hotel last year, but really? Way to get a hotel to want us back.

So our options get more and more limited each year. This is also why we looked at Ohio (And other locations.) But the majority wanted it to stay in Kentucky. We're more than happy to look at new hotels each year, but it has to check all of the boxes to keep most members happy. Beyond that, we don't want to get too far from the track.

If anyone (Especially from the area) knows of another hotel close to the track that will check all these boxes (Even if it means the hotel price goes up a little), let's hear it and I'll personally call and check things out.
 
Here's the deal - hotel had a fire a few days ago. We just found out. This is why the price dropped (Because they can't provide certain services, etc.) The rooms are okay we're told, but the banquet center is not.

As this all came to a head today, we're still trying to figure out what the best plan of action is. The hotel will give us the lower rate, but they can't guarantee the banquet facility will be back together. Which means we A) have to cater it ourselves outside under a tent, B) find another facility that caters or C) move the catering (And possibly rooms) to another hotel.

Here's the deal on finding a hotel in the first place. First up, we have a month and a half (This time around.) Most places with a banquet hall are now booked.

Second, we have a lot of "requirements" for a hotel. Since most people want the car show, dyno and banquet at the hotel, we try to meet those requirements. Further, hotels in the past don't always want us back after they see us take over their entire parking lot (Leaving little to no room for other guests) and after we complain to them. The hotel last year told us they had to comp a Shootout member their room for the entire weekend because they complained the heater in the hot tub wasn't working and they made a big deal. I'm not going to bat for the hotel last year, but really? Way to get a hotel to want us back.

So our options get more and more limited each year. This is also why we looked at Ohio (And other locations.) But the majority wanted it to stay in Kentucky. We're more than happy to look at new hotels each year, but it has to check all of the boxes to keep most members happy. Beyond that, we don't want to get too far from the track.

If anyone (Especially from the area) knows of another hotel close to the track that will check all these boxes (Even if it means the hotel price goes up a little), let's hear it and I'll personally call and check things out.


Im not sure my opinion is worth much, but here is my two cents... I found a couple of news clips online about the fire... .. I suspect this hotel is going to struggle to recover from the fire even though it didnt look that bad on the video. I hope this doesnt come across as snobby, but since this place doesnt look any nicer to me than the place we stayed last year (solely based on physical appearance in the fire videos), i doubt they are going to have the resources to completely clean everything up and get rid of the smoke smell. Id be in favor of finding another spot or even returning to last year's spot over staying in a place that smells bad (not saying it will, just my suspicion). As for meeting all the requirements in one spot, id be ok with splitting up/moving some of the events as necessary to make it all happen. I'll go along with whatever you guys decide.

If the banquet hall is a problem, maybe we could rent a large tent instead and have it set up on the hotel grounds (sort of like the small one last year?) Or that might be too expensive.

Thanks,
Derek
 
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This is not good. If the catering facility was destroyed and it is part of the main building then the entire place is going to smell like it. Ask anyone with any firefighting experience, or someone who has experienced a fire firsthand; that smell is not going away in a couple of weeks.

But finding a place to meet our specs on six weeks notice is not an easy task. We have to recognize that. I should think that at the very least the Ramada should be recommending other facilities to help us relocate. We should be treated like any other corporate account that is booking numerous rooms for a conference and this is a courtesy they should extend.

But fixing this is not going to be an easy task. And with everything that can and will go wrong here, it sounds to me is that they don't seem to be taking new reservations. So was the computer system messed up by the fire as well? Are our current reservations still in the system? How do people who haven't made a reservation get one? Will they honor any reservations that were made through an outside source? Too much to think about I'm afraid.

This is a mess folks and I wish I had an answer. Moving is obviously the first choice, but I suspect if the hotel isn't willing to work with us to do that we are definitely flying blind here. Pat, I wish I could help but there isn't much I can do that you aren't already doing I'm sure. Just try not to kill anybody as you wrangle your way through this. Or at least bury the body deep!!
 
So far the hotel is doing everything they can to help us. But they also can't make rooms appear either, especially if we're looking for a place with a lot of parking. We'll make it work, just going to take some time.

I have a feeling the "computer is down" is the excuse given. Maybe they are down. Maybe not. They probably aren't actively taking reservations until they figure things out a bit.

We'll keep everyone up-to-date, but for now, sit tight.
 
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