BFD

Accordingly to the hotel chain I’m staying in, I am a BFD. This is the first time I’m staying with them but I stayed in two different locations this trip for a total of 8 days. 

The first night, no biggie, other then they changed my reservation for me so that my breakfast would be free. 

The second night I was at a different location and they upgraded me to an executive room. Pretty sweet and unexpected, but then again, there weren’t very many people in the hotel so maybe it was just a policy to upgrade if it’s available. 

Last night, I was back at the first hotel, and again they upgraded me, but this time to an executive suite. It was literally larger than my apartment. It had two sofas. It had a desk larger than my office in NYC. The balcony had seating for four. They also gave me a coupon for a free BOTTLE of wine with dinner. Not a glass, a bottle. My “welcome packet” had a personalized letter and a survey where I was asked if there are any rituals I have at home that the hotel might be able to replicate to make my stay more comfortable. “Yes, I like to sleep in a bed for free”. It made me really wish that I had friends in Kampala so I could invite them over to hang out in my giant room and help me drink a bottle of wine.

So all this special attention got me thinking about what between my first and second night got me (erroneously) flagged for VIP treatment? Here’s my list:

-paid with a business AmEx?

-had lots of stamps in my passport?

-good tipping?

-nice luggage? (I LOVE MY EAGLE CREEK BAGS!)

-low probability that I would have a prostitute sex party in their big room?

They did ask me for my business card “to facilitate check in”. So maybe they were sneaky, looked up my company, and decided we are high rollers. Apparently they skipped over that whole “nonprofit” part.

Anyway, it’s cool. I like being treated wonderfully for no reason. It’ll make my upcoming vacation to India more exciting when we stay in 16 person hostel rooms and eat street food J