Stay to Play

[brownsfan]

Higdon and O'Donnell could put a $3000 price tag on their events and teams would line up to play on the right fields there. Until you consistently produce that level of quality,

This takes time to get to that point. First you need the teams from an a org to compete. Not just one or two, but all. Then need to go to those tournaments and have a strong showing. Then you need to build relationships with orgs that are also competing at the same level. Once that's established, relationships need to built with colleges. But it's still not done. Next is to try and find a venue that can hold a tournament to the level of expectation that you've just experienced in other host's tournaments. These take time to build. In four years, Ohio is starting to see more of the prestige level teams visiting our state.

7 years ago, to get the best exposure-you must leave the state. Today, this is not as necessary. What will happen 5 years from now? I'm excited of the future of what's going on now based off history. I won't have a dd, but I will enjoy helping young ladies go after their dreams. If STP is here to stay, my parents can hate me. But, I will ask for a consensus on what hotel to use.

 

[lewam3]

The problem with not playing in the tournament is that those are tournaments that teams want to play. There is no freedom in not being able to choose where your team would like to stay if you go to such a tournament.

Strohbro, that's exactly my point. Teams WANT to play in these tournaments, thus the TD dictate the policy and rules, they have you by the proverbial balls. Trust me, I am not a fan of the choices that STP has forced me to live in in the past. The ONLY time STP worked in my favor was in Denver where the team stayed at the Hyatt Regency for next to nothing. But pretty much all of the other times...well... Hitter23 can fill you in on my thoughts about the Choice hotels in Atlanta, New Jersey, etc. lol.

 

[KillingMeSmalls]

If the tournament committee is truly "negotiating" these better rates for the teams, why is it mandatory to stay? Give us a list of the hotels, negotiated rates, and a promo code. If the rates are attractive enough and the hotels are of quality, teams will stay. The tournament would still make their hotel money every time a room is booked under the promo code. This would leave the option to those families who choose to camp, stay with relatives, use their reward nights, commute, etc. When choices or other options are not available to the teams or families, it makes the tournament look greedy.

 

[lewam3]

If the tournament committee is truly "negotiating" these better rates for the teams, why is it mandatory to stay? Give us a list of the hotels, negotiated rates, and a promo code. If the rates are attractive enough and the hotels are of quality, teams will stay. The tournament would still make their hotel money every time a room is booked under the promo code. This would leave the option to those families who choose to camp, stay with relatives, use their reward nights, commute, etc. The fact a choice is not offered makes the tournament look greedy.

Now THATS a great idea.

 

[freddieball]

RV and travel trailors are the best way to go and no one can punish you for that. I have done the RV thing for 11 years now. Creates great team bonding and a place to relax for all players and parents.

Static_97_North. That is the problem with having a RV and playing in a STP. Your forced to pay for the hotel whether you actually stay there or not. You must have at a minimum of 8 room paid for at one of their listed hotels.

 

[GeneralsDad]

Brownsfan, everything you said is true. The only problem, it's completely irrelevant. The point I made was the level of quality needs to be there first. I am not asking how to build a tournament. Would you pay full market retail for a handy man special? This is the point I am trying to make. Until the quality is equal to the big dogs, don't bark like the big dogs.

 

[SoCal_Dad]

If the tournament committee is truly "negotiating" these better rates for the teams, why is it mandatory to stay? Give us a list of the hotels, negotiated rates, and a promo code. If the rates are attractive enough and the hotels are of quality, teams will stay. The tournament would still make their hotel money every time a room is booked under the promo code. This would leave the option to those families who choose to camp, stay with relatives, use their reward nights, commute, etc. When choices or other options are not available to the teams or families, it makes the tournament look greedy.

I think that's how lodging programs started out - tourneys negotiated special rates that would benefit both teams and themselves. There are other factors behind the evolution to mandatory STP.

- If an event is successful and grows over the years, hotels learn after a while they don't need to offer special rates to get the event's business. In fact, they'll raise rates if occupancy is high enough.

- The advent of companies running the lodging policy increases STP policies and their rates.

STP is just another factor besides gate fees, parking fees and bans of outside food/beverages that teams need to research and consider when selecting their events. Some people suggested TDs increase their entry fee instead, however many people are turned off by higher entry fees without looking at what's included. I recall the blowback Hawks got when they did that with gate fees for Dayton Metro. It's similar to how airlines added extra fees so they could list the lowest possible fare.

 

[tjsmize3]

I would be interested to see if there is public tax information somewhere. I wander if Dan Hay is still the CEO. It looks like in 2012 PGF used to make you purchase a banner and buy the softballs from them.

On a side note last summer at Indy we had to stay at a STP place and my 9yr old daughter had her foot sliced open from a broken clear beer bottle by the pool. The staff said "we are sorry we thought it was all cleaned up". Her foot would not stop bleeding for hours it looked like someone was murdered. Just when we thought it was stopped it would break open and continue to bleed. Never heard a word from the management or anyone. We would not have stayed here if it wasn't stp because I found cheaper hotels closer to the fields. Here was the hotel.

STAYBRIDGE SUITES INDIANAPOLIS-FISHERS
9780 Crosspoint Blvd
Indianapolis, Indiana 46256 United States

I don't mean to take away from the fun of suggesting that ALL TDs using STP are money grubbing anti-capitalist communist pigs.... BUT!!!!... Are you kidding me? By your own admission you watched a child with a laceration hemorrhage poolside for "hours" like she was "murdered." And somehow you think STP is partially responsible because you weren't at the cheaper hotel you could have booked???... where, btw, it's equally as probable that STP saved this girl's life because she could have been attacked at that hotel by a pack of rabid dogs... we'll never know for sure. Instead of worrying about how the hotel staff reacted to a severely hemorrhaging child, try getting her to a hospital next time for proper medical care!

Riley Hospital for Children
705 Riley Hospital Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46202
(317) 944-5000

 

[CARDS]

Ladies Fastpitch has underwent huge changes since we first got into it back in 2000. The sport has grown and the level of play has improved leaps and bounds. As the game evolves so does the other aspects of the game including the "business of sport".

This includes STP, Specific Insurance policies, larger gate fees, larger tournament fees, shorter game times, fewer games, games drugout all day to play 2/3 games, no tailgating, etc. I can see down the road it will be like mens where the teams have to supply their own balls.
My wife use to say the Wal-Mart mentality was taking over the game with events becoming bigger (not necessarily better) and choking out the smaller events that had good competition and good value. Again the consumer/teams drive this...

Our first experience with STP was when we entered some of the higher profile college showcase events in Atlanta, Nashville and Chicago. These events required teams to show reservation numbers or pay an additional fee upwards to $300.
The hotels reserved for the teams were nothing special, no additional amities some did not even offer a breakfast bar. Defiantly a money grab...Unfortunately; even the smaller or lesser known events are jumping on the fleece the teams bandwagon with many tournaments marketing themselves as a college showcase in order to try to draw teams in.
In most cases a player can get more exposure with just doing a $100 camp.

 

[freddieball]

I don't mean to take away from the fun of suggesting that ALL TDs using STP are money grubbing anti-capitalist communist pigs.... BUT!!!!... Are you kidding me? By your own admission you watched a child with a laceration hemorrhage poolside for "hours" like she was "murdered." And somehow you think STP is partially responsible because you weren't at the cheaper hotel you could have booked???... where, btw, it's equally as probable that STP saved this girl's life because she could have been attacked at that hotel by a pack of rabid dogs... we'll never know for sure. Instead of worrying about how the hotel staff reacted to a severely hemorrhaging child, try getting her to a hospital next time for proper medical care!

Riley Hospital for Children
705 Riley Hospital Dr, Indianapolis, IN 46202
(317) 944-5000

Boy you blew that one out of the water. She had proper medical care, we took her to an urgent care. It looked like a murder because the floor was wet, mixed with blood, the towels were red from water blood mixture. We had to fill out a incident report was told someone from the hotel would be contacting us. It bled for hours because it was in a bad spot. It did not need any stiches, her foot was wrinkled from being in water so long and the urgent care glued it which would not hold. They told us to keep putting pressure on it until it clotted. You missed my whole point. I found better hotel, closer and was $25 cheaper per night. We had stayed there the night before we had to switch hotels to the stp hotel. It was quiet, no drunks outside by the pool. We would have stayed there for the duration but was not allowed.

 

[TheSoftballZone]

Stay to Play is nothing more then a way to increase Tournament Director, Organizations and Sanctioning Body revenue ($$$$$$). We put on one of biggest tournaments in the state for years and had the opportunity to make a extra $5.00 - $7.50 per room per night. By doing so the Motel would increase the rates by $20.00 a night.

We didn't do it because it would have increase every family cost by $40.00 for the weekend and we filled up ever room in town and out of town within a 30 min drive
from Zanesville, Ohio. With 300 rooms available we was offer a package deal that would covered 240 rooms. We could have increase are revenue by $3600 dollars but the cost to the family's would have been over $9,500 dollars.

It's just wasn't right or ethical in my Book so we never done it. In most cases Tournament Director, Organizations and Sanctioning Body already have deals with locate Motels & Hotels inplace just because they can fill the rooms up. And in most cases all your big events or events that have Family's travel a distances to attend already have deals made, they just don't do it under (STP).

They don't need to push (STP) because they already are getting kick backs from the Motels & Hotels

It's good marketing by Motels & Hotels but the cost gets past on to the Family's attending said events and just increase the $$$$$$ for (TD'S) pocket.

Unfortunately bottom line it's all about being Greedy and trying to extract as much money out of your pocket into their pockets.

Wow, did I really say that? Yes Family's wake up and smile the rose's.

 

[KillingMeSmalls]

Stay to Play is nothing more then a way to increase Tournament Director, Organizations and Sanctioning Body revenue ($$$$$$). We put on one of biggest tournaments in the state for years and had the opportunity to make a extra $5.00 - $7.50 per room per night. By doing so the Motel would increase the rates by $20.00 a night.

We didn't do it because it would have increase every family cost by $40.00 for the weekend and we filled up ever room in town and out of town within a 30 min drive
from Zanesville, Ohio. With 300 rooms available we was offer a package deal that would covered 240 rooms. We could have increase are revenue by $3600 dollars but the cost to the family's would have been over $9,500 dollars.

It's just wasn't right or ethical in my Book so we never done it. In most cases Tournament Director, Organizations and Sanctioning Body already have deals with locate Motels & Hotels inplace just because they can fill the rooms up. And in most cases all your big events or events that have Family's travel a distances to attend already have deals made, they just don't do it under (STP).

They don't need to push (STP) because they already are getting kick backs from the Motels & Hotels

It's good marketing by Motels & Hotels but the cost gets past on to the Family's attending said events and just increase the $$$$$$ for (TD'S) pocket.

Unfortunately bottom line it's all about being Greedy and trying to extract as much money out of your pocket into their pockets.

Wow, did I really say that? Yes Family's wake up and smile the rose's.

Great post; thanks for looking out for the families and such a great explanation. Shame on the TD's who have the same option but instead choose to go for the cash grab and force STP on the teams.

 

[Captain_Thunder]

Stay to Play is nothing more then a way to increase Tournament Director, Organizations and Sanctioning Body revenue ($$$$$$). We put on one of biggest tournaments in the state for years and had the opportunity to make a extra $5.00 - $7.50 per room per night. By doing so the Motel would increase the rates by $20.00 a night.

We didn't do it because it would have increase every family cost by $40.00 for the weekend and we filled up ever room in town and out of town within a 30 min drive
from Zanesville, Ohio. With 300 rooms available we was offer a package deal that would covered 240 rooms. We could have increase are revenue by $3600 dollars but the cost to the family's would have been over $9,500 dollars.

It's just wasn't right or ethical in my Book so we never done it. In most cases Tournament Director, Organizations and Sanctioning Body already have deals with locate Motels & Hotels inplace just because they can fill the rooms up. And in most cases all your big events or events that have Family's travel a distances to attend already have deals made, they just don't do it under (STP).

They don't need to push (STP) because they already are getting kick backs from the Motels & Hotels

It's good marketing by Motels & Hotels but the cost gets past on to the Family's attending said events and just increase the $$$$$$ for (TD'S) pocket.

Unfortunately bottom line it's all about being Greedy and trying to extract as much money out of your pocket into their pockets.

Wow, did I really say that? Yes Family's wake up and smile the rose's.

But I wonder..........
Just like on a holiday or a weekend - hotels rates vary by the day.......
So once every hotel knows you are having a tournament every year at the same time & all the hotels are gonna sell out - They are gonna all increase their rates for that time!!!
So you should try to get a piece of the pie - but you have to have a backup plan to get that to work.....like "I will take this event elsewhere" - otherwise they will just pass the cost off on parents.

 

[Pacerdad57]

Jim,

It's all good to be unhappy about it. When we go to out-of-state, I don't want to do it; so I get what you're saying. But I'm not going start saying the TD is fleecing the parents, it's an overcharge, accuse of using words that was said out of context and throw it back in their face. I wasn't going to say anything until that post came up. People have a right to voice frustrations. But it's like medication that tlls you that if you take this heart medicine you won't have a hard attack....However, don't get cut because you could bleed to death.

By hard attack I assume you're referring to some little blue pills...
Meaning you probably want the nicer hotel room.........

 

[freddieball]

Let me know where your staying so I can provide the mandatory valet parking service. Also for a small additional fee you can even use the main lobby doors.

 

[brownsfan]

By hard attack I assume you're referring to some little blue pills...

It just so happen the commercial for the chance of heart disease (something like that) was going on at that time...lol. I die laughing when I hear the prescription medications and the side effects, then I think of the movie Cobb with Tommy Lee Jones and the scene where he's throwing the medicine bottles.

 

[Pacerdad57]

Great movie. I still like the middle of the night drive through the blizzard at gunpoint scene.
Couldn't help but make this smart aleck comment...... Lol

 

[TheSoftballZone]

If we're going to go off topic we will split the thread into a new topic.

 

[brownsfan]

No need to, I was using an example from a great product that has a side effect while being being funny even though it's dry .

 

[TheSoftballZone]

Ok, Thanks