2023 Skate America in Allen, Texas

[Sylvia]

Tickets for 2023 Skate America (October 19-22) will go on sale to the public in July - event page: https://www.usfigureskating.org/event/2023-skate-america

Local article (June 28, 2023):

World's best figure skaters slide into Allen for 2023 Skate America competition

The top figure skaters and ice dancers in the world are headed to North Texas this fall for one of the biggest competitions of the year: Skate America will take place October 20-22 at the Credit Union of Texas Event Center in Allen.

dallas.culturemap.com

 

[Debbie S]

^^ I'm impressed with the article author's knowledge of skating.

 

[tennellicious]

booked my flight today despite no Bradie ?

isn't it kind of weird tickets aren't available yet? I just assumed they would be available by this point and headed here to see what's up.

 

[tennellicious]

not me getting major anxiety just reading the other locked SkAm thread

 

[Lanie]

Just a note: I had booked a room at the Courtyard Marriott by the arena and it was canceled because now the entire hotel is blocked and ‘sold out’. I assume because it is very close to the arena, so everybody is staying there. I’m not sure if this happened to anybody else but now I have nowhere to stay and this is really annoying.

 

[nylynnr]

^^ I'm impressed with the article author's knowledge of skating.

Reads like a press release, but glad the event is being promoted locally. A bit critical, no?

 

[Debbie S]

Reads like a press release, but glad the event is being promoted locally. A bit critical, no?

How is praising the author "critical"? We've all read local media articles promoting events that aren't always completely accurate, chalked up to them not knowing much about the sport. This seems to be fairly well put together.

 

[Spikefan]

Just a note: I had booked a room at the Courtyard Marriott by the arena and it was canceled because now the entire hotel is blocked and ‘sold out’. I assume because it is very close to the arena, so everybody is staying there. I’m not sure if this happened to anybody else but now I have nowhere to stay and this is really annoying.

There is a Residence Inn and Home2 Suites in the area with availability.

 

[Debbie S]

Just a note: I had booked a room at the Courtyard Marriott by the arena and it was canceled because now the entire hotel is blocked and ‘sold out’. I assume because it is very close to the arena, so everybody is staying there. I’m not sure if this happened to anybody else but now I have nowhere to stay and this is really annoying.

When did you make your reservation? Mine is still there, I booked about a month ago.

(I assume/hope you didn't get the histrionics from the hotel "manager" like the poster in the other thread claimed they did?)

 

[TanithandBenFan]

Just a note: I had booked a room at the Courtyard Marriott by the arena and it was canceled because now the entire hotel is blocked and ‘sold out’. I assume because it is very close to the arena, so everybody is staying there. I’m not sure if this happened to anybody else but now I have nowhere to stay and this is really annoying.

Are you a Marriott Bonvoy member by any chance? I’m curious who they’re hitting first for cancellations.

 

[RubySkate]

Are you a Marriott Bonvoy member by any chance? I’m curious who they’re hitting first for cancellations.

I wonder if that could explain why my friend got "histrionics" instead of just bumped. She has something like 20 years of Gold Bonvoy status. I think Platinum or Titanium at some point. . . . Although that still wouldn't completely explain why some rooms have been cancelled and not others. I'm still nervous that even people with status will get bumped.

 

[TanithandBenFan]

I wonder if that could explain why my friend got "histrionics" instead of just bumped. She has something like 20 years of Gold Bonvoy status. I think Platinum or Titanium at some point. . . . Although that still wouldn't completely explain why some rooms have been cancelled and not others. I'm still nervous that even people with status will get bumped.

I’m currently Platinum so they better not come for me.

 

[azcalder]

Are you a Marriott Bonvoy member by any chance? I’m curious who they’re hitting first for cancellations.

I just called the hotel direct to check on my reservation. I'm a Marriott Bonvoy member, and my reservation is still current. I made it on May 6 as soon as I heard rumors that Allen might host Skate America knowing I could always cancel.

 

[Lanie]

Are you a Marriott Bonvoy member by any chance? I’m curious who they’re hitting first for cancellations.

No, I booked my hotel through Delta (get more miles! discounts!) knowing that hey, it was right there, probably is the official hotel, et cetera... Wah! I wonder if they are making a fan booking code or something.

 

[Debbie S]

No, I booked my hotel through Delta (get more miles! discounts!) knowing that hey, it was right there, probably is the official hotel, et cetera... Wah! I wonder if they are making a fan booking code or something.

Hmmm, did you make it recently? I was looking into something a couple weeks ago and saw the hotel was sold out then...maybe it takes a day or two for the 3rd party sites to catch up.

I'm sorry your res got canceled and hope one of the options Spikefan mentioned works out for you.

 

[ice coverage]

Just a note: I had booked a room at the Courtyard Marriott by the arena and it was canceled because now the entire hotel is blocked and ‘sold out’. I assume because it is very close to the arena, so everybody is staying there. I’m not sure if this happened to anybody else but now I have nowhere to stay and this is really annoying.

Yikes, sorry to hear about the cancellation -- I too would be highly annoyed to lose a reserved room at the hotel with the major advantage of the shortest walk to the arena.

... Wah! I wonder if they are making a fan booking code or something.

FWIW, will mention that https://usfigureskating.hotelplanner.com/ currently has Skate America listings for hotels in Allen.
(Although not Courtyard. And it seems doubtful to me that it ever would be added, but never say never.)

Big caveat that the USFS/hotelplanner rates should not just be assumed to be better than direct bookings at the same hotels.
I have not made any comparisons for 2023 Skate America hotels, but IIRC from FSU posts re 2023 Nats, it was not until pretty close to the event that [ETA: potentially] worthwhile special rates (for only a couple of San Jose hotels) quietly became available via the USFS/hotelplanner page.

 

[Lanie]

@ice coverage , thank you for that link! you’d think with as many events as I’ve been to I would know that existed but I didn’t

 

[once_upon]

Regarding bookings through other sites - Expedia, Travelocity, etc we've been told that any changes have to go through them vs airline, hotels, car rentals. I don't know how that would apply in booking through Delta.

But after some issues we had with flights/car rental/hotel booked through Expedia last year when we went to SC, we've started going with the actual vendor.

 

[ChristineB]

I just called the hotel direct to check on my reservation. I'm a Marriott Bonvoy member, and my reservation is still current. I made it on May 6 as soon as I heard rumors that Allen might host Skate America knowing I could always cancel.

I did the same thing and my reservation still stands (as of now).

 

[ice coverage]

... But after some issues we had with flights/car rental/hotel booked through Expedia last year when we went to SC, we've started going with the actual vendor.

You have reminded me that I should have said in my post above that I was not giving an endorsement of USFS/hotelplanner's booking page.
I already had a longstanding reservation for San Jose before the alert on FSU (which I thoroughly appreciated) that USFS/hotelplanner finally had added a special rate. As it happened, I ended up sticking with my original reservation for a different hotel [ETA: which I had booked directly with the hotel].

BTW, I don't remember for sure, but I seem to recall that at least for San Jose, the special hotelplanner rate maybe would have required pre-payment and/or a non-refundable deposit?? Which could be acceptable trade-offs, depending on each person's subjective judgments as to how good the special rate is, how convenient the hotel location is, etc. (taking other options and personal needs/preferences into consideration).
Bottom line: As always, buyer beware.

@ice coverage , thank you for that link! you’d think with as many events as I’ve been to I would know that existed but I didn’t

Understandable, because the USFS partnership with hotelplanner is still new-ish.
iirc, USFS made one general announcement when the partnership first started, but has not made too much of a fanfare when individual events roll around.

 

[Debbie S]

IIRC, for San Jose, the non-refundable rates on the USFS hotel planner site were better than some of the hotels but the refundable rates were higher (than hotel refundable rates).

I tend to book directly through the hotel unless it's through credit card points. I used either Expedia or Travelocity once about 20 years ago...granted, online booking was still somewhat new, but when we got to the hotel, the person at the desk said her record was showing the res was canceled. But luckily they had rooms. Haven't used an external booking site (except for cc rewards) since.

 

[Karen-W]

IIRC, for San Jose, the non-refundable rates on the USFS hotel planner site were better than some of the hotels but the refundable rates were higher (than hotel refundable rates).

I tend to book directly through the hotel unless it's through credit card points. I used either Expedia or Travelocity once about 20 years ago...granted, online booking was still somewhat new, but when we got to the hotel, the person at the desk said her record was showing the res was canceled. But luckily they had rooms. Haven't used an external booking site (except for cc rewards) since.

That happens a lot with third-party booking sites, unfortunately.

 

[YukiNieve]

A friend of mine who booked Marriott via Expedia got her reservation cancelled, too.

She did not get any cancellation notice until I read here and told her that it'd better to check.
The central reservation center told her that they have no idea why it was canceled but it was canceled 2 days ago. She has been on hold to talk to the hotel directly for nearly half an hour by now.

This is NOT OK.

 

[SkateSand]

It sounds like USFS or the organizing committee did not get the number of hotel rooms they would need nailed down with the hotel before the announcement of the venue. I've always booked my hotel immediately when the venue is announced, regardless whether I'm getting the best rate or not, and I've never had my room canceled. It may be that the earliest reservations will be honored, but the later ones are being canceled.

 

[ice coverage]

It sounds like USFS or the organizing committee did not get the number of hotel rooms they would need nailed down with the hotel before the announcement of the venue. ...

Or another possibility would be that the Courtyard Marriot Marriott in Allen for some reason failed to block off the full number of rooms that USFS/LOC had specified from the beginning??

If Skate America has not had a hotel screw-up since 2007, seems likely to me that USFS thereafter has had a good handle on the number of necessary rooms.
(I can't say that I was attending competitions in 2007, but I am going by the posts in the other thread from FSU members who were. )

 

[Debbie S]

Or another possibility would be that the Courtyard Marriot in Allen for some reason failed to block off the full number of rooms that USFS/LOC had specified from the beginning??

If Skate America has not had a hotel screw-up since 2007, seems likely to me that USFS thereafter has had a good handle on the number of necessary rooms.
(I can't say that I was attending competitions in 2007, but I am going by the posts in the other thread from FSU members who were. )

I'm not quick to defend USFS but I think in both of these cases - Reading and Allen - the fault lies with the hotel and their booking system.

FWIW, I was recently checking out hotels for another upcoming trip and I came across a situation where the hotel was sold out on its website but listed as available on a 3rd party site (I was on the 3rd party site first, went to the hotel site, then checked another 3rd party site which also said it was sold out)....I suspect 3rd party sites may not always be exactly up to date, particularly if it's a high demand time and people are making reservations quickly.

 

[Lanie]

It sounds like USFS or the organizing committee did not get the number of hotel rooms they would need nailed down with the hotel before the announcement of the venue. I've always booked my hotel immediately when the venue is announced, regardless whether I'm getting the best rate or not, and I've never had my room canceled. It may be that the earliest reservations will be honored, but the later ones are being canceled.

I went ahead and booked it as soon as Allen was even hinted at, since I knew I'd be going. How annoying.

Delta uses Expedia so I assume that was my problem. I should have booked through Marriott direct. I wasn't planning on renting a car in the end, so cancelled that, thinking I wouldn't need it but now I guess I will.

@YukiNieve Did your friend get anywhere with the hotel? I got an email, from Reservations Systems, or whatever it is, then called the hotel to make sure it was legitimate. It was, they confirmed my reservation was cancelled. Now I won't get a refund, but I have to book it, then send them the information to get reimbursed on my card. I'm pretty pissed.

 

[YukiNieve]

@Lanie That's horrible. I wonder if it is Expedia that is responsible or the Marriott.

My friend finally got to talk to the hotel staff, who told her that her reservation was canceled with a note from their manager stating that "do not reinstate this reservation." She needs to talk to the manager tomorrow.

 

[Karen-W]

I went ahead and booked it as soon as Allen was even hinted at, since I knew I'd be going. How annoying.

Delta uses Expedia so I assume that was my problem. I should have booked through Marriott direct. I wasn't planning on renting a car in the end, so cancelled that, thinking I wouldn't need it but now I guess I will.

@YukiNieve Did your friend get anywhere with the hotel? I got an email, from Reservations Systems, or whatever it is, then called the hotel to make sure it was legitimate. It was, they confirmed my reservation was cancelled. Now I won't get a refund, but I have to book it, then send them the information to get reimbursed on my card. I'm pretty pissed.

That's not true about not getting a refund. If you have a Visa then the merchant canceling your reservation falls under "services not as described" and is absolutely a disputable transaction. Call your bank and get the charge disputed ASAP.

 

[Karen-W]

@Lanie That's horrible. I wonder if it is Expedia that is responsible or the Marriott.

My friend finally got to talk to the hotel staff, who told her that her reservation was canceled with a note from their manager stating that "do not reinstate this reservation." She needs to talk to the manager tomorrow.

Expedia is the merchant in question, but since the reservation your friend made was at a specific hotel, now that it has been cancelled by that hotel, Expedia is unable to provide the services as described. Like I told Lanie, this is 100% a disputable transaction with Visa and Mastercard, as "services not as described." Tell your friend to call their bank and file a dispute ASAP.