There is a NASCAR race in Brooklyn, Michigan, every year around Fathers Day weekend. There are not a lot of hotels and motels near Michigan International Speedway (MIS), so communities within a 50 mile radius provide lodging and other services for over 100,000 fans.
Typically, the same people come to the Munro House B&B in Jonesville every year for the races. We are about a half hour west of the track on highway U.S.-12. We contact previous race fans around the first of the year to confirm their plans to come back to stay with us again during the next race weekend. This year, we had no repeat guests. They had all made other plans or decided to forego the race until their economic conditions turned around.
We took a few reservations, but the phone was not ringing every day. It did not seem that people were looking for lodging during the race weekend like it had in years past. We sat by, patiently waiting for the opportunity to sell our rooms.
Several months before the race, we received a call from a company affiliated with the U.S. Army. They were looking for several rooms for a full week before the race. Apparently they had something to do with the event and were having trouble finding lodging for all of their workers.
I told them I had 3 rooms available for the entire period and would be happy to reserve them for part of the group. We agreed on a long term rate, blocked off the days, and were happy that we had filled up for the event at MIS.
The day of arrival came–a Saturday, and we were home waiting for our guests. When they had not arrived by 8:00 p.m., we called the phone number on file to get an estimated time of arrival. That number was for their office–which was apparently closed for the weekend. We waited up until after midnight and decided to leave them a note to call us when they arrived. They didn’t.
Now it’s Sunday. Another call to the number on file would produce the same results, so we decided to hang around the house all day because the group had obviously been detained. Another night of waiting up until midnight with the same results.
Now we are in a quandry. Are they coming or are they not coming? Was the arrival date somehow miscommunicated? Should I sell the rooms I had reserved for them, when they were already 2 days late for their scheduled arrival?
I decided to wait until Monday at noon to give them the benefit of the doubt. Meanwhile, I was turning down requests for their rooms for the upcoming weekend. I had a feeling that things would work out, but they weren’t working out as swiftly as I wanted.
I finally got a call from the reservationist on Monday. Yes, there was a delay. Yes, they were sorry for not calling us. Yes, they would arrive today. Everybody was happy.
The guys arrived, late afternoon, in 3 semi tractor-trailers with U.S. Army murals emblazoned on the sides. I greeted them and made an arrangement for them to park their vehicles in a vacant loading dock at the end of the block. These guys were neatly dressed, well-groomed, and extremely polite. I knew it was going to be a good week.
A bunch of neighbors came out to watch them park their vehicles in an otherwise quiet neighborhood. The guys spent some time talking and showing off their vehicles to anyone who was interested. This was the most excitement we had had in a while.
Edgar, the lead guy, explained that they had contracted with the U.S. Army to set up what is basically a recruiting booth–a huge one. The set was complete with Hummer, Helicopter, and Jet Fighter simulators. They were also carrying tents, tables, and equipment along with a rock climbing wall. Their booth is designed to be interactive, interesting, and fun. It would take a full day to set up. After the set was built, it needed to be secured–early and late–for the rest of the week. It was apparent that the guys would be out for most of the day. They would basically be mystery guests–only being at the Munro House to sleep.
As it turned out, they worked long, but reasonable hours. They were up pretty early but were home before dark. They made themselves at home, enjoyed our local restaurants, and took advantage of our free wireless internet.
One day, their supervisor came to town, stayed one night, and compensated us for the entire length of their reservation. I had thought I had already met the nicest people in the world until these guys showed up.
Mike Venturini – Innkeeper
“Life is good in Jonesville”