Exploiting the Amateur Bodybuilder competitor

[Camel Jockey]

So much for a fucking egg is mass robbery!

I'd stay in a different hotel.. No way I'd be ripped off like that.

Alex, heard you on the show yesterday night.. Had I been free around 7 I'd have called in. Thanks for sharing!

[Jizzacked]

thats cheap for the actual room... they got to pick up the slack by assraping you every other possible way to make up the difference.

[Alex A]

Today it happened!

THe hotel dropped the bomb on me by charging my credit card $450 for tanning stains on the sheets, and pillow cases. No explanation, just charged me almost five hundred for the fuckin tan, that ruined my whole fuckin time at this show! holy shit. I have to fight it, but crap, does it really pay to compete? 

[droopydog]

Bro.... That is friggin BS... WTF kind of sheets were those?... I have been charged for the exact same thing before... (no where NEAR that amount though)... I think the hotels know that you arent really able to dispute their claims... Its total BS... and just adds to the reasons NOT to compete... It sucks because the discipline that it takes to push yourself to the most extreme level of conditioning and the feeling of TOTAL control over your body is like a drug...

[flexingtonsteele]

Today it happened!

THe hotel dropped the bomb on me by charging my credit card $450 for tanning stains on the sheets, and pillow cases. No explanation, just charged me almost five hundred for the fuckin tan, that ruined my whole fuckin time at this show! holy shit. I have to fight it, but crap, does it really pay to compete? 

Wow, now thats a chickenshit move if ive ever seen one.

[Jizzacked]

go through the chargeback proceedings with your card company.  I don't advise disputing legitimate charges, but that is pretty absurd.  You almost died for those bitches and they pull that shit.  The nerve...

[the Pure Majestic]

Us bodybuilders are the hardest working sportsmen alive! 
They should kiss our ass for competing!  They should pay us all the money they make from putting on the show!  Don't they know how hard we work??

I swear, if it wasn't so important for me to have dozens of photos of myself strewn about my living room while driving my girlfriend away because she doesn't understand that I have a show coming up, I'd quit competing!
Where would the NPC be then???

[droopydog]

Us bodybuilders are the hardest working sportsmen alive! 
They should kiss our ass for competing!  They should pay us all the money they make from putting on the show!  Don't they know how hard we work??

I swear, if it wasn't so important for me to have dozens of photos of myself strewn about my living room while driving my girlfriend away because she doesn't understand that I have a show coming up, I'd quit competing!
Where would the NPC be then???

Tough to determine the sincerity of your post...(subtle nuances of voice inflection are hard to detect via this medium...lol)   but I must agree with the hardest working sportsmen... I have played competitively pretty much every sport... And I would rate getting ready for a contest as by far the toughest both mentally and physically...

Doing cardio at 4:30am and then again at 11pm rank right up there with Quantico in my book

[Grundle]

And all for a plastic trophy....

Yes Gordiano, "Alex A" is that pathetic.   

[NarcissisticDeity]

I have never stayed at a five star Hotel while preparing for a bodybuilding show so I guess I was unpreparred for some of the hefty costs. Besides the following, im sure there was more gouging.  But heck, Im not complaining. It was worth it.


Besides the Competitors menue which included: $5 for one egg, $ 12 veggie platter, $20  for the 3 egg white omlette, etc.

One of the more classic charges were the Mandatory Valet parking for your Car of $20 per day

$3 to sign on to the internet and 59 cents per minute to use it.    One of my posts to you guys costed me $45

The ever so class min fridge and wet bar loaded with $3 candy bars, liquer,$3 cans of drinks, $4 rice crispy treets...The best yet is when I asked them to remove all the items from my room because. for one, i dont eat this crap, and for two, I needed the room for my food, a $25 re stocking charge will be added to the bill. 

Along with the $280 rental car that I parked in the $20 per night lot, the room was $160 plus $25 per night in taxes., $300 flight and $150 entry, Bodybuilding is a no joke! its all fun.

Wow they get you coming and going M-F'ers

[20inch calves]

sorry to hear it alex. i would fight those charges though..just don't let them ruin your credit

[INSOMNIA]

I NEVER advocate staying at the host hotel. Not competitor friendly. It usually a high priced option and isnt the slightest bit conveneint (other than proximity), not to mention they treat the competitors like 2nd class citizens. Do yourself a favor next time, search hotels in the vicinity (within 5 or so miles of the venue) that have a full kitchen. (and free parking) Buy what you need at the store once you get there and cook it at the hotel. Saves u from having to haul a weeks worth of food in coolers on the plane  Those hotels (Best Westerns, etc, nothing fancy) usaully run no more than $35-$60 per night, are clean, more  spacious and you DONT have to f' around with using a community microwave and fridge.    also complimentary computer/internet access
With teh money you will save in comparison to the HOST HOTEL (usually around $100/night) you can get a rental car for
$15-20 per day and drive to the venue. Also tell them ahead of time that you will liklely stain the towels and sheets and ask them for a damaged or stained set, they usually have those on hand. Or bring your own sheets and towels.

[Tre]

Today it happened!

THe hotel dropped the bomb on me by charging my credit card $450 for tanning stains on the sheets, and pillow cases. No explanation, just charged me almost five hundred for the fuckin tan, that ruined my whole fuckin time at this show! holy shit. I have to fight it, but crap, does it really pay to compete? 

$450??

I think you got the triple-screw job, mate. 

It sounds like housekeeping changed out your linens and towels 3 times and charged you for new stuff all 3 times. 

On the positive side, they will ship the items to you at no cost and I highly recommend having them do that.  Even if you never get any value out of the stuff yourself, at least you will have made them take the time to put together a package for you. 

I left most of the stuff there, but brought a few home to sell on eBay.   

[atrain]

I always take my own sheets with me.  As for the towels I usually grap a bunch off the roomservice carts.  The ones that I use (stained) I just walk down the hall and drop them.

[250Ben250]

You guys really did get screwed. We used the Fairmont for the host hotel for my wedding and no one spent over $99 a night for their rooms. Downtown Dallas, that is cheap.  There needs to be better coordination from the NPC for stuff like that, with the amount of rooms they should block off for that kind of event you should have gotten a better rate, comped valet, etc..



Alex A - pm me if you want, my wife's friend from college is the PR/corporate/sporting event coordinator for the Fairmont. I don't know if she worked with the NPC last weekend but she would know who to talk to/negotiate with for the sheets and charges...

[pumpher]

Sorry to hear, that's a shitty deal Alex

But seriously how is it different for MOST "pro" bodybuilders? Don't they have to pay their own way too? Only a handful actually make money and are given the red carpet treatment.

[BayGBM]

Today it happened!

THe hotel dropped the bomb on me by charging my credit card $450 for tanning stains on the sheets, and pillow cases. No explanation, just charged me almost five hundred for the fuckin tan, that ruined my whole fuckin time at this show! holy shit. I have to fight it, but crap, does it really pay to compete? 

Now you know why so many guys have (public or private) sponsors.  Your attention should be on your training and conditioning--not chump change. Even a private sponsor will cover your show expenses to the tune of a couple grand. 

[bigdumbbell]

just add the $450.00 linen expense to your private posing fee.

[McFarland]

One of my posts to you guys costed me $45

Hilarious.  Small price to pay for Getbig glory, though, Alex; you've gotta admit!   

[DK II]

So Alex, Steroids included for your entire prep, traveling costs and hotel costs added up, what can you roughly say you wasted on this entire ordeal?

He could have saved the money for his daughter instead... 

[njflex]

He could have saved the money for his daughter instead... 

maybe it was a family decision and all agreed the price to pay to compete.

[DK II]

maybe it was a family decision and all agreed the price to pay to compete.

Are you saying daddy's drug abuse is family policy? 

[njflex]

Are you saying daddy's drug abuse is family policy? 

no comment,,,whether its right or wrong,if it was a cocaine or drinking problem it probably would have a different affect on the family situation,as crazy as it may be,those addictions could impair your way to make a living and could kill u more directly.steroids is part of the vanity of bbing .

[McFarland]

You guys forget to consider that within a couple of years Alex could have a very lucrative training/prep business as a direct result of these exploits. 

[DK II]

no comment,,,whether its right or wrong,if it was a cocaine or drinking problem it probably would have a different affect on the family situation,as crazy as it may be,those addictions could impair your way to make a living and could kill u more directly.steroids is part of the vanity of bbing .

If you have kids, competitive steroid BB is totally irresponsible.