It seemed like a typical business trip. Head to Miami to direct a photo shoot for the University of Miami School of Business. I was leaving Tuesday evening and doing a 2 and a half day shoot then head home on Friday.

A Simple Plan

So my flights where Pittsburgh to Cincinnati then to Miami. Seems simple enough, I was kind of curious why we would go to Cincinnati first because I’ve always had to go through Charlotte or Atlanta in previous flights to Miami. For some reason I couldn’t get a seat when I was checking in online for the Cincinnati to Miami leg of the trip. So when I got to the Pitt airport I tried to get a seat assignment at the kiosk with no luck. I asked the gentleman at the Delta counter about it and he said I would have to get my seat assigned at Cincinnati and they can’t do it in Pittsburgh. I thought that was strange and he wasn’t telling me the whole story. So off I go to Cincinnati.

Delta Cincinnati

When I get to my Delta gate in Cincinnati and ask the girl at the counter about my seat. My co-worker has a seat assigned and our flights where booked at the same time by our travel agent. She tells me the flight is overbooked and I will have to wait to see if anyone doesn’t show or someone volunteers to take another flight.

After, everyone boards the plane there are three of us standing around the counter. Delta offers the us a flight to Atlanta that night and then a flight in the morning to Miami. I would arrive in Miami at 9:00 am, but I’m suppose to meet the photographer and our UM client at 8:30 am. It’s a good thing my co-worker was able to fly into Miami that night. Also they offer to put me in a hotel for the night in Atlanta.

Off to Atlanta

Catch my flight to Atlanta and head over to the Delta customer service desk. They give me a $45 voucher for the Days Inn and tell me I will have to pay the rest. I figured no problem, $45 should cover most of it and I will be able to expense the rest anyways. I get to the hotel, it’s almost midnight now, and I’m checking in with about 12 other people that had similar problems to mine, all flying Delta. Then the man at the counter who didn’t seem to understand English very well tells me the balance after the voucher is $50. My flight to Miami was at 7 am, which means I’m leaving the hotel around 5 am. Five hours to stay at this Days Inn costs $95.

The Horrors of the Days Inn

I get into my room and I head to the bathroom. When I look at the door it appears to have dried blood splattered on the door. I’m thinking to myself, I wonder what happened in here. Then I look at the shower curtain and again there are some dark stains (see image above). I’m not sure what they are but in my mind it was some sort of murder scene with blood splattered all over the bathroom. I go to wash my hands, brush my teeth and such and I see a hair, it’s curly and dark and my mind immediately thinks, it’s a hair from down below the waistline. I’m pretty damn disgusted at this point. I get ready for bed because I have to get up in a few hours. I pull back the covers and sheets and find an uncovered mattress. The bed had no fitted sheet, just a comforter, blanket and a sheet. Now I’m REALLY, REALLY disgusted and start thinking about all the possible bed bugs or other bodily fluids and what not that can be in the bed.

I’m hot as hell so I turn on the light to take a look at the AC, as I pull the comforter away from me I see a ton of cigarette burns in the blanket below. What kind of hotel puts a blanket with burn holes on a bed. I’m REALLY, REALLY, REALLY disgusted now but I have to sleep I’m meeting an important client tomorrow… err later that day now because now it’s after 1 and I have to be at the airport in about 4 hours.

I try to push all the disgusting thoughts out of my head and get some sleep. I nodded off a few times but kept wondering all night about getting murdered, bed bugs, creep crawlies and everything else. I would of taken the time to complain about the room but I barely had enough time to get on the shuttle for the airport.

Finally in Miami

Eventually I get to Miami and check in at the Hilton and grab a cab to UM. Everything from there on goes fine and we have a wonderful 2 and a half days of shooting. I had a chance on Thursday night to have dinner with former co-workers Eddy and Matt at one of my favorite spots in Miami Titanic’s.

I will never fly Delta again and I definitely will never stay at the Days Inn in Atlanta.