I’ll be back after thing rant:
Bills vs. Lions: Ticket Scalping When No Tickets Are Available
By now, you should know that my favorite hobby is bargaining. I have written extensively on how to procure tickets to the most obscure events (see Ticket Scalping Guide). Here are some examples:
- Ticket Scalping NYC: The Follow-Up
- Michigan Ohio State: A Case Study in Ticket Scalping
- Ohio State vs. Michigan: Advanced Ticket Scalping
- New Orleans Jazz Fest: Ticket Scalping Primer
- The Guide to Buying Tickets for the World Cup And Other Big Events
- El Clásico! Tickets, Game, Pre & Post Libations Guide
- Cheaters! Spartan Stadium Review
With online prices for the game out of control (see Super Bowl Preview: Bills vs. Lions, Me vs. Myself), I decided that the best way to get tickets was at the stadium. Braving the elements, I walked around Ford Field with two fingers in the air, the international sign language for, “I need tickets.” I became a little concerned when I saw the scalpers asking if anyone was selling tickets instead of the contra, “Does anyone need tickets?”
As time went on, I began to accept the possibility that I would not be going to the game.
TPOL’s Tip: For those who refuse to be exploited for event tickets, you must go in with the mindset that you may have flown all the way from Puerto Rico to Detroit only to watch the game in a bar. If you don’t have the ‘Detroit Grit’ to accept that reality, this game may not be for you.
TPOL’s Tip: NFL games do not have paper tickets. Attempts to obtain those would be a great souvenir of your naivety.
Persistent and patient, I finally encountered a gentleman who said he had ‘standing room only’ tickets. I told him I would rather pay for a seat. He was adamant that there were no tickets. His colleague had one electronic ticket for sale for $500. I needed two.
I asked how much the standing room tickets were. He told me $200 each. My goal was to spend $400 total but for actual seats. I tried to bargain but he said that was the final price. I went online to see if the ticket prices had dropped from the resellers. I was surprised to find that there were next to no tickets available. My theory that those who had tickets who were not going would dump them at the last minute proved incorrect.
TPOL’s Tip: Online, prices go up, not down, as the game approaches. The cheapest I found tickets were 3 days before the game.
TPOL’s Tip: I withdrew $600 from the ATM. It is best to put a cap on how much you would spend before hysteria sets in when you arrive at the venue.
Out of options, I told my new friend that I was in for standing room only. He told me to follow his colleague through security and into the stadium. But first, he required the money. I thought to myself, “Worst case, the tickets were not real, and I would be out $400.” Given my string of luck in the past, I rationalized that I could accept this defeat.
To my joy and surprise, the tickets worked and we were let in! To my amusement, other people in standing room had paid $400 per ticket.
Overall
With e-tickets, the job of a scalper has almost been eliminated. Some may say that this is for the best as some scalpers sell fake tickets. I disagree. The new crooks are the third-party brokers who charge extortionate ‘transaction’ fees for the privilege of electronically sending your tickets to your inbox.
With this changing landscape, I cannot say how useful my scalping guide will be in the future. There are some events like the Super Bowl (see Who Can Afford Super Bowl Tickets?) where it certainly will not work. For those events, I wouldn’t go at all. The sad reality is that major sports events are for the rich. Corporations own too many of the seats, leaving the rest of us at the mercy of online resellers. As a points traveler, I am glad that points have allowed me to attend major sporting events without being gouged for airlines and hotels. As a sports enthusiast, I am glad that I have been able to attend so many great games. Adopting a sports analogy, I am not willing to throw in the towel on either hobby. But it sure has become more challenging.
Read about how I went from standing room only to the 4th row in the follow-up post.
Detroit Marriott: In Need of Another Renaissance
Detroit Marriott Renaissance Center is part of the TPOL Won’t Visit All 50 States And That’s OK Trip Report.
I was in Michigan for three reasons: 1) To requalify for Hyatt Globalist (see Qualifying for Hyatt Globalist: Did You Know?) 2. To watch the Bills vs. Lions game (see Super Bowl Preview: Me vs. Myself). 3. To visit family.
Unfortunately for my primary objective, there is no Hyatt in the D. Ever frugal, I wanted to use my Marriott stay 35k cert for Westin Book Cadillac Hotel. Unfortunately, the Westin goes for 52,000 points per night, 2,000 more than can be used when combining a cert with points. Clearly, this was done on purpose.
The next choice was to stay at the antiquated Detroit Marriot at the Renaissance Center. The options were: 1) $700 a night, 2) 50,000 points, 3) 25,000 points, and $125. It should come as no surprise that I went with option 3. By doing so, I was able to keep my stay cert and only spend 10k more than I would have had I combined the stay cert with 15,000 points.
From a points perspective, this was a win. From a hotel enthusiast’s perspective, I came away unimpressed.
Location
The hotel is located at GM World Headquarters. Frequent readers will recall that I was fired from GM after four months on the job. New readers can buy my book and read all about it.
Getting There
From the airport, rent a car. DTW is not near downtown Detroit.
Parking
I am still confused by the cost of parking. Here’s what the website says:
Valet parking, fee: 40.00 USD daily
Off-site parking, fee: 6.00 USD hourly, 27.00 USD daily
On-site parking, fee: 6.00 USD hourly, 27.00 USD daily
Somehow, I was charged $56 for self-parking in the garage for one night.
Room
The room was dated but the bed was exceptionally comfortable.
View
While it’s not the Park Hyatt Shanghai, the view was top-notch. I have been told that I can see Canada on a clear day.
Bathroom
The bathroom needed an upgrade. The worst part was the Rolls-Royce engine noise coming from the shower. After a raucous football game, the last thing I wanted to hear was a piercingly loud noise.
Breakfast
The buffet was what you would expect from a Hyatt Place, incidentally where I stayed the first three nights to requalify (see Finally, a Review of the Hyatt Place Livonia). While there was an a la carte, I made the mistake of ordering the egg white wrap. The tomatoes dominated the wrap ruining what was otherwise a nice-looking breakfast. To untop it off, there was no espresso, only black coffee served from a coffee pot.
TPOL’s Tirade: Is there anything more gross than topping off old coffee with more old coffee?
Overall
Two towers of the Ren Cen are being demolished. While they are doing that, they should also fix up this place. Like General Motors, it’s well past its prime. #yourefired
TPOL’s CFP Playoff Prediction: Opening Weekend
I abandoned the March Madness Bracket for my blog fans (see No TPOL March Madness Bracket. And No One Cares). Next year I may have one for the College Football Playoffs. Here are my predictions for the first weekend:
- Friday, Dec. 20: No. 10 Indiana at No. 7 Notre Dame: Indiana with the upset.
- Saturday, Dec. 21: No. 11 SMU at No. 6 Penn State: SMU with the upset.
- Saturday, Dec. 21: No. 12 Clemson at No. 5 Texas: Texas wins.
- Saturday, Dec. 21: No. 9 Tennessee at No. 8 Ohio State: Tennessee wins, Day gets fired.
On second thought, maybe I should start my own sportsbook. Remember when betting on sports was frowned upon?
Happy Festivus! Airing of Points Grievances 2024
People are sick. People are weird. People are angry. That’s why we have Festivus!
Here are the previous Festivus posts. You’ll notice that the same people have stayed with me through the years, especially the ‘nasty woman’ linmoron. Maybe I should be thankful for their support.
The Festivus tradition continues in 2024. New year, same negative people saying negative things. What is wrong with these people?
Michigan Wolverines National Champions! I Can Die in Peace
- Jim: go on then… go die in peace
Iberia MAD-BCN: Some Funny Business
- Jesus: Was this a thought you just decided to put into a waste of an article (if it can be called that)?
Haircuts Abroad: Medellin Edition
- hasan: Congrats you still look like a complete cunt!
Hyatt Place Times Square: Why So Rude?
- ChurnieEls: Not sure how I landed here but my God you sound absolutely insufferable.
Citi Credit Limit, Limited: But Why?
- linmoron: hahahahahahah loser
- tired of this phucker: YES!!!! Finally we can take this shitty blog off the web…
Manila, Medellin: Too Many Gringos
- Gringo: Ouch. Made a mistake in coming here. The author (contributor?) of this blog gives off a very unique and unattractive vibe. Nothing in the writing suggests self-deprecation or a wink and a nod.
- Thomas: You sound so pompous and insufferable. First and last time reading your shitty blog
- Mr Wellwisher: Insufferable and “self deprecating humor” as a form of being pompous. Thomas is 100% right.
- Tom: April fools posts are so dumb. But seriously you gave up on this blog long ago. It’s pretty clear you dgaf.
$300 Delta Damaged Luggage Payment: Fair?
- Dan: exactly the type of person who’d use a fake rimowa… not even remotely surprised.
- MilkeL: You solicit your reader for input and respond with such derision as “the person who doesn’t travel that comments and hides in the basement.” Insulting, to say the least. Do better.
No TPOL March Madness Bracket. And No One Cares
- the connecticut witch OCH: definitely do not give a fuck about this shitty blog.
- JonC: “No One Cares” perfect summary of this blog.
Make Corfu Greek Again! How Tourism Ruined an Island
- F. Flintstone.: This blog is just a massive moan-fest. Having to walk a mile uphill, big deal. All of 5-10 mins. You complain about Kavos, one of the worst areas on the island for tourists, but you failed to go anywhere else to enjoy the island. Seems a lack of data to make a compelling argument about how shit Corfu is nowadays. I came here expecting a little bit more.
Creeper Cam Is Back: Alexander Bachuwa Launches the Vlog
- Sam: Posts picture of his face instead of something travel-related. Tell us you’re a narcissist without telling us you’re a narcissist. Why does Boarding Area keep this blogger on their platform? NEVER anything of value posted.
- Sam: PLEASE stay away until 2025. Maybe even longer? Keep this garbage out of my boarding area feed!
- Bumsi Kiddle: Literally no one will miss you. Your content adds very little to boarding area there’s next to no insight offered, your blog is the definition of an also ran.
- TPOL: Then why you commenting?
- Bumsi Kiddle: Actually you make a good point there. I won’t bother further. But notice that im the solitary commenter, does rather prove my point.
- TPOL: Then why you commenting?
- Jimmy: I’m with Bumsi. What a waste of BA space.
- Renee: Insert Spongebob NOBODY CARES meme here. Hopefully another long vacation from Boarding Area again soon?
- Nik: Unfortunately there’s no way to filter blogs like this from Boarding Area feed. Rene is a jerk but he’s not wrong
Fiji Airways: Nadi to Samoa in Coach
- waylon mcgill: read it .. it wasnt fucking interesting… my shits are more interesting than your posts.
- Ralph: So many people seem to be completely uninformed about the nature of TPOL posts. TPOL is the anti-blog. The “stream of consciousness” trumps production value blog. If TPOL was in the MCU it would be Deadpool. Many of the trips involve the same recurring flaws … notably a pathological resistance to researching much less following advice on visa requirements. Many (most?) of TPOL posts are lessons in what not to do. Yet thru it all TPOl is true to himself. He doesn’t pretend to be anyone other than who he is and does. He doesn’t push inappropriate credit cards on his readers.I wouldn’t live my life the way he does. But I respect the way he blogs that life.
TPOL’s 2024 CFP Playoff Rankings
- Bumsi: Totally what we all come to boarding area for garbage like this
Full Moon Party Thailand: 3 Times Wasn’t Enough. Maybe Once More?
- Bumsi: Randy Petersen please for the love of god shit can this guy!!!!
Super Bowl Preview: Bills vs. Lions, Me vs. Myself
- Bumsi: It’s misfortune that you grew up at all. Randy please spare us this drivel!!
- Bumsi:Loser
- Bumsi: Thank goodness please don’t bother coming back…. Ever
Unfortunately for Bumsi, who has no life, I came back. And I’m not going anywhere…until I’m out of the office again.
Qualifying for Hyatt Globalist: Did You Know?
I am going back to Globalist in 2025 after a year off. It was not easy to do. Here are two things I learned that you may not know.
- Guest of Honor: If you bestow a guest of honor perk on a friend and your friend completes the stay, you receive a qualifying night.
- If you check in on December 31st, 2024, as I had planned to do, to get your 60th night, it will not count towards your stays in 2024.
But for #1, I would have woken up on January 1st, 2025 as an Explorist.
#themoreyouknow
TPOL’s Out of Office
May freeze this weekend but it’ll be worth seeing the game.
Anyone know where this Lion lives?
Super Bowl Preview: Bills vs. Lions, Me vs. Myself
Growing up, I had the misfortune of being a Lions and Bills fan. While I have been to Ford Field (see A Lions Thanksgiving), I have not been to Orchard Park. The only time I have seen the Bills in person was in Miami (see Bills Mafia v Fins: Hard Rock Stadium Review).
This weekend the Lions are hosting the Bills in what may be a preview of the Super Bowl. If either advance to the Super Bowl, this may be the last time I see them in action due to the prohibitive cost of tickets (see Bills Lose, But Who Can Afford Super Bowl Tickets?).
Two questions remain: 1)Does anyone have tickets for TPOL? 2) Who do I want to win?
My issue with both teams is the sheer stupidity of both coaches. Let me cite two examples: Last week, the Lions were up by 3 when Mr. ‘Bight Your Knee Caps’ decided to go for it on 4th down on his own 25. It didn’t work out and Green Bay ended up scoring a touchdown and going ahead. It took another ill-advised 4th down conversion for the Lions to win the game.
In the Buffalo-Rams game, the Bills fought their way back from a double-digit deficit. Then Sean ‘Clueless’ McDermott, decided to run the ball on 1st and goal instead of throwing it. The Bills didn’t make it, were forced to burn a timeout, and ended up not recovering the onside kick. The Bills lost. Dan Campbell was commended for being courageous while the media was more fixated with Josh Allen’s stat line than the mismanagement of the clock.
As a fan, I have tried not to become emotionally invested in either team. Whether it be the Music City Miracle or idiotically not kicking a FG to go up in the NFC Championship game, both teams find a way to break my heart. This weekend that will be different. I should walk out a winner. Then again, I wouldn’t be shocked if the game ended in a tie.
Priority Pass Koh Samui: Coconut Kingdom
Priority Pass Koh Samui is part of the Reunion Tour Trip Report.
After a wild time at another Full Moon Party (see Guns & Butter: Koh Phangan, Thailand Travel Guide (Haad Rin Edition)), it was time to get the hell out of there. One of the most unique airports in the world is Koh Samui Airport. It an open-air terminal with shops, restaurants, and, most importantly, a Priority Pass Lounge.
Guns & Butter: Koh Phangan, Thailand Travel Guide (Haad Rin Edition)
Koh Phangan Travel Guide is part of the Reunion Tour Trip Report.
TPOL’s Guns & Butter Travel Guide is the best way to see as much as you can in as little time as possible. Here’s how it works – A trip is composed of two factors: Labor And Lazy. The opportunity cost (what is given up) for relaxing and being Lazy is gained by being adventurous in the form of Labor and vice versa. The guide includes inefficient activities i.e., tourist traps that should be avoided and aspirational activities that are worth doing but may be impossible to see given the constraints of time and resources.
On March 19, 2014, I published one of the first posts on this blog, Party Time Worldwide. No need to link the post. Here it is in its entirety:
“I can have fun without drinking,” someone once told me.
Maybe, it is possible but I prefer the alternative.
What’s on your bucket list? (worst saying btw)
I hope Koh Phangan, Thailand.
Stay tuned for the debauchery, worldwide of course.
Ten years later, I have written about said debauchery (see Simply The Best: TPOL Is Ten And #MasterOfWon) which included three trips to Koh Phangan.
Come
Take the speed boat from Koh Samui (see Bangkok Airways [Almost] Direct to Full Moon v. Plane, Bus, Ferry, Boat).
Stay
If you’re going for the full moon party, you must stay on Haad Rin beach. I recommend Tommy’s Resort.
Eat
Green curry by day, green curry by night.
Smoke?
Though I don’t partake, it is now legal (see Sign of the [Economic] Times: Marijuana Is Legal in Thailand).
Party
Make party (see Full Moon Party Thailand: 3 Times Wasn’t Enough. Maybe Once More?).
Leave
Check out the Priority Pass Lounge at Koh Samui Airport (see Coconut Kingdom).
Return
You know you will be back.
