Reader and LRRS road racer B.J. Worsham e-mailed Roadracingworld.com today because his months-old, confirmed reservation at the Embassy Suites Hotel Monterey Bay Seaside for the weekend of the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix, July 8-10, was suddenly canceled yesterday, June 14. “Got a call today from Alisha, saying a computer snafu had resulted in overbookings. (‘Not a human error, I assure you,’ as if HOW it happened would make it less irksome.) The alternative offer was a room at a regular Hilton 40 miles away, with one night complimentary,” Worsham wrote in his e-mail to Roadracingworld.com . We then requested that he FAX us a copy of his reservation confirmation. Worsham immediately FAXed a reservation confirmation for a Deluxe King, Non-smoking room at the rate of $289/night (plus tax), arriving Friday, July 8 and departing Sunday, July 10, 2005. The FAXed confirmation did not include the date the reservation was made, but Worsham said he booked the room at the same time he booked his flight from New York to California, in August or September of 2004. Roadracingworld.com Associate Editor David Swarts made unsuccessful attempts to reach the General Manager of the Embassy Suites Hotel in Monterey/Seaside, the hotel’s Assistant General Manager and “Alisha,” whom Worsham had been in contact with, in Group Sales. At approximately 2:25 p.m. Pacific Time, Director of Sales & Marketing Jim Van Deusen returned Roadracingworld.com’s phone call. Below is the complete, word-for-word transcription of that telephone conversation: David Swarts: Thanks for calling me back. Jim Van Deusen: Certainly, how are you doing today? Swarts: I’m doing OK. I tried to reach a few people over there and was unsuccessful on all attempts. I tried to speak with the General Manager George, and his message said he was out of the office. He referred to an Assistant General Manager Neal, and I left a voice message there”¦ Van Deusen (interrupting): OK, how can we help you? Swarts: I’m an editor with a magazine called Roadracing World. We cover motorcycle road racing. Particularly, we will be covering the Red Bull U.S. Grand Prix at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca. Van Deusen: Great. Swarts: We had a reader contact us today that his reservation there at the Embassy Suites was canceled due to overbooking, and the only alternative he was given was another reservation with a Hilton hotel about 30-plus-miles away from your location, which is about 35-plus-miles away from the track in total. I just wanted to see what brought this about and if there is an overbooking situation there that we should notify the readers about? Van Deusen (stuttering): Well, let me ask you, what you would talk to me about today, when would that actually go into print? Swarts: We publish a website that updates daily and continuously”¦ Van Deusen (interrupting): Great, great. Well, Mr. Swarts, ah, um, the way that we operate our business is extremely reputable. We’ve run into a little confusion with some of the reservations. We are accommodating those reservations the best we can. Beyond that, how we operate the business is really not for us to go into detail about the if’s, when’s, how’s, why’s or who’s. We are very excited about the event and are doing the best we can to accommodate our guests. Swarts: OK. This gentleman says he made the original reservation in”¦ Van Deusen (interrupting): You know, I’m not going to get into that with you, Mr. Swarts. It doesn’t matter. I don’t think it’s any”¦frankly, it’s none of your business what my conversation or the hotel’s conversation was with one of our customers. Alright? Have a great day. (Hangs up.) The Embassy Suites Hotel Monterey Bay Seaside is the “Official Hotel of Mazda Raceway at Laguna Seca.” Embassy Suites Hotel Monterey Bay Seaside 1441 Canyon Del Rey Seaside, CA 93955 (831) 393-1115 (831) 393-1113 (fax) ~http://montereybay.embassysuites.com/~ Embassy Suite Hotel Monterey Bay Seaside is one of 175 Embassy Suites brand properties owned by Hilton Hotels Corporation (HHC). HHC is run by Co-chairman Barron Hilton, Co-Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen F. Bollenbach, President and Chief Operating Officer Matthew J. Hart and Thomas L. Keltner, Executive Vice President and President – Brand Performance & Franchise Development Group with headquarters at 9336 Civic Center Drive, Beverly Hills, California 90210, 310-205-4656 /310-205-8640. This just in, via e-mail: Mr. Worsham wasn’t the only one that lost reservations. After having reservations made as soon as the race date was announced, I got the phone call Tuesday informing me of the “room issue”. Todd Fenton Attack Kawasaki Santa Fe Springs, California