If you're thinking about staying in Peterborough, Ontario, for the Head of the Trent, or just to enjoy the fine company of the locals, don't, repeat don't, stay at the Holiday Inn Peterborough. They suck.

My recent experience:

My good friends Steve and Andrea were having a post-wedding barbecue at their place, with many invited friends and family. Carolyn and I needed somewhere to stay, and the block of rooms Steve had reserved at the Otonabee Inn (Best Western) was already full.

Steve had reserved a second batch of rooms at the Holiday Inn overlooking the river-slash-lake-slash-floodplain, but the expiry date was May 15. In other words, if no one claimed them after that, they'd go back in the pool.

I called on May 24, assuming I'd have to reserve through the normal process. But I asked about the Bevan BBQ at first. I was told they didn't have anything like that available. Assuming the block was filled and/or that they were no longer honoring the special rate, I then went ahead and booked two nights (one more than we wanted, due to their two-night minimum), and patted myself on the back for helping the local economy so generously.

The reward? Well first off, we were paying for a "river view" room that overlooked a parking lot. Second, the joint was full of several hundred kids in town for a soccer tournament.

We survived somehow.

The point of this post, though, is that our generous and fine host Steve, who brought a couple of thousand bucks' worth of hotel revenues into fair Peterpatch that weekend, was billed a "no-show" fee of $150 because apparently his guests didn't all stay at the Holiday Inn.

However, had I stayed there, that would have been enough.

But wait a minute! I did stay there! For two bloody nights! Paying $15 more per night than expected, because they wouldn't honour the room rate Steve had negotiated.

When Steve complained about the no-show bill, they said they had no record of my visit being associated with his event. When he complained to three different people, backed up by me, the hotel guest, they all gave him the ugly news: you're on the hook, buddy.

This is how you get treated when you stimulate the local economy by generously throwing a big party, filling a bunch of hotel rooms, and/or staying quietly in said room, minding your business and paying a two-night minimum. Is somebody missing the big picture here?

Note to Holiday Inn Peterpatch. You're in the hospitality industry.

Note to anyone traveling to the 'Patch: book your room elsewhere.

Note to Steve: this is why you must vote Liberal. If you vote in Harper's crew, THESE SOCCER PEOPLE WOULD BE IN CHARGE OF EVERYTHING, ALL THE TIME. I'd have to pay a yuppie tax just for walking in the front door of the Holiday Inn without the requisite mullet.