Fired middle-aged waitresses sue over skimpy uniforms at Atlantic City casino

by Justin Delaney on

In Texas, we have no shortage of restaurants catering to the drooling male demographic. Hooters, Twin Peaks, Burger Girl, and many others require threadbare uniforms to entertain and engage their mostly male patronage. The decent food/hot waitress business plan has proven an effective tonic for a thirsty male demographic, and the phenomenon seems to be infesting the suburbs. Skimpy uniform capitalization extends beyond the suburbs though, and casinos are another hotbed for this sort of uniform minimalism.

At the Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, several waitresses were recently fired after a modeling agency came in and evaluated the cocktail servers in their skimpy “Roaring 20’s” outfits. What appeared to be a harmless photo-shoot in the new uniforms was actually an evaluation of the servers to keep their jobs. According to USA Today, fifteen servers were let go after the “sham evaluation process.” Seven of the sacked middle-age waitresses lawyered up and are suing the Resorts Casino Hotel in an age and sex discrimination lawsuit.One of the fired waitresses, Katharyn Felicia, had been a loyal employee since 1978. A two time employee of the month, she felt that the process “was very degrading to women.” The Resorts Casino Hotel feels that they gave each waitress a fair shot, and the jazz era uniforms are part of a re-branding effort. The flapper costumes include elaborate hats, deep slit short skirts, and fishnets. The property is trying to capitalize on the popularity of the HBO program Boardwalk Empire which takes place during prohibition in Atlantic City.

Hotel Madness Championship: No free Wi-Fi vs. Bad water pressure

by Mike Barish on

What a wild ride it’s been on our way to this exciting – and somewhat unexpected – Hotel Madness championship round. We’ve seen upsets, blowouts, tons of feedback on Twitter and an outpouring of responses from all of you letting us know what bothers you the most at hotels. That’s all led us to this: the finals. No free Wi-Fi has proven why it’s the #1 seed by dominating it’s third straight opponent. Meanwhile, much like VCU and Butler in the NCAA basketball tournament, Bad water pressure has shown that low seeds can ride a wave of momentum and play with the bog boys. Our #7 seed has quietly made its way through the tournament and shown that it truly does annoy travelers.

This is what the last few weeks were all about. Letting all of you speak out and let us – and hotels – know what drives you crazy. It’s now time to crown our champion. Below is the final poll of Hotel Madness. Choose wisely. Only one hotel pet peeve can be the champion and live in ignominy forever. So, get to it and vote!People really seem to have accepted free internet access as a right. It has received the most votes of any tournament contender. Perhaps that’s because hotels don’t just charge a nominal fee for Wi-Fi, they charge an arm and a leg. But, is it worthy of being the Hotel Madness #1 nuisance?

Bad water pressure is our surprise finalist. It was the only Final Four contestant that had nothing to do with added fees. It truly embodies what this tournament is all about: pet peeves. It won’t lighten your wallet, but it will put a damper on any trip and make you resent whatever amount of money you did pay for your room.

Let’s pick our champion!


#1 No free Wi-fi vs. #7 Bad water pressure

Hotel Madness Final Four: Voting ends today!

by Mike Barish on

Have you voted in the semifinal match-ups of Gadling’s Hotel Madness tournament yet? It’s a short week of voting for this round since we’ll be opening the polls for the championship beginning tomorrow. The Final Four pits #1 seed No free Wi-Fi versus #4 Resort fees and #3 seed Expensive parking against #7 Bad water pressure.

There’s still times for you to make your voices heard. Which of these hotel pet peeves stick in your craw the most? Vote now and help decide which two nuisances advance to the finals.

It’s easy to vote. Simply click here.

Inspirato: Another travel flash sale site joins the mix

by McLean Robbins on

Just when you think you’ve seen them all … another travel flash sale site launches. The latest? Inspirato, the pet project of Exclusive Resorts co-founder Brett Handler. They tackle the deal concept with a twist – travelers pay an up-front fee to join the site and then enjoy ongoing discounted rates for the site’s portfolio of brand-owned, full-service properties. Ironically enough, it appears its closest competitor also comes from another Exclusive Resorts alumnus – we covered the launch of Next Great Place earlier this month.

Care for a flash sale? They created iDeal to offer a flash sale model that’s more similar to sites like SniqueAway and Jetsetter, offering special packaged programs at an additional discount for specific date ranges.

What we love?

  • Deals are open to the public, so everyone can see what’s being offered- but only members can book.
  • Many of the deals offered are actually on private home properties (more than 40 are currently in the portfolio) in desirable locations like Vail, Aspen, Anguilla and Italy.
  • Reservations can be booked up to a year in advance, and, because you still pay individually for room nights, there’s no limit to where or how often one can travel.
  • A Personal Vacation Advisor learns each member’s preferences and assists in vacation planning, residence selection and booking, while a Destination Concierge offers local expertise and dedicated assistance before arrival and during the member’s vacation.

What we don’t:

  • It’s expensive – the fee to join is $9,500, and rising to $15,000 on March 31, and the yearly renewal is $2,500.

What you want to know:

  • The average cost per night for all the homes in Inspirato’s portfolio is approximately $1,000, with some value season rates as low as a few hundred dollars.
  • Homes range in size from 1,708 sq. ft. in the core of Aspen to 14,000 sq. ft. in Anguilla, and have an estimated market value ranging from $2.5M to over $10M.

Sample Deal:
Casa Bella, a 4 bedroom, 4.5 bath, 3300 square foot villa located in the Auberge Private Residences at Esperanza, Cabo San Lucas.
Market rate for consumers who book a similar home: $1850 per night
iDeal rate for May 30 – June 3rd: $450 per night
The base savings: 76%, AND iDeal includes complimentary concierge-level service

Hotel Madness: The Final Four

by Mike Barish on
With two rounds in the books, only the biggest, most annoying and burdensome hotel pet peeves remain in our Hotel Madness tournament. The second round featured some of the tournament’s closest contests and featured one impressive upset. Resort fees squeaked by One-ply toilet paper by a mere 23 votes while the #7 seed Bad water pressure dumped cold water on Bad front desk service’s title hopes. We’re inching closer to crowning our champion and learning just which hotel nuisance bothers you the most.

Our two Final Four match-ups are listed below. As always, vote for the ones that bother you the most. The two winners will advance to the championship round to battle it out for Hotel Madness glory ignominy. Be sure to vote in both polls and check back to see who wins.


#1 No free Wi-Fi vs. #4 Resort Fees
Our number one seed continued its dominating run in the second round. No one seems to want to pay for internet access. However, it has yet to face an opponent that also attacks our wallets. That run ends now. The #4 seed Resort fees was far from impressive in the second round but continued to show that hotel guests don’t like added fees, especially when those fees are so ambiguous. So, is it worse to pay for internet access or for whatever the heck resort fees cover?
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#3 Expensive parking vs. #7 Bad water pressure
Showing just how much people detest paying extra for anything while traveling, our #3 seed coasted into the Final Four. Since many trips simply require a car, guests seem to resent being forced to pay for parking. Meanwhile, the biggest surprise of the second round was #7 Bad water pressure simply annihilating the #2 seed Bad front desk service. Clearly, people value their showers. Whether you’re on a beach vacation or need to look good for business meetings, you need your shower to be on top of its game. Well, which grinds your gears more?
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Final Four voting ends at 11:59EDT on Wednesday, March 30.

Catch up on all of the Hotel Madness first and second round action:
The entire second round
#1 No free Wi-Fi vs. #16 Annoying hotel TV channel
#2 Bad front desk service vs. #15 Everything about TV remotes
#4 Resort fees vs. #13 Early housekeeping visits
#5 No airport shuttle vs. #12 One-ply toilet paper
#6 No free breakfast vs. #11 Expensive minibars
#7 Bad water pressure vs. #10 Small towels
#8 Room not ready on time vs. #9 Early checkout times

Follow along with the Hotel Madness tournament here.