Tag Archives: hotels

Day 231: Kyle

I’m in Boston for some meetings and finding a hotel that wouldn’t bankrupt my employer was really a challenge, so I chose Airbnb. You may recall I wrote to their cofounder and CEO Brian Chesky earlier this year (Day 90) – sadly I never heard back. I mean if Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush had time to write back, I think Brian could send me a short note, don’t you?

Anyway, it was my first time using Airbnb in Boston. And my first time using the service in almost a year. Everything went smoothly. My host, Kyle, was great and I thought I would leave him a little note of thanks on one of the note cards I received from 1Canoe2. While I doubt it will work out, it would be great if he and some of the other non DC recipients of my handwritten letters can attend the year-end celebration on January 5th. Who knows? Maybe some of them will come.

Day 231

This card was one of the cards that the amazing people at 1Canoe2 sent me to help with all of the stationery that I need to do the Year of Letters.

Kyle,

What a beautiful home you have. It’s literally at the doorstep of downtown Boston. Thank you for your hospitality and making sure that everything went smoothly with my stay. I hope that made it to your open water swim this morning and wish you luck in your upcoming triathlon.

-Reed

P.S. I’m a big fan of the lost art of handwritten communication and your note today is Day 231 of a year-long series: YearOfLetters.com.

 

Day 54: Margaret


Good morning! I was up a little too late watching the Oscars last night, but I’m up and writing my daily letter.

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, on January 6th I sent a letter to the general manager of the Hotel Monaco in Alexandria, Virginia and asked him to consider extending a gift certificate I had for a stay at their hotel. Well, what do you know? This past week I got a letter from a member of his staff along with an updated gift certificate with an extension. Very cool!

Thank you Hotel Monaco!!!

Day 5152-3

Dear Margaret,

Day 5152-4I received your letter this week in the mail. Thank you so much for your thoughtful extension of my gift certificate. I am looking forward to my stay at the Hotel Monaco Alexandria.

With gratitude,
Reed Sandridge

Week 8 Notes and Letters

A great week for the Year of Letters. I received three responses in the mail – well sorta.

First, I received a letter from Caroline Fraser Zinsser. Her husband, William Zinsser, was the recipient of my 22nd letter. Now 92, the authority on writing well for the past half century, is now blind she explained to me and unable to reply, but she offered his phone number and let me know that I could call him. Wow! I haven’t called yet, I am not sure what I would tell him other than I think he’s a genius but he doesn’t need me wasting his time to tell him that.

Week 8Second, I received a letter from Margaret at the Hotel Monaco regarding my letter to General Manager Mart Hurlburt on January 6th requesting that my gift certificate for a one-night stay in their Alexandria, VA hotel be extended – I let it expire. She kindly offered to grant me the extension – thank you Margaret and thank you to Hotel Monaco!!! I’m a big fan of their hotels, but I have yet to stay in their Alexandria property so I am looking forward to that.

The last response I received wasn’t really a response I guess. You may remember that on Day 35 I wrote a letter to Jayson Werth of the Washington Nationals. He was serving a short sentence in the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center for a reckless driving incident last year. I figured he would have some free time to read my letter – but I don’t believe he ever saw it. My letter had been opened, inspected, taped shut and returned to me.

Finally, I want to congratulate Katy from Day 22. She was the co-producer of Citizenfour – the Edward Snowden documentary that took home the Oscar tonight for Best Documentary. She’s amazing.

Get ready for another week of handwritten letters. Do you have someone you think I should write? Let me know. And how about you, when is the last time you penned a handwritten letter to someone. Try to write at least one this week – you’ll be glad you did!

Day 6: Matt Hurlburt, Hotel Monaco Alexandria

Did you ever get a gift certificate and have it expire on you before you can use it? Well, that’s exactly what happened here. Expiration dates are often arbitrarily set at a year and have no reason that they could not be extended. I know I have been on the other side of this situation when I have worked for places that issued gift certificates and always worked something out if they expired Continue reading