IWS #239 - Business trip! THE RESULTS

[timmae]

1. Stupid thought about flying but his meeting is just close enough he doesn't want to hassle with airport security. How far away, in miles, would his meeting need to be in order for Stupid to consider flying?

Question number 1 turned out to be the eliminator. 4 people had questions 2-6 correct but you needed to guess the right number for this question to be the best. Stupid loves larger round numbers.

100 - 1
150 - 1
200 - 5
250 - 4
300 - 1
500 - 8

2. When Stupid arrives at his hotel he decides to tip the valet a decent amount so that he knows his ride is protected. How much does Stupid tip to make sure the valet knows he's a VIP?

Again the round numbers rule and Stupid loves an easy 20 dollar bill. I thought 100 may get more traction but who carries around many benjamins.

$5 - 2
$10 - 3
$20 - 12
$50 - 1
$100 - 2

3. Stupid has some time to kill the evening before his meeting but he needs to be alert early the next day. What does Stupid decide to do that evening?

I was hoping the “alert” part would add some variety. It may have steered people clear of some other interesting choices. In the end Stupid likes to keep things simple and chill at the room. I figured a local sporting event might fare better. No concert or theater goers it seems.

Watch TV/Movie – 12
Sporting Event/Ballgame – 3
Dine out – 2
Hotel Bar – 2
Room Service - 1

4. Stupid decides to bring home an item for his lovely wife, who couldn't travel with him this trip. What item does he purchase for his better half?

Lots of answers here which is exactly what I wanted from this question. In the end jewelry wins out as you can’t go wrong with that answer.

Necklace/Jewelry – 10
T-shirt – 3
Chocolate - 2
Scarf – 1
Teddy Bear – 1
Keychain – 1
Lingerie – 1
Perfume -1

5. Stupid has a daily stipend for meals. How much does his company reimburse up to for meals?

Stupid does love his round numbers but he doesn’t splurge. This one was not the eliminator although in the early going I thought it may be.

$20 – 1
$40 – 1
$50 – 12
$61 – 1
$100 – 5

6. Stupid decides that he loved the hotel he stayed in and will only stay at that chain from now on. What hotel chain did Stupid enjoy?

This one was a surprise. All of the commercials in the world did not help Holiday Inn. Two of the big chains battled it out until the end. The last entry made this a tie interestingly enough. Also this did not necessarily decide the winner.

Hilton – 7
Marriott – 7
Holiday Inn – 2
Ritz Carlton – 1
Sheraton – 1
Hyatt – 1
(Coast)Fairmont - 1

Here's how the final totals look:

Stuck at the office for the foreseeable future:
Young Drachma – 576
MIJB#19 – 768
jbergey – 800
The Jackal – 2,016
nilodor – 4,320

Check the bedsheets before jumping into bed:
albionmoonlight – 6,048
bhlloy – 7,200
flere-imsaho – 8,064
Glengoyne – 8,400
Logan – 10,080
korme – 11,520

Hotel, motel, Holiday Inn… say what?:
CU Tiger – 12,096
Masked – 20,160
JeeberD – 45,360
Butter – 63,000
Coffee Warlord – 80,640

Made it to the executive club level:
claphamsa – 483,840
digamma – 604,800


George Clooney’s body doubles:
WINNERS
Pyser – 967,680
Quiksand – 967,680

[albionmoonlight]

Mrs. A to me:

"You tipped the valet $100, but you only bought me a lousy t-shirt!?!"

Looks like I'll still be sleeping in a hotel even after my business trip ends

[digamma]

It really is stupid to drive 500 miles.

[CU Tiger]

Originally Posted by digamma

It really is stupid to drive 500 miles.

It depends though.
I used to have 1 account in Orlando, FL. It was 515 miles. I could make the drive in right at 7 hours consistently. I live roughly and hour and 15 minute from the airport (Charlotte) then it was an hour boarding and such, 2 hour flight, 1 hour at the rental car counter....it took me 5 and a half hours to fly in get to my clients office or I could drive in 7, ride in my car on my schedule and have lots of leg and shoulder room.

Now if it had been just another hour south...Id have flown.
Then again I drive 60,000 miles a year and have for the past 15 years...Funny what our personal tolerances are.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

It depends though.
I used to have 1 account in Orlando, FL. It was 515 miles. I could make the drive in right at 7 hours consistently. I live roughly and hour and 15 minute from the airport (Charlotte) then it was an hour boarding and such, 2 hour flight, 1 hour at the rental car counter....it took me 5 and a half hours to fly in get to my clients office or I could drive in 7, ride in my car on my schedule and have lots of leg and shoulder room.

Now if it had been just another hour south...Id have flown.
Then again I drive 60,000 miles a year and have for the past 15 years...Funny what our personal tolerances are.

Similar here. My wife has similar situation with several trips a year. 90 mins (min) to the airport, then dealing with security & all the assorted hassles of cars & such. That covers at least 200-250 miles of driving right off the top.

[MIJB#19]

Googling #5 was pointless in retrospect. All the possible answers I got were non-round numbers, which made me think: finally a clever question where something obvious like $50 isn't going to work. Alas.

[Pyser]

hot diggity. stopped myself 3 different times from writing in to change my 500 miles answer.

quik, lets talk.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by digamma

It really is stupid to drive 500 miles.

I would walk 500 miles.

[timmae]

Some very interesting races vote wise. The hotel wasn't decided until the last entry came in and it allowed for the tie. Fun watching the entries.

I drive 500+ miles... I have conference calls off and on which I take at the oasis/rest stops. A flight would make it difficult to take all my calls unless I redeyed it every time. Driving isn't bad when you add in stops at BBQ restaurants and distilleries on the way home!

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by digamma

It really is stupid to drive 500 miles.

I would walk 500 miles.

[jbergey22]

A VIP that will drive 500 miles with only 50 to spend on meals and never heard of The Ritz/Carlton. Stupid must not work for a larger company.

[cuervo72]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

I would walk 500 miles.

Or 500 more, anyway.

[Young Drachma]

Never gonna win.

[cuervo72]

You out-MIJB'd MIJB, though.

[Toddzilla]

Originally Posted by digamma

It really is stupid to drive 500 miles.

I would walk 500 miles

[cuervo72]

Damn, how many people have me on ignore, anyway?

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Damn, how many people have me on ignore, anyway?

Not me, but quoting you so that we might find out.