HELLO MER FRIENDS AND ATTENTION ALL MERPALOOZA 2012 GUESTS
On Tuesday, July 24, 2012, after a sudden phone request by our meeting coordinator at International Palms Resort (old event site) to come in to the International Palms to finalize details on layout, etc., we had a meeting with the newly appointed Director of Sales and Marketing there, Marshall Thompson mthompson@internationalpalms.com. Hold on to that email - you may want to use it. After keeping us there overnight asking us details and pulling up info he had researched on Mermaiding, the nest morning he informed our representatives that he was NOT interested in having MerPalooza 2012 at the facility, even though it had been long contracted and paid, because, in his opinion, EVERYONE associated with this hobby was quote "fruity", new age treehuggers and he felt we might offend other hotel guests with our mere presence.
Let me say that the prior Sales Manager we originally contracted with was the BEST and was more than friendly, willing to make the ONE pool there exclusive to us for the evening and the next morning, etc. That gentleman left the resort suddenly...so that is why the need for the new contact to review the details and speak to us. Doesn't matter, the new person, Marshall, was not going to honor our agreement or treat any of us honorably.
We were told that the event was not what they wanted to support also for the reason that "THOSE MERMAID PEOPLE" support gay and lesbian rights... and that is not something he can tolerate and did NOT want “THOSE” type of people at his facility, to such an extent that many reservations were not being kept or accepted for more than a week... We know of one group that lived in Orlando, and went in person and the resort would not take their money...And this was about a WEEK before Marshall called us.
LET ME SAY that MerPalooza is a family friendly event, both by day and night. But yes, we support PEOPLE. All people.
For those of you who know me, I think you might agree that I am an extremely soft spoken and professional person...This man yelled at me and insulted all of us with his "darkness" and hate. As a whole, everyone involved in MerPalooza 2012 was insulted, offended and it was felt that the event site must be moved IMMEDIATELY and that is exactly what has been done. We feared if we tried to stay with the original plan, our guests would NOT have been treated well.
We have friends at the Wyndham Orlando and at the thought of hearing what we went through, they opened their doors and a block of rooms for us, effective Thursday, and they listened. WOW it sure does feel nice to be welcomed by a facility that WANTS us there. I WANT and DEMAND that our guests be treated royally, and the Wyndham can do that. They are familiar with being welcoming to military, social, ethnic, niche groups and they are FIRST CLASS ALL THE WAY. The place is gorgeous, so much of a step up - Photos added to the web site by tomorrow evening... and it's only half a mile down the road from the original location.
This move, we felt, was the only way we can protect our guests to be sure that none of you were exposed to this bigotry and his bias.
If you have a reservation at this facility, PLEASE cancel ASAP!!! You're still in your allotted time and the Wyndham promises to make the switch easy. For those who have not made reservations, please do so ASAP, as rooms will book fast here!!! We look forward to an INCREDIBLE event at our new facility, Wyndham Orlando Resort, [COLOR=#49535A !important] 407-355-3612 . The room rate is still $79.00 and the management, staff and all of us look forward to making MerPalooza 2012 an event to remember. When booking your reservations, please remember to mention the group name, MerPalooza, to get our block rate.
