https://www.investopedia.com/blackstone-group-warns-of-the-mother-of-all-bubbles-4775625
Well if Blackstone is saying it, it must be true right lol? Personally I think the market will keep chugging to all time highs in 2020 and slowdown will come near the end of the year. 2021 could see some bad juju. What do you guys think?
OK, so there is already a 7% sales tax and a 2.5% restaurant tax in Omaha and now there is an additional 1.95% Blackstone area tax that helps the owners of the Blackstone Hotel from having to actually pay out of their own pocket to renovate it. they greased the hell out of the mayor's office and the city council and saved themselves the princely sum of $22,000,000 dollars. who pays that? YOU DO. every time you spend a dime in that area. sounds like a great reason not to. and let's not forget the shitty mathematics trick that the shitty council is pulling on us. you pay a 7% sales tax on let's say a $100 restarurant bill. so then you get to pay a 2.5% ax on that new amount of $107. that brings it up to $109.68 and THEN you get another 1.95% tax on that $109.68 amount. and that brings it up to a grand total of $111.82 by the time they get done with you. you get taxed on the tax on the tax on the tax! ain't this a great city? a cow town run by crooks and just so their financial supporters don't ahve to actually pay their share, YOU get to chip in for that too. so let's call it what it is. an 11.82% Blackstone area food tax. so i called around and yes, the entirety of Midtown Crossing is subject to that same extra tax. what a crock of shit. looking forward to not spending a dime at the Blackstone Hotel. ever. i need to do some research and find out what else those shit-heels own so i can NOT spend a dime there either. and the poor schmucks who fall for this and actually stay at the hotel? they get an extra 3% added to their hotel bill and i think that they deserve it for giving them a dime in the first place.
I stayed at the Marriott Courtyard Fort Worth Downtown / Blackstone last weekend for a wedding. I had no clue what I was walking into, so here's a heads up for everyone else.
My relatives reserved a block at the hotel months ago for wedding guests and a place for the bridal party to get ready. My booking process was completely normal until a week ago, when I get this nugget in a generic "your upcoming stay" email from assistant manager William Logan. Keep in mind this is a couple days before the first guests check in:
This week, we have begun work to prepare our lobby for a renovation. This will be a fantastic upgrade for the property, with many exciting features. There will be noise associated with the removal of tile and other fixtures – this work will be confined to the hours of 9 am to 5 pm daily. There will be no interruption of guest services at the front desk.
I don't mind a little noise in the lobby, so no big deal right? Well, it seems William errs on the side of understatement. The entire lobby floor was destroyed, people were tripping all over the floor and nasty carpet strips they taped together for a walkway, dust was all over everything. And that was just the lobby.
The construction isn't just in the lobby, there are crews working on multiple floors 7 days a week. I was on the 4th floor and couldn't hold a normal volume conversation in my room when the power tools were revved up, which was on and off every day I was there. The elevators are set up for protection from the workers and are absolutely filthy - floor and walls covered in old carpet and padding. Tons of worker traffic in the hallways, elevators and common bathrooms.
So overall, this place is a huge mess. My relatives can't believe the hotel didn't warn them about a major renovation during the months they had the place reserved. I'm getting nowhere with a refund for my room - the same assistant manager that emailed me, Logan Williams, is basically saying "our bad, but we don't refund".
So there's your heads up!
