Saturday, September 8, 2012

Update on Grey2K Trip to England

Ah yes... Several days back, in the post, Last of the Board Duties, I commented about Mr & Mrs Grey2K's working vacationtrip to England being timed to coincide with the "1000 Greyhounds" event.

I am happy to report that it was confirmed back on Sept 4 that Grey2K USA, in the form of President Christine Dorchak and her husband, Executive Director Carey Theil, did, in fact, put in an appearance at the "1000 Greyhounds (greyhoundworldrecord.com) event, to hand out badges (buttons) to participants!

You know, an airline ticket to London is around $1k... I wonder how much this trip is costing?

Curiosity got the best of me... So, I went on to a couple of discount travel sites including Expedia to get a guesstimate as to how much the trip may cost.  I found the cheapest total cost, per person, was to stay at a hostel. What's the difference between a hotel and a hostel?

Hotels are considered more luxurious than hostels and, therefore, more expensive. At a hotel one can have his own room and bathroom as well as maid service and other amenities. A person staying at a hotel will have his bags carried to his room, fresh towels delivered and his bed made up daily.

Hostels are generally used by younger travelers with less money to spare. Those visiting a hostel will most likely be required to share a room as well as bath and shower rooms. In the past, rooms were set up dormitory fashion, with communal showers. Nowadays, some hostels offer single rooms and bathrooms, while shared, might accommodate only one guest at a time.

Anyway....  Here is the info from Expedia as to the least expensive Airfare + Lodging  +Car package.

Flight + Hotel + Car Trip

Situated in London, this hostel is close to The General Cemetery of All Souls, Portobello Road Market, and Electric Cinema. Also nearby are The Tricycle ... More lodging info
Hotel promotion - Save 15% on this stay!
Book online or call 1-800-222-0892
Total Price:$2,193
$1,097 per person
Only 2 trips left at this price!
includes: Flight + Hotel + Car, Taxes & Fees**


1.5-star London, England 
Bed in 8-Bed Mixed Dorm
Check in: 23-Sep
Check out: 1-Oct
Flight Information
DeltaBoston (BOS) to London (LHR)  Depart:22-Sep  6:40 PM - 6:25 AM (+1 day) Delta
London (LHR) to Boston (BOS)  Return: 1-Oct  9:40 AM - 12:39 PMDelta
Choose a different flight
Car Information
HertzLondonPick-up: 09/23/12Mini 2-door car
Drop-off: 10/01/12
Choose a different car


Somehow, I cannot envision the leadership of Grey2K, as dedicated to the welfare of greyhounds that they are, staying in a hostel, even if they are going to be touring the country. But, I'll give them the benefit of a doubt...

Even so, this is a fine use of those donations "for the dogs"....  NOT!

Of course, this is all supposition as we have no idea as to where they stayed or how their reservations were made, but you can see that this trip to England was not cheap.  It was, at a minimum, airfare alone was about $2000 for airfare alone.   What about meals?  We have no idea as to how much the final cost will be?

That $2000 would go a long way to helping a lot of greyhounds find homes, if it had been donated to an actual adoption group rather than lobbyists, who are making a living off of the dogs...  who are 'exploiting' the dogs (to use their own words) to achieve a political goal.

So, how much do you want to bet that Grey2K will have a donate comment on all their buttons, literature and swag they hand out?  It's called "Branding".  And, as long as they don't take pennies on site, then how the donations come in are fair game.  My guess is that they are not going to be political, lobby or whatever over there. They are getting tours of greyhound racing facilities and attending a novelty ENTERTAINMENT EVENT ... which is what setting a Guinness world book record really is.  All on the backs of the dogs they supposedly support. While campaigning for more money to pay for their pleasure trips.

How much do you want to bet that they are going to use the trip to scrounge up more donations back here in the States?  After all....  they will probably next want to visit Macau...  to shut down greyhound racing there.


Prices are per person and do not include baggage fees or other fees charged directly by the airline.
These results cover a metro area with several airports. Please review your choices carefully.
Sort by:Departure TimeArrival TimeStopsDurationPrice
BostonMacauSeattle, Taipei
BOS  6:35pmMFM  11:50am +2 days2 Stops  29h 15m
Alaska Airlines 15
EVA Airways 25
EVA Airways 801 

MacauBostonTaipei, Los Angeles, Dallas
MFM  8:35pmBOS  10:50am +1 day3 Stops  26h 15m
EVA Airways 812
EVA Airways 16
American Airlines 2400
American Airlines 2400 
Roundtrip
$1,800
avg/person 
(total $3,600)
includes tax and fees


Think about it.

Yours in greyhounds....

2 comments:

  1. Here is the link to the 1000 greyhounds event.

    http://www.greyhoundworldrecord.com/

    As you can see the money raised is going to "Charities." If you click on the link, in the article, "UK Charities" you will see the UK charity Grey2KUSA. LOL Did they fleece the Brits out of some euros?

    One other note they didn't come close to 1000 greyhounds http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-19535586

    Dick Ciampa

    ReplyDelete
  2. Since Grey2K USA is NOT a charity, I would have to say that, Yes, they did fleece the Brits! Thank you for providing this information!

    ReplyDelete

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