In Praise Of Tb Hotels

[+Bill & Tammy]

What could be better than finding a cache full of Travel Bugs to swap and log and maybe even score a WJTB or a Geocoin? Don't you just love 'em too? Can I get an amen?

[+blackjack65]

I don't know if you jest or not, but here my take on it:

 

At first, I tought they were great. What neat concept!

This way, traveling GeoCachers have a quick place

to find TBs when they are on a trip.

 

However, many of those Hotels are situated in places

hard to reach by business poeple on a short schedule,

and so they actually become TB Jails,

especially if they have a one-to-one rule,

and that some newbie cachers do not understand

that this rule goes against the basic Golden Rule of

Travel Bugs, and thus respects that rule.

 

I understand the logic behind that rule,

but it is inaplicable to TRAVEL Bugs.

 

I am going tommorow to raid such a Prison

that has been holding 9 TBs for too long.

I will only leave in my Buzz The Liberator,

as well as another TB that has been there

less then 2 weeks, along with any other TB

that might get traded in between now and the.

[+Jamie Z]

I'm not necessarily against TB hotels, although as BJ pointed out, they often become TB prisons. Also, you risk the cache being muggled and losing a lot of TBs at once. Kind of an all-your-eggs-in-one-basket situation.

 

I've found a number of TB hotels, and one thing that seems to be common to many (all?) of them is that they're placed in places which aren't all that interesting. Because the "purpose" of the cache is to trade bugs, bringing a cacher to a cool spot is secondary.

 

Jamie

[+Highpointer]

I strongly dislike most travel bug hotels. When I have more time, I will elaborate on the reasons why I have this opinion.

 

According to previous forum postings, it appears that Jeremy Irish dislikes travel bug hotels as well.

Edited November 28, 2005 by Highpointer

[+bthomas]

Es Effo GCBCO9 is coming up on it's 3rd anniversary serving the overseas and domestic needs of travel bugs. It's at a runway view park, several hundred feet from Runway 1R.

 

Only recently has it suffered muggling, losing 10 TB to a transient. Having served over 600 TB, the attrition ratio is better than most Event caches. Visiting cachers have been wonderful in assisting TB in achieving goals.

[PCFrog]

I personally think the TB hotel if placed in a good area is a fantastic idea. Now I don’t mean fantastic in “wow, thanks for bringing me to such a cool location”. I think a great location is a place that your typical traveler comes across. Not only that, it is easy to access from the airport, or highway. Even 1 or two miles from the freeway can be too far.

 

I do agree that the take one leave one rule does not need to be observed. TBs are there to move from one cache to another or a specific mission.

 

Here are two hotels I been to that are good as far as location

 

1st One

 

And

 

2nd One

 

And this one is one that I personally think is too remote to be a good hotel since way to few visitors.

 

Last one

[+Highpointer]

Only recently has it suffered muggling, losing 10 TB to a transient.

That's is one of the biggest reasons why I dislike travel bug hotels. Most travel bug hotels are too easy to find and are highly likely to become lost, stolen, or ransacked, resulting in the loss of many travel bugs when that happens.

[+Highpointer]

I And this one is one that I personally think is too remote to be a good hotel since way to few visitors.

 

Last one

I zoomed in on the map of this location, and it appears to be very close to a road in the park. How could such a cache be remote? High quality caches should have such challenge to get to and to find. Caches that are too accessible and too easy to find are likely to become muggled.

[+Isonzo Karst]

Apparently you aren't going to get an amen.

[PCFrog]

I And this one is one that I personally think is too remote to be a good hotel since way to few visitors.

 

Last one

I zoomed in on the map of this location, and it appears to be very close to a road in the park. How could such a cache be remote? High quality caches should have such challenge to get to and to find. Caches that are too accessible and too easy to find are likely to become muggled.

While its close to the road it in part of the state that does not get a lot of visitors. When I think of a hotel I think it should be close to a place where there CAN be a weekly visitor. Such places are rest stops, along a freeway at a common area were travelers refuel and eat, outside of the airport, and such.

 

That location is not bad at all for a cache, its location I think does not make for a good bug hotel.

 

Some the bugs been stuck there for two months now.

 

On that note I guess I will have to visit it and retrieve the bugs to move them along. Now I have a cache to hit this weekend.

 

But do I think it should be removed - No its the owners right to place it and decided what type of cache it should be.

 

All this comes down to personal preference. Mine is for hotels that are in areas that are highly traveled.

[+Highpointer]

When I think of a hotel I think it should be close to a place where there CAN be a weekly visitor.  Such places are rest stops, along a freeway at a common area were travelers refuel and eat, outside of the airport, and such. 

 

... portions deleted ...

 

All this comes down to personal preference. Mine is for hotels that are in areas that are highly traveled.

However, this brings up the biggest hazard of "travel bug hotels". Caches near rest stops, highways, and airports are likely to be found by non-geocachers and have a high risk of becoming lost, stolen, plundered, or ransacked. Such caches are also likely to be picked up and removed by workers such as groundskeepers and highway maintenance personnel. Most of these people are not aware of geocaching and assume that geocaches are trash or abandoned property.

 

I recall reading a few year ago in a local forum that there was a cache at a rest area along an Arizona interstate, and a geocacher found the cache, not in its intended hiding location but it was in the back of the truck of one of the workers performing maintenance at the rest area. Apparently the worker found the cache and assumed it was trash, so he put it in the back of his truck. Fortunately the geocacher was able to "rescue" it from the trash, but had there not been an alert geocacher there at the time, the cache would have been discarded.

[+saxdiva and mr. vibes]

Here's a travel bug hotel that addresses all the usual problems very well:

 

Burbank Travel Bug Lockdown

 

Park and grab, just about ten feet from the curb. And we're especially lucky, since it's a five-minute drive from home!

[+Highpointer]

Here's a travel bug hotel that addresses all the usual problems very well:

 

Burbank Travel Bug Lockdown

 

Park and grab, just about ten feet from the curb. And we're especially lucky, since it's a five-minute drive from home!

Secure the cache and lock it!

 

There is a cache in Black Canyon City, AZ, Jumbo Combo Cache, which is a large ammo can, embedded in concrete, and locked with a combination lock. To find this cache, you have to find two other caches, one which has the coordinates and the other which has the combination to the lock.

 

While this is not a "travel bug hotel", the concept appears to be a good one to apply to travel hotels. First, the container should be securely attached so it cannot be removed easily. This method used for this cache works well, or it could be chained and locked to a tree, post, or other secure object. Second, the cache container should be locked with a combination lock. This will reduce the risk of the cache being opened by a non-geocacher.

 

Like a regular hotel, a "travel bug hotel" is not a good hotel unless it is a high-quality building that provides safety and security to its occupants. Would you stay in a hotel that is falling apart, where could not lock the doors to your room, and where you would fear for your own safety or risk the loss of your property? I know that the reputation of any hotel declines drastically if criminals robbed, mugged, or attacked guests, or if criminals broke into rooms or vandalized, stole, or broke into cars in the parking lot. Most people wouldn't stay in a hotel under such conditions. If travel bugs had a choice, they wouldn't stay in a "travel bug hotel" that failed to offer safety and security during their stay.

 

Ken Akerman (a.k.a. Highpointer)

[+the hermit crabs]

What could be better than finding a cache full of Travel Bugs to swap and log and maybe even score a WJTB or a Geocoin? Don't you just love 'em too? Can I get an amen?

 

Here are a few threads on the topic; they may give you an idea of why you are not hearing a chorus of enthusiastic amens:

TB Hotel Trade Rules, Leave one to take one?

Let's Ban Trabel Bug Hotels, Why make bug hotels? What's the point?

"Don't take a TB without leaving one" - WHY?

[+The_Sentinel_]

There is a travel bug hotel here in Brisbane, Australia that is visible from the cache-owner's front verandah/porch. What better way to keep an eye on the cache!!!??

Edited December 2, 2005 by The_Sentinel_

[+mon@rch]

Whoops, sorry, wrong location.

Edited December 2, 2005 by LeBlanc T

[+budd-rdc]

I think placing a workable TB Hotel is more difficult than perceived. People who own one, or planning to place one should really take the time and consider as many factors as possible, starting with NO RESTRICTIONS ON TRADING as the first step.

 

I vouch for bthomas's GCBC09, "Es Effo Bug Hotel" since it is located very close to a major airport, across the street from two hotels, and a short walking distance from an intermodal transit station with buses, and two types of passenger train services. The hide location and style is rather difficult to muggle, and I'm the eye witness to the transient who took a TB from there a year before it was muggled again, probably by the same guy.

 

By the way, Es Effo does not have restrictions.

[+Highpointer]

Here is a new cache in Higley, AZ in which the geocacher must first find two magnetic keys to unlock the cache. This is another concept that could be applied to quality "travel bug hotel". One idea I have heard which may have been implemented elsewhere for a "travel bug hotel" is a cache where the container is located in one of the lockable mailboxs at an office or residential complex. One of the mailboxes is currently unused for mail, so this is the cache. To open the cache, the geocacher must find the key hidden in a micro cache nearby. After opening the cache, the geocacher must return the key to the micro container.

Edited December 2, 2005 by Highpointer

[+Sparrowhawk]

I proudly own two high-quality TB hotels. One is well guarded by a red-eyed, attack plastiic rat.

 

Anyway, I am proud of the neat little "Travel Bug Protection Kit" cards that I include in my caches:

 

 

I have a printing industry background, so I get to use my old industry knowledge to improve the next round of cards. I am thinking of getting away from normal index cards this time.

 

For instance, you know that brown label that is sewed to your jeans and shows the brand name? That's actually made of a material which can be printed through a commercial-grade litho press, just like regular paper.

 

Another intriguing material is the stuff which rose plant labels are made of. Think of a cross between paper and plastic... VERY hard to destroy, yet easy to write on with a pen.

 

One of these days, I will choose one of the two materials, and order up a new batch of my TB Protection Kit cards outta some pretty indestructible stuff. This will be interesting.

Edited December 2, 2005 by Sparrowhawk

[+Iowa Tom]

I have two caches like my "Class of 2005 Travel Bug Suite" and my "WRBA TB VAULT" that I made for my students to put bugs into but that are now open to anything that'll fit. One cache of mine called “Bug Heaven” is placed in an area where we hunt for insects every year. At the time I placed it I didn’t even know about TBs. That was awhile back. A few TBs have moved through it.

 

The Suite is a hard find, being at the end of a challenging 3-part muticache. The VAULT is easy. Both are locked with a key lock and fastened securely in place.

 

I am wondering if some people simply call their caches ‘TB whatevers’ when actually they are regular caches that they would like to see TBs move through.

 

It may not catalyze the "travel" part of ‘travel’ bug but I myself like seeing my bugs land in any kind of a cache that is off the beaten path. Reason one: not likely to get pilfered. Reason 2: I like to imagine myself in out-of-the-way places and drawing my attention to such a place by having my bug there is one way of doing it.

 

Merry Christmas,

 

-it

[SAWKS]

TB Hotels are so cool. i've never seen so many TBs at once...

[+GA Cacher]

Team Pez and I have one that is in the front area of a old fashioned convienience store. The owners have propane, boiled peanuts, beer, lottery tickets, rocking chairs, sodas and snacks. They love to host our TB hotel they are Concierges Kim and Danny.

They love to chat with cachers and each week TP and I stop by to check on the cache they love to tell us about who visited. Almost all who have visited like the location and Kim and Danny. All except one who Danny told us was walking all around the parking lot with his GPSr and Danny finally went out and asked him to come on in an you can find it. The cacher didn't like the muggle help. Oh well it's has been therre for almost a year. And we have hosted 387 Travel Bugs.

 

Heres a look

It is on Old Highway $! in Kennesaw GA Please stop by!.Ye Olde 41 travel Bug Motel

Edited December 31, 2005 by GA Cacher

[+GeoJunkie]

I have a Travel Bug hotel that was set up specifically to allow a better answer than another one in the area. This other one not only had strict one-for-one rules, but requires you to find another multi-cache that seemed to have a habit of missing stages. I set mine up within walking distance of the airport, in a nice area and with no trade rules.

 

The first version went missing, and I did mourn the loss of a few travel bugs. I'm not sure if it was muggled or just gone when there was apparently some commercial digging in the original hiding place.

 

So...IMHO - TB trading rules: BAD -- TB hotels: GOOD!

[+ZackJones]

Amen. TB Hotels are great!

[+Teamhawaii1981 & blueicyrose]

I'm not a big fan; but I am not against them.

 

First, if it gets muggled, that is a lot of money and lots of TB's down the tubes rather than just 1 or 2 bugs. Also, I'm not a big fan of the 1-for-1 thinking with TB hotels, as it prevents goals from getting done if the bug isn't attractive or doesn't have a sheet with it. Lastly, I know most cachers don't return to a cache, even a TB Hotel, after the find because there are other caches to find. Thus, the hotel is precluding certain bugs trapped inside from the majority of the cachers that are most likely to move the bug along quickly.

 

That said, I just stopped by one today to grab a few bugs with neat goals, so I use them. And they are neat places to get icons and things you haven't found yet.

 

So I'm luke warm.

[+mailman72432]

I have a TB Hotel ( http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_detai...10-d5aae19ced75 ). No rules, just take and leave what you want. So far it has gone pretty well. There are still those out there that want to follow TRADE RULES?? for tb's but hopefully they will come around to the move it because you can mentality.

[+Ed & Julie]

A local TB motel that got muggled...5 tbs missing

Chico Bug Motel