Did you forgot to bring something?

[texascouple_sdc]

Hi everyone! We are regulars at DRM and for the past six years, we've enjoyed reuniting with the staff and familiar faces during each time we visit. The past few visits (in 2015 and 2016), something interesting has happened to us. We usually show up with an excess of everyday "party wear / gear".. Specifically, it started about two years ago, we had a lot of excess hats (baseball hats, cowboy hats, party hats, etc).. Last year, we had tons of sunglasses. It's weird but something interesting has taken place.. We have been approached for the past few years by various couples and asked if we would be interested in selling some of our excess hats or sunglasses. Without a single consideration, we've simply given away an extra bottle of sunscreen, insect repellent and an occasional bottle of aloe vera gel for those who are in need. We come prepared each year! As for the hats and sunglasses, we've typically replied with a simple "thanks but no thanks" response. This year, we anticipate that we might be approached again.

Let us start by issuing this disclaimer - we would NOT EVER consider our vacation time as an opportunity to do a little business on the side or try to "make money." Financially, we do quite well with careers! We do not need to make $5 or $10 extra bucks here or there. With that said, we expect to be approached again this coming June during our stay at DRM. We have bought a few "extra" baseball caps and a few extra sunglasses. Make no mistake, we are at DRM for ONE thing.. to enjoy our vacation. It's THAT simple. We are on the fence about bringing these extra items with us during our stay this year. So, our thoughts are this: If approached, do we tell everyone that we do NOT want to part with our items? For reference, in the past, this has alienated a few couples from chatting with us (we suspect that it probably seemed like we were being a bit cold-shouldered or our response was consider as a negative reply)? ...OR... Do we pack these few "extra" items in case someone forgets to pack an extra "hat" or pair of "sunglasses" and let them know that we have "$ X-amount" invested and are interested in only recouping our investment if asked?

Roughly, on average between the both of us, we bring 25 pairs of sunglasses each visit (All Oakley, yes we love their lines of sunglasses) and roughly the same amount in various hats. We usually stay for 2 to 2 1/2 weeks each time we visit DRM as a reference. This year, we are staying for 16 days. We typically bring everything with us and rarely do we like to wear the same thing every single day. Much of the hats that we bring will get worn only once and rarely twice and each year, several items will often be "donated" to the DRM staff upon our departure. Our sunglasses have always remained in our possession due to the cost of each pair.

Our intentions are quite simple. We are at DRM to have fun, party and enjoy blowing off a years worth of pent up steam.. Sadly, we cannot party during the whole year due to our demanding careers.. nothing more, nothing less. We LOVE meeting other couples and this year, we want to be a little more prepared vs. 2015 or 2016. If we are approached this year, do we finally give in and part with a few of our hats or sunglasses? Should we bring receipts? Do we avoid the topic altogether or ignore the question(s) if asked? Do we continue to tell other couples "thanks but no thanks"? Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! ....lol

[TandD]

I may be reading this entirely wrong but it kind of sounds like you secretly want to sell these items but realize it might look kind of bad.

It's just confusing because you state that you are "buying excess" items and bringing them down, but then say they are all for your own use. Do you really like sunglasses so much that you bring 25 pairs? If you do, you do but it seems strange to me. And, if they are truly for you then there's your answer. Don't sell them.

I can't imagine going up to someone and asking if I could buy their hat or sunglasses unless they had them spread out by their lounge chair as if they were for sale. Is that what is happening (in one way or another)? Is there something special about these hats and glasses? Are they Desire themed in some way?

Bottom line, in my opinion, it would be a bit crass to sell merchandise at Desire. Obviously, they parade the models around in outfits from the boutique and attempt to sell you that stuff but guests setting up shop and peddling goods (I know I'm exaggerating here) seems a bit too far.

[Explorer79]

That was my take as well, confused as to how this is an issue if nothing is for sale. I was wondering how it came to be that multiple people were coming up inquiring about making purchases (assuming that it is multiples as if all this was over a single inquiry by one person/couple then I think there would be no concern of a repeat occurrence).

Something gave these people the notion that stuff was for sale, and if it is that multiple people are inquiring then the only thing I can guess is that something about the presentation says "stuff for sale".

Take the sunglasses for instance. You only have one head, so even if you brought 500 pairs of sunglasses to Desire you would only ever bring one at a time with you to the pool. If I saw a spread of a bunch of sunglasses all possessed by one person I would probably think "for sale" far before I would think "mega sunglasses enthusiast who loves sunglasses so much he brings 20 pairs to the pool and changes them out every 5 minutes."

[texascouple_sdc]

TandD, sounds like I failed miserably in our original post. We apologize if it's worded that way. WE DO NOT WANT TO SECRETLY SELL OUR STUFF. We have no desire (no pun intended) to sell off our stuff. Guess we didn't adequately explain that in our opening dialog. We have ALWAYS given a polite "not for sale" response. We even debated on posting this thread. Maybe we shouldn't have even brought up this topic. If Wayne wants to delete this thread, we wouldn't mind one bit. It was just our way of reaching out to the Desire community about our "interesting" past experiences.

Let us clarify. WE BUY TONS OF HATS / SUMMER WEAR / SUNGLASSES / GADGETS each year. We live for it.. mainly hubby but I've been bitten by the summer time bug a time or two! Some people are addicted to gambling, some to drugs, alcohol, some to watching every known sport on the planet. Some people are foodies, buy tons of shoes or purses, some constantly travel, build or tinker with things, etc. So, to simplify, we live for the summer time, love warm weather, being at a pool whenever permissible, enjoying drinks on a patio.. and so on. Hopefully, that paints a better picture of us. As for 25 pairs, YES.. absolutely! Easily! He likes to be color coordinated (lmfao, does that mean he is being a tad "metro"). I have roughly 12-13 pairs and my hubby has 13-15 or so pairs that I know of. Same for our hats.. I stopped counting how many hats my husband has. It's like an addiction. They are often a great way to break the ice because some of his hats are SOOOOOOO ugly or SOOOOOOO funny looking. I applaud him for being in touch with his inner dorkiness. After being serious all year long with his job, he totally gets to let loose on our vacation so he dabbles with silliness often.

I think your advise is solid. Do not sell. We have always followed that advise. As for people just coming up to us and asking to buy our stuff.. it doesn't go down like that.. LOL. It's usually several days of hanging out and socializing with the same couples over and over. Typically, after a friendly rapport has been built with other couples, that's usually when we are approached (and mostly while consuming a healthy amount of alcohol). Giggles.

We are repeat offenders at DRM (almost always each June). Each time we go, the staff welcomes us "back home" and even calls my husband, "hey.... the hat guy." We run into couples all the time from previous June time stays. It's nice to be recognized simply by wearing a few silly hats.

Hopefully our original point is now a bit clearer. We just want to get along with everyone and have a small slice of fun just like everyone else (and NOT let a stupid hat or a pair of sunglasses come between us making new friends or making new memories).

[TandD]

Hopefully our original point is now a bit clearer. We just want to get along with everyone and have a small slice of fun just like everyone else (and NOT let a stupid hat or a pair of sunglasses come between us making new friends or making new memories).

Yep, thanks for the follow up and clarification and apologies for reading it the wrong way. If you guys really are known as the hat/sunglasses people then I could see how, after wearing all different manner (of hats anyway), someone might be comfortable enough to casually ask if they could buy one. I agree with your decision not to sell them so as to avoid *any* possibility of it looking bad. But, what I think *would* be cool, and somehow befitting the "Desire Attitude" is if someone showed they really liked your hat, you offered it to them for free. Now, I don't know how attached you are to your hats so maybe this wouldn't work for you but if you could stand to part with them, it could be a cool thing to do. You would have to be discrete about it so that you don't just have people lining up to get hats but if you felt the right connection, it could work.

The only reason I mention this option is because it kind of happened to us. We met a couple last visit and had a great time talking with them in the hot tub. Nothing sexual but just a fun time. He was an artist and created these interesting necklace/medallions that he and his wife were wearing. We admired them and complemented him on his work. After a while he got out and went to a cubby and returned with a necklace for my wife. It was such an unexpected gesture but, at the same time, exactly the kind of thing that just happens at Desire. He made a point of saying that he doesn't give them to people who specifically ask for them - just the people who tick some type of qualification list in his head - and we were honored to have met the test.

Anyway, all that to say working it something like that could be a cool way of handling it in my book.

[Explorer79]

Thanks for the clarification, makes more sense. So, given that:

If approached, do we tell everyone that we do NOT want to part with our items? For reference, in the past, this has alienated a few couples from chatting with us (we suspect that it probably seemed like we were being a bit cold-shouldered or our response was consider as a negative reply)?

My take is that if someone was alienated because they (presumptively in my opinion) asked to buy someone else's stuff and got a polite 'sorry we are not selling OUR things' response then that really isn't the type of person I'm interested in hanging out with much less anything more intimate - especially at a place where the price is high enough that pretty much everyone their can afford to guy buy their own hats and sunglasses.

[texascouple_sdc]

Well ya nailed it. That's EXACTLY what we do.. lmao. Of all of the hats that we bring, we end up giving roughly 1/2 of them away. 99% of the time, we give them to the hard working staff (entertainment staff, pool staff, food services staff, bar staff, room services staff and even a member of the front office staff). It's our small way of showing a bit of gratitude and keeping in touch with the ones who often are not told how much they are appreciated. What we didn't mention yet is in the final few days of our stay each year, for those who we feel bent over backwards for us or we felt they went above and beyond their "normal" job duties to make sure our stay was exceptional, we also give EACH of those staff members a small token of our appreciation (usually in the form of a generous tip / souvenirs). Last year, it was cool looking shot glasses in the shape of a clear skull. We brought 12 shot glasses last year so we might repeat that tradition this year, albeit different shot glasses or unique drinking glasses. We don't want to get the staff in trouble for accepting our gifts so we are up front about it when we check in with the management. We hold the Desire staff in very high regard.

[texascouple_sdc]

My take is that if someone was alienated because they (presumptively in my opinion) asked to buy someone else's stuff and got a polite 'sorry we are not selling OUR things' response then that really isn't the type of person I'm interested in hanging out with much less anything more intimate - especially at a place where the price is high enough that pretty much everyone their can afford to guy buy their own hats and sunglasses.

Well, in two words, WE AGREE. We understand that traveling will sometimes cause travel headaches. One year, we forgot our condoms. Damn, it was not a happy moment. When we were approached for some "fun," we instantly realized that we forgot to pack em. We were so impressed that many couples offered to give us a few until we could go to the gift shop in the morning and buy some for ourselves. Since then, we specifically bring extra things to freely loan out or give away for those who forgot to pack it ..or.. in the instance of one couple that we met, the airlines lost their luggage and they had basically nothing for 3 days. Omg, could you imagine! What a headache.. Definitely NOT the way to have fun on vacation.

Let us go on the record now. If you forget to pack sunblock, bug spray or sunburn gel and you are in dire need, if we are there, look no further.. we will gladly give you what we can. Haha! You can make it up to us by "buying" us a drink at the bar!

[Explorer79]

in the instance of one couple that we met, the airlines lost their luggage and they had basically nothing for 3 days. Omg, could you imagine!

Unfortunately I can, 2 days in Ireland with no bags because they were in Paris (which we weren't even supposed to have a layover at but were redirected there because of snow in NYC).

[texascouple_sdc]

Unfortunately I can, 2 days in Ireland with no bags because they were in Paris (which we weren't even supposed to have a layover at but were redirected there because of snow in NYC).

Oh no! You're the second person we've ever heard of whose luggage was misplaced by the airlines. That is dreadfully awful. We get a sinking feeling in our stomach just thinking about it happening. Did the airlines somehow reimburse you for their mistake?

[khplay8]

On a happy offshoot of this topic our first year at Desire we were playing with a very nice Romanian couple. On our last night we were enjoying their company at the Jacuzzi and this beautiful young Romanian gal puts her hat on my wife and says I want you to keep my hat to remember me by.

We met another couple that always a couple brings a few extra ball caps from their home town and will trade home town ball caps with friends they make on vacation.

Your first post sounded a little odd after the clarification in the second post it seems a little odd and almost rude of people to solicit you to purchase your items. Your husband sounds just like a non Desire friend of mine except he wears his crazy glasses and hats everywhere. Yes a great ice breaker.

[desireaddict]

Unfortunately I can, 2 days in Ireland with no bags because they were in Paris (which we weren't even supposed to have a layover at but were redirected there because of snow in NYC).

Oh no! You're the second person we've ever heard of whose luggage was misplaced by the airlines. That is dreadfully awful. We get a sinking feeling in our stomach just thinking about it happening. Did the airlines somehow reimburse you for their mistake?

We were EIGHT days in Jamaica and NEVER got our luggage. (Thanks American Airlines!) Those "special" CFM shoes and "that" little black dress are among the irreplaceable things that got lost. BTW, they absolutely would not let a guy without dress shoes or a jacket into the restaurants at GL Braco. Thankfully 1/2 the time was spent at Hedo.

[Explorer79]

Oh no! You're the second person we've ever heard of whose luggage was misplaced by the airlines. That is dreadfully awful. We get a sinking feeling in our stomach just thinking about it happening. Did the airlines somehow reimburse you for their mistake?

I don't remember if they reimbursed us or not, if so it would've been something like a credit that I've long since forgotten about. The whole thing was a mess but really didn't have an impact. We were supposed to fly ATL -> NYC -> Dublin. However, after waiting in the security line at the airport for an hour or so, then the TSA delousing, literally 15 seconds after finally being done with all that they announce that our flight has been canceled due to snow in NYC. At first they tried to put us on a flight 30 hours later. But since our trip was 4 days in Dublin followed by 4 days in Amsterdam, this would be a significant cut in our vacation time . We managed to convince them to put us on a flight through another airline - this one ATL -> Paris -> Dublin. This had a lovely 7 hour layover but we did manage to get to Dublin on the same day we were expected to, only we found out that our bags were still in Paris. Fortunately we were dressed just fine for an Irish pub crawl which we immediately began. The bags ended up arriving at the end of the next day (they delivered them to our hotel) so we really only had to do without for a day. We were staying in the city so it was easy to walk around and just buy some stuff. So, what could've been a horrifying story actually had very little impact and was just a footnote on the trip - we felt fortunate as under different circumstances it could've been much much worse.

For Desire, we don't worry about it too much - it would suck to lose the costumes etc... but seems like there is much less chance of lost baggage with direct flights which we are able to do. And yes, now I just jinxed myself lol.

[texascouple_sdc]

Jinxed is right! You better have knocked on some wood! ...LOL!

[RobHollinger]

texascouple_sdc

We'll see you in June! If I remember, We'll bring a few SD Hats and maybe make a trade! ;-)