Yesterday was a big day for America and the world, as it became widely decided that we now have President-Elect Joe Biden and Vice President-Elect Kamala Harris. Rather hilariously that only slightly eclipsed the second biggest news story, which involves the Four Seasons Philadelphia. 😉
For those of you who have been on another planet for the past 24 hours, why is everyone talking about the Four Seasons Philadelphia? Here’s what you need to know…
In this post:
Press conference at Four Seasons… Total Landscaping
Yesterday morning, President Trump’s legal team was supposed to have a press conference in Philadelphia to talk about how he really won the election, etc. So President Trump Tweeted the following:
Lawyers Press Conference at Four Seasons, Philadelphia. 11:00 A.M.
That Tweet was quickly deleted, to clarify that the event was actually being held at Four Seasons Total Landscaping in Philadelphia.
The Four Seasons Hotel even had to take to Twitter to clarify that the press conference wasn’t happening at the hotel.
Say what? Yes, they were having a press conference at a landscaping business 11 miles from the Four Seasons Hotel, in a not particularly central location. A landscaping store that’s next to Fantasy Island (Adult) Book Store, and across from Delaware Cremation Center.
Also, below is the satellite view of the landscaping business, just so you can fully appreciate it.
And sure enough, they went with it. Rudy Giuliani and others indeed ended up holding a press conference in the back lot of a landscaping business.
How on earth did this happen?
First of all, we all agree this was an error, right? Or do some people think that Trump’s legal team intended to hold a press conference in the back lot of a landscaping store? It’s a genuine question, so if anyone thinks this wasn’t a mistake, please do chime in.
Now, if we can agree on that, then this is where the story gets really great. How exactly did this go down? Did someone on Trump’s legal team accidentally call the wrong Four Seasons?
And if so, did the people at the landscaping store just go along with it? Did they ask a landscaping company for a quote on how much it would be to host a press conference there, and then the landscaping company gave a quote? Rather than telling them they called the wrong Four Seasons, did they ask how many hours they needed, if they required catering, and demand a deposit?
And if that’s the case, has Four Seasons Total Landscaping hosted any press conferences or meetings before?
And then when Trump’s legal team finally realized they were booking Four Seasons Total Landscaping, did they figure they were too deep into this, and decide just to double down and make it seem like it’s totally normal to hold a press conference in the back lot of a landscaping business?
Presumably they thought they were getting this:
But then they ended up getting this:
This isn’t political, believe it or not
I’m covering this story because it involves the hotel industry, because it’s so outlandish that I don’t even know how to process it, and frankly I can’t stop laughing.
I’ve written several blogs posts over the years about situations where a traveler accidentally books a flight to the wrong destination, like flying to Sydney, Canada, rather than Sydney, Australia. I’ve written about how airlines have even operated flights to the wrong destinations.
If there were a news story about a group (whatever group it is) accidentally booking a conference at a landscaping company rather than a luxury hotel, you can bet I’d be writing about it, because it would be hilarious.
Now, admittedly this story is even more incredible when you consider that:
- The party booking a press conference at the wrong location was the legal team of the POTUS
- It’s not just that the wrong place was booked (like, a Marriott in a different part of town than the intended Marriott), but we’re talking about a luxury hotel vs. a landscaping business between an adult book store and a cremation center
I’m sorry, The Onion, but your services are no longer needed. Who needs parody when you have reality.
Statement from Four Seasons Total Landscaping
As an update to this story, Four Seasons Total Landscaping has now issued the following statement:
Four Seasons Total Landscaping is a family-owned small business run by life long Philadelphians. We were honored to be asked to host a press conference at our facility. We thank all of those that have shown support for our business and while we understand the negative comments, it saddens us that we have received such harsh judgment. Our team at Four Seasons would proudly have hosted any presidential candidate’s campaign at our business. We strongly believe in America and in democracy. We hope that our fellow Americans can join together and support all local small businesses during this time.
For those interested in purchasing shirts, our website will have a Merchandise tab uploaded by Monday Morning, just bear with us.
fstl1992.com
I wondered if they’d sell merch, so that didn’t take very long 😉
Frankly the statement only leads to more questions about how exactly the press conference ended up being held there…
Statement from Trump’s team
The New York Times reports the following about what Trump’s team has said about the event:
“In reality, the mistake was not in the booking, but in a garbled game of telephone. Mr. Giuliani and the Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski told the president on Saturday morning their intended location for the news conference and he misunderstood, assuming it was an upscale hotel, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
But the campaign had always intended to hold the news conference in a friendlier part of town. The president’s team had struggled with news conferences in this Democratic stronghold all week.”
I’m not sure whether to believe that or not:
- If this were in fact the case, you’d think they would have been crystal clear in communicating the location to President Trump to avoid this entire comedy of errors
- This is the president who claimed that “covfefe” wasn’t a misspelling, but was intentional, so…
Bottom line
Trump’s legal team held a press conference at a landscaping business rather than a luxury hotel. It’s not entirely clear how that happened.
I’m sure some might say this is “fake news” and suggest this is what was planned all along, in which case I’d ask why. But assuming this wasn’t planned like this (which I’m 99.99% confident in), I am so amused by everything that went wrong for this to happen — the legal team accidentally calling the wrong Four Seasons, the landscaping company going along with the premise, and the legal team then following through with having a press conference there.
Like, how does Four Seasons Total Landscaping go back to normal now? As far as I’m concerned they need a Netflix documentary, merch line (which is happening, per the latest update), and more.
What’s your theory as to how this all went down?
Most of you commenting here (and the blog author with 99.99% certainty!) assume this location was booked by mistake. The true answer will come out. I suspect there was ballot or ballot envelope burning going on at the crematorium across the street in the early morning hours (all caught on video).
One way to “Support your local business “
"some pretty ugly Trump Haters"
All the ugliness is from your side, Francis.
@Roman
"Al Gore thought he was President for 37 days"
That isn't true, but then I've never encountered a Trump supporter who didn't lie incessantly. That election came down to just a few hundred votes in Florida, and Gore was waiting for a recount--he didn't know who won, and neither did anyone else, but the SCOTUS decided to put their giant thumb on the scale.
This is the first election since the founding of...
@Roman
"Al Gore thought he was President for 37 days"
That isn't true, but then I've never encountered a Trump supporter who didn't lie incessantly. That election came down to just a few hundred votes in Florida, and Gore was waiting for a recount--he didn't know who won, and neither did anyone else, but the SCOTUS decided to put their giant thumb on the scale.
This is the first election since the founding of our country in which the loser of the election didn't concede. We know that Trump lost because of the vote counts reported by the various states. That's not the networks deciding, just reporting.
https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2020/11/09/man-featured-at-giuliani-press-conference-is-a-sex-offender-1335241
And this is a travel/aviation story...........how?
Maybe he was trolling democrat insiders - "total landscaping" may have been the code name for the election fraud operation ;)
@lucky
It gets better, according to Politico:
“The first person Rudy Giuliani, the attorney for President Donald Trump, called up as a witness to baseless allegations of vote counting shenanigans in Philadelphia during a press conference last week is a sex offender who for years has been a perennial candidate in New Jersey.”
Ha Ha I think they just confused Four Seasons "Hotel" to Four Seasons "Total".
My guess is that Rudi got the wrong establishment on the phone and tried to stitch up a freebie with the management to use their premises for this "historic" press conference, and were surprised that they accepted so quickly. After getting the green light, Rudi's secretary was told to organise the timing etc with the Hotel ,quick, smart. They came back to Rudi, telling him that Four seasons hotel knew nothing about the whole thing,...
My guess is that Rudi got the wrong establishment on the phone and tried to stitch up a freebie with the management to use their premises for this "historic" press conference, and were surprised that they accepted so quickly. After getting the green light, Rudi's secretary was told to organise the timing etc with the Hotel ,quick, smart. They came back to Rudi, telling him that Four seasons hotel knew nothing about the whole thing, and the hotel wasn't interested anyway. So , last minute, Rudi rang the original number, and realised his mistake...but way too late... Oh well.
Keystone Cops/Abbott and Costello/ the Three Stooges/ a French Farce...nothing compares to the sight, FOC, of Rudy Giuliani ,in White Knight mode, riding in to save the day. Pure Gold.
I really don’t think the hotel would have turned down the booking if they had been asked and it’s not clear they were even approached.
Most rational people can distinguish between a hotel offering rooms for hire and an organisation booking a meeting space.
I really don’t get the excuse that they wanted to hold the press conference in a blue part of Philly. You do campaign launches there to appeal to your voters but...
I really don’t think the hotel would have turned down the booking if they had been asked and it’s not clear they were even approached.
Most rational people can distinguish between a hotel offering rooms for hire and an organisation booking a meeting space.
I really don’t get the excuse that they wanted to hold the press conference in a blue part of Philly. You do campaign launches there to appeal to your voters but not a press conference about legal matters.
And this whole mistaken venue thing is all that’s being reported from the press conference and not the legal side. But since their legal case is sorely lacking perhaps that’s what they wanted in the first place.
Fairplay to Total Landscaping for cashing in with t- shirts.
The adult book store should get in on the act as well.
It is an unnecessary post. Nothing related to points and miles. Just the fact that it was supposed to be at a hotel but was not. Not good.
Ben, your intent might not have been political in posting this, but your take that it was about an engagement at the wrong Four Seasons, a luxury hotel brand name, and thus appropriate for a travel blog site is not credible. All you did was have your useful site polluted by some pretty ugly Trump Haters.
Official Merch is live now: https://www.fstl1992.com/fstlmerch
@D3kingg 10/10
"This isn't political..."
Tittysprinkles, man. Just own it. It's cool. We all know where you stand, and most of us do too, and we don't care, just don't call a spade a club. It insults our intelligence as readers and makes you sound condescending and disingenuous, ironically like orange man and his team.
After Biden is inaugurated on Jan 20, 2021, Trump would become a private citizen and a trespasser who would be subject to forceful removal by the secret service if he remains in the White House...
This makes me so happy.
@D3kingg - your second post is much more rational and "normal Republican" more than your first :) lol
True - Republicans picked up House seats. False - they won back the House. Also false - any of this illegal/fraudulent voting. Can't bridge any gap w/o any agreement on basic facts.
@UA NYC
Supporting Trump was risky. People lose their jobs , family , and friends over him. I wasn’t as big on Trump this time around. US China relations will improve quicker under Biden.
In all seriousness of course Trump should concede. There are two types of Republicans moderate and red necks . For dinner I ordered the former.
Republicans picked up a lot of seats in the house. You’ll see. Good...
@UA NYC
Supporting Trump was risky. People lose their jobs , family , and friends over him. I wasn’t as big on Trump this time around. US China relations will improve quicker under Biden.
In all seriousness of course Trump should concede. There are two types of Republicans moderate and red necks . For dinner I ordered the former.
Republicans picked up a lot of seats in the house. You’ll see. Good luck getting Trump out of the White House on Inauguration Day. Get your popcorn ready folks.
For a minute I thought Sacha Baron-Cohen had hacked Trump's twitter account.
@D3kinggg - don't you feel like a chump for supporting a historic loser? Unprecedented combination of 1) 2x popular vote loser, 2) re-election loser (really hard to pull off!), 3) impeached loser. Must really suck.
Curious how the Republicans "won the House in a landslide" since they were and still are the minority party. Facts R' Nice.
Simply overwhelmed by the unity here...
Everyone knows the Trump campaign is flat broke and must live within its means.
Couldn't even afford to rent a row of potted poinsettias in front of the rostrum!
Convenient though for Rudi to pick up his November periodicals! lol.
@D3kinggg
I'm going to need some footnotes for these allegations.
Show your work.
@Roman
Do you always just cherry pick facts to make a point? The Gore vs Bush election was a close one, where winning boiled down to the couple hundred votes in Florida. This election has Trump losing by a much wider margin, both in terms of electoral colleges and number of votes. Trump would essentially have to win over multiple states, when courts have tossed out most of his attempts.
I guess sore losers attract...
@Roman
Do you always just cherry pick facts to make a point? The Gore vs Bush election was a close one, where winning boiled down to the couple hundred votes in Florida. This election has Trump losing by a much wider margin, both in terms of electoral colleges and number of votes. Trump would essentially have to win over multiple states, when courts have tossed out most of his attempts.
I guess sore losers attract sore losers, but would you put money where your mouth is and bet me cold hard cash as to who would ultimately become the president come Jan 2021? Thought so.
I don't recall anywhere in the Constitution where it says the media calls the election. Even Al Gore thought he was President for 37 days, wouldn't be popping champagne on either side just yet.
I’m going to guess trump still has an unpaid bill at the hotel so they declined the business.
Someone from the Trump legal team was looking for an outdoor venue and put the Four Seasons hotel and Total Landscaping together to assume it must have been a lavish outdoor venue.
As a Republican I'm glad this reality is show is over and done with!
Once in Seattle I booked an Amtrak train to Vancouver, WA instead of my intended destination of Vancouver, BC.
I’ve heard a few people in politics say that the reality behind the scenes is so much more like Veep than The West Wing. Now I believe it.
Just 2/10th of a mile from Sweet Lucy's Smokehouse, perhaps the best BBQ joint in all of Philly, so hopefully any reporters who attended the event took the opportunity to grab a tasty lunch just up the road.
https://www.sweetlucys.com/images/Sweet_Lucys_Restaurant_menu_2020.pdf
Don’t forget this lovely gem!
It was at this press conference that Giuliani learns the race has been called for Biden from a reporter. He then asks, “by what network” and everyone states “ALL of them” and blows his mind
Merch available. LOL. https://www.moteefe.com/store/get-four-seasons-total-landscaping-t-shirt
I’m with Thierry. Looking for an explanation so thanks!
Across from a crematorium you say? What do crematoriums do, again?
Sure seems like Four Seasons landscaping has a lot of security cameras.
@Jose C - Shame that you don't have a sense of humor but, more important, if you don't like Ben's blog, for God sake do insist on getting a refund for your subscription.
The past almost 4years incompetent of this administration and it is still reflected on the way out.
It is OVER
The End
@Jose C -- if "our" candidate had done this or something similar, I'm pretty sure I'd be amongst millions of others who would be screaming bloody murder on how could they not only hire someone so incompetent to make this "mistake" but saying that "our" candidate who actually approved it and Tweeted about it needed to undergo a mental status evaluation by an independent group of physicians.
Please just stick to travel stories. It’s a reach to say it “isn’t political” as I am pretty sure that you wouldn’t have done this if “your” candidate of choice did something similar. Like it or not - we all know where you stand politically and that is sad as this should be about points and travel. I wish you would just stick to real travel stories already.....
How much are rooms at the newly discovered Four Seasons Landscaping Philadelphia? I won’t do fertilizer for breakfast though
How many nights to earn a freebie?
@David - that comment ref Endre is giving me life!
Statement from Four Seasons (the landscaping place...not the hotel). https://www.instagram.com/p/CHVXG_egHCM/
They say they will be selling shirts on their website starting on Monday.
It isn’t even really a “store” but a service company’s office. As was said by several on Twitter, I’d pay for a story on the details of what actually happened. VEEP or 30 Rock couldn’t have written a better gag.
I also couldn’t stop laughing at the absurdity of this situation yesterday. My first thought similarly was that it must have been a mistake but it seems like this may have actually been intentional as it’s the best they could get in blue Philly. Which if true seems even funnier.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/11/07/us/biden-trump
“ In reality, the mistake was not in the booking, but in a garbled game of telephone. Mr. Giuliani and the Trump campaign...
I also couldn’t stop laughing at the absurdity of this situation yesterday. My first thought similarly was that it must have been a mistake but it seems like this may have actually been intentional as it’s the best they could get in blue Philly. Which if true seems even funnier.
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2020/11/07/us/biden-trump
“ In reality, the mistake was not in the booking, but in a garbled game of telephone. Mr. Giuliani and the Trump campaign adviser Corey Lewandowski told the president on Saturday morning their intended location for the news conference and he misunderstood, assuming it was an upscale hotel, according to multiple people familiar with the matter.
“But the campaign had always intended to hold the news conference in a friendlier part of town. The president’s team had struggled with news conferences in this Democratic stronghold all week.”
I am pretty sure the whole team bought a load of shovels before they left.
This is priceless. Thanks, Lucky.
Reality nowadays is so much more bizarre and so much funnier than parody. Blows my mind..
Trump’s team begging for a conference room slot , and Four Seasons refusing and holding them accountable to their mistakes, and the words coming out of their mouths, for once.
Would’ve paid good money to watch that go down. As much as Endre’s FULLY PAID First class tickets.
@Nate that part of philly skews toward poor.... uneducated.... white males..... oh right right right, your correct that’s Trump’s fan base , poor uneducated people..... these folks in Philly are typically in Unions, the same Unions republicans try to dismantle-
My jaw dropped when I saw Trump's tweet, it's so perfect in so many ways. You're right Ben, who needs parody when you have mis-steps like this. Oh to be a fly on the wall @ the correct Four Seasons as they begged to be allocated space for their press conf only to be denied.
I wouldn’t be surprised if the four seasons refused. But either way this is hilarious.
Perhaps the Four Seasons got a glimpse of the infamous Moscow golden shower tape and don't want team Trump anywhere near their sateen sheets.
Realising their mistake they could have surely booked the Four Seasons Hotel or any other premium location for that matter.
I think The Four Seasons and other high end hotels refused to let them hold their press conference there as they didn't want to be involved in the shenanigans. That way the legal team just went with the landscaping who probably couldn't be bothered or reached.
Hilarious
@ Ben -- What UA-NYC said...
The ONLY reason this makes sense may be that this part of the city skews conservative and maybe it was the only place willing to put their neck out and host them. It still doesn’t make any sense though
They're all just a bunch of carnival barkers now, increasingly irrelevant...good riddance to bad rubbish. Looking forward to a few short months where the US is no longer the laughingstock of the world.
Rudy won’t be caught in a compromising position with another 15 year old Kazakh journalist and therefore insists that the press conferences are not held at a hotel.
These people are in charge of COVID response and have the nuclear codes.
Man, this is hilarious! And I really want to know what was going on in Trump's mind during the time he had to delete the tweet for the Four Seasons hotel, and create a new one for the landscaping business (note the time change as well) .
Thanks Lucky! I was trying to explain this to friends, but couldn't find an article that both explained what happened and the funny side of it. Yours is perfect - and, I agree, perfectly in the scope of this blog.
“This isn’t political, believe it or not“ — suuuuuureee
This captures perfectly the incompetence of Trump and his cronies. Seventy-two days and counting.
If it is Selina Meyer's team that has done this, it will be understandable but hilarious. This, is just embarrassing.
@ Ben -- Maybe Rudy is a regular at Fantasy Island, so it was convenient for him?
Trump loves a porn star and what better than a cremation center for his farewell !!! so long Donald .....