John Mac's Travels

  Greetings from Evansville, Indiana.   I’m in town to scan our racks that uplink local channels to #DIRECTV and generally “Kick the tires” to make sure all is good here in EVIN.   I usually stay at the @Hyatt or the #Doubletree , and this week Hyatt won the coin toss.    Downtown Evansville went through a revitalization a few years ago and now there are some great local restaurants and bars in walking distance to the #FordCenter . My favorite restaurant downtown is Comfort by the Cross Eyed Cricket .   Love this place.   Wonderful food.   It’s a three story establishment with a private bar/room upstairs for parties and private receptions, main floor for general dining and a basement bar with food as well.   No teles here so the focus is on food, and they do a wonderful job. They have a sign on the wall as you head downstairs that says "Were so glad you are here". I am always glad to be there.  My usual M/O is to eat at the comfort and...

  Mid November finds me in Central illinois. what I love about Illinois is that there is a great mix of Americana. you want left, go to Chicago.  you want right, go to Quincy. You want to stay in the middle lane, go to Peoria.  Illinois is a microcosm of America. Please visit if you have a chance, and DON'T fly.  Drive. Take it in, trust me... I'm starting my week in Quincy.  Not going to name the hotel, but I am here, and its Monday night.  I am READY for some #MNFonDIRECTV.  This hotel is not part of any national chain and has NO Television service to the bars and restaurant. The Restaurant TVs are off.  the Bar is empty. This is because the staff do not know how to use the TVs. No training.  I politely offered to show them how to use their TVs, but the request was denied. When you tell me "no" i'm good with that. I move on, but I move on with my wallet and potential revenue for the bar/restaurant and the hotel.  I ended up at the Riv...

I am happy to report that even travel bloggers get a "Bye week". Mine was last week. It was great to watch the MLB finals at home. Congratulations to the Texas Rangers! I was also able to watch #MNFonDIRECTV and #TNFonDIRECTV from home on my Gemini device with my children.  Great times. Week 10 of the NFL Season finds me in Topeka Kansas across the street from the state capital at the Cyrus Hotel. This is a Marriott hotel under the Tribute portfolio.  Named after Cyrus K. Holliday the founder of Topeka Kansas, this is a small boutique hotel downtown with an amazing restaurant and bar.  If you happen to be passing through town this is the place to stay.  This is not a #DIRECTV property, but I have dropped hints numerous times with Kelly the Restaurant/Bar manager in the hopes of a possible sales lead in the future. I finished out my week in Wichita Kansas at the Hyatt Regency . I was able to meet tons of people from the Bombardier Safety Convention . These professi...

By the time you read this I will have been home for 10 days.  Before I hit the road again it will be 13 straight days at home.  This is very foreign to me as a career traveler who usually spends every week in a hotel working remotely. Though I enjoy my family very much, sometimes I think they are counting the days until I am back on the road so they can have peace and quiet from "Crazy Dad". When I am home I very much enjoy cooking.  This week we made pies. We have an organic family orchard locally and two weeks ago we picked some of the most amazing Gold Rush Apples.  My parents were in town and overall had a great time together. I have also started a deck expansion in my backyard to accommodate a cooking station for our Pizza oven, bbq, and smoker.  So many projects, so little time. I watch the financial shows on the tele when I work and try to keep up with finance and all things technology and business.  Of course I look for all things #DIRECTV as well. ...

  This week I was blessed to end up in Good ol' St. Louis. My "goto" hotel here is the Hotel St. Louis  Downtown. This hotel is walking distance from basically anything a corporate traveler might need or a tourist might want. I like to walk to the St Louis Ballpark Village  for dinner and some epic Monday Night Sports. I tried to have dinner at Katie's Pizza and Pasta , but couldn't get in as the place was packed. What's great about Katie's is that you can site outside on their patio to enjoy dinner and also see the 150" outdoor screen in the common area. I ended up back at my local favorite Salt and Smoke  for some epic barbecued brisket!   I was able to catch Game-6 of the NLCS and game-7 of the ALCS MLB playoffs at S&S.  Both games were great, and my hat's off to the #TexasRANGERS for holding on in this series.  Up 3-0, they suffered three losses (Controversial Game-6) to come back last night and finish on top. I went back to the Hotel St...

   I LOVE KENTUCKY! I spent Monday night in Louisville on  4th street live  watching #MNFonDIRECTV. Thousands of people in town for the  HNA Show  so I met lots of new landscape professionals who share my love for the NFL. I had some BBQ from Guy Fieri's Smokehouse, tacos at  Gordon Biersch  and finished up the evening at the  Hyatt Regency  watching the Cowboys squeak out a win over the Chargers in the final moments of the game! The Hyatt is a  #DIRECTV  property and I usually don't venture out at night, but they don't have many teles and the hotel was packed with customers. 4th Street Live had tons of opportunities to see the games.  It was another great night. On Tuesday I was able to enjoy one of the best steaks in Kentucky at Repeal  inside Hotel Distil . If you are ever in Louisville, you have GOT to have a steak at this amazing establishment. Wednesday night I was in Lexington and saw #MLBonDIRECTV playoffs Gam...

I love my flip flops! Living on the road, I do bring a few selected items with me that help me relax and feel at home. There's nothing better than chillin' after work with my laptop, a nice meal and some #DirecTV on the Tele.  Fall is a great time for me because I can still wear my flips and it's not too cold out. I wear them all year no matter where I am traveling or what season.  Yes, its true that I once walked to dinner at Elizabeth's Chop House  in Marquette in January for dinner in my flips. I believe it was -10 degrees outside. Their steaks are served on a salt block still sizzling.  If you are ever in the area you MUST have dinner here.  There was a time when I had a rule that "If my Flip Flops are on, the work phone is off". I have adjusted this policy in the last few years to 10pm-6am quiet time, unless I am working a maintenance window.  I do however, warn callers that the "Flips are on" if they call in the evening. When you spend as much...

  I finished up week-5 of the 2023 NFL season in Jonesboro, Arkansas at the Embassy Suites Jonesboro  located just off the campus of ASU.   This hotel is operated by the Oreilly Hospitality Management Group , and many of the hotel staffers are students from ASU's hospitality management program. Not only is this a well run hotel, but its a well oiled management machine that knows how to deliver a great customer experience and maximize revenue at the same time.  This is how the Embassy uses #DIRECTVforBUSINESS to provide a remarkable experience for their convention and business travelers: Embassy hosts a daily Evening reception from 530-730pm with free drinks. At 730pm the hotel hosts "SINGO"  every Monday night. The hotel is PACKED each week. While Singo is happening the hotel was also showing #MNFonDIRECTV as well as #MLBonDIRECTV Game-3 playoff with the Rangers and the Orioles. Every TV has QuickTune set for the revenue generating channels (compliments of yours...

  I absolutely LOVE the QuickTune option for #DIRECTV Customers. Every DIRECTV customer has this option on their set top box, but #DIRECTVforBUSINESS customers have the unique ability to use QuickTune to maximize revenue at their Restaurant/Bar or hotel property. You heard that right.  I believe that QuickTune can make our customers MONEY.... As a career business traveler, one of the common traits I see from service staff is that they are mostly younger in age, and if they didn't already "Cut the cord" this is because they never plugged said cord in from the onset. Because many in the service industry are not DIRECTV customers, they are not familiar with our equipment and do not have a good grasp on what our channels numbers are. Restaurants do not have a requirement for their staff to memorize the channel guide on the tele that services their hotel/Restaurant/Bar. Property owners simply want the burgers served and the beer poured.  QuickTune solves this problem.  i...

  What a whirlwind week for me! I finished out #NFLweekFour in Dayton, Ohio where I was pleased to watch my beloved #Seahawks wipe out the Giants on #MNFonDIRECTV (Sorry Giants Fans...). Thursday I was at the Hyatt Regency in Indianapolis and helped the hotel host the #TNFonDIRECTV game between the Commanders and the Bears.  The IBO USA s fall conference is here this week so we had a packed house. Kudos to the Hyatt.  They do Football right here.  16 TVs in the house ant 10 of them had #9550 tuned to Amazon Prime and all of their customers now know that staying at a hotel with #DIRECTV is the best way to see the games that matter the most! I'm headed to Arkansas next week, the journey continues... Monday night in Dayton Ohio A packed house in Indy! Special shout out to my Favorite Defensive player #RichardSherman who will always be a proud #Seahawk!!! To learn more about John and the work he does for DIRECTV please click  HERE .  The views expressed in ...

It was an honor to talk to Tan Tidwell last month and feature my team and our mission to support DIRECTV in the September issue of the TANTalk Podcast.  Thanks Tandall for having me.  I hope to be a part of your podcast journey in the future.  Here's a link to the September episode.   PLEASE NOTE - You have to be a member of the Field Ops - Sales and Service group to listen to the Podcast. CLICK _HERE - to go to the Field Ops Sales and service Group to be added as a member. CLICK _HERE - to listen to the Podcast To learn more about John and the work he does for DIRECTV please click  HERE .  The views expressed in this blog post reflect the experiences and opinions of the author only and are not meant to be any official correspondence from DIRECTV, its Dealers, affiliates or any related entities. Copyright John Mac's Travels 2023

  It’s week four of the NFL season and I am in Nashville at the  Hilton Brentwood Nashville Suites . We had a packed house tonight at the Bur-Bun restaurant! This was my 2nd #NFLonDIRECTV viewing party and this hotel knows how to do it right! This hotel has been showing  #TNFonDIRECTV  on their public viewing televisions and Executive Lounge for years. Because we now offer TNF on Amazon Prime this property now has a leg up on the other hotels in the area, and it is paying off. Thursday is now one of the highest revenue generating weeknights for the bar/restaurant.  This hotel has tons of repeat customers (Like me…) who book this hotel specifically because they know they will always get the games that are important to them while out of town! Can’t wait for week five at another great  #DIRECTVFORBUSINESS  hotel in another great American City!    #GameDayDIRECTV   #TNFonDIRECTV   #DIRECTVWATCHPARTY   t To learn more about John and...

  I have autographed dozens of these "Calling cards" and handed to hotel/bar managers across our great country over the last couple of years.  As an  #Engineer  I am not usually customer facing so I don't really have a need for a business card. I don't let that stop me from offering to help our customers though. Honestly, I was just being polite by writing these up. Seemed to be a nice thing to do. Offer our customers an opportunity to skip the "888" option and ask simple  questions if they ever had any.  IMAGINE MY SURPRISE a couple of weeks ago when people actually started calling me! This was because I had added a "Favorite" channel to their TVs helping them to easily access  #TNFonDIRECTV , but I had programmed #9526. We are now on #9550. I honestly had no idea that people kept these. I thought for sure these would end up in the "Round File".  Always happy to help. These calling cards were ALWAYS delivered with a handshake and a promi...

  Week three of the NFL season finds me in Cape Girardeau, Missouri enjoying #TNFonDIRECTV at the Courtyard by Marriott, which also happens to be the Official Hotel of the NFL. this is a hotel I frequent 3-4 times a year and the hotel ownership also owns the Top of the Marq Restaurant across the street. If you are ever in the Cape, you MUST (I repeat MUST...) visit the Marq and shake hands with Matt the Executive Chef, and enjoy some of the best food in the midwest! When I checked into the hotel I touched bases with the hotel manager and helped them coordinate a Happy hour special for thursday night so their hotel guests could enjoy #TNFonDIRECTV from the hotel.  It was an OK night for the hotel.  Not good, but not bad at all.  I lit the fuse though.  The hotel knows that if they proactively market their DBS services at the hotel when guests check in, they will most likely end their night at the Courtyard's hotel and bar.  It's about the revenue that incre...

 It was humbling to be honored by my peers for the work I do as a Product Ambassador for DIRECTV.  Click here for the post.  Thanks Doug, the honor is all mine... https://directvus.workplace.com/groups/2637585426539575/permalink/3220324554932323   To learn more about John and the work he does for DIRECTV please click  HERE .  The views expressed in this blog post reflect the experiences and opinions of the author only and are not meant to be any official correspondence from DIRECTV, its Dealers, affiliates or any related entities. Copyright John Mac's Travels 2023

  I never set out to be a product ambassador in an official or unofficial capacity. At the time, I didn’t even know that a simple offer to help would eventually translate to the opportunities I have been given to help so many hotels and businesses over the years. About three years ago I was working in Missouri and staying at a prominent Hilton hotel. The hotel owns a restaurant which is attached to the hotel. I was in the restaurant enjoying dinner and working on my laptop (Exactly what I am doing tonight in Ohio) when I noticed above the bar there were 10 televisions. Four televisions were hanging on each side of the bar and two televisions at the end of the bar. I also noticed that every other TV was off. If was weird. The bar is full, but 1/2 of the TVs are off? I walked up to the bartender and asked why every other TV was off. Her response was dismissive and she basically said that “Only every other TV works because the DIRECTV is screwed up”. As an employee and Engineer for DI...