Hey, you came back for Part II, awesome! Or maybe this post went viral and you missed our secret discovery in Castle Delta Bessborough. Either way, welcome. Today I’m going to tell you about one of the coolest things I’ve seen a hotel do – and I’ve worked in a few hotels and stayed in many more.
On Saturday, May 14th, the 2nd annual Delta Bessborough Garage Sale was held in the gardens of the The Delta Bessborough (The Bez) in downtown Saskatoon. We spoke with one of the organizers, Sagan Rouse, about the event and she mentioned that last year’s inaugural sale was originally intended to sell off some hotel furniture, with proceeds from the Delta Bessborough Garage Sale going to the Canadian Cancer Society’s Relay For Life event. The event was such a success they decided to do it again, with this year’s proceeds benefiting the Royal University Hospital Foundation.
If you’ve been to The Bez or have seen pictures, you’ll know they have a large lawn out back that’s just perfect for an event like this. Citizens were also able to rent a table, making it a true community sale and probably the nicest and hands down the best yard sale location I’ve ever seen!
I’ve mentioned how good these community yard sales are in the Sell All Your Stuff eBooks, and its true. The foot traffic alone is second to none, and if you have some decent stuff you may find that other vendors will end up buying some of your stuff before the doors open to the public!
And it’s not just “stuff people don’t want” at these sales. For instance, local Artist Darlene Steel set up a table with her artwork. I’ve never purchased artwork before, unless you count Canadian Pacific Railway re-prints as “artwork”. But looking at Darlene’s work and asking about her prices, yeah, I could see people buying these to decorate for sure.
Now, many years ago I worked in a hotel that was being renovated. That hotel did NOTHING like this. It was first-come-first-serve for staff and the price for stuff was, well, not exactly enticing me to open my wallet at the time. Add to that the speculation was that the money lined the owners already well-lined pockets.
Donating proceeds makes the Delta Bessborough Garage Sale all the more better. There’s nothing worse than employees engaging in gossip like the following dialogue:
Bell Boy
Did you know the owners keep all the money from the sale for themselves?
Housekeeper
What?!
Bell Boy
Yep. They use it for a secret annual poker game on the 13th
floor with other members of the social elite. You know,
the Rockefellers, the Rothschilds. People like that.
Housekeeper
Wow!
Bell Boy
I know. I’m not donating to that cause.
Housekeeper
I’m speechless.
Bell Boy
I know right! Hey, you wanna get a drink later?
Housekeeper
No, sorry, I have to clean the 13th floor tonight
and I don’t even know where the 13th floor is!
As you can see, when a company isn’t transparent about it’s spending it can lead to terrible gossip like the one above.
Donating to a charity is the way to go. Delta and it’s parent, Marriott, aren’t in the business of making a few extra bucks by selling their older furniture.
And that’s not even mentioning the waste saved!
How many renovation shows on TV have you seen where they roll up a dumpster, break out the sledgehammers and destroy the innards of a home, salvaging absolutely NOTHING. The Bez just saved a whole lot of landfill, not only from their stuff being sold, but numerous other vendors at the community sale were also able to save a few things from a landfill-fate. And some people made a few bucks in the process…possibly for a poker match…who knows.
Speaking of Waste…
This vendor sold some pretty cool things made of log cuttings. He works for a tree removal company and does this kind of stuff with some of the trees he removes:
We made a point of contacting The Bez after seeing their “2nd annual Delta Bessborough Garage Sale” ad on Facebook. These are the types of companies we’re happy to work with. The hotel benefits by getting rid of some stuff. The community can participate and get rid of some stuff. And the citizens of Saskatoon and surrounding areas can find some great deals on stuff. And the landfill doesn’t get filled with stuff! That’s a lot of good stuff happening!
Sounds like everybody wins – even the Bell Boy and the Housekeeper!
Now go sell all your stuff at a community sale!