美国酒店最长住客十年后退房

美国弗吉尼亚州一位老妇在万豪酒店旗下一处套房酒店居住十年后于上周正式退房，成为该酒店历史上居住时间最久的住客。据悉，这位老妇现年79岁，2001年她丈夫去世后独自从新罕布什尔来到弗吉尼亚工作，并于当年8月4日正式入住这家酒店。她所住套房一月的房费比华盛顿地区普通公寓每月1500到1700美元的租金还要低，而且住酒店不必付水、电、有线电视等费用，而且每天有人帮忙铺床、整理房间，还可享用免费早餐和无线上网。十年来，老妇已经把酒店当成了自己的家，酒店员工和其他住户就是她的邻居。不过，由于年纪大，又有骨质疏松及类风湿性关节炎，老妇最后还是决定搬去跟女儿一起住。

Last week, 79-year-old Joy Bricker checked out of the TownePlace Suites in Virginia.

She had been living there for 10 years.

The former pilot made headlines when movers came to her Falls Church, Virginia, hotel room to mark the end of her stay. Now ailing with rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis, the otherwise active woman is leaving her decade-long home to move in with her daughter, Christy Winton.

Before leaving, she served tea to staff and media, all eager to meet the woman with the title of "longest extended-stay guest" in Marriott hotel history, in her 500-square-foot suite. She outlasted six different managers at the hotel.

Bricker moved into suite 202 on August 4, 2001, having relocated from New Hampshire to Virginia to work with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) after the death of her husband. A homemaker for most of her life, Bricker's professional life didn't begin until she was 50. She moved into the TownePlace Suites at the age of 68.

"I wrote that one check, and I knew I was good for that month," Bricker said of her move-in day. Her decision to stay long-term was a gradual one.

For less than the price of many apartment rentals in the Washington metro area (roughly $1,500-$1,700 a month), the place offered convenience: round-the-clock security, complimentary continental breakfasts, free WiFi, and no electricity or cable bills. With the addition of just one familiar chair and a few family photos, the suite soon became home.

Over the years, she intentionally sought to built community at the place, despite many of the residents being short-term.

"I call it community planning," she told CNN. "I turned it into a community."

Still determine to offer "whatever I am able to give," go-getting Bricker plans to devote her time to church.

She'll likely have to adjust to her new life, sans hotel luxury.

"There's no continental breakfast at the Winton Inn," she joked about her daughter's house.

And, yes, she's a Platinum Premier member of the Marriott rewards program.