We have a lovely older couple that has stayed with us just about every month for several days. When they leave their room is always immaculate, they greet staff by name and the only thing they ask for is an extra towel or a roll of toilet paper. Couldn't have better and nicer guests........

The 3-11 person finally put it all together with the help from the housekeepers. The woman will go into the breakfast room, grab two cups of coffee, a couple of bagels, two pieces of fruit and some butter, cream cheese and jelly packets and return to the room without eating any of it in the dining room. A while later the husband will come in and do the same. Then they both come in and actually have breakfast. Then they leave, come back about two hours later, right before breakfast ends and take a few more bagels, fruit, yogurt, etc. back to their room. They do this every day.

First the Wife, then the husband will approach every housekeeper and the desk clerk for an extra towel/washcloths/bathmat and toilet paper and tissues. On every shift.

Housekeeping paid a bit more closer attention to them and realized that often pillowcases are missing, before they strip the beds. Last time when they left we were missing a king size blanket.

The Boss decided that, despite them being such a lovely couple, we will inform them that they are not able to return to our Hotel.

I know people steal, but these two basically set themselves up for a month supply of tissues, toilet paper and a bathroom full of towels.

The Front Desk is the be-all, end-all, don'cha know? Basically any question one can fathom, it is we, the Keepers of the Inn (and sometimes Suites), who can help any wayward traveler on their merry way in no time. Our vast array of knowledge is as deep as the most complex cistern, and our ability to troubleshoot any conundrum makes us as sharp and cunning as the most lethal apex predator. Or, ya know, I'm just some guy and what you're asking me is kinda crazy.

I should preface this by saying this gentleman who called with one of the most creative questions I've received so far was at least mildly self-aware. Let's call him Mr. Tripp.

Mr. Tripp opened the conversation strongly: "Hey, I need some help with my vacation package." [I'm already raising an eyebrow because we don't really offer any internally.] He continued: "You may or may not be able to help me, but I figure I'd ask anyway." I oblige, and then he elaborated further:

"So, I bought a vacation package from RocketJet Airways, which includes a flight and a hotel stay. You know anything about that?" I declined and didn't do a great job at masking my air of skepticism. Nevertheless, he pressed on. "Okay, well, for the hotel it looks like they're trying to send me to The Lodge by Devereux. But, I don't wanna stay there. I wanna stay with you guys! You are The Standard Hotel, right?"

Desperately holding back my whirlwind of laughter, I compose myself enough to confirm that while he was indeed calling The Standard Hotel, it sounded like he'd have to take up the discrepancy with the airline itself.

Mr. Tripp paused for a moment, then admitted something interesting: "Well, I asked, but they couldn't find you in their system." I then paused for an even longer moment before replying, "I don't believe we have any sort of partnership with that airline. So, it sounds like they're partnered with The Lodge by Devereux, which is an entirely separate brand and company from us. Either way, if you booked through the airline, any questions have to be taken up with them."

He let out a light sigh and then politely ended the call. Thankfully, with an empty lobby to boot, I just about keeled over right then and there. Mr. Tripp, whoever you are, thanks for that.

In the businessmen's hotel where I worked NA shift on the switchboard behind the front desk, there was a gift shop on the lower floor near the bar and restaurants, carrying mostly souvenirs of various sorts, as well as candy, sodas, clothing, and various utensils, also under the departmental umbrella of "Front Office".

Because there was nowhere to eat on the night shift, the staff were permitted to go to the casual restaurant's buffet at the end of the shift, which was great since we wouldn't have to make any additional stops on the way home, and could relax. Since we didn't wear uniforms apart from our name tags, we could sit and eat in peace.

I would frequently stop by the gift shop on my way out for a couple of chocolate mints for the bus trip home.

One day was a little more memorable. The gift shop had received a shipment of pens with mini- "troll babies" on the top end. (These were, to the uninitiated, little troll-appearance dolls, "so ugly they were cute", with shocks of neon hair of various colors standing straight up from their heads.)

This particular day when I went in, I found the clerk, a petite young woman of about 5' 2" (about 6 inches shorter than me) being berated by a man about six inches taller than me. The man's fury was directed at the "troll baby" pens displayed in a bin on the countertop. He was shouting at her that the "troll babies" were Satanic, and that by promoting and selling them, the hotel was in league with Satan, and every employee in danger of eternal damnation. The clerk was clearly intimidated (who could blame her, he was about a foot taller than she) and I caught her eye (his back was turned to me),nodded to the in-house phones located in the hall just outside and held up my hand briefly. I went to the phones and contacted Security.

I then returned to the gift shop (there were no other customers or clerks and I didn't want to leave her alone, as she couldn't leave the register, which fortunately had a counter surrounding it and her). At first I was just going to "browse", but then chose a different tactic. I entered the conversation to break his unending stream of judgement and "prophecy" and give her a chance to breathe after the tirade she'd been subjected to. Once I had his attention, I continued to converse with him, with each shift of position moving slightly closer to the door of the shop. Eventually he became completely enraged and with a final "prophecy", shot out the shop door, up the stairs and out the hotel entrance door.

The clerk comped me my mints that morning, and I figured that was that. But the following day I had a department meeting, one of those boring mandatory ones. When I walked in, there were bowls of chocolate mints in the middle of the table, and "troll baby" pens at each place. Evidently the clerk had told her supervisor what had happened, her supervisor had told the department manager, sending along the chocolates and the pens as a token of appreciation, (and probably a good excuse to unload the pens).

I never saw the man, or any more "troll-baby" merchandise, at the hotel again. I've no idea how I got the idea to shift him away from the counter at the back of the shop to the door, so that other customers could enter and the clerk could breathe. I'm just glad I did, and I'm sure the shop clerk was as well.

Security, cowards that they were, never came by at all, leaving just two women (and myself off the clock) to deal with an irrational and clearly aggressive customer. Their office was directly behind the gift shop through a pair of swing doors and twenty steps down the hall, so they really had no excuse, as they had been contacted.

I understand that when people travel that there's always a chance that something might get left behind. That's what lost and found is for. But honestly, some guests need to learn that lost and found also comes with time constraints.

First, during shift change with the AM shift, the phone rings and the my co-worker answers it. From my end what I hear is basically that a guy was calling to say that he might have left an item behind when he checked out and wants to know if someone can go to the room to get it. My co-worker asks his name and room number and checks the system. She tells him his name isn't coming up on the departed guest list. After whatever he says, my co-worker checks the system again and tells him that unfortunately we can't check the room as the room is already occupied, but she can transfer him to housekeeping to see if they found anything. He doesn't like that apparently as my co-worker motions that he's yelling.

Once off the phone she confirmed for me that he was looking to see if we could check his room to see if he left behind a shaving kit bag. But like she told him, we can't because the room is occupied. He became upset because he didn't understand why the room would be sold if there was a chance that a guest left something behind. Because we're a hotel and renting out rooms is what we do, I thought. Then she showed me why the room was occupied and why he had to be transferred to housekeeping... he checked out two weeks earlier. What a moron!

Coincidentally, his kit was found and it was with being stored by housekeeping.

The one I dealt with was a few days before this. A woman called in the middle of the night to say that she'd checked out a while ago and left a Yeti cup behind and was wondering if it had been found. Since it was the end of the month I had the complete version of the lost and found log with me since it had been emailed to me to include in the end of month reports. I ask her name and it isn't on the list. I ask if she remembers her check-out date, and she does. It was four months ago. I hated to do it, but I had to tell her that her Yeti cup was most like no longer at the hotel since we only hold items for 90 days. If they aren't claimed they're thrown away or donated. What I didn't tell her was that in certain cases, probably like this one, the staff member who found it was given the option to keep it. Before anyone wonders, no, it was not me that found it.

Surprisingly, she was more or less okay about it. She said it WAS her fault for waiting so long to call about it. But she and her family were in the middle of moving, and while unpacking, they found her husband's, and it got her thinking about hers. Despite her tale of nostalgia, the memory of it can't mean that much to her if she's calling about it four months later.

Really? Really? I've served you the grand total of two drinks, exchanged about 5 sentences with you, and you decide that we now know this fella sufficiently enough to scribble down on a napkin to join us in our room for various nocturnal activities.

Sir and madam - firstly, with the greatest of respect, you are ancient. Secondly, how do I explain to my colleague that I am disappearing into room 22, despite that being against policy after 22:00, for an hour. Thirdly, how often does this tactic work for you? Fourthly, I know I'm handsome but not even the offer of one drink? Court me for an hour at least!

You now have pride of place on our memorabilia corkboard. Congratulations.

I work at the front desk of a government office. It's mostly an admin building, but a few times a day I'll get someone in asking for advice about the sector we deal with, and unfortunately I can't do much more for them than directing them to the website and relevant help line.

I hate not being able to help people, so when I can I try to do whatever possible. On the days we have appointments on and the appropriate security I'll let people use the bathroom, if someone wants to stand in the AC for a couple minutes, etc.

So last Thursday had a guy come in with a sob story about not having credit on his phone and needing to meet up with his brother. He was obviously a little out of it but I just found myself thinking, god, what if he really needed help? Would I look into another humans eyes and deny them help just because I thought they were a big dodgy? Can I live with myself if I'm that type of person? So I let him use the office phone and he makes his way out.

Not ten minutes later is he selling drugs to a fella passing by. Lol.

I'll keep doing what I can but if he himself comes back I'll just be like man. Come on.

Overall, I enjoyed my job as a Front Desk Agent for a small hotel. Despite the random, zany, and sometimes worrying events and people I had to deal with, most customers were pleasant enough. But what eventually made me quit was the sheer number of issues over the required hold.

At this location, we required a $100 hold on a card. Credit card was obviously encouraged, though a lot of people would just put it on a debit card. And this was the central issue.

I always did my best to give customers a detailed warning whenever they used a debit card for the hold. While the official policy stated 2-3 days, I always told them to expect 2-3 weeks as that was what I was actually experiencing.

Every time the phone rang I was dreading picking it up because 90% were former customers calling about when their hold would be released, and more often than not, they would not be pleasant about it.

I worked throughout weekends while there was no management, and so any kind of money problem that arose I would be forced to tell them to wait until Monday when the manager returned. Needless to say, most people didn't take that very gracefully. I even had someone once call me EVERY DAY from Friday to Sunday despite me telling them to call on Monday.

When people start to angrily talk in front of you in a language you understand but they don't know you do, you tend to hear the most degrading and insulting things they may as well have called you to your face. When you get called an "agent of satan" and that "you'll get what's coming to you" it does something to your mentality. When the customer demands you call the cops on yourself because you're refusing them service...

This job made me realize I NEVER want to deal with people and their money in such a direct way ever again.

random question but ive stayed in a bunch of hotels lately and almost all of them have those laundry bags in the closet, sometimes with a little price list for services. always wondered if guests actually use these or if theyre just there for the aesthetic, like a "look how premium this place is" prop. started reading into it a bit and apparently theyre actually functional, a lot of hotels use them for guest laundry service tracking, and some are actually charged per bag so its not just decoration. saw host supplies sells them in bulk which tells me theres real demand from hotels ordering these on purpose, not just for show. so genuine question to anyone whos worked in hospitality or hotel management, do guests actually use these regularly or do they just sit in the closet the whole stay. also curious if smaller places like airbnbs bother with this at all or if its strictly a hotel thing

Hello all you multitasking magicians! I've compiled another fun list of encounters from the past couple of weeks to hopefully make your day a bit more fun and a whole lot funnier (with the possibility of reconsidering why you entered hospitality in the first place - sorry in advance for that one.)

* Had a non-guest enter and ask to use the restroom. After stating we don't have public restrooms, he paused for a moment (possibly considering his next move) and asked if I could just point him in the direction of the restrooms instead. He ended up leaving me with a stink eye, possibly on his way to create his own restroom nearby.

* Another non-guest managed to enter the building by seducing the maintenance man (in other words, knocking on the back door and claiming she'd forgotten her key.) She then invited her very disheveled accomplice inside, and the two proceeded to grab breakfast before bolting out the back door. I somehow got reprimanded for this.

* A small child of a guest was very grumpy that it was early morning and decided to throw a loud tantrum in the lobby for an hour and a half. The parents chose to ignore this and continue their breakfast conversation.

* A guest came to check in and wanted a first or second floor room (which we didn't have), complained that we didn't have cookies available at check-in (not the correct brand or even brand standard), and proceeded to compare us to their “regular” hotel, where they do give cookies, are part of the brand, have the floor they want, and give them upgrades. We eventually got to the incidentals. I explained the amount, and the guest said she understood. She then noticed the amount was higher than expected and asked why. I explained the deposit again and told her the amount being charged now, as well as the final total at checkout. She seemed to understand. Then she asked how much I was charging her now. I explained it again. She asked what the total was. Again. I was not allowed to shake the guest in frustration.

* Our breakfast attendant came to confront me about an animal in the breakfast area. While we aren't pet friendly, service animals are allowed, and this was a service animal. The dog wasn't causing a disturbance or otherwise bothering anyone, but apparently its mere existence in the breakfast area was unacceptable. I explained that it was a service animal and was allowed to be there. They doubled down: “But...it's in the breakfast area! That's disgusting!” I repeated, “It's a SERVICE ANIMAL. It is ALLOWED to be there.” They proceed to walk off in a huff.

* Guest called a week ahead of time to ask for a guaranteed early check in, and was disappointed I couldn't guarantee one.

* A guest asked if they could leave their luggage with us to pick up later. I said absolutely, pulled out the luggage tags, and started filling everything out. When I asked how many bags they were storing, they hesitated, said they weren't sure, and told me they'd get back to me. (Spoiler alert: They never came back.)

* A third party guest was upset they had to pay an early check in fee...at 11am. "Why do I have to pay an early check in fee if I'm early???" I wish I could say I didn't have to explain that answer to them.

* I was asked by a guest how they could contact our towel supplier. I had to break the news that they were hotel exclusive, but I can sell a couple to them if they were wanting a set. They refused, turned around, and left.

* A coworker asked me, “What's the difference between Mexicans, Hispanics, and Puerto Ricans?” I explained that those aren't interchangeable terms and that the way they asked the question came across as pretty offensive. They seemed genuinely surprised that I'd find it offensive and said they assumed they were all the same.

* A couple staying with us kept getting handsy in the lobby. I was very close to giving the keys back to them for their room and giving them a late check out so they could go get it out of their system (and the lobby).

* A third party rep called for help with a reservation. I asked for the confirmation number, and after a long pause, they asked if they could give me the number. I said yes. They gave me the reservation ID instead. Once we finally got the confirmation number, they asked why the guest hadn't received their deposit back. I explained it had been released on our end but could take a few days to return. They asked again. I explained it again. They told me they would explain this to the guest and hung up.

* I had gone to grab a cup of coffee and was hunted down for a check out. They didn't need a receipt. I fear what would have happened if I had to go to the restroom instead.

* A low tier member asked at check out if they could park in the designated high tier parking. I let them know while *technically* they couldn't, we don't really enforce it and I didn't care if he did.

* Had someone call in to ask to be added to a block that was at least half a month past the cutoff date because every other hotel in the area was full (not true, but go on). I explained that while I couldn't book them under the block, I do have rooms available and can book them at rack rate. They asked again to book under the block. I repeated myself. They repeated themselves. I tried explaining one more time and they hung up on me.

* Was told by an upcoming guest to give them a break by waiving the early check in fee when they wanted to arrive at 11am, because they didn't realize until after booking a prepaid non-refundable rate that we didn't have a shuttle. I did offer luggage storage as an alternative and was met with disgust, even though they asked for it as an alternative.

* A guest was upset about receiving an automated checkout email the day after they checked out. I honestly had no idea what they wanted from me, but they were irate, so I apologized and explained that if they didn't want to receive emails, they could opt out or change their email in their membership account. They demanded that I make the changes myself because it was my fault they received the email. An automated email. That I had no hand in sending.

Been a rough couple of weeks y'all. Even though management is off for the holiday, I've already managed to make a mistake that got me in trouble. Happy fucking Labor Day, everyone.

I already know someone is going to tell me I'm being a bitch for this, but it drives me nuts.

Got a phone call to the desk. "Well, you see, I'm eighty one years old and I'm not feeling very brave today..."

Jesus tapdancing Christ, could you get to the point, or would you like to tell me your blood type, shoe size and genealogy from the Middle Ages onwards as well?!?!

This is not relevant information. It barely qualifies as information at all.

Turns out they are a week past the deadline for joining an event and after a detailed medical history as an excuse, want to do it anyway.

No. You can't. It's very sad you missed it, but the process requires dropping off large physical objects and we have dedicated staff and space set aside on specific days for it, which are now over. I know you're a super special sparkly snowflake, but THE RULES STILL APPLY TO YOU. Why do old people always think their age is a free pass?!?!

I would like to note that I was kind and polite despite my irritation, and remembered to wish her feeling better soon. I'm not a monster. I'm just really tired of old people who think not dying makes them special.

Edit: just had another. "You can't make an exception?! I was in hospital! Not even for someone famous? Well, it's your loss!!!!"

Yes, I'm sure we're all going to regret me turning you down, you complete and utter dipstick.

Today, a guest and his girlfriend came to check in. My coworker handled the check-in. I noticed the guest was under 21; he would be around 6 months shy of that age. We initially denied the check-in because of this, but then learned that our state laws had changed and anyone 18 or older can check in. So it was whatever. While doing that, I also noticed the girl checking in looked a lot younger (I thought she was 14 or something). I asked her how old she was, and she said 16. I was concerned, especially since the guest said he and his girlfriend were checking in and something about the situation seemed off, so I suggested to my coworker that we get the young lady's ID/name recorded in case anything happened.

The girl started cursing and yelling at me, saying she’d never been asked for her ID and that she wasn't the one checking in, even though they had stated multiple times they would be staying in the room and, from the room type, they would be sleeping in the same bed. I typically'm not super sensitive about these things but a few weeks before we had a guest check in with a significant other and turns out she was being abused and we didn't know her name or anything to get the police. that was an older lady but it did make me more cautious, but I take child welfare very seriously too because she was clearly a minor. Long story short, we canceled their check-in, and they were very upset, cursing, yelling, and refusing to leave the lobby.

They’ve been turned away by other hotels before, and we had already agreed to check them in despite no money being taken yet. What do you guys think? My manager even had to come to the hotel, and I had to give her a play-by-play and explain that I was just uncomfortable checking them in. I'm not judgmental, but I don't think it's appropriate or safe, especially since she didn't want to show her ID. she even yelled, "What am I going to give you, my birth certificate?" No, honey, but if you want to check into a hotel with an adult "boyfriend", you should at least have an ID.

So tonight I am working and my manager has given me permission for a while now to park next to our hotels archway. We do this to block other guests from parking there because it's technically a fire lane and if the fire department is called and others are parked there they will be in the fire trucks way.

Bikers are some of our largest guests retention and tonight one of them got mad at me because my car was allowed to be parked there but they were pissed their bikes weren't so they asked me why I was allowed to park there I told the. "It's technically a fire lane" and they say "I know, what's your managers name" and I tell them and they just say " thanks!" And walk off.

I know I won't get in trouble for it but I just wanted to vent. I hate how spoiled people are. I don't know, I've only worked at this hotel but I hear all the time from bikers that other hotels allow them to park underneath the archway and I just have to wonder if that's true or they just do it and then the hotel can't catch what rooms are doing it.

Edit: I should clarify for those wondering. It's not a marked fire lane, so no I don't need an llc. I'm not doing anything illegal. There is no sign saying people can't park there. We just allow employees to park there because we know that's where the fire truck is going to pull up if we have to call them and it's easier to get us to move our cars than it is people that might not even be at the property. We've had an issue where we have called them before and the fire department has been pissed at us when bikers are there.

There are no identifiers so that's why it's technically a fire lane. There is no paint, no "no parking sign" but it's still the first place the fire department will want to go if they pull up. So since they need that space we figured the only thing we can do is just park there.

This morning I got a phone call from a guest asking why they were charged $50 and I told them it was the dog fee and they said I called last night and was told it was $25. I ask what number did you call? And they told me it didn’t matter. I needed to refund them. I told them I’m sorry but our pet fee is $50 and it’s non-refundable. It’s on all the websites and in the email we send out with 3rd party reservations. Which she booked. I only ask what number you called because we get mixed up with another hotel from time to time because our name is similar.
She then moved on to wanting a full refund because she moved rooms. She got checked into a room and the key didn’t work. Instead of letting us make her a new key and going up with her to make sure it worked she wanted to move rooms. So my front desk did that. She wanted a refund for that inconvenience. I let her know we will not be doing a refund for that. She started yelling at me on the phone. Calling names and saying I’ll be fired. I told her I was ending the call because she does not want to have a discussion and I hung up. Because my general manager said if a person is not being reasonable on the phone you can end the call. You don’t have to endure the abuse.

She came down and instantly was like are you the one I was talking to? I said yes. Like I said I will not be refunding you anything. I will not be taking any name calling or threats from you. So I ended the call. So if you are going to continue to raise your voice and not talk to me in a respectful manner you will be asked to leave. She started getting angry and raised her voice to tell me I’m going to refund her and give her back her money and bunch of other stuff. I told her you can leave now or I can have you trespassed because you are disrupting other people’s mornings. She taunted me and told me to call the cops. So I did. I called the none emergency and they could hear her continue to yell and call me names. The dispatcher turned it into an emergency because of how aggressive she was getting.
Once she realized cops were coming she hurried to her room. I finally was able to calm down and breathe.
One officer came in and took my side of what happened and then went to her room and watched her pack. They came in to the lobby. I could hear her lying. I wanted to laugh so bad. She put on the tears and everything. My engineer who was in the back office during this whole thing came out and was like damn she’s trying real hard to make you look bad. The officers partner came over to me and asked me what happened and I everything from above.
They escorted her off property and trespassed her for 60 days.

Just another day in my paradise.

I was working the night shift at the "random" hotel in Charlotte North Carolina. It was about 10pm and I got called in to work because my coworker threw up so I came in clocked in and had about 4 arrivals left for today before the night audit. I was checking in this lovely couple the husband was about mid 60's and the wife was about late 50's. The husband stated his first and last name and checked them in handed them their room key the wife walks down again at about 3am tired exhausted and guilty. She explained that the room above them, let's say room 267 was being loud, pillow fights from kids yelling from kids. I tell her that I will handle it. I call security to go talk to the parents. Everyone calms down. Til about 4am someone calls saying that the room above them is making honeymoon noises i check and see that the room is a connection room to parents and kids. The person asks me to just move them to the ground floor and I do so and have security help them. The next day the parents come down giggling laughing holding hands. Then they see me and ask who reported them for their kids. I tell them I can't say that. And they ask who handled the situation and I say me. The mom says thay they were busy and I should be respectful and help with the kids. I explain that when they decided to have kids they have a now lifetime responsibility. The mom laughs and asks how she can be responsible for her kids when they are having sex. I freeze in shock. I tell her that your still responsible for your kids. She says so you can't just watch after them while im trying to be intimate with my husband and tell the other people to mind their own. I'm fed up with this situation and say. You kid not mine. She stares at me for a second and grabs her husband's hand and leaves. One thing to add she said everything about the sex and such. With her kids right there. Some people make me want to rip my hair out.

Greetings. I recently had an interesting guest. You see I work at a museum of a famous german car brand. We have quite a nice exhibition and of course some workshop stuff for kids like crafting a truck from paper or stuff like that. These workshop stuffs are free to our customers. However since it is good quality and since we have a limited number of seats available in the children's area we always tell the parents that their kids are each allowed to craft one thing of the two we are always offering and draw one thing. This is to avoid that people take 30 of these with them and we have to reprint and or order them new too often.

Some people however dont listen to my colleagues explanations. Recently a mother of two came up to me and began accusing me of ruining her family day because my colleague as she said purposefully ruined her day by not allowing her children to craft more stuff. While she complained to me the entire time she looked like this approximately: 😁 her words got rougher by the second yet that damn smile stayed until 20 minutes later when she finally left. We have a form for when people want to complain. This lady when I asked her if she wanted to file one so that our bosses would be notified began screaming at me: WHAT DO YOU MEAN I TOLD YOU ALL THIS FOR NOTHING?!?!? I WILL CALL YOUR BOSS DIRECTLY AND YOU WILL SEE THEN (Still 😁). Then she told me if I ever have children I will understand why this is such a huge problem. I by God hope that if I ever have children I am able to teach them that they cant always have everything better so i dont have to scream at service personnel because my kids are throwing a tantrum having never heard the word no. And I hope to be a better role model than this lady.

I am just here to vent.

I work as a FOM in a hostel, and the amount of entitled guests leaving bad reviews is starting to take a toll on me.

We have dynamic pricing, which means the price depends on occupancy, season, and the day of the week, but we are still relatively cheap. We don’t require any deposits, and we provide towels, padlocks, earplugs, and sheets for free and 1 night is about 10-15€ and some people leave 1* reviews that it is unaccaptable that the breakfast is not included💀 I swear, we get reviews like this once or twice a month.

And then we had a guest leave a one-star review after booking a “female-only dormitory.” The guy showed up pretty late, we explained to him that HE as a MAN can not be checked into a female only dormitory and we can not accommodate him elsewhere too because the mixed rooms were fuly booked, but he still sent us a two-page message blaming us for not warning him that “female-only dormitory” meant he could not check into that room. Apparently, he expected us to investigate every guest’s gender before accepting bookings for this type of room.

My personal “favourite” is when we received a bad review from two Moroccan women stating, “This place is racist,” which really hurt me because we have a diverse reception team, and no one had ever made racist remarks on my team. So, I investigated, checked the cameras, and listened to the entire check-in and check-out, but there was nothing. I emailed them asking what had happened and offered compensation if they explained their side. One of the women wrote back that she had not experienced any racist remarks from us, but on her way to our hostel, the people on the street had looked racist, so she had to express it somewhere.
I explained to her that I was sorry she felt that way, but the review was about us, and this was a very serious statement that could harm the business. It did not reflect our business, so I asked her to delete the review. After that, she changed it to, “The manager is racist.” At that point, I just gave up and explained the whole thing to the GM, who simply laughed. Still, it haunts me that my team and I were called that just because she thought people on the street, who were unrelated to us, looked racist.

I know I shouldn’t take these things to heart, but I work my ass off to make this place great. I love my team, and they also go above and beyond to make people’s stays perfect, yet it’s still not enough for some people.

I’ve spent five years working at the front desk in Europe—specifically on a major tourist island in Spain. I’ve worked every shift: night, morning, and afternoon. I’ve seen it all. I deal with dozens of customers a day and have seen people do the stupidest things and say the most moronic nonsense; sometimes I even wonder how we manage to have a functioning society, given how many people seem to have just enough brain cells to keep from shitting themselves. Now, I can’t help but think that there are people who view *me* the same way—at the airport, in shops, or in any customer-facing business—so I try not to be stupid, not to ask idiotic questions, and not to look like a big baby in diapers. I start to feel like I am paranoid about it and it horrifies me extremely to be like my guests. I guess I’m just burnt out and need a vacation from people. Has anyone ever felt the same way?

I travel quite a bit for work. I have noticed over the past couple years the trend of blue collar workers tailgating in hotel parking lots. Last night at 1:00 a.m. I was woken up by what can only be described as a party. When I looked out my window I saw 20 to 30 guys huddled around their work trucks drinking and blasting music. This is probably the third or fourth time I've encountered this in the past few months. I realize they bring in a decent amount of income for the hotel, but the other guests just have to deal with this shit?

That was my Friday.. and actually, it was 9 hrs, cuz I went in at 2:30pm and didn’t leave until 11:40pm.

My manager wanted to leave early to get a tattoo. Her artist had a last minute cancellation, and she agreed to go before realizing that arrivals went from 30 to 75 between noon and 2pm.

It was honestly one of the best days I’ve had at the hotel. Everyone was super polite, and patient. I even had one guest come down to report that her screen door was stuck, and I had said “as soon as I clear the lobby, I’ll come up and force it. That way if it gets broken, they can’t blame you.” Then she came down a couple hours later, and I still had a line. Not the same people, of course. When she saw that, she said not to worry about it, and tossed me a fiver, lol.

Then around 9pm, the manager comes back to see how it’s been. I tell her it’s been crazy, but that’s ok cuz it goes by faster. Then she pulls out a hundred dollar bill and slid it across the counter!

Sorry, there isn’t an actual point. What was your busiest day? Did you do it alone?

It was a very busy weekend in my town, the hotel I work at is small and we were nearly sold out with 30+ arrivals and this couple comes to check in. They said they requested to be in a room near another guest, I let them know there’s no notes in the reservation of the request and due to how busy we are I’m unable to accommodate the request. There was no rooms open with their room type next to their friends. They say they called and put that request in but I tell them the same unfortunately I can’t accommodate the request and there is no notes regarding the request. Cue the man going on about how “none of the staff here must be able to do their jobs because we called!” Whatever dude obviously you didn’t or we would’ve assigned the rooms according to the request and had notes about it. We’re a small crew and we all do our best to accommodate requests WHEN WE ACTUALLY HAVE THEM! They then ask me what room their friends are in, and as I say I can’t give out information the woman snaps and goes “of course you can’t tell me!” Then they ask me to call their friends, as I’ve got a line of people out the door at both computers. I tell them unfortunately not you will need to call them. The people they were requesting to be by had already checked in and made no mention of wanting a room near these people or even knowing them as well.

Anyway, they check in, as far as I know no more complaints about them from swing shift or night shift. I come in for my swing shift the next day and the woman comes down and tells me they want to leave today instead of tomorrow and they want a refund because they’re members(and they’re the lowest tier and even if they were ultra shiny elite that doesn’t mean shit when it comes to cancelation policies) I pull up the reservation and it’s a 3rd party virtual card so I tell her I can’t issue a refund if they leave today. Cue the huffing and puffing and i BoOkEd DiReCtLy WiTh ThE HoTeL. Even if it wasn’t a third party res we still wouldn’t have refunded them for the night because we require a minimum 24 hour notice for any changes to the amount of nights (with exceptions from time to time depending but this was absolutely not worth an exception) and they’re telling me they want to leave at 4pm and housekeeping had already gone home for the day so no one to clean that room so we can resell it. She demands to speak to someone higher than me so I give her the guest support number because general manager’s already gone home for the day.

They come back down around an hour or so later and demand my name. I tell her, and then she asks for my last name too and I said I’m not giving you my last name. Her response was “one more obstinate thing you’ve done since we got here!” and stormed off. I took the keys from her husband and told them have a good day. I was looking forward to reading her lovely review since she demanded my name but she never wrote one or called corporate lol

We sold out this weekend. We were sold out Friday and Saturday for like a week before.
And by sold out, I mean there were literally ZERO rooms in the system. Not a single OOO “just in case,” not “there’s a chance something might open up.”
Just zero.
Gone. Finished. Goodbye.

And we all know that only means one thing TOTAL NIGHTMARE.
Because check out guests also decided that Saturday was a great day to enjoy a couple of extra hours after checkout.

“Can we stay until 1 PM… 2 PM… 6 PM? No? But why?!”
Well, maybe because someone is coming for this room tonight.
In fact, that someone is already waiting in the lobby. Would you like to say hello to them?

Because apparently Saturday is also the perfect day for everyone to arrive at 11 AM.
Why wait until 4 PM? You have a trip to start! We totally understand that (not really).
Unfortunately, the hotel does not magically create clean rooms just because you arrived early.

“But you don’t understand! I have a wedding to attend!”
WOW. A wedding?!
I can’t believe it. You are SO special.
Just like the 15 people standing in front of you who also have plans today.

“But I called you and YOU PROMISED to check me in early!”
Really?
On Saturday?
We promised?
Are you sure you didn’t have that conversation inside your head?

And then:
“Why is it taking so long? I came at 7 AM and it’s 2 PM and my room is still not clean. I could have finished the cleaning myself by now!”
Would you like the rag and mop?
I can get you one.
You can help our housekeepers.
Ohhh… you don’t want to?
Maybe next time plan your trip so you don’t have to wait hours for a room that was never guaranteed to be ready at 7 AM.

And then, of course there is classic:
“Do you have any special upgrades for me?”
“I’m sorry, we’re completely sold out.”
“But you didn’t even look!”
pretends to type dramatically
Yep.
Still sold out.
Just like five minutes ago.

And my favourite:
“I want to extend my stay.”
“I’m sorry, we don’t have any rooms available.”
“What do you mean? Is there anything for me? I stay here all the time!”
Oh, for you, sir?
Absolutely.
I have a very special room in the back.
Would you consider a bell closet?
I can book it for you.

No dramatic conclusion to this one. I just survived this crazy weekend.

This is it, the thread where you dont have to explain yourself, noone to say "but thats what ypu signed up for when you applied for the job!" "that's GONNA happen at a hotel!" FREE OF ANY JUDGEMENT, what is your irrational unreasonable pet peeve?

I am Night Audit / Evening coverage (8-430a) and one of my largest pet peeves is Walk-in's.

YOU HAD ALL DAY TO BOOK AND PLAN AND FIGURE IT OUT?? THEN you complain that the rate i gave you isnt as cheap as online, which means you LOOKED ONLINE and were CHECKING ROOMS on your PHONE already... And you STILL didnt make your own reservation?! I transfer an unholy amount of guests to reservations line to make reservations , i make people book online when i have a line to keep shit movin, any time i can avoid making a walk-in, i will. especially when they come in the hotel lobby and stare at me, saying nothing after i greet them and ask 3 times what they need. "a room." NO SHIT. did you make a fucking reservation dude! "oh.. no" acting like i should know already, making it like pulling teeth trying to get them to tell me what the fuck they want 😭😭 MAKE YOUR OWN RESERVATION, IVE GOT A HOTEL TO RUN.

please complain with me.

I'm not really sure why I'm cataloguing this, except for the fact that it was batshit crazy & ended up being my career for nigh on 13 years.

The reason I originally started working at the Nugent (again, not it's real name) was because my unemployment insurance was about to run out. I went to a job fair, and all of the jobs had run out. They were primarily hiring for what was a Hooters with cowgirls, and I was thinking, "I am not going to get a job here."

The last people still looking for jobs were the hotel people. I had never worked hotels, but I had a good work history so they hired me. A Few days later, I was asked to be in a training session.

I believe that I've mentioned this before, but the original owner of the Nugent was very popular with both guests and employees. When he stepped down, many devout believers in him also left, leaving a huge gap in staff. The staff who stayed were primarily devoted to their & craft.

I received exactly 1 & 1/2 days of training in a conference of 40 people. The person training us was the current Manager of Reservations, so she really prioritized building reservations over any of the other aspects of the hotel process. We barely touched on checking people out, we barely touched on signing in/out banks, we basically had nothing. This- of course- came with the people in a 40 person room who want to dwell on unnecessary details that only come up in fringe situation, but they want to talk in great detail about it.

So, I came in to my first Graveyard shift not REALLY knowing what to do. There were 3 new employees, and one who had been there for over a year. The Supervisor helped me sign in, so I was good to go!

Next week, that supervisor gave his 2 week notice.

Days after, the secondary Grave person just started No Call No Showing.

None of the eligible candidates wanted to be the Grave Supervisor except for one: The current longest running Grave Agent. So she got it.

Let's see if part 2 lives up to the hype that I am broadcasting through use of periods.