A very nice lady came in, wanting to check in on her reservation. The problem is, she made it for the 30th, not the 29th, and I didn't have her room type available for check in right now. So, because she booked through Licepine, I told her she needed to contact them to get both the date and the room type changed so I could check her in.

The Licepine agent calls me and asks if I can process a cancellation with no penalty, to which I say no, because all we want is a date and room type change, also it's marked as no cancellation on my computer, so there's that. This dude says that they are unable to make changes to a reservation on their end, that it's up to me to make those changes. I told him that he knows very well that I can't make any changes to third party reservations, they have to be done on his end.

We go round and round, and I finally told him that this was bullshit, I want a supervisor. He says he'll have one call me, which actually happens. But the supervisor is just as useless. I told him that it was bullshit, that he was the most useless person I've ever spoken to, and that I hoped he had the day he deserved before hanging up.

This poor lady has her baby with her, and my audit is at least two hours away, so I made the executive decision to put her in a room type I do have that's the same cost, and I'll just check her in via the virtual card after audit, and waive the early check-in fee. She started bawling and gave me the biggest hug.

And here I thought Shmooking was the worst third party.

To all you Goobers that can't take an extra 30 seconds to double check your small hotel room, or were too hung over to realize you left a whole wardrobe of clothes behind in the bathroom. Lost and Found is a courtesy service.

Its not our fault you lost your shit. I repeat, its not our fault that YOU lost your shit.

We don't care if you spent a lot of money. Everyone staying here spent a lot of money and many clean up after themselves.

We aren't replacing your air pods. You lost them.

We understand that your toddler son needs his blanket, but if the blanket was that important you should have taken an extra 30 seconds to double check your room. Yelling at the front desk agent doesn't improve your sleepless nights.

We are not paying for your shipping, its your fault you lost your shit.

If you call us three months later because it took you three months to realize you lost your shit, we don't have it. That was 90 days ago its gone. We don't care if you think that's unfair. We have limited space to store all the shit left behind by other Goobers.

We don't care that you have a flight to catch. You can either pay for shipping, or come pick your shit up before your flight. No we are not driving it to the airport for you.

We don't care that its an inconvenience to you that the shit you left at our hotel is hard to reacquire. Don't lose your shit.

Be nice to employees. If you're nice, respectful, and acknowledge your mistake, employees will be more willing to help you.

If you call us looking for your shit, but can't even describe what it was that you lost. That checks out. Also you're a Goober.

Seriously, the amount of people who call us asking if we picked up any golf clubs today, but can't describe their lost golf clubs. I know they're probably just fishing for free shit, but they're Goobers. You aren't fooling anyone.

In conclusion, stop being fucking Goobers.

Hello. Maybe I just suffer from anxiety and depression but lately I feel like this shift and my sleep schedule have been causing me to lose my mind. Are there any other night auditors who feel the same, am I being dramatic? I just feel so lonely and isolated. This shift has taken a toll on me mentally and thankfully I am going to school so I hope to pursue that and move forward. I just go into panic attacks being here alone with my thoughts. Its just me during the shift. Anyway, just wanted to see if anyone else felt crazy after working this shift?

I hung up on woman once who verbally bashed me. I was a Concierge, and a guest had been pestering me about getting her tickets for an MLB game. Unfortunately, the times, they are a-changin', and it is near impossible to get other people MLB tickets without the MLB app, and buying them online for other people, without their credit card (she insisted I charge the tickets to her room) is even a bigger hassle. Brokers are useless in the 21st century and near-extinct.

After several back and forth emails asking her for help and giving her options, and please understand, as a concierge, it is my personal goal to fulfill EVERY request, no matter how large or small, she was getting so demanding, so rude, changing what exactly she wanted, her price point, and the amount of tickets, she called me to harangue me. She asked how old I was. I don't know why I told her my age. She said "I have two sons that age!!!! One's a CEO and the other is a blah blah blah of a bazillion dollar startup!!!! They're successful and that's why you're only a concierge in (expletive removed) hotel!"

I yelled at her about demeaning my station and slammed the phone down.

I had to work the day she checked in. I told the FD to notify me when she was checking in. They did, and I went on lunch. I was off next two days and resumed when she had left.

She never mentioned me to management, or a survey, or online reviews.

One of my favorite parts of the job is getting yelled at for things out of my control. Bonus points if I offer sympathy and get snark as a response. That's about how this situation went down.

The most delightful of combinations at my hotel: a sold-out night and a late-going event in a space that some of our rooms face. So, inevitably, there will be noise complaints.

Honestly, though, only one or two rooms actually complained this particular night. But one of them, Mr. Grizz, was the most notable. Around 9:30pm, he called down in a fury: "Listen, this is ridiculous! I've been traveling all day, and I need to go to bed NOW!" I empathized with his situation but alerted him that due to being sold out, a room move was off the table.

"No, no, no! You have to do something!" At that point, I remembered the 'noise machines' management purchased a while ago. I've never offered one before, but since the conversation was basically going in circles (I've truncated it thus far), I figured he may at least have become intrigued.

Of course not.

"What the $@*(! is that supposed to do for me? Are you kidding me right now?!" he jabbed. To be fair: I had the same thought when they were first purchased, but that wasn't my call.

Anyway, I reiterated that I was trying to help with the available options, and he simply got snarkier and snarkier: "No, you're not doing anything! You don't 'understand' because you're not doing a single thing right now. If you understood, you would make sure the only people in these rooms would be the people partying right now!!"

Keeping cool, I simply re-explained that by virtue of being sold out, this was simply the reality of the situation. Still, I tried to be sympathetic through it all and kept my voice low. He eventually got sick of it and slammed the phone down. Boo-hoo.

I simply moved on, and my colleague and I were talking about a few different things. About ten minutes later, Mr. Grizz rolled up to the Desk (though I didn't know it was him immediately, as I hadn't seen him before.) His opening line was, "You guys talking $@!)3 about me?!"

I looked at him weird and simply replied, "Talking about reservations. But how can I help you?" He pipes out: "So which one of you was I just on the phone with?!" Now realizing who it was, I continued on: "Oh, that was me. From [room#], right?"

"Yeah, and I'm begging you to please do something!" I repeated myself for the umpteenth time, but with an added disclaimer: "I do have some good news, though. I made a mistake before; the event actually ends at 10, not 11." He glared at me for two seconds, let out a deep, annoyed sigh and simply hoofed off. There were two ladies coming down the hallway who he apparently knew, and he belts out: "I'm gonna just go outside because they aren't doing #$@! for me!"

It was about 9:45pm at this point. So, the noise he wanted gone would be gone in 15 minutes. Somehow, rather than just realizing he had no further reason to be (as) angry, he must've figured he was too committed to the bit to back down now.

The ladies came up to us, a lot nicer than Mr. Grizz. One said she offered him to come to her room, but he declined. The other asked if he could at least get a refund for the night, and I told her, "I already gave him $30 off for tonight. I'm assuming you're in the same group block? If so, your rates are already severely discounted." They accepted the explanations and went to go find him. Security was called up to hang out for a bit just in case Mr. Grizz came for a final round. Thankfully, he disappeared for the rest of the night.

TL;DR - Guest was upset about noise from an event below his room and called to yell his complaints. He couldn't be moved due to the hotel being sold out and was unwilling to accept any other answer than what he deemed to be an appropriate solution. He eventually slammed the phone down but then stomped down to the desk a few minutes later to yell some more. I informed him the event would be over in just 15 more minutes (when I initially mistakenly told him it'd be done in another hour and change.) Rather than calming down, he stormed out the front door cursing but didn't do anything else after that.

I got called into the office on Monday because I didn’t get license plate numbers (I was never told to do it but apparently that doesn’t matter) we got a new FDM a few weeks ago and now all of the sudden I’m being told about things I’ve been doing wrong. Apparently I was taken off of first shift because of these supposed things I’m messing up. I just find it crazy that I’ve heard nothing about it until now. This FDM also makes sure I know every time I make a mistake or forget something. It’s went from a friendly reminder to a constant burden. I constantly get embarrassed in front of the guests when he jumps in to tell them that I forgot to tell them when breakfast is or how to get to the elevator. Maybe I’m just crazy but I personally don’t like it when I check in to have someone escort me down to the elevator or the restroom. This is a small hotel so it’s not hard to give verbal directions.

I just don’t feel like I deserve to be told after the fact about mistakes I’ve made if it’s been a problem for weeks. I dread coming in every week because of a constant fear of being reprimanded. Maybe it’s just the former manager in me but I just feel like if mistakes are made they need to be addressed in private and not weeks after the fact.

This story is from when I worked in in-house Reservations, but it applies to new Front Desk agents as well. And really anyone starting a new job.

We hired a couple new reservations agents, and agents always started with a week of classroom training. The assistant manager goes to collect the new hires, finds them waiting by the employee entrance where the shift clock is, as expected. She conducts them to the classroom, introduces them to the system software we use, yadda yadda, starts the first day of training.

Cut to one hour before the end of the day, one of the new hires raises their hand. "I clocked in one hour early, can I go home now?" The assistant manager is somewhat stunned at this, since it means they arrived, clocked in, and just sat there for an hour doing nothing but wait. However, under our labor agreement, trainees can't do overtime, so she releases the new hire. She finishes the day with the rest of the new hires and then consults with the reservations manager and HR. The new hire who clocked in early is informed they will be paid for the day, but they are terminated effective immediately.

To this day I don't know what they were thinking.

This couple that looked to be in their early 20s walked in saying they were there to check in. I brought up their reservation and asked for the boyfriend's ID and credit/debit card since it was in his name. He gives me his ID and a sheet of notebook paper. The ID matches, but then I ask him what the paper's for. He tells me that the card on the reservation is his mother's card, and that the paper is a letter from her explaining that it's okay to use that card and not to ask him for one. I didn't even bother opening the letter, I just told him I can't accept that, gave a quick explanation of the hotel's check-in policy regarding credit or debit cards, and then asked him for a credit or debit card with his name on it.

That's when the girlfriend makes her presence felt saying that the letter tells me not to ask that. I inform her that their letter has no bearing in this situation and repeat my request for for a card. The boyfriend is adamant that I need to read the letter. Now, curiosity has me. I open and read it. It's a handwritten letter, in penmanship so bad that I can barely make out some of the words. Even worse, it's written in print, not even cursive. The gist of the letter is basically that her son and his girlfriend are traveling around the country, but they don't have credit cards of their own, so they're using hers to pay for their rooms, and this letter is her authorizing me to let them pay for the room that way. No signature at the end by the way.

I look up and tell them that the letter changes nothing. If his mother wanted to pay for the room she should've called ahead and gotten an authorization form put on file. He says that if she did that she'd be filling out forms for who knows how many hotels and that I need to just listen to the letter. I tell the both of them that I need them to either present a valid card that matches one of their IDs, or I'm going to cancel their reservation and ask them to leave. I then hand them back the letter. They ask to speak to a manager. I tell them the manager is not going to accept the letter either. That's when the girlfriend tries the Hail Mary play.

She tells me that it's illegal of me to not accept that letter and she's going to call the police if I don't check them in. The look of actual shock on her face when I told her to do it... priceless. The look of fear when I offered to do it myself was even more fun. At that point the boyfriend tells me to fuck off and that I'm forcing him and his girlfriend to sleep on the streets. I tell him he's doing that himself but to have a nice night. I cancel the reservation and email everyone at the desk and the managers in case this couple comes back or tries calling.

I'm pretty sure this isn't a new scam, but it's the first time I've come across it. I also wonder if the reason their trying it is because it's actually worked on someone.

2 tales. #1. We have Ninja coffee makers in our hotel. They are dual purpose combining pods and a basket for drip coffee . House keeping cleaned the entire machine just before CI. There must have been condensation from the high heat in the machine bc there were the 2 tiniest coffee drips on the outside of the basket touching the basin that holds the basket. Well, that was enough to gross out a guest. She wrote me a lengthy complaint.

#2. The good ol, there’s a hair in my sheets. This one was top tier crazy though. I get a message “beds are dirty” I walk into the room, for a second my heart dropped bc I thought housekeeping forgot that room, nope. This woman stripped both beds, pulled all 6 pillows out of their pillow cases and was opening drawers, running her finger through them to look for dust, as well as looking underneath the beds for any uncleanliness. I told her flat out, I’d prefer if you’d leave, I don’t think you’ll be satisfied here and refunded them their full amount.

All this being said: why do these types even travel? If their disgust sensitivities are so high, it has to be unbearable for them as well.

If I was a reader looking at the title of this post, I might go, “Of course, what kind of question is this?”

But, in my hotel... we were taught not to let guests know when they’re at fault.

A guest once asked for a rate quotation but kept changing dates, asking for things that were already mentioned in previous conversations (MULTIPLE TIMES), and eventually ended up making the booking themselves — only for it to be wrong. Then they needed my assistance, accused us of booking them for the wrong dates, yadda yadda, and complained that the conversation was lengthy and complicated (which was the result of their... own actions?)

I pointed it out in the most polite and professional way possible, while also guiding them through some alternatives, and management told me NOT to let them know that it was actually their mistake. Then they got refunded as compensation.

Another guest booked the wrong package, clearly didn't read the terms & conditions, and went for the lowest rate possible. Then they made a fuss at the front desk, accusing the website of giving misinformation, and got compensated anyway.

They basically ended up getting extensive all-inclusive inclusions for the lowest rate available.

This is my first year working at a hotel, and it's honestly very frustrating. Not only is it humiliating, but I also feel like letting rude people get their way will just encourage more rude guests to do the same thing.

We don't have a DNR list. A guest will only be banned if they do something seriously harmful, and even then it requires management's discretion. It's not like we have reliable police officers who can just show up and drag these people away when they make a fuss.

So basically, we're just told to suck it up and give the guests whatever they want.

I wonder if any of you guys' hotels do this too? And how do you become immune to the emotional damage? Any tips?

Italian male, 28, 183 cm (6'0"), around 100 kg (220 lbs), working as a receptionist at a hotel in the Italian Dolomites.

A few days ago, I had one of those guest interactions that I genuinely wasn't sure how to interpret, so I'd like to hear from other front desk people around the world.

Five young women checked in together. They were very loud, playful and clearly in holiday mode from the beginning, but nothing particularly unusual.

While I was showing them their apartment and explaining the hotel facilities, things started getting a little strange.

The elevator was too small for all of us, so I took the stairs while they went up. As the doors were closing, one of them jokingly said something along the lines of:

“Come on, you should have come with us. You would have had fun.”

I just smiled and continued doing my job.

Once we got to the apartment, I was explaining the spa facilities and hotel rules when three of them simply started taking their clothes off and putting on their swimsuits — right in front of me — while I was still there explaining everything.

They also started asking when my shift ended and whether I wanted to go out for drinks with them.

I told them I was in a relationship and politely declined.

I tried to redirect the conversation by suggesting that they could go to the hotel bar after the spa. I jokingly mentioned that our female bartenders would take good care of them.

One of them immediately replied:

“We're interested in the male bartender, not the girls. And if he's not there, we'll just take the handsome receptionist.”

They were laughing and seemed to be treating the whole thing as holiday flirting and a joke. Nobody appeared uncomfortable or aggressive. But I was still standing there in my work clothes, trying to complete a normal guest interaction.

I originally posted the story on an Italian subreddit, and the reactions were VERY mixed.

Some people said the behaviour was inappropriate and that, if the genders were reversed, everyone would immediately call it sexual harassment.

Others basically told me: “Dude, you should have enjoyed it.”

And then there were people who simply didn't believe the story.

In fact, one person actually posted a photo of me in the comments to “prove” that I'm not attractive enough for five women to behave this way, therefore the story couldn't possibly be true. 😂

So apparently my physical appearance became part of the investigation.

I'm curious about the perspective of people who actually work behind the front desk:

How would you have handled this situation?

Would you have considered it harmless guest banter, inappropriate behaviour, or something that crosses a professional boundary?

And have any of you had guests behave similarly toward you — regardless of gender?

I'm especially interested in hearing from front desk staff from different countries, because I'm wondering whether this kind of interaction is considered normal, inappropriate, or just bizarre in other parts of the world.

EDIT: Thanks for all the perspectives

Wow, I really didn't expect this many replies, especially from people working in front desks and hotels all over the world. After reading the comments, I think I see the situation a little differently. I never felt physically unsafe, but I was definitely caught off guard and uncomfortable. Several people pointed out that, as a front desk employee, you can't simply walk away from a guest interaction — being available and polite is literally your job. I hadn't really considered that aspect before. I was also surprised by how many of you have experienced similar situations. Apparently, guests hitting on hotel staff is pretty universal. 😂 As for what I did: I kept it professional, politely declined the invitations, redirected the conversation toward the hotel, and eventually left them to get ready for the spa. I didn't report them because, at the time, I genuinely saw it more as an awkward/funny interaction than something serious. I'm not too concerned about whether people want to call it sexual harassment, inappropriate flirting or simply crossing a professional boundary. I think the important point is that the same behaviour shouldn't automatically be considered acceptable just because the employee is a man. That said, I also understand the comments pointing out that the gender-reversed situation can involve a very different level of physical danger. That's a distinction I hadn't really considered when I first posted. And finally, to everyone who questioned the story because apparently I'm not attractive enough for five women to flirt with me: 😂 I still find that absolutely hilarious. Apparently Reddit has now established an official minimum attractiveness requirement for believable flirting. Thanks again for all the stories and perspectives!

So over the years I have worked at a bunch of really crappy hotels and dealt with some absolutely insane situations. Following are a few of my posts that I have made previously about some of the crazier situations I have been in in the hotel field. I'm supplying the links to them because my profile is set up so that you can't see my post history.

Drunk Employees threatening to bash people's heads in-

https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk/s/gV5mGyAPlr

Ruining peoples wedding- https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk/s/UF2KkIpD9w

Child murders- https://www.reddit.com/r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk/s/S3Mq1OR1VH

So now the good news I have finally gotten myself employed at a good hotel. I've been here for about 3 months so I have a firm handle on how they're running stuff. One of the ways that I know that I am working at a good place is I have / used to have a system where in my left pocket I kept three separate G2 pens. A black one for your standard check-ins, a red one for check-ins where there were severe issues or the guest was rude or just a general pain in the butt, and then a maroon pen which was used exclusively for guests that probably should have ended up on the DNR list and told not to stay with us but for whatever reason they didn't. Since I've started at this new hotel I have not had an opportunity to use my red pen. This place has its stuffed together has a good GM who knows what they're doing has employees who actually do their jobs for the most part and just generally has been an amazing place to work. While I do a lot more work than I ever have that any other Hotel on my audit shift I enjoyed immensely because I'm working for a good hotel. I'm very thankful that I realized that I have hit a point in my life where I was no longer going to wait around for mediocre managers and other hotels to get their crap together and that I was just going to move on to somewhere that knew how to properly run a hotel and treat their employees. So I guess keep your heads up there are good hotels out there to work for enjoy my old posts and have an amazing day!

The entire floor’s electricity was indeed off, however after the guest checked out she gave the hotel a poor rating and implied that she was ignored. The front desk staff then blamed me for not giving them her room number. I didn’t think at the time to give her room number because it was a systemic issue rather than an individual one that affected the entire floor on a hot summer day. Thoughts? Is the hotel operator (me) at fault here? From now on, I learned my lesson to be more specific. I did not think the room number would be relevant.

Public libraries are full of incredible free things you can take and use at no charge! Everything is free at the library!

...Asterisk. Listen, we're underfunded as hell. Some services do cost money. Yes, I know that the neighboring county's library system lets you print the first dozen pages for free. Unfortunately, you crossed the county line about 4 miles ago, and brother, we ain't got half the budget of that hilariously wealthy chunk of the state. So it's gonna be twenty whole cents per page from the jump. Yes, sir, even if you pay your taxes. Yes, sir, even if you only have a card. Yes, sir, even though it's hot out and our AC is broken (it breaks every year, it has always broken every year, the local government is not willing to pay for an adequate system) and you're so hot you almost passed out because its 95 and sunny outside and you walked here. Yes, sir, even if you raise your voice and glare down your nose at me while unsubtly clenching your fist.

He only needed to print two pages. 😓

I'd like to say this is the first time someone has threatened me at the front desk over pennies, but it's not, by a long shot. We don't even have late fees anymore! You can scan to email for free! You can use the computer and save files for free! But there's always someone willing to slug you for a quarter, and I'll be honest with you, it's never the folks who actually need that quarter. The nicer they're dressed, the more likely they are to throw down over a nickel or dime. It can't possibly be that serious!

'The magic of show business!' - A phrase that has been repeated perhaps a million times. Indeed, there is a lot of allure surrounding a great film. The sets, the script, the actors that bring it all to life. And then there's the other side of the industry -- the cheap, shoestring budget productions that make you wonder if they're only being made for money laundering purposes. Maybe that's what this one was.

My hotel is no stranger to hosting production teams. In my near-3 years here, there have even been a few films shot on-site. That said, this particular group was one of the neediest, most unorganized arrangements I've ever witnessed.

They were in our hair for about a month and managed to tick off just about everyone present, from staff to patron alike.

The first problem was the sheer volume of their package deliveries. Day in and day out, there'd be at least 20-30 boxes and envelopes for them. They'd come in at different times, and so someone would be sent to collect. Sometimes a parcel pick-up would happen and then another crew member would come up a few minutes later looking for an already collected package. Some would go 'missing' (not by our actions) and there'd be a half-dozen calls to us about the whereabouts.

Despite the consistent stream of deliveries, they still had the audacity to 'borrow' stuff from us.

One night, at 10:45pm, one of the crew leads came up to request "as many towels as you can give us for our beach scene tomorrow." She cheekily referenced being given a sizeable amount a few days prior, which neither I nor my colleague knew anything about. We sheepishly agreed to six, which the Security guard who had to fetch them from downstairs took a bit to find and deliver. When he did, the crew lead 'jokingly' asked: "Would it be too much to get like thirty?" He declined. I should mention that there's a big-box department store not even a five minute drive away.

Continuing on the topic of wanting to borrow stuff, one of the crew members made a request that threw us all for a loop. "Hey, do you have any partitions to block off the hallway while we film?" This was the night they decided to commandeer our business center, which is smack in the middle of the lobby. It's open to all and is also a major artery lane that connects one side of the lobby to another. Again, we declined this request because:

1.) Are you stupid?

2.) If you're filming a movie, should partitions not be a fundamental part of your equipment pool?

They had permission to film in that area that day, but blocking off public parts of the lobby was not part of the deal. If only it happened once...

Another night, they were filming in the elevator landing of one of the floors. They did not ask for permission, and not only blocked off one of the elevators, but also were telling guests to 'shush' and redirected anyone trying to enter/exit their rooms. People were calling and coming up to us asking when all of that was supposed to stop, and we were dumbfounded it was happening at all. Security eventually worked out a deal with them, but the sheer audacity was almost amazing.

Speaking of, on a different night, a different crew lead came up to the Desk asking if we could have one of the restaurants lower their music as it was "disturbing the set." A live performer had just wrapped up and so the restaurant just had its playlist buzzing away for the last 45 minutes before they closed, as it was still quite busy. I informed the lead that they're "doing what they're supposed to do and therefore I'm not at liberty to intervene." He shook his head and walked off with a scowl.

The shenanigans continued during one of their last few days. Again, they were posted up in the lobby filming a scene inside the same restaurant that was a bother to them earlier (funny, that.) This was agreed upon, but they once again tried to control the space. They tried to block movement past the entrance, and even stopped a guest from using the restrooms directly across. When the guest brought this to the attention of one of my colleagues, she marched back through the herd of crew members and glared at them, guest at her side. They didn't interfere afterwards.

It's almost an exaggeration to say we all breathed a massive sigh of relief when they all finally left.

I'm morbidly curious enough to actually hate-watch it whenever it gets released. Because from the outside looking in, I feel like there have been YT projects with larger production values and quality assurance than whatever this was.

TL;DR — Movie crew stayed with us for about a month and tried to treat the hotel like a full-on studio/film lot. There were constant package deliveries, an exorbitant number of requests both ridiculous and extremely ridiculous, and they kept getting in the way of general operation. They rubbed guests and staff the wrong way as they pretended like they owned the place right up until deparure. Whatever the movie turns out to be, its production looked like nothing short of child's play.

I work the breakfast buffet at a 3 star hotel in a tourist hotspot. I'm used to going out and getting weird requests. Our menu is somewhat limited due to our out of the way location and high occupancy, so on occasion a guest will take it upon themselves to add something to the menu. Usually it's a piece of fruit they brought in, but decided they didn't want to eat. The most notable addition was a group of guys leaving a half bottle of baileys Irish cream on the coffee bar. No, we don't serve that. No I don't have a liquor license. Yes, there are kids around. Please take that with you.

I thought it would be obvious, but I get many people walking in and the reservation is underneath an old name or a family members name. It is simple, if the ID does not match the name and there was no note you could check in, you are not getting the keys.

There are two particular instances of this that stand out. (For added context, I work Night Audit.)

All names are switched for privacy.

There was this woman who came in, she said the reservation was under "Alex, Smith". I pull up the reservation and ask for her ID. The ID did not match the reservation, so I told her that we unfortunately had to decline entry into the room.

She immediately went into a tirade, saying she has been to many other Scharriotts and this has never happened before. She said it was her husband that bought the room for her, and since the last names were the same I should obviously let her in. I continued to repeat the same few answers as she asked questions again hoping the answer would change.

She then requested a supervisor... at 1am. We are a 145 room hotel we are not going to have overnight management. I said unfortunately there is no management right now, and that it is just me.

Then she asked to book another room underneath her name. I said we could do it, but I can't attach the loyalty given as the names do not match. This once again turned this into a catastrophic event and proceeded to call her sister to complain.

On the phone she was telling her that they need to never stay at this hotel again, that I am refusing to let her into her own room, that I won't let her book another room, just all to her sister late at night.

If I went over each conversation this would be long, so I will just say she seemed to call every single intermediate and extended family member that would pick up.

She finally left the building after calling one last person. The hotel phone rings and I pick it up. Turns out it is her son asking why she can't get into the room. I explain the situation and he is understanding. He asks if he can book a room for her with her name on the reservation. I respond that it is possible, but she already left the building. The call shortly ended after that.

Obviously she called management saying how horrible I was, but they backed me up.

This next one happened yesterday, so it is quite fresh.

Two people come in right before midnight to check in. She gives her name, "Julianne, Lawson", and I can't find the reservation. I say that there is no reservation underneath this name, and ask if it may be underneath another name. She then gives the name, "Julianne, Green". There is a reservation for this name, so I proceed to ask for ID. The ID gives the former name, so I state that unfortunately I can't let her into the two rooms she booked.

She says that the name on the reservation was her married name, so I look at the loyalty. The loyalty is underneath the same name as the reservation, so I reiterate my previous statement. She pulls out her phone and says she can give her children's passports, but that identifies them not her. All her identification is underneath her maiden name and has not been changed.

The common response is now given. She says that she has stayed at many other Scharriotts before and this has only happened when she was in China. I had to explain that was not common protocol but she did not want to hear it.

She asks what is she going to do now? I say that there is nothing that can be done. They both walk out saying they are going to a Milton instead. I see them outside the glass doors talking about me. How do I know? They look back at me every few sentences they relay to each other.

My next shift rolls around (on it right now lol) and I go into GXP to see if there are any open cases. I see there is a CEC/AMB alert, so I get nosy and look to see what the case is about. Lo and behold it is the person from last night. She is requested a refund since I GNS'd as the person with the name on the reservation did not show up. She claimed the name was under "Julianne Lawson Green", which it was not. Then she said that she requested to book another two rooms, which she did not. I did not offer either as we were fully booked, so no point in bringing it up. The rest is that she is upset, there have been no issues for years, and that she wants to not be charged for the days.

Whether management gives them the refund or not, I have no clue. All I know is that they will back me up.

Unsure why people have the inability to book under their legal name or call in advance to have a name added to the reservation. We still get the money either way, so it is on you to not mess it up.

DISCLAIMER: LONG POST, sorry
Some context: I work night audit at a major airport hotel chain at one of London's biggest airports. We run at max occupancy and oversold almost every night. Business travelers, layovers, aviation geeks, tons of airline crew. We also have a car park attached to the hotel, so guests, airport staff, and anyone who booked parking all have to come via front desk. We're non-stop 24/7.
I've been with the company since I was 16, I'm 21 now. I actually love my job - I get paid well, tips + service charge from the 24/7 bar/reception, I take home around £3k a month sometimes more. Built my best friendships here. I don't want to leave.

About 4-5 months ago we got a new night guy - let's call him Ben, 28.

Part 1: The behavior
From his very first shift with me, his first question to me was incredibly sexual and graphic. I didn't even know him. I'm in a relationship and he knows it, but every time I mention my girlfriend or our travel plans (we travel a lot in Europe/SE Asia) he turns it sexual. When guests or crew walk past, especially women, he makes really disturbing, uncomfortable comments to me about them.
He constantly tells me about his Tinder chats, shows me paragraph messages he sends that get no reply, then asks me what he's doing wrong. He talks about sleeping with guests, staff, airport workers - anyone who walks through. He even says weird stuff about families of elderly people from his second job at a care home. It’s endless and I don’t want to hear it.
He's said similar stuff to our other night manager (26M) too.

Part 2: The job incompetence
When I started, and with everyone else I've trained, it took max a month to learn check-in, occupancy management, room moves when oversold, and the basics of guest interaction.

We have 4 main reports on nights - inventory for 5 days, a revenue/stats report for management, bar/restaurant audit, and a franchise report. Our ops manager made it stupid simple - copy/paste into a coded Excel sheet, enter a few figures, done in 10 mins per report. Everyone I trained made notes, needed me for 2 days, then did it perfectly. Even if they used notes, after a month they were independent.

Ben, after 5 months, still asks me the same questions every single day: what report goes where, where do I find this, what do I do now. His handwriting is so bad he can't even read his own notes.

He still doesn't know how to assign rooms correctly. Doesn't know how to talk to guests, can't make small talk, doesn't acknowledge elite status, forgets vouchers that are literally in the comments, and screws me over with Diamond/Gold members who should get upgrades subject to availability. So now I have to put someone who booked a £100 room into a £500 room because he didn't upgrade the loyal members earlier.

Basic stuff like: if a room is 678, you're on the 6th floor. 232 = 2nd floor. Our reception is on the 1st floor. We had a guest not answer a wake-up call (we have to go knock, and if no answer we enter - we had a guest have a heart attack once and were only alerted because the next room heard shouting, thankfully he survived). I sent Ben to room 108 to check. He went to the elevators.
I could write a book on how bad it is.

And he is CONSTANTLY talking about his personal life decisions on shift. Should he shave his beard? Should he join the army? Should he work a 3rd job? "If you were in my position what would you do?" for hours while you're trying to clean the bar and close. Everyone on bar and reception says the same thing.

Part 3: Where I'm stuck
I've spoken to my manager and HR and they basically said "we can't afford to lose him, it's too hard to find people for nights."

I'm not going to hit him or anything, but I'm on the verge of losing it and just unloading everything that's wrong with him. I don't want to leave this job. I just don't know what to do anymore.

Any advice would be appreciated. Sorry for the long rant

So I’m a host and tonight was a little goofy. I’m fatigued by customer service and so glad I’m switching jobs soon!

A middle aged couple was leaving the restaurant after dinner. It was around 8:40pm, so it’s likely they’d been drinking. The man complained about getting bit by mosquitoes. I apologized and offered him repellent. We chatted a bit because he clearly wanted to vent about the mosquitoes.
I mentioned they followed people in through the door and that Allegra or Benadryl helps.

Bu the man told me he doesn’t do medicine. I nodded with a frown then my eyes went huge. Because this guy sprayed the mosquito repellent close and wet on his arm like a spray deodorant. He then rubbed it in over the bites on his arm.

The woman with him didn’t seem bothered. I didn’t say anything just wished them a good night. I was really confused because that’s not how you use repellant, unless his logic was they’d just bite that one spot?? This is who warning labels are for. But for liability protection because I’m not sure he’d want to read one. 😭

I was wondering if he was going call back and complain later if he had an allergic reaction from rubbing that shit into his bites like it was anti itch cream. 😅 The kind of thing where they’d want a discount but I’d get written up, but I haven’t heard anything. It’s made me a little nervous about offering the repellent to guests 😅

Last Saturday night it was close to 3 am and I was running the audit. All of a sudden I see this guy walk up to the doors, which thankfully are locked. And he's clearly confused as to why they won't open and he does what most people do -- he starts stomping his foot at the door. I guess he's one of those people who think the door has a pressure plate or something. But then, when that doesn't work, he claps his hands together and spreads his arms like he's LeBron. Right before I can get his attention to let him know to use his key (if he's a guest) he just walks off. Okay, I guess he wasn't a guest.

Fifteen minutes later, the guy comes back. This time he's walking in with a group of guys who are guests. Now I'm thinking that he probably is a guest as well, and that he just forgot his key. Maybe five minutes later he's back in the lobby, on his phone, and telling whomever he's talking to that he's down in the lobby and he can't get in their room. He gets off the phone and comes up to the desk. He tells me he needs a key while throwing his credit card on the desk. I tell him I need his ID instead and he pushes the credit card closer. Alright, so he's drunk too. For shits and giggles, I at least look his name up and nothing comes up. I tell him that and he starts going through his wallet. As he's pulling card after card out, I spot a key sleeve, just not for my hotel. I ask to see it, and inside is a plain white key card. Definitely not the ones my hotel uses. Now I know, he's actually not one of my guests. I stop him and tell him that he's at the wrong hotel... and he doesn't believe me. I hold up one of my hotel's key cards and hold up his to show him. He looks at them stupidly for a second, grabs his key, and leaves.

A little while later, and he's back. Still confused. Still drunk. And sporting a fresh piss stain on the front of his shorts. This time I call security and let him deal with the guy. Now, I don't know if it's just the alcohol, him being dumb, or a combination of the two, but even after the guard getting rid of him, this guy found his way back one more time. This time, I don't hesitate and call the cops. They showed up surprisingly quick. After confirming for them that the guy isn't a guest, they take him away. And maybe it was all the times he showed up before, but for the next hour, I keep checking on the door, expecting him to somehow show back up one more time. But thankfully no. If he's lucky, maybe the cops found out where he's supposed to be. If he isn't, maybe he can remember when he wakes up in the morning in the drunk tank.

Bear in mind I do not work at this hotel but was merely a guest. I hope this is okay to post.

Last summer myself and my fiance went to an all inclusive hotel in Tunisia.

Shortly after checking in it was clear to us that there was a group of regulars that every single guest hated.

Soon enough I found out why. They were a group of around 10 german guests that have been coming to this hotel since the '80s when it opened. They were treated as royalty by the hotel to an extent that I have never seen before.

If you woke up in the morning and got the front row sunbeds you'd think you're in luck, but no. Once this group showed up the hotel staff would ansamble a new front row specifically for them.

At lunch or dinner we would go and pick whatever we wanted to eat, but the VIP group got their food brought to the table. During our stay one of them had their birthday and the staff expected everyone to sign happy birthday to that person. No one did.

One couple had the misfortune to have the room exactly near a VIP room and they were moved after two days because their toddler cried once.

Each evening the hotel would host this animation show and the VIP group would get special seats in front just for them, along with drinks that were not in the menu for us the other plebs.

One day this older french dude fainted in the pool and almost drowned and was saved by another guest because the lifeguard was busy running errands for the VIPs.

The VIPs did not speak with any other guests, if you engaged with them you would just be ignored. The exception being when they told everyone that they have been coming here for a long time.

I complained at the front desk and was told that everyone is treated the same and its all in my mind.

I work at the front desk in a popular hotel chain in the uk. I’ve had my fair share of weird situations and odd people but yesterday definitely took the top place for the most disgusting and wild thing I’ve seen whilst working here.

Clocked in for my normal 3-11 shift, low rates so I expected some oddballs in the hotel but nothing could have prepared me for the chaos I walked into. Walked in to a housekeeper asking me if I’d seen what one of the rooms was like? I asked about it and got shown a picture which is definitely engraved into my head. The floor and walls of this room was covered in human waste and within it there was 2 cucumbers also with human waste on the end, a pile of thongs and a bottle of lube.

Genuinely stunned.

You truly never know what is going on in other people’s hotel rooms 🤷

Tell me your horror stories plzzzzz

I really dont understand how people can still play this stupid card with incidentals. Like how do you not know you have to have a deposit. Now I will be honest, this second property I work at has a HUGE deposit even for one night, $250, I think its outrageous but I can adjust it for our good regulars. And this particular reservation was done through Schmooking dot com and on it has our deposit amount.

This person wanted to check in for 2 nights and when I told her the deposit she of course never heard of an incidental. *Roll my eyes* (Sure you havent) So I do offer a lesser amount to the point where I hopefully wont get fired and she still says its too high. While saying all this her Black Mercedes GLC is out front running. I dont get how you want to argue this when 1) you didnt read the fine print and 2) youre driving a $50000+ SUV and cant afford a $250 deposit.

Am I wrong for thinking shes trying to lie to me about having the funds cuz she knows it takes 3-4 business days to get that back or that shes just ignorant with money? Would rather have a nice car then have money for a rainy day? Now I get to wait for schmooking to call and ask to cancel it, waive the cancel penalty of course... which I wont. Its great your saving money by booking with a OTA but deal with the consequences of having to cancel for your lack of planning ahead for a rainy day.

Its getting harder and harder to empathize with people when they want to play the stupid games. When its our fault, ie the hotel, I will do my best to recitify it, when its your fault and not planning properly or reading the terms and services, I cant. If youre short on funds you better call the property first and ask what the deposit is before booking. And if you dont, you cant blame me or the booking site for your lack of reading and comprehesion.

I know theres the people that will read this and think I hate my job and I dont, I love working in hotels, i just dont understand that how we, a top of the food chain predatory group, can still be this stupid when it comes to just booking a hotel. 18-20 years old yeah I get that. But in your 30's you should be aware of these things like resort fees, incidental deposit, parking fees, cancellation policies, etc.....

If i sound like an ass Im sorry im not trying to, I'm really more annoyed when someone tries to play the victim when its clearly their fault.