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  • Stealing our rooms

    Guest A came down a couple nights ago because he wanted to move to the other side of the motel. He was having trouble with Guest B and friends a couple doors down. So ACW (annoying coworker), who I have ranted about elsewhere, moves him but, of course, fails to make sure he returns the key. Guest A's old room is now listed as vacant and dirty.

    Imagine the housekeeper's shock when the next morning, as she's going in to clean the room that is vacant and dirty, she walks in on three people! Guest B then calls down to the front office to complain that housekeeping just walked in on them, and is informed that no one is supposed to be in that room.

    Guest B and friends actually belonged a couple doors down (we know it was them because one shoe was in Guest B's proper room, and the matching shoe was in Guest A's former room). When asked why they thought it was okay to be in Guest A's former room, they said they didn't know he moved and that they'd gone over that morning to pick him up and were waiting for him to get back to the room. Yeah, if that's the case, then why am I standing by the door watching you pack up your luggage which is strewn everywhere? And why, after you left the room and I quietly followed you to see if you were leaving the property, did you immediately beeline it to Guest A's new room? You know, the one you didn't realize he'd moved to?

    Guest B went on our "special list" so we won't see from him again. Guest A said the lock on the door was funky, which we can't dispute (emergency workers cut it out once trying to get in, not even bothering to ask us for the emergency master key, and the replacement now doesn't always line up with the door frame perfectly), and that he wanted nothing to do with Guest B, and while I highly doubt that's the case, we can't argue with him about it.

    The other MOD totally ripped ACW a new one for not checking to see if keys had been turned in when she moved him.

    Also, we've been getting phone calls from the same person for Guest B for two days straight now. Whoever it is keeps trying to call from room to room, so we've had to route all incoming calls through the main switchboard (no more automated "If you know the number of the room you are calling..." messages). Every time I tell her that room XXX is vacant, she replies with "That's weird, because there's supposed to be someone named <Guest B> in <Guest A's former room>. Is there anyone in room <next door to Guest A's former room>? What about <next door>? What about...?" And so on and so forth down the line. No, he's not here, and he's not going to be staying here in the future either, so just give up already.
    Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

  • #2
    Are these keys different than the standard electronic keycards? Because I thought those usually stopped working once a guest is checked out. Although Guest A was still on the property, the former room had been closed out and I'd think the keycard was deactivated. Seems I'd be thinking wrong, though.
    A lion however, will only devour your corpse, whereas an SC is not sated until they have destroyed your soul. (Quote per infinitemonkies)

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    • #3
      Hotel key systems don't have a magic way of telling the locks that the keys aren't supposed to work. Instead, the keys have a timed life and simply stop working after the proper number of days. If a guest checks out early, the new set of keys also informs the lock to stop accepting the old ones. (I am guessing that there is some special key that can also be used to tell the lock to stop accepting keys.)

      Without that new set of keys, the lock will happily go on accepting the old ones.

      SirWired

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      • #4
        Quoth sirwired View Post
        Hotel key systems don't have a magic way of telling the locks that the keys aren't supposed to work. Instead, the keys have a timed life and simply stop working after the proper number of days. If a guest checks out early, the new set of keys also informs the lock to stop accepting the old ones. (I am guessing that there is some special key that can also be used to tell the lock to stop accepting keys.)

        Without that new set of keys, the lock will happily go on accepting the old ones.
        Some do actually, but it essentially requires that each room door be wired up to the central keying system. And since if it isn't done during the initial building, running new wire everywhere to each door entry is time consuming and expensive. Probably for most hotels the benefit doesn't justify the cost.
        Shop Smart. Shop S-Mart!

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        • #5
          okay, so Guest A is still staying with us in the new room. Last night, he came down and said that Guest B (who shouldn't even be on the property anymore) was in his room and wouldn't leave. The night auditor called up and eventually managed to get everyone out of the room (about four people total).

          We gave Guest A a new key (which would deactivate any old keys) and told him to STOP LETTING PEOPLE IN HIS ROOM!

          Guest A: "I couldn't stop him because my door was open."
          CW: ...
          Guest A: "Um...I guess I could start closing my door."

          That would be a good place to start, ya think?




          Basically the way the lock works is that each key is programmed with a room number and an expiration time. Even after someone checks out, that key will still work with that lock until either (a) it reaches expiration time or (b) a new key is made and swiped in the lock.

          There are some fancy, expensive places that have a wireless network built into their locking systems that can automatically deactivate a key at will. We are not one of those fancy, expensive places, however.
          Last edited by Broomjockey; 12-01-2009, 04:39 PM. Reason: consecutive posts
          Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

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          • #6
            We moved Guest A again because he was having trouble with the same people. Magically, the people he's supposedly avoiding immediately knew his new room number.

            We've explained to Guest A that this is his final room move, and to STOP GIVING OUT HIS ROOM NUMBER TO PEOPLE HE'S TRYING TO HIDE FROM!!! Or to people who would give it to people he's hiding from! Just stop giving it to ANYONE!

            He doesn't seem to be the brightest bulb on the Christmas tree.
            Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad.

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            • #7
              Sounds like it's time to ban him
              - They say nothing good happens at 2AM, they're right, I happen at 2AM.

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              • #8
                Quoth Argabarga View Post
                Sounds like it's time to ban him
                Sounds like it's _beyond_ time for a perma-ban!

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                • #9
                  If I were you, I'd just ask the Manager if it's okay to say "...That is your final warning. You don't get to move again - you just have to close the door, lock the door, do not answer the door, and if you complain, you're not getting moved."
                  Kangaroo Squee!

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