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the best ever hotel horror stories

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  • #16
    I see nothing wrong with calling the manager at home at 1 in the morning -- that's what he's paid the big bucks for. More to the point, he's the one that caused the problem in the first place.
    "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
    "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
    "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
    "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
    "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
    "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
    Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
    "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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    • #17
      Quoth Mr Hero View Post
      I HATE HATE HATE this policy with a fiery passion! My hotel does not have this policy. We do however charge our no shows, so we get paid for the rooms no matter what.
      I prefer this policy. If I book the Poshsuite Hotel, I want to stay at the Poshsuite Hotel, I don't want to be walked to the Fleabag Flophouse.

      If you make a reservation and don't bother to show up, that's your own fault, be an adult and accept your responsibility. If there was an emergency and you have proof (police report, hospital bill), I would think you could negotiate something with the hotel in question. (Of course, I don't work in the hotel industry, so my knowledge is severely limited.)
      I don't have an attitude problem. You have a perception problem.
      My LiveJournal
      A page we can all agree with!

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      • #18
        Quoth XCashier View Post
        I prefer this policy. If I book the Poshsuite Hotel, I want to stay at the Poshsuite Hotel, I don't want to be walked to the Fleabag Flophouse.
        Rather like what happened to me.

        One year I thought I'd reserve a "Cuddle and Bubble" (romantic suite with a hot tub) room for New Year's Eve. Saved up for it and reserved it in September when they opened the reservations for NYE.

        Got there and found out that the other person that they sold my room to had beaten me by one hour. Really pissed me off since I found out that he had reserved the same room in October a full month and a half later than I had.

        Since they were unable to supply me with another room with a hot tub they tried to "walk" me. They walked me to a local Motel 6.

        While the Motel 6 chain is a reasonably nice motel chain, they are a no frills chain. There is no hot tub. There is no room service. There is no having them deliver a bottle of champagne.

        All the services that I had paid for and was expecting to get at the Poshsuite Hotel. And since I lived in the town in question there was no need for me to have a hotel other than I wanted to treat my wife to a romantic evening.

        Since they could not get me into another "Cuddle and Bubble", I told them to give me my money back. Took a HELL of a lot of yelling on my part but they finally refunded me my money (after having to talk to the manager, the district manager and finally corporate).

        So I can understand the frustration of being walked. There is no need to be a complete butthead about it if you are looking for a room to sleep in...but I can understand it.
        I never lost my faith in humanity. Can't lose what you never had right?

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        • #19
          Mongo -- that doesn't even ....make...*brzzzt* >_<

          I can understand a little bit of overbooking on "standard" rooms, but NOT on the suites that are in such high demand that people HAVE TO book them 4-6 months ahead of time! I would assume that it's a given that the customer WILL show up for those -- plus the hotel can quite reasonably charge them for it if not!

          Good for you on putting your foot down!
          "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
          "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
          "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
          "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
          "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
          "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
          Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
          "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

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          • #20
            A hotel I used to work at would overbook as a matter of habit. I didn't know about it until years later because I was a housekeeper, but now that I do, I'm so glad that the hotel I currently work front desk for does not. It doesn't even let our computer do it.

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            • #21
              Quoth Moosenogger View Post
              I can honestly understand those guests' frustration. The entire point of making a reservation is so the damn hotel has a room for you - not so the hotel can maybe have a room available. The fact that your hotel management is willing to overbook and then wish upon a prayer that they actually have enough rooms available is asinine. I wish you could give away management's personal phone numbers to these guests - maybe if the manager gets screamed at enough they'll realize their own folly.
              Agreed. OTOH, they will probably blame the front desk staff for not spinning the news better.
              Quoth XCashier View Post
              If I book the Poshsuite Hotel, I want to stay at the Poshsuite Hotel, I don't want to be walked to the Fleabag Flophouse.
              Not unless the difference is refunded or the management throws in some goodies (e.g. vouchers for breakfast, drinks, free parking...you get the idea) enough to make up the difference--especially if paid in advance.

              I agree Mongo, you were right to demand a refund.

              Full disclosure: Mrs. TGK & I have never been bumped or walked, but we once were given an already-occupied room. The MOD gave us breakfast vouchers "for the inconvenience." The right (for want of a better term) room had a nice view as well.
              I'm trying to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up my keister!

              Who is John Galt?
              -Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

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              • #22
                I worked for a hotel for over 5 years and hated walking guests. The one time in my life that I was a straight up kinda drunk psychotic SC bitch though was when a hotel tried to walk me. I was in Miami for sister's wedding had booked the room and paid for the room 6 months in advance. THere were several events going on that weekend so I called the hotel earlier in day to make sure that they knew I would definitely be checking in but would be a later time check in. They said no problem we have your room and will make a note about late check in. So I went about being in the wedding and then drinking like a fish at the open bar. So at 1030 at night went to the hotel to check in and they said they were over sold and had given some one else my room. They said the entire area was sold out but they managed to get me a room 10 miles away and when I got there I would have to pay that hotel $169 for the night. The best part besides the fact that they were trying to make me pay again for the night was that I would have to pay for a cab to get to the mystery hotel sight unseen. I ended up sleeping on the floor in a friends hotel room for the night. Then first thing in the morning I started calling the other hotel.

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                • #23
                  In practically in business, kill the messenger is every customer's motto. Ten walk in one night?! That's crazy. The most I've done is....one (in one night). The customers would tear me up into bits! I'd quit if I had to do ten in one night. That's a sign of VERY bad management.
                  Can't reason with the unreasonable.
                  The only thing worse than not getting hired is getting hired.

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                  • #24
                    Quoth EricKei View Post
                    I see nothing wrong with calling the manager at home at 1 in the morning -- that's what he's paid the big bucks for. More to the point, he's the one that caused the problem in the first place.
                    While, in theory, this seems like a good idea, the problem is that said manager isn't going to see the problem as being customers are getting upset about their brilliant policy of overbooking, but that of an employee bothering them at all hours. Thus, their solution will be to get rid of the troublesome employee rather than the policy that triggers the employee to call the manager.

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                    • #25
                      Do hotels offer an option of "prepaid reservation, so whether or not I actually get there, you still get your money, so don't even think of selling the room to someone else"? If so, that would be a good option for cases like the "romantic New Year getaway" and "attending a wedding before checkin" to avoid getting bumped.
                      Any fool can piss on the floor. It takes a talented SC to shit on the ceiling.

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                      • #26
                        Quoth wolfie View Post
                        Do hotels offer an option of "prepaid reservation, so whether or not I actually get there, you still get your money, so don't even think of selling the room to someone else"?
                        The posters of the previous stories had guaranteed their rooms, prepaid, and all that stuff, and still had their rooms sold out from under them. Very sucky behavior on the part of the hotel management.
                        "I don't have to be petty. The Universe does that for me."

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                        • #27
                          We were walking him to the only hotel in the area we could find him a room which was further away then I would have liked. I actually hated doing it. He never went to jail. We just had the cops escort him off the property.

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                          • #28
                            At my current hotel, we do not intentionally overbook. However, sometimes it is out of our control. For example, a guest may have destroyed a room making it impossible to rent without repairs and time. That room would go out of market, but it may overbook us because that room was reserved and no other options were avaiable.

                            Sometimes an unforeseen maintenance issue can put a room out of order and possibly overbooking us.

                            A guest may over extend their stay without telling us causing an overbooking.

                            A third party reservation service may oversell us, or sell a room type to a guest they didn't want, resulting in a very irate customer who gets a smoking room instead of non smoking.

                            Although I am glad my manager does not advocate intentionally overbooking, charging for no-shows can turn sticky when the guest disputes the charge. Many times it goes in the customer's favor because the "inept" hotel staff gets blamed, so the charges end up getting reversed and the hotel could have had that revenue.
                            Last edited by hotelnpa; 11-06-2011, 01:29 AM.

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                            • #29
                              Quoth PepperElf View Post
                              o boy. what a way to make an impression on hubby on their first night of marriage...
                              ABORT ABORT ABORT.

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                              • #30
                                I never understood the idea of over overbooking flights and hotels, especially when said seats and rooms are prepaid in advance. The company is getting paid whether someone shows up or not, so to me it's just double dipping greed!

                                I myself have never been walked, I wouldn't mind so much if I was asked to volunteer my seat on a plane, if I could accomodate I would, as long as I'm getting to my destination and it doesn't really affect my plans getting there late why not? It usually comes with an upgrade and some compensation. But to show up and be TOLD that my plans need to change without any warning or consideration would bring out my sucky side. Whilst I would try my best not to take it out on the messenger, I can understand people getting upset. However there's upset and then there is douchebag overreactors!

                                To me the overbooking policy is just trouble waiting to happen, I don't understand the benefits apart from feeding a greedy need for extra money!
                                "You're perfect yes it's true, but without meeeee you're only you!"

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