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Guests Think They Can Outsmart Their Hotel, Are Shocked To See Their Bags Packed At The Front Desk
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Guests Think They Can Outsmart Their Hotel, Are Shocked To See Their Bags Packed At The Front Desk

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Some people believe that the rules apply to everyone else but them. So they’re shocked when someone ever-so-gently pushes back against their sense of entitlement.

Redditor u/rottiem0m recently went viral after sharing a story from a few decades ago when they worked for a well-known hotel chain. The OP revealed how the staff firmly but politely put a couple of rude guests in their place after they tried to get around the fact that the hotel was fully booked in advance. Read on for the full story.

RELATED:

    Dealing with less-than-respectful guests is unavoidable when you work in the hospitality industry

    Image credits:  DC_Studio (not the actual photo)

    One former hotel worker revealed what happened to some entitled guests who tried to go around the rules

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    Image credits: Max Rahubovskiy (not the actual photo)

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    Image credits: rottiem0m

    Hotel staff ought to find a balance between empathy for the guests and enforcing healthy boundaries

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    Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual photo)

    Dealing with rude and overly entitled people is inevitable if you work in the hospitality or food and service industries. At some point, you will have to face someone who is less than polite and has no respect for you.

    Though these sorts of situations can be quite challenging to deal with, they’re also a great opportunity to showcase your professionalism, diplomacy, as well as your communication skills.

    You always have to strike a balanced approach. You cannot be too soft and let your guests walk all over you and your boundaries. On the other hand, you can’t go about shouting at or calling out rude people (even if they deserve it) because it’ll damage the hotel’s reputation and your career.

    The way that Reddit user u/rottiem0m and their colleagues handled the situation was marvelous. For one, they got the communication part absolutely right. They’d explained to the guests upfront that they could only stay for one night. They then followed up with a reminder about their checkout time.

    Rude guests need to clearly understand that improper behavior will have very direct consequences

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    Image credits: Mikhail Nilov (not the actual photo)

    When that didn’t work, they didn’t cause a scene. They didn’t start any drama. They simply took action to solve the issue. The staff packed up all of the guests’ things and brought them downstairs.

    This was petty revenge at its finest. The situation sent a very clear message: the hotel respects its guests, but it demands equal respect for their rules, too. All guests are equal and someone who has booked and paid for their room a year in advance will get it.

    Ideally, anyone working in the hospitality industry will get the right training so that they know how to handle problematic guests in a courteous and professional manner. It falls to the hotel owners and managers to polish the communication skills of everyone who has to directly deal with people in their day-to-day roles.

    That means knowing how to (politely) resolve conflicts, showing empathy where and when needed, and de-escalating tension when it boils over. The training can involve roleplaying so that the staff have some practical experience—not just theoretical knowledge.

    Good training and proper support can help staff stay calm and professional even when the situation gets out of control

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    Image credits: Kateryna Naidenko (not the actual photo)

    It’s important to note here that not everyone who is rude or snaps at the staff is a bad person. They might be having an incredibly bad day or the hotel’s made some genuine mistakes in handling their requests. However, some guests know perfectly well that they’re behaving in inappropriate ways and need to be shown that they do not get a free pass.

    The hotel staff need to reach out to their managers when things get really out of hand. Their managers, in turn, need to be able to quickly and fairly assess the truth of the situation.

    They shouldn’t automatically side with the guests: they need to show the staff that they have their backs, too. But the main thing to remember is to stay as calm as possible, no matter how frustrating and tense the situation gets.

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    As Hotel Chantelle notes, hotels always have the option of banning unpleasant guests by putting them on no-stay lists. If someone is disruptive, rude, and puts the staff and other guests at risk, they won’t be permitted to stay at the hotel or chain any longer.

    However, if things escalate even further, it might be necessary to get the authorities involved. Hotels can, when needed, file for official trespass orders to enforce the no-stay regulations. Of course, all of these are last resorts after everyone’s exhausted their patience and politeness.

    The author shared some more context in the comments

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    Some internet users had more questions while others shared their own similar stories

    Here’s what some readers said after reading about the exhilarating hotel drama

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    Jonas Grinevičius

    Jonas Grinevičius

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

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    Storytelling, journalism, and art are a core part of who I am. I've been writing and drawing ever since I could walk—there is nothing else I'd rather do. My formal education, however, is focused on politics, philosophy, and economics because I've always been curious about the gap between the ideal and the real. At work, I'm a Senior Writer and I cover a broad range of topics that I'm passionate about: from psychology and changes in work culture to healthy living, relationships, and design. In my spare time, I'm an avid hiker and reader, enjoy writing short stories, and love to doodle. I thrive when I'm outdoors, going on small adventures in nature. However, you can also find me enjoying a big mug of coffee with a good book (or ten) and entertaining friends with fantasy tabletop games and sci-fi movies.

    Read less »
    Jonas Grinevičius

    Jonas Grinevičius

    Writer, BoredPanda staff

    Storytelling, journalism, and art are a core part of who I am. I've been writing and drawing ever since I could walk—there is nothing else I'd rather do. My formal education, however, is focused on politics, philosophy, and economics because I've always been curious about the gap between the ideal and the real. At work, I'm a Senior Writer and I cover a broad range of topics that I'm passionate about: from psychology and changes in work culture to healthy living, relationships, and design. In my spare time, I'm an avid hiker and reader, enjoy writing short stories, and love to doodle. I thrive when I'm outdoors, going on small adventures in nature. However, you can also find me enjoying a big mug of coffee with a good book (or ten) and entertaining friends with fantasy tabletop games and sci-fi movies.

    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    Read more »

    I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

    Read less »

    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Ilona Baliūnaitė

    Author, BoredPanda staff

    I'm a Visual Editor at Bored Panda since 2017. I've searched through a multitude of images to create over 2000 diverse posts on a wide range of topics. I love memes, funny, and cute stuff, but I'm also into social issues topics. Despite my background in communication, my heart belongs to visual media, especially photography. When I'm not at my desk, you're likely to find me in the streets with my camera, checking out cool exhibitions, watching a movie at the cinema or just chilling with a coffee in a cozy place

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    ॐBoyGanesh
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We’ve experienced this during high-volume dates. We send security to remind them an hour after checkout, giving them 30 minutes to vacate the room. We use a discrete body camera for anytime security intervenes or enters a room. We’ve rekeyed the door by this point. We escort them off property to the road. We have a system that allows us to know when doors have had the key used or attempted. We don’t track guests as a regular practice, but easily could. The signed agreement, as per state laws, allows us to charge half day rack rate for any overstay longer than two hours past checkout. At 4 hours past, we charge full rack rate and still can lock them out & remove them from property. It’s a legally binding service and rental agreement. No one has ever succeeded in getting their financial institution to reverse the charges. Typically, we have people pull this because of how isolated we are or they don’t want to go to their next destination. It’s always our $750 cheapest, garden view rooms.

    R Dennis
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I actually walked into a room that the front desk didn't know the guy hadn't checked out of... I opened the door to a guy laying on the bed watching TV, in his underwear, eating a bag of chips.

    Load More Comments
    ॐBoyGanesh
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    We’ve experienced this during high-volume dates. We send security to remind them an hour after checkout, giving them 30 minutes to vacate the room. We use a discrete body camera for anytime security intervenes or enters a room. We’ve rekeyed the door by this point. We escort them off property to the road. We have a system that allows us to know when doors have had the key used or attempted. We don’t track guests as a regular practice, but easily could. The signed agreement, as per state laws, allows us to charge half day rack rate for any overstay longer than two hours past checkout. At 4 hours past, we charge full rack rate and still can lock them out & remove them from property. It’s a legally binding service and rental agreement. No one has ever succeeded in getting their financial institution to reverse the charges. Typically, we have people pull this because of how isolated we are or they don’t want to go to their next destination. It’s always our $750 cheapest, garden view rooms.

    R Dennis
    Community Member
    1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

    I actually walked into a room that the front desk didn't know the guy hadn't checked out of... I opened the door to a guy laying on the bed watching TV, in his underwear, eating a bag of chips.

    Load More Comments
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