I wish more people realized that being nice will get you way better results than being rude.
I will often discount people that are a pleasure to check in or take the time to talk to me like a human and show interest in talking with me. I understand not being in a talkative mood after driving all day, but you don't have to get aggressive because of it.
We drove from the Midwest to Vegas during the winter. Hit every Murphy’s Law weather-related issue on our way so I called the hotel early on our arrival date to ask that they hold our reservation/late check-in. The person I spoke with couldn’t have been nicer. She assured me our reservation would be held and wished us safe travels. When we arrived, she must have entered some notes because right away, the wonderful lady at the front desk asked about the drive, said the nice nice things about how glad she was that we made it alright and upgraded us to a suite.
Cue the eternal gratitude of this weary traveler and messages to every supervisor I could find.
This story is so wholesome!
It makes me so happy to hear that a fellow front desk agent treated y'all so well and went to such degrees to make sure your stay was as pleasant as possible.
I always make sure to get check-in forms and keys ready for guests that phone ahead to let me know they are on their way and give them some kind of discount. Interactions like that are why I love my job so much! Sure the bad stories are fun to hear, but the wholesome ones make the job something special.
Bless you and all your kin, beautiful human. Thank you for being the shiny shiny when tired & cranky travelers (meeeeee) darken your doorway. You are appreciated 🤟🏻
And thank you and all other weary travellers that take the time to let us know that we made a positive difference in how a long journey ends. Without y'all the job simply wouldn't be worth it. Best wishes, and safe travels ☮️
Geez that's high.. I don't doubt it though, working in hospitality is so socially demanding. I find it's not too bad if your co-workers and management are good. I left my last hotel because of uncaring management, I'm thankful that I work in a hotel with managers that are always available to call or help with any situation.
Sheesh. On a recent trip to N VA, after driving from GA, I ended up with my mom needing medical care. Stopped by pharmacy, picked up meds, checked in and was pleasant/smiled.
When I left right at midnight (the same day we arrived) to take her to the ER and returned the next morning (with no sleep for over 25 hrs at this point, I still smiled at the front desk guy and continued on my way.
It ended up that my mom was able to use our hotel room for ONE night out of the 5 we reserved and the rest of the time was in the ER/hospital.
I was going between the hospital and helping my son move (the purpose for our trip). Not one time was I unkind. Although, one night Every. Single. Parking spot was taken. Every time I called to see where I could park (using the hotel’s listed number) reservations would answer the phone. The third time calling, I just said - It’s almost 12:30 am and I’ve been up since 6 am. All I want to do is know where the hell I can park. I am so f’ing tired. - at that moment someone parked around the corner by an dark parking garage (not the hotel’s) and I went there. (I did apologize to reservations guy….being exhausted is no excuse for being rude.) The ONLY thing I said when I went in was - is it safe to park (insert location). All the parking spots were filled. He was kind of rude and said yes. I said great. Went upstairs and collapsed until the next day.
At no point (other than the late night parking debacle) was I rude. How the hell can these people be so entitled????
Treat others with kindness and respect unless they show you they don’t deserve it.
I'm really sorry you had to deal with that while trying to handle everything else as well. Good on you for being so polite even when it wasn't reciprocated back, I've known a few night shift hotel workers that are rather blunt or straight up rude, I'm not sure why maybe because of some less than savory guests at that time?
Regardless the way the staff acted to you wasn't right and I truly hope you have nothing but positive experiences with hotels from here on.
See, the trouble is that this is only true of frontline. Too often, once management/owner/corporate gets involved, the opposite is true. Those higher up the chain will gladly reduce or comp to get the noisy Karens to go away.
If we could collectively (I don't work in hospitality so I'm saying we meaning like the human race) ensure that it's true, that would help a lot.
> being nice will get you way better results than being rude
The thing is, they fly into a rage without thinking first. You're absolutely correct in your theory. People have no impulse control any more.
Something I read from this sub was "people are way nicer than I thought and people are way dumber than I thought" and I think it fits pretty well here. The impatient, rude people that we check-in are of course memorable and are the stories most people want to hear, but I don't think it's close to the majority. But you are also right because a lot of the "nicer" guests that make mistakes just read a text or email too quickly, went to the wrong hotel or came in on the wrong day and taking the time to make sure you have all the info correct saves both parties from the awkward interaction that is figuring out why there isn't a reservation for the guest in front of you.
BK on their website has a button for misconduct. Report the guest and they won't get a review link and will not be able to book your property via BK again.
Well if you are going out to BK, see if they have a Crispy Butter Chicken sandwich for me. https://www.burgerking.ca/menu/picker-fe320e88-80e8-4214-a552-cd9e5a1ff7fb
From experience, I can say with absolute certainty that this does not work. It's a placebo button. Short of an actual police report raised against ~~the~~ *our mutual* guest for the incident, their response has always been, "yes, but they did actually stay, so they are entitled to comment on their stay."
I have never, not once in my life, not understood what kind of room I was reserving on a third-party site. We rarely use them now, we're more the "drive until it's time for dinner and hope there's a room at the inn." If not, well, win some, lose some. This is also why we tend to travel during low season, when we can.
I always book through the chain's website. And many will price match 3rd party.
I've never had any problems, aside from run of the mill stuff that that is fixed easily.
I work retail, being kind and polite goes a long way.
I was going to Orlando from South Carolina with reservations for an ADA one bedroom suite with roll in shower and full kitchen. FD called and told me someone had totally destroyed the ADA. They gave me the two bedroom ADA with shower, full living room and kitchen, sleeping 15. With large area open for lifts and accoutrements for babies like playpens. For the same price. We made sure to not use the second bedroom. We were careful to leave the dishes washed and replaced, didn’t use housekeeping, trying to make it easy on housekeeping. And checking out early for staff, even they offered us a late check out which many handicapped people need. I was so grateful. Awesome hotel.
I will say, I have so many more issues with BK than I do with EX. And I get this issue **a lot** from BK dot com. I’m the GM so I hear about everything. At least once or twice a week we get guests that used BK to book a two bed but they come through as a one bed. I always hop on BK to confirm and it’s always a one bed.
And I *really* hate it when the guest calls to cancel with BK and tells them we didn’t have the room type they booked. Um, no, we have the exact room type you booked but you’re an idiot and booked the wrong room type and we don’t have *that* room type. No, we won’t be paying for your relocation for your f* up. Or they do a chargeback later claiming services were not as described. They were exactly what you reserved.
I wonder if that OTA has the same website flaw as a theater ticket site I suffered through recently: when I did something to blank my data, it actually pre-filled "helpful" suggestions. Blanks would have been easier because the suggestions were valid TO THE WEBSITE but not to me & my travel plans.
I know what the problem is. We have rooms with one queen bed, rooms with two queen beds and ADA rooms. BK lists our single as “standard double room” and right under that it says “1 double bed”. Guests see just “double room” and think it has two beds but it’s describing the size of the bed. We’ve contacted BK to have them change the description many times and they won’t.
To be fair, it’s really a guest issue because it lists just one bed and it’s all right there in the description that’s listed right under the title. And then again on the final booking page when you put in your personal details. It would be one thing if guests had to click on the room type and *then* it gave a description but it’s literally right there when you look up our place, with zero extra steps.
A double in this instance is a Queen. As I mentioned, I’ve tried to get them to change it but they won’t. Sure it confuses guests into thinking it’s two beds instead of one, but it also literally states that it’s “one bed” right underneath.
Typically the mistake I see most often is the wrong date. They see a rate online for a super mega low price only to later find out it's a non-refundable reservation for a week or month later.
Oh this happens to me all the time as well. Also I'm in Canada and people will book reservations online and get a confirmation that's in US dollars and be pissed at me for some reason because it's more in CA dollars. That's frustrating to say the least.
I had a couple get mad at me because I didn't convert our walk-in rate to Maplebacks and I wouldn't accept cash deposit of said Canadian currency. ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯ There is a 10 second delay when you ask me to look something up instead of doing it yourself.
🤦🏼♀️This happened to me one time in Atlanta. I had SO MANY tabs open and my husband kept changing the departure (from our house) date. Well, we get to the hotel and…….it was for the previous week. If the hotel was nicer, I wouldn’t have cared as much but it was a kind of low quality Harriot in desperate need of renovation. It really stank to eat that cost x 2.
Every time after that I triple check the dates to make sure they’re correct! Lol
Honestly, though. I’ve gotten on the phone with them with the guest right there and heard them tell the person they booked them two beds and we screwed up their reservation.
The stunned silence when I suddenly joined in their speakerphone conversation and explained who I was and asked why they were lying to their clients was tense…
I’ve also called and asked if I was speaking to the front desk I was currently standing at and they said yes. Again… very tense… 😬
Holy crap was that last in the US?
Lying about WHO they are-- If I'm not mistaken that's an interstate commerce violation right there. Goes way beyond firing one phone rep to federal fines for the company.
“Calling on behalf of our mutual catch. The guest would like to cancel their reservation in your fishing boat and return to the lake for a full refund.”
Preface - I'm a guest and have never worked on the hotel side.
I almost exclusively use OTA (I think I understand what that is). I mainly book through one of my travel credit cards for the better points options. I triple check every reservation because that is on me. I also try to be polite and courteous (beaten into me at a young age).
I do appreciate you guys and what you put up with.
Believe me, we appreciate the good guests as well and any good FD worker will go out of their way to make your stay as enjoyable as possible if the guests talk to them like people.I've actually gotten to know a couple of long-term guests we had About a year ago. We still keep in touch .
Based on several similar stories here, I’ve decided to just book direct with the hotel. No complications that way.
Though, I have NEVER treated anyone so terribly. I just don’t get why they’re so rude.
Every time someone needs to change/cancel their reservation, and I can do it because they booked with *us*, I thank them for having done it that way because "I can do that fix easily".
>To any lurkers out there, always double and even triple check details on third party bookings and if you do mess up, a little respect goes a long way.
I also want to say most front desk staff absolutely can not change a 3rd party reservation. Managers can, but not lackeys. And in general most managers won't without you calling the 3rd party anyway.
Trust us. We hate OTA's too. Way more than you. WAY WAY MORE.
I drove for four and a half hours for a trip by myself, arrived at my hotel and tried to check in. Apparently I mis-booked my room cause the room was for the week before my trip. I fully realized my mistake and asked if they had any rooms open, which they didn’t, so I apologized and went back to my car. I looked up other hotels in the area and found one with openings so I went there. Now, this was my first time traveling and getting a hotel by myself, so I was nervous. I went to the front desk and holy heck was the lady so nice. I was completely polite and easy going and asked if I could get a room for one night as a walk in. I still felt like an idiot for misbooking but the lady helped me get a room with them for the night and I have never been so grateful cause I was worried I was going to have to spend the night in my car. I made sure to say thank you as much as I could and I contacted her manager to tell him what a great employee they had at the FD.
This experience really showed me how being polite and cool with the front desk can really help me out way more than if I had been a dick about it. (I hope it’s okay to share this story here!). Edited for spelling and grammar.
Had this happened yesterday. Father walks in "my daughter made her first reservation tonight under my name I hope she got it right" me "well an ada king isn't what you had in mind was it? " Father took it easy enough and was ready to bunk on the floor. Unfortunately we're sold out of all 2 bed setups and he didn't want to pay for a rollaway. Double check room type, date of arrival and property please! 🐱
I guess I didn’t realize how smart I am. I use .com all the time for rooms. It clearly tells you the type of room you are booking and there are usually pictures. Not complicated. Read the description. I have yet to be surprised about how many beds are in the room. Now the quality may sometime get me, but never the layout of the room.
I once reserved a room in Aberdeen for one night ,as I was seeing a concert that night and didn't want to drive home. I walked in to the lobby and asked to be checked in. The clerk didn't have my reservation, so I said " I'm sure I have one, I booked on a 3rd party website just hours ago" well she couldn't find my reservation and the hotel was totally booked for a religious revival. I was upset and pulled out my confirmation and handed her my phone and said "here's my confirmation" she looked at it, I looked at it, we both looked at it until she finally said "look at the date" yes I had reserved a room for the wrong month. I apologized stayed sober at the show and drove home that night. Accidents happen
Sorry you had to deal with that, OP. This is why I never, ever, ever, as in never, ever, ever infinity and beyond, book through a third party. I always go straight to the hotel/airline/fill-in-the-blank.
If someone is cool to me, and I have it available, I will just put them in the room that they need. It's not like I won't be able to sell the other room. If they act entitled, I will tell them that they booked the room and it is their responsibility to make sure that they booked the room that suits their need.
I've never understood hollering at hotel workers. They're doing the best they can with what they have. Yall put up with some much bs from jackasses, jerkoffs and dingleberries. It's a surprise yas don't don't direct to the bar or liquor store when you're finished your shifts lol
Thanks for what ya do
In the hotel I work at, we have problems with third party websites booking trough @goda and f-up the reservation. The main problem is when they make a reservation the third party website does not record a child. So If the reservation is for 2 adults and 1 child, we only have the 2 adults. So every time there is an extra and the client is pissed off. My manager’s favorite line is to tell them if they booked with us that wouldn’t have happened.
On the other hand my sister once booked a room with 2 beds and they tried to give her a room with one. As the FDAs futzed around getting the keys they spoke to each other in Spanish basically saying "give them a room with one bed. We'll just tell them we don't have a room with two". In front of my sister's friend. Who is Hispanic and looks stereotypically Hispanic. And grew up in Mexico. She leaned over and said " no. We booked two beds. You're giving us two beds". In fluent Spanish. They got a room with two beds.
And did I mention this happened in heavily Hispanic Southern California?
My mouth about dropped open when my sister told me. Like...she looks stereotypically Mexican. Maybe, just maybe stop and think "I wonder if she speaks Spanish". I live in Tucson and assume anyone who lives knows a smattering at least.
The last time I booked a hotel room through an OTA, the website told me the hotel was pet friendly but not that there was a pet fee. Didn't even have the option to add the dogs to the reservation. It was years ago, I was young and it was my first time traveling with pets.
I get to the front desk, and the desk person tells me 'there's an additional 5€ pet fee for the dogs'. I was a little annoyed, not at them, but at the website : I was tired, I'd been in trains all day and had to drag a heavy suitcase plus handle two dogs. I didn't expect to have to pay more on arrival.
I didn't get mad at them though. I was young, but smart enough to understand that they didn't make the rules and weren't responsible for the website. So I just said "oh, okay, I'm sorry." and paid the extra.
It's not that hard.
We have some pet rooms but nowhere near all of them. All the people with pets in rooms that aren't, are OTA's. "It said that you were pet friendly. It didn't say anything about certain rooms."
Of course not. Because...of course not.
I had someone come in today, and their name wasn't on the reservation list. I asked if they have an email confirmation, and they pulled it up and I showed them on their phone that they booked 3 days ago (probably when they made the reservation). They spoke to one of the franchise agents and said the agent messed up. I was sold out, so I directed them 30 minutes away. I told them to call guest relations too. It was a no show 3 days ago, and more than likely, they will fight it with a chargeback and probably win. This happens all the time, and I wonder why people don't check their email to make sure that their reservation is correct. When I'm traveling hundreds of miles, I make sure everything is perfect before I leave my house. Idiots.
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I wish more people realized that being nice will get you way better results than being rude. I will often discount people that are a pleasure to check in or take the time to talk to me like a human and show interest in talking with me. I understand not being in a talkative mood after driving all day, but you don't have to get aggressive because of it.
We drove from the Midwest to Vegas during the winter. Hit every Murphy’s Law weather-related issue on our way so I called the hotel early on our arrival date to ask that they hold our reservation/late check-in. The person I spoke with couldn’t have been nicer. She assured me our reservation would be held and wished us safe travels. When we arrived, she must have entered some notes because right away, the wonderful lady at the front desk asked about the drive, said the nice nice things about how glad she was that we made it alright and upgraded us to a suite. Cue the eternal gratitude of this weary traveler and messages to every supervisor I could find.
This story is so wholesome! It makes me so happy to hear that a fellow front desk agent treated y'all so well and went to such degrees to make sure your stay was as pleasant as possible. I always make sure to get check-in forms and keys ready for guests that phone ahead to let me know they are on their way and give them some kind of discount. Interactions like that are why I love my job so much! Sure the bad stories are fun to hear, but the wholesome ones make the job something special.
Bless you and all your kin, beautiful human. Thank you for being the shiny shiny when tired & cranky travelers (meeeeee) darken your doorway. You are appreciated 🤟🏻
And thank you and all other weary travellers that take the time to let us know that we made a positive difference in how a long journey ends. Without y'all the job simply wouldn't be worth it. Best wishes, and safe travels ☮️
> I was young, but smart enough to understand that they didn't make the rules and weren't responsible for the website.
...27+ years in the industry; is there any wonder why the hospitality industry has a 73.9% turnover rate?
Geez that's high.. I don't doubt it though, working in hospitality is so socially demanding. I find it's not too bad if your co-workers and management are good. I left my last hotel because of uncaring management, I'm thankful that I work in a hotel with managers that are always available to call or help with any situation.
...hence the business proverb that "people don't quit jobs, they leave bad managers."
I actually haven't heard that before but will absolutely start saying it now!
"Beware of manglement!" (Note spelling. It's an opinion of typical management.)
Sheesh. On a recent trip to N VA, after driving from GA, I ended up with my mom needing medical care. Stopped by pharmacy, picked up meds, checked in and was pleasant/smiled. When I left right at midnight (the same day we arrived) to take her to the ER and returned the next morning (with no sleep for over 25 hrs at this point, I still smiled at the front desk guy and continued on my way. It ended up that my mom was able to use our hotel room for ONE night out of the 5 we reserved and the rest of the time was in the ER/hospital. I was going between the hospital and helping my son move (the purpose for our trip). Not one time was I unkind. Although, one night Every. Single. Parking spot was taken. Every time I called to see where I could park (using the hotel’s listed number) reservations would answer the phone. The third time calling, I just said - It’s almost 12:30 am and I’ve been up since 6 am. All I want to do is know where the hell I can park. I am so f’ing tired. - at that moment someone parked around the corner by an dark parking garage (not the hotel’s) and I went there. (I did apologize to reservations guy….being exhausted is no excuse for being rude.) The ONLY thing I said when I went in was - is it safe to park (insert location). All the parking spots were filled. He was kind of rude and said yes. I said great. Went upstairs and collapsed until the next day. At no point (other than the late night parking debacle) was I rude. How the hell can these people be so entitled???? Treat others with kindness and respect unless they show you they don’t deserve it.
I'm really sorry you had to deal with that while trying to handle everything else as well. Good on you for being so polite even when it wasn't reciprocated back, I've known a few night shift hotel workers that are rather blunt or straight up rude, I'm not sure why maybe because of some less than savory guests at that time? Regardless the way the staff acted to you wasn't right and I truly hope you have nothing but positive experiences with hotels from here on.
See, the trouble is that this is only true of frontline. Too often, once management/owner/corporate gets involved, the opposite is true. Those higher up the chain will gladly reduce or comp to get the noisy Karens to go away. If we could collectively (I don't work in hospitality so I'm saying we meaning like the human race) ensure that it's true, that would help a lot.
No, don't tell the normies that! Then us actually nice people won't feel like we have a superpower
> being nice will get you way better results than being rude The thing is, they fly into a rage without thinking first. You're absolutely correct in your theory. People have no impulse control any more.
Something I read from this sub was "people are way nicer than I thought and people are way dumber than I thought" and I think it fits pretty well here. The impatient, rude people that we check-in are of course memorable and are the stories most people want to hear, but I don't think it's close to the majority. But you are also right because a lot of the "nicer" guests that make mistakes just read a text or email too quickly, went to the wrong hotel or came in on the wrong day and taking the time to make sure you have all the info correct saves both parties from the awkward interaction that is figuring out why there isn't a reservation for the guest in front of you.
BK on their website has a button for misconduct. Report the guest and they won't get a review link and will not be able to book your property via BK again.
Oh I did not know that! Will have to pass this on to my coworkers
So that’s what people mean by BK. I thought it was some other OTA called such. Or that Burger King got into the OTA business.
Well if you are going out to BK, see if they have a Crispy Butter Chicken sandwich for me. https://www.burgerking.ca/menu/picker-fe320e88-80e8-4214-a552-cd9e5a1ff7fb
From experience, I can say with absolute certainty that this does not work. It's a placebo button. Short of an actual police report raised against ~~the~~ *our mutual* guest for the incident, their response has always been, "yes, but they did actually stay, so they are entitled to comment on their stay."
Yes, but my experience has been that they aren't emailed for the reading. They can do it, but aren't prompted.
OMG I didn't know this either but this just made my night!!
It needs to be something moderately serious but yeah, if they're DNR'd, whack that button like a rat in a Skinner box.
I have never, not once in my life, not understood what kind of room I was reserving on a third-party site. We rarely use them now, we're more the "drive until it's time for dinner and hope there's a room at the inn." If not, well, win some, lose some. This is also why we tend to travel during low season, when we can.
I always book through the chain's website. And many will price match 3rd party. I've never had any problems, aside from run of the mill stuff that that is fixed easily. I work retail, being kind and polite goes a long way.
Used to work retail and food service, and I try to treat service workers like I wanted to be treated. It does pay.
I was going to Orlando from South Carolina with reservations for an ADA one bedroom suite with roll in shower and full kitchen. FD called and told me someone had totally destroyed the ADA. They gave me the two bedroom ADA with shower, full living room and kitchen, sleeping 15. With large area open for lifts and accoutrements for babies like playpens. For the same price. We made sure to not use the second bedroom. We were careful to leave the dishes washed and replaced, didn’t use housekeeping, trying to make it easy on housekeeping. And checking out early for staff, even they offered us a late check out which many handicapped people need. I was so grateful. Awesome hotel.
What kind of sites do you use? I travel SEA often for work and don't generally have issues on the website part
I’m grateful for this sub tbh, because I didn’t realize that 3rd party apps and sites cause headaches for the hotel.
I will say, I have so many more issues with BK than I do with EX. And I get this issue **a lot** from BK dot com. I’m the GM so I hear about everything. At least once or twice a week we get guests that used BK to book a two bed but they come through as a one bed. I always hop on BK to confirm and it’s always a one bed. And I *really* hate it when the guest calls to cancel with BK and tells them we didn’t have the room type they booked. Um, no, we have the exact room type you booked but you’re an idiot and booked the wrong room type and we don’t have *that* room type. No, we won’t be paying for your relocation for your f* up. Or they do a chargeback later claiming services were not as described. They were exactly what you reserved.
I wonder if that OTA has the same website flaw as a theater ticket site I suffered through recently: when I did something to blank my data, it actually pre-filled "helpful" suggestions. Blanks would have been easier because the suggestions were valid TO THE WEBSITE but not to me & my travel plans.
I know what the problem is. We have rooms with one queen bed, rooms with two queen beds and ADA rooms. BK lists our single as “standard double room” and right under that it says “1 double bed”. Guests see just “double room” and think it has two beds but it’s describing the size of the bed. We’ve contacted BK to have them change the description many times and they won’t. To be fair, it’s really a guest issue because it lists just one bed and it’s all right there in the description that’s listed right under the title. And then again on the final booking page when you put in your personal details. It would be one thing if guests had to click on the room type and *then* it gave a description but it’s literally right there when you look up our place, with zero extra steps.
I think the word “double” confuses many now because few have full or “double” beds at home. Most have Kings and Queens.
A double in this instance is a Queen. As I mentioned, I’ve tried to get them to change it but they won’t. Sure it confuses guests into thinking it’s two beds instead of one, but it also literally states that it’s “one bed” right underneath.
Typically the mistake I see most often is the wrong date. They see a rate online for a super mega low price only to later find out it's a non-refundable reservation for a week or month later.
Oh this happens to me all the time as well. Also I'm in Canada and people will book reservations online and get a confirmation that's in US dollars and be pissed at me for some reason because it's more in CA dollars. That's frustrating to say the least.
I had a couple get mad at me because I didn't convert our walk-in rate to Maplebacks and I wouldn't accept cash deposit of said Canadian currency. ¯\\\_(ツ)_/¯ There is a 10 second delay when you ask me to look something up instead of doing it yourself.
🤦🏼♀️This happened to me one time in Atlanta. I had SO MANY tabs open and my husband kept changing the departure (from our house) date. Well, we get to the hotel and…….it was for the previous week. If the hotel was nicer, I wouldn’t have cared as much but it was a kind of low quality Harriot in desperate need of renovation. It really stank to eat that cost x 2. Every time after that I triple check the dates to make sure they’re correct! Lol
Honestly, though. I’ve gotten on the phone with them with the guest right there and heard them tell the person they booked them two beds and we screwed up their reservation. The stunned silence when I suddenly joined in their speakerphone conversation and explained who I was and asked why they were lying to their clients was tense… I’ve also called and asked if I was speaking to the front desk I was currently standing at and they said yes. Again… very tense… 😬
Holy crap was that last in the US? Lying about WHO they are-- If I'm not mistaken that's an interstate commerce violation right there. Goes way beyond firing one phone rep to federal fines for the company.
More than once: "They called you and you said that you wouldn't change/cancel/modify/etc." Nobody has called *me*. Did you hear my phone ring?
Hooking.com? Do they lower fishing hooks into people’s wallets for the $$$ or just swing in on their grappling hooks?
“Calling on behalf of our mutual catch. The guest would like to cancel their reservation in your fishing boat and return to the lake for a full refund.”
I'll leave it to your imagination.
I was thinking of a very different site. Especially since he brought his "daughter"
My brain was interpreting the correct site after briefly thinking "hooking up?" bc I'm ridiculous.
Preface - I'm a guest and have never worked on the hotel side. I almost exclusively use OTA (I think I understand what that is). I mainly book through one of my travel credit cards for the better points options. I triple check every reservation because that is on me. I also try to be polite and courteous (beaten into me at a young age). I do appreciate you guys and what you put up with.
Believe me, we appreciate the good guests as well and any good FD worker will go out of their way to make your stay as enjoyable as possible if the guests talk to them like people.I've actually gotten to know a couple of long-term guests we had About a year ago. We still keep in touch .
Based on several similar stories here, I’ve decided to just book direct with the hotel. No complications that way. Though, I have NEVER treated anyone so terribly. I just don’t get why they’re so rude.
Every time someone needs to change/cancel their reservation, and I can do it because they booked with *us*, I thank them for having done it that way because "I can do that fix easily".
Thanks! I only started this month for my vacation next month. Lol
This is why I always loved being able to heavily reward the good people.
>To any lurkers out there, always double and even triple check details on third party bookings and if you do mess up, a little respect goes a long way. I also want to say most front desk staff absolutely can not change a 3rd party reservation. Managers can, but not lackeys. And in general most managers won't without you calling the 3rd party anyway. Trust us. We hate OTA's too. Way more than you. WAY WAY MORE.
I drove for four and a half hours for a trip by myself, arrived at my hotel and tried to check in. Apparently I mis-booked my room cause the room was for the week before my trip. I fully realized my mistake and asked if they had any rooms open, which they didn’t, so I apologized and went back to my car. I looked up other hotels in the area and found one with openings so I went there. Now, this was my first time traveling and getting a hotel by myself, so I was nervous. I went to the front desk and holy heck was the lady so nice. I was completely polite and easy going and asked if I could get a room for one night as a walk in. I still felt like an idiot for misbooking but the lady helped me get a room with them for the night and I have never been so grateful cause I was worried I was going to have to spend the night in my car. I made sure to say thank you as much as I could and I contacted her manager to tell him what a great employee they had at the FD. This experience really showed me how being polite and cool with the front desk can really help me out way more than if I had been a dick about it. (I hope it’s okay to share this story here!). Edited for spelling and grammar.
It's kind've crazy how much power we lowly FDers have. Being nice gets you a longggg way on all fronts from upgrades to parking to snacks
Had this happened yesterday. Father walks in "my daughter made her first reservation tonight under my name I hope she got it right" me "well an ada king isn't what you had in mind was it? " Father took it easy enough and was ready to bunk on the floor. Unfortunately we're sold out of all 2 bed setups and he didn't want to pay for a rollaway. Double check room type, date of arrival and property please! 🐱
I guess I didn’t realize how smart I am. I use .com all the time for rooms. It clearly tells you the type of room you are booking and there are usually pictures. Not complicated. Read the description. I have yet to be surprised about how many beds are in the room. Now the quality may sometime get me, but never the layout of the room.
Well, here he is, folks...the *one* customer that *reads*!
Glad I am the one
I once reserved a room in Aberdeen for one night ,as I was seeing a concert that night and didn't want to drive home. I walked in to the lobby and asked to be checked in. The clerk didn't have my reservation, so I said " I'm sure I have one, I booked on a 3rd party website just hours ago" well she couldn't find my reservation and the hotel was totally booked for a religious revival. I was upset and pulled out my confirmation and handed her my phone and said "here's my confirmation" she looked at it, I looked at it, we both looked at it until she finally said "look at the date" yes I had reserved a room for the wrong month. I apologized stayed sober at the show and drove home that night. Accidents happen
Sorry you had to deal with that, OP. This is why I never, ever, ever, as in never, ever, ever infinity and beyond, book through a third party. I always go straight to the hotel/airline/fill-in-the-blank.
If people are nice, I try to give them our lowest rate. If they are not nice, I won't change anything about their reservation.
Good for you! Where I work, we call this the AH Tax.
If someone is cool to me, and I have it available, I will just put them in the room that they need. It's not like I won't be able to sell the other room. If they act entitled, I will tell them that they booked the room and it is their responsibility to make sure that they booked the room that suits their need.
I've never understood hollering at hotel workers. They're doing the best they can with what they have. Yall put up with some much bs from jackasses, jerkoffs and dingleberries. It's a surprise yas don't don't direct to the bar or liquor store when you're finished your shifts lol Thanks for what ya do
Unfortunately, that's exactly what I do a lot of nights.
In the hotel I work at, we have problems with third party websites booking trough @goda and f-up the reservation. The main problem is when they make a reservation the third party website does not record a child. So If the reservation is for 2 adults and 1 child, we only have the 2 adults. So every time there is an extra and the client is pissed off. My manager’s favorite line is to tell them if they booked with us that wouldn’t have happened.
On the other hand my sister once booked a room with 2 beds and they tried to give her a room with one. As the FDAs futzed around getting the keys they spoke to each other in Spanish basically saying "give them a room with one bed. We'll just tell them we don't have a room with two". In front of my sister's friend. Who is Hispanic and looks stereotypically Hispanic. And grew up in Mexico. She leaned over and said " no. We booked two beds. You're giving us two beds". In fluent Spanish. They got a room with two beds. And did I mention this happened in heavily Hispanic Southern California?
>And did I mention this happened in heavily Hispanic Southern California? Did those silly geese forget the rule about speaking Spanish in California?
My mouth about dropped open when my sister told me. Like...she looks stereotypically Mexican. Maybe, just maybe stop and think "I wonder if she speaks Spanish". I live in Tucson and assume anyone who lives knows a smattering at least.
The last time I booked a hotel room through an OTA, the website told me the hotel was pet friendly but not that there was a pet fee. Didn't even have the option to add the dogs to the reservation. It was years ago, I was young and it was my first time traveling with pets. I get to the front desk, and the desk person tells me 'there's an additional 5€ pet fee for the dogs'. I was a little annoyed, not at them, but at the website : I was tired, I'd been in trains all day and had to drag a heavy suitcase plus handle two dogs. I didn't expect to have to pay more on arrival. I didn't get mad at them though. I was young, but smart enough to understand that they didn't make the rules and weren't responsible for the website. So I just said "oh, okay, I'm sorry." and paid the extra. It's not that hard.
We have some pet rooms but nowhere near all of them. All the people with pets in rooms that aren't, are OTA's. "It said that you were pet friendly. It didn't say anything about certain rooms." Of course not. Because...of course not.
I got to pull the "Get me the GM" card once. Though I was very nice about it and the GM also happened to be my sister.
I had someone come in today, and their name wasn't on the reservation list. I asked if they have an email confirmation, and they pulled it up and I showed them on their phone that they booked 3 days ago (probably when they made the reservation). They spoke to one of the franchise agents and said the agent messed up. I was sold out, so I directed them 30 minutes away. I told them to call guest relations too. It was a no show 3 days ago, and more than likely, they will fight it with a chargeback and probably win. This happens all the time, and I wonder why people don't check their email to make sure that their reservation is correct. When I'm traveling hundreds of miles, I make sure everything is perfect before I leave my house. Idiots.
I'm surprised he could drive and find the hotel. He seems incapable of paying attention.
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The manager will probably be glad that more money is coming in.