Some people need to take it down a notch! Bystanders shame rude hotel guests on how they acted toward employees. Content has been edited for clarity purposes.
“Do You Know Who I Am?
“I was at a conference in a four-star hotel in San Francisco. The conference was for bankruptcy trustees, so there were lots of vendors at the conference. I was sitting in the lobby when I heard a commotion at the front desk. One of the employees of one of the vendors who I was working with was screaming at the clerk.
The woman was almost in tears telling him that they did not have a reservation for him.
The employee kept getting louder and screamed, ‘Do you know who I am?’
I said loud enough for him to hear, ‘Nobody cares who you are!’
I had known this employee from past conferences and did not like him as he was very arrogant. I went to the president of the company that employed this person, explained what I had witnessed, and told them I would not do any more business with them if they employed such people.
Later that day, I saw him at the check-in desk making a half-hearted attempt to apologize, but it sounded like he was doing it only because someone had ordered him to do so.
At the next conference, I was told that this person was no longer employed by the company. I later switched vendors, but for other reasons.”
“Please Wait To Be Seated”
“My friend and I had stayed at Casa Marina Beach Resort in Sousa, Dominican Republic this past February. After arriving in the late afternoon, unpacking, and taking a little walk around the resort, it was then time for dinner. So we headed over to the main buffet and as instructed by the sign, waited patiently in line to be seated.
While waiting we noticed there was a lovely terrace overlooking the ocean set up with tables. So when it was our turn, we asked if it was all possible we could be seated there. The smiling hostess informed us that luck was with us as a couple had just vacated a table and once it was cleaned up and reset, she would seat us there.
As she led us to the table, we all discovered a woman sitting at the table. The hostess very politely informed her the table was taken and that she needed to go into the line along with everyone else and wait for her turn to be seated. To our amazement the woman totally ignored the server and acted like she wasn’t even there. So the manager came over and asked the woman to leave and she ignored him as well. To avoid a scene in the busy restaurant, the staff simply moved another table onto the terrace for us to sit at.
A few minutes later, we saw a man join the woman (assuming it was her husband) with a plate laden with food and she then got up and went to the buffet.
After a few minutes of being seated, we got up to get our food. Upon arriving back at our table, we discovered a couple sitting at our table to our shock. This couple was quite nice and asked if it was ours.
We replied, ‘Yes, those are our drinks sitting there.’
They apologized and quickly left. Throughout the entire dinner, we noticed how the couple who had stolen our original table ensured there was always one of them at that table and never went up to the buffet together to get food.
Within a few days to our dismay, we discovered that the sign of ‘Please waited to be seated’ was totally ignored by some ‘self-entitled patrons’ who would swoop/sneak in without waiting their turn while the hostess was busy seating someone else. These guests would take the table they wanted, even if someone else was already seated there and was merely at the buffet getting their food. Then they refused to move. The resort staff, not wanting to create a disruption for the other diners just let it go.
We were absolutely shocked at the audacity and self-entitlement of these people as this was something we had never experienced before at any resort. As the resort staff was not willing to do anything to enforce their own policy of waiting to be seated or even re-seating those offenders, we quickly learned that we had to go up to the buffet separately and always ensure one of us was at our table at all times. It was ridiculous.”
Language Barrier
“I was waiting to check out of a small hotel in Brindisi, Italy. The guy in front of me spoke no Italian and was getting very frustrated with the clerk, who spoke no English. He felt the hotel was overpriced for being old and shabby. So he felt he should get a discount.
Given the place was known to be 500 years old, it was a bit shabby but nice. I thought it had character.
The tourist thought by speaking very slowly and loudly, then the clerk must surely understand him. Finally, in a fit of anger, he paid his bill and left.
After he had gone, the clerk turned to me and in perfect English said, ‘Now you, sir, how may I be of service?'”
No More Hotel Rooms
“I was attending a summit conference at a hotel. At the same time, there was a major sporting event in the same town. Hotels were completely booked over an hour’s drive away even.
The faucet in my room wouldn’t turn off, and calls to the front desk went unanswered. So, I walked downstairs and understood why the phone was just ringing. There was a line of about twenty or thirty people waiting to check-in. They were being held up by one woman, who, from what I could surmise, did not have a reservation, and wanted two rooms; one for her, and one for her Poodle.
The woman claimed she always stayed there with her dog and had an annoying shrill, whiny voice. The Poodle was barking, and the manager kept trying to explain that the hotel had been booked solid for months. She could be added to the waiting list, but, otherwise, he could book her a room at another hotel in the chain, an hour away. He also added it was state and hotel company policy not to allow pets on the property. This went on for probably a good 15 minutes that I was privy to.
Finally, after the dog lifted his leg on the reception desk, and did a huge pile of doggy doo, the manager said, ‘Ma’am, I will call the cops if you do not leave willingly.’
To watch a grown high society lady in effect have a temper tantrum with foot-stomping, and holding up other customers for so long was utterly ridiculous. Kudos to the manager and his staff for keeping their smiles, never returning the raised voices, offering alternatives, and remaining professional.
My water ran for about two hours, but, they comped one night.”
Missing Cellphone
“A guy came up from the pool to discover he had accidentally traded robes with someone, and his cellphone was in the pocket of someone else’s robe. He was a bit impatient and angry from the start (over a simple, innocent mistake he was a part of), but we had a very attentive guest services department.
We were able to determine who else was at the pool during that time, and who he was likely to have traded with. We made some calls to confirm who had it. He then asked to speak on the phone with the person. Since we had it under control, we refused to do so. But he kept demanding, so we dialed the room for him again, and he started angrily asking the person to bring the phone down to the lobby immediately.
He shouted, ‘You stole my phone!’
Okay, not going great at this point, but we figured we’d see someone with the phone shortly.
Five minutes went by, and the person hadn’t shown up yet. Then the guy demanded we call the room for him again so he could talk to the person. The on-duty desk manager was visibly getting uncomfortable with how this was progressing, but the guy was starting to throw a bit of a fit in the lobby. So we dialed and handed him the phone.
He said, ‘Listen to me! I don’t know if you speak English or not, but you have my phone, and I need it right now! Get the freaking phone down here right now, you moron!”
Then he hung up on them. He then started blaming our housekeeper for stealing it.
He said, ‘You guys need to fix this immediately!’
We checked with housekeeping to find out if they were nowhere near that room. They weren’t, so then it was most certainly a guest. Then he demanded we call again now since it was not housekeeping.
At this point, I flat out would have refused, but the guy at the desk handed him the phone again.
Once he dialed the number again, he shouted, ‘If you don’t bring my phone down here right now, I’m coming up to your room to beat you up, you freaking prick!’
A few minutes later, a boy of about 12 years came down and humbly apologized to this tyrant and handed the phone back saying it was a misunderstanding, and he was so sorry. The guy snatched the phone and stormed off to his room.
About two hours later, we had a middle-aged man at our desk asking why his eight-year-old daughter was scared for her life. You see, the parents had been running a couple of errands, while the young girl was in the room with her brother. This guy had been cursing out and threatening the poor little girl whose parents were away. The man demanded to know what room he was in, but of course, we couldn’t give out that information, both in general for security, and because we knew, in this case, it would be nothing but trouble.
After saying we would ask the man to stay away from the family and remove him if he couldn’t comply, the dad walked off. Away from the desk, he approached the assistant desk manager and offered him 200 bucks to tell him what room the guy was in ‘because he had a lead pipe in his room and wants to bash the guy’s skull in.’
At this point, we decided to call the police. Police came and talked to the family, then talked to the guy. They did not interact further, and we barely saw the guy at all after that. Probably for the best.”
Poor Review
“I was at a hotel restaurant in Xian, China. An American, about 35 years old, was served a dish that apparently wasn’t what he had expected. He argued with the waiter and continued yelling at the staff at the reception.
Then he went on with threats saying his friend in America will write a review in the newspaper about the substandard service he got. It was quite a spectacle.”
She Demanded Free Stuff
“A woman checked in and the staff told me she was ‘difficult’, but didn’t elaborate. Sure enough, she came down the next day and approached the desk. All my peers scattered as she cornered me.
She said, ‘I want to make a complaint.’
I smiled and asked her to continue.
She replied, ‘I found a hair under my TV!’
This was back before light flatscreens. These TVs were heavy solid-state models.
Me: ‘So you picked up and moved the tv to check for hair?’
The guest didn’t say anything.
Me: ‘Ok. Did you remove the hair or do you have it with you?’
Guest: ‘Of course, I don’t have it! I threw it out!’
Me: ‘I see. So how may I help you with this issue?’
Guest: ‘The last time this happened I got my room comped and a bottle of Moscato to make up for my inconvenience.’
Me: ‘Well ma’am, it appears you have only been inconvenienced by the difficulty of moving the tv. I could have helped if you had asked. I am sorry you found one hair under the tv, and I can take five bucks off your bill upon checkout.’
Guest: ‘NO! I want the bottle and free room. I always get that!’
Me: ‘I’m sorry, but that is no longer possible.’
Guest: ‘You are in so much trouble. Obviously, you don’t know me!’
Me: ‘No, no I don’t.’
Guest (turning red): ‘I’ll have your job!’
Me: ‘Is there anything else I can help you with this evening?’
Guest (bright red, appeared to be suppressing a scream): ‘I’ll be back in the morning to deal with this and you!’
Me: ‘And I will be here to help you with all your needs, Ma’am!’
Guest stormed off, muttering.
The next day I did check her out. She would not make eye contact or speak with me. I didn’t even take the five bucks off her bill, and she did not complain. She never came back. I found out later that she had pulled this stunt for several years and the staff had been terrorized by her. My ignorance actually worked in my favor!”
She Was Housekeeping, Not His Personal Maid
“In the United Kingdom, I was at a hotel at the same time as a group of those awful fox hunting people. There were about 10 of them and they were just disgusting. They were of the lower middle class but pretended to be posh. They were putting on fake posh accents and demanding respect. The hotel wasn’t even posh; it was an old hotel with a four-star rating.
When the cleaning lady knocked on the door to one of their rooms to clean the room in the morning, the disgusting man opened the door and in the rudest manner said, ‘Not today. But take away my boots and clean them!’
He then flung his muddy riding boots at the housekeeper even though her job was to change the sheets, not polish boots for total pricks. It really sickened me.”
Not Always The Happiest Place On Earth For Employees
“I used to work at a couple of the Magic Kingdom hotels when I did an internship at Walt Disney World. One of our bell boys was a kindly older gentleman who had been working at Disney for decades. He and I struck up a bit of a friendship.
At about 7:30 pm as my shift at the front desk was ending, one of my front desk colleagues checked in a family; two adults, and two children. The mother handled the check-in and while it all went ok, there were a couple of knowing smiles passed around behind the desk and between the other guests at her attitude. She was being quite vocal about the expensive tours and activities they had booked. It was clear she was itching for us to offer them our hotel’s particular magical experience. But we didn’t.
Blatantly angling for special treatment doesn’t get you that far. Anyway, I clocked off and went home.
The next afternoon, I came in for my shift to find out my ‘bell boy’ friend had been dismissed from his role. Turns out the family had brought practically an entire house’s worth of luggage which had taken him three trips to get all up to their room. The woman had complained about how he’d taken too long, and also how the room was too small to fit all of them and their luggage in. So demanded they get upgraded to a suite from their selection of the cheapest garden view room.
She’d carried on about it and yelled at our bell boy. Then refused to tip him after carrying all their suitcases. Apparently, he lost his patience and yelled something to the effect that she wouldn’t have any special memories from her holiday here if she kept behaving like this.
At Disney, of course, you never lose your smile in front of a guest, and so that shift was the last for my friend.”
Ma’am Acted Like She Was Royalty
“We were staying at our favorite five-star hotel in Pattaya, Thailand. It’s a popular beach city, known for its varied entertainment and nightlife.
One time, this lady swept into the lobby in large, flowy, white evening pants with an open, billowing, bright orange and pink chiffon maxi cover-up. She wore huge dark glasses and had the bouffant hairstyle favored by older university professors and the ‘somebodies’ of the time. Her entourage fanned out behind her, reminding me of a peacock fanning its tail.
A manager and several receptionists rushed to greet her and present a bouquet which she seemed to accept as her due. As she spoke to them, she gestured in much the same way as European royalty would if blessing subjects. But she was not Thai royalty; I knew that from the actions of the staff.
The entire group was quickly shown to their rooms.
The hotel had a lovely morning buffet which became very busy around eight a.m. The lady and many of her group entered at 8:15 and were seated in an overflow section with easy access to the buffet. But they chose to instruct the wait staff to serve them, something that put a severe strain on the restaurant. Their endless demands kept the staff running.
Coffee and refill of the buffet fell behind as did clearing of tables. Hotel guests who were used to a pleasant beginning to their day were disgruntled, while a queue of unhappy, hungry patrons formed outside.
And the lady’s five very young grandchildren chose to investigate the huge buffet on their own, poking little fingers into food, tossing rolls, and dropping fruit slices on the floor. When one dumped a huge bowl of yogurt and mixed fruit on herself and the surrounding area, their one nanny whisked her off. None of the entourage seemed to care. But then a stern-faced guest decided to take action after one child pulled on his table’s linens, flipping the man’s breakfast into his lap.
He took the child’s hand and walked, dripping breakfast remains, to the entourage. The lady stood up, obviously ready to bestow her benevolent thanks on the man for returning her grandchild. He handed her his card and her grandchild. We watched as her expression changed to displeasure then rage and finally to embarrassment as she listened to him. The entourage looked stunned.
The next day, there was no sign of the group. The wonderful buffet and beautifully peaceful atmosphere were as before.
The hotel had ‘graciously’ (and self-serving) provided the lady and her entourage with breakfast at a smaller restaurant on the upper floor.
The man and family were at their usual table. Many quietly thanked him as they passed by.”
Why Would He Steal That?!
“It was at a Holiday Inn in 1970. I saw a guest walk through the lobby and out the door to the garage with a huge, butt-ugly lamp, partially covered in a hotel towel. When I stopped him in the garage, he also had a bunch of cheese taken off the cheese table in a banquet room and the bible from his room.
He was loading it into his Cadillac, I kid you not.
I took it all off him, but I let him keep the bible. I figured he needed it.”
Accidents Happen
“I was at a party in a hotel. The employee spilt a glass onto the floor a short distance from a guest. He took no less than two steps toward the employee when he started raising his voice as if she had done it on purpose.
He was using words, that I cannot repeat, to dress her down.
We chatted with this server a couple of times at this banquet event. She was a very young girl.
As she was being yelled at, she was apologizing furiously and was on the verge of crying.
To calm the tension, I stepped in with the excuse to get her to get the broom and mop to clean the broken glass and spilled liquid.
By removing her from the situation, the guest suddenly did not know what to say. I apologized to him for the inconvenience and offered to bring another drink to him.
After a few minutes of rambling, he finally calmed down when the main event started.”
“He Had No Regard For Private Space”
“I worked in a couple of hostels a while ago and one guy absolutely stands out. Something just wasn’t right with him. He had no regard for private space and he’d always bother his female dormmates. I and the other staff members gave him a warning on the very first day he came in. He had only booked two nights, but we all knew it was going to be a very long weekend. And it only got worse.
The morning after his first night, he woke everyone in his dorm up by walking around and mumbling to himself. The kitchen didn’t open until eight am so he couldn’t go anywhere.
Other guests asked him to be quiet and he said, ‘But it’s seven am already! You can get up now!’
That’s not something travelers like to hear on a Saturday morning.
The guy then decided he wanted to work in the hostel, but my manager kindly told him we had enough staff already so he wasn’t needed. The guy decided to take matters into his own hands and took some sheets of paper and went around the hostel scribbling things down, acting like he was working there. When he looked behind the reception and tried to go to the private floor of the staff (where we lived), we gave him a final warning.
To give his pouting a more dramatic effect, he dropped onto the couch next to me. Well actually, rather on me, where I of course kindly told him to ‘Get lost!’
Tired of babysitting a grown man all day we went to bed early, where we got woken up by some kind of scratching on the door of our room. A room on a private floor where guests weren’t allowed to come. Low and behold, there was the guy asking for water. My roommate told him to fill his own bottle in the bathroom.
He asked, ‘Which bathroom?’
My roommate said, ‘ANY of them!’
A few hours later, we heard some noise outside our door again, then a loud bang and the fire alarm. Then the shatter of glass. Apparently, he opened the window which was covered with signs saying, ‘Do NOT open this window, it will trigger an alarm’.
Again, this was on our private floor where guests weren’t allowed. He then broke the glass on the fire alarm, got the fire extinguisher out, and went down to his dorm while spraying white stuff everywhere.
My roommate went down in his boxershorts, grabbed the guy and his suitcase, and threw both on the street at four am. He was done.
It was an eventful weekend.”
