'I can't help you': Hotel guests demand front desk clerk update prepaid nonrefundable OTA reservation, clerk refuses

Author image for Eleonora Bader
Eleonora Bader
Apr 19, 2023 1:00 PM EDT

People often wonder why booking a reservation online is cheaper than booking it in person at the front desk when you arrive, and if you haven't worked in the service industry, you most likely won't know that it actually isn't. You're gonna have to pay some online fees that weren't entirely apparent at first when you clicked on the page. Not to mention that booking through a third party is always going to cost you; if not in dollars, then in time.

To put it lightly, online travel agencies are a pain in the neck, and the mistakes that they make aren't easily fixable, which brings us to our next point. That is exactly the case here for a young couple that wanted to book a reservation at the hotel OP worked at. The couple ran into some problems that were not in fact, 'easily fixable', and began demanding OP to do work that wasn't in her job description. OP refused, and the couple wasn't pleased.

Scroll down to read the full detailed account of events. For more stories like this, here is a boss who was made redundant after giving absurd orders to an employee who luckily had a digital paper trail to prove that the chaotic aftermath was not his fault.

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  • 01
    Font - Posted by u/Other-Cantaloupe4765 18 hours ago "It will be much cheaper and easier this way," she said. But praising an OTA means that instant karma inevitably finds you. Medium 2
    via u/Other-Cantaloupe4765
  • 02
    Font - A younger couple walks in and asks for a room for the night. Just one night, no issue. As I'm setting up the reservation, I tell them the price. Probably around $97 plus tax that night. The woman's partner (who I will call Joe) interrupts me and turns his phone to his girlfriend (Jane). He said that the online prices were $12 cheaper than our in-person prices. Which is dumb in itself because you'll certainly have to pay at least $12 in fees for using that OTA. Joe asked if I could give hi
    via u/Other-Cantaloupe4765
  • 03
    Font - Jane sighed and said, “fine. We'll just book it online. It'll be cheaper and so much easier and faster that way." (Narrator: but it was neither fast nor easy) Ohhh Jane. You poor woman. I invited her to sit in the lobby chairs and grab a cup of coffee or tea while they were getting their s' 't together. I hate when people decide to make an online reservation while literally standing in front of my desk the whole time. Bruh. Go sit down.
    via u/Other-Cantaloupe4765
  • 04
    Font - Fifteen minutes later, Joe comes up to the desk and says, "okay, so I booked a prepaid nonrefundable reservation on [OTA], but I accidentally booked it for the wrong dates. I wanted it to be for tonight but instead it's for the 24th and 25th. Can you change it to tonight?" I swear it took all my willpower to keep the s t-eating grin off my face Imao. Quick and easy my a s. I looked at him and said, "Nope! Their card won't authorize until the date of the reservation, so it won't work if I
    via u/Other-Cantaloupe4765
  • 05
    Font - "Are you serious? You can't just switch the dates?" No, I can't switch anything when id ›ts like you book PPNF reservations through third parties. "No, I can't switch anything." He huffed and rolled his eyes, and Jane came up to the front desk to talk to me as well. She had the most brilliant idea I've ever heard in my life . "Well can't you just leave the dates as they are and use the money on that one to pay for a room tonight?"
    via u/Other-Cantaloupe4765
  • 06
    Font - I blinked at her for a few seconds while I tried to figure out why people use OTAS when they have zero idea how they work. And why people use OTAs even when they do know how they work. I said, "That's... uh, no. That's not how it works at all. You pay them and they pay us. There's nothing being paid to us until we run [OTA's] card. And the SU card doesn't work until the day of your reservation. So I can't give you any room tonight with the reservation you made. You have to take that up wi
    via u/Other-Cantaloupe4765
  • 07
    Font - She made an annoyed sound and said, "ugh. Well can you just cancel it then and refund us?" E ch. I can't even- wow. How dense do you have to be. Do you not understand any of the words I said to you?? Do I need to provide pictures and diagrams for you to get the idea? I don't have your money!!! And WHAT part of "PREPAID NONREFUNDABLE" don't you understand? You paid the OTA. It's nonrefundable. And it's not my problem.
    via u/Other-Cantaloupe4765
  • 08
    Font - I said, "nope. I can't cancel it. You made the reservation with a third party. You paid the third party. You'll have to resolve this with the third party. I can't do anything on my side." She stomped back over to the lobby chairs with Joe. Over an hour later, I get the dreaded phone call- "we are calling you concerning our mutual guest." *Shudders*
    via u/Other-Cantaloupe4765
  • 09
    Font - The OTA rep asked for permission to change the reservation, as always. And as always, I said, "man you can do whatever you want with it. I don't care. The reservation was made by your company. I can't do anything here. Have at it. Do what you want." Another 15 or 20 minutes later, they had a new reservation waiting for them. I checked them in (and they didn't say a single word to me Imao) and didn't see them again.
    via u/Other-Cantaloupe4765
  • 10
    Font - An hour and twenty minutes. Cheap, quick, and easy, huh? Right. To be quite honest, it was extremely satisfying to hear them fighting with the rep on the phone for an hour right after they said it would be quick and easy. Karma's a b h¯¯\)[
    via u/Other-Cantaloupe4765
  • 11
    Font - COMP455P01N7 - 18 hr. ago The "$12" bucks they think they saved is no where near what I would value the time lost, not to mention the headache. Vote Reply Share Other-Cantaloupe4765 OP +5. 17 hr. ago edited 17 hr. ago I agree 100%. That's always what I tell people. "The money you think you're saving is more than made up for by the time you'll have to spend to fix their mistakes."
    via u/COMP455PO1N7, u/Other-Cantaloupe4765
  • 12
    Font - I had another guy come in later that night and he asked about price matching. OTA said $70 and I said the lowest I could do was about $86. He was like, "yeah that's fine with me. I'm not dealing with a third party over $16 lol." Vote Reply Share IndyAndyJones7 11 hr. ago Vote +2. Why was it $11 cheaper for him? Reply Share
    via u/Other-Cantaloupe4765, u/IndyAndyJones7
  • 13
    Font - Other-Cantaloupe4765 OP +5 - 10 hr. ago Different OTAS have different prices. They usually vary by a few dollars. First guy must've been looking at a different one than the second. Vote Reply Share
    via u/Other-Cantaloupe4765
  • 14
    Font - soneg +2 16 hr. ago These tales from the front desk is why every hotel I booked for my recept trip to England was with the hotel directly. Even though I could've gotten 10x the points if I booked thru my Chase card - nope, I'd rather just work with the hotel in case there are any issues. Reply Share Vote
    via u/soneg
  • 15
    Font - the805chickenlady +2 18 hr. ago god at the last property I worked at my boss made us call the OTA for them. NOPE Vote Reply Share Lenithriel +3.15 hr. ago Your last boss was a fi ing mn who has no idea how anything works, then, and needs a reality check in the form of actually doing shit themselves for once. Because if you actually call on behalf of the guest, the OTA refuses to even talk to you until the guest calls anyway.... they won't change anything until verifying that it's what the
    via u/the805chickenlady, u/Lenithriel
  • 16
    Font - +1 - 16 hr. ago Yeah, I learned this one (kind of) the hard way as well. mizinamo Booked for four nights on an OTA. Then found out on the second day that the thing I thought was happening on the fifth day wasn't going to happen at all, so I wanted to shorten to three nights (days 1-4 instead of 1-5). Asked the front desk and they said to contact the OTA (obviously). That the OTA would have to submit a change request and the hotel would then approve or deny it.
    via u/mizinamo
  • 17
    Font - So I went back to my room and opened the OTA's app. Tried to click through and change the dates but because the first night was over already, I couldn't select the original "from" date, so I selected the current date (second day) as "from" and the fourth date as "to". Then had to wait for hours wondering what would happen in the end. As it turns out, the hotel told the OTA that the shortened stay was approved (Days 1-4, three nights) but the OTA billed me for the submitted change (Days 2-
    via u/mizinamo-Cantaloupe4765
  • 18
    Font - I might have won some money but the headache and rigmarole having to deal with the third party left a sour taste in my mind. I have no idea how the hotel and the OTA sorted out the billing between themselves - whether my first night (and breakfast) ended up being comped by the hotel, or paid by the OTA out of their own pocket, or what. Vote Reply Share
    via u/mizinamo
  • 19
    Font - Lenithriel +3 - 15 hr. ago This is SOOO SATISFYING because I usually don't get to watch karma happen before my eyes at work, but when I do it's so fantastic. Usually when it comes to OTA's my words of warning go completely unheeded and the guest uses them without incident so from their perspective I was making up a ton of b hit and talking out of my a s. Makes me so bitter that I will wish hell upon the nicest person for using an OTA.
    via u/Lenithriel
  • 20
    Font - Every once in a while, though, someone will tell me about recent troubles they had with one or I'll get to break the bad news firsthand like you did, and I have no problems politely and cheerfully telling them just how stupid it is to trust and use an OTA. Some big hotel brands actually encourage employees to find ways to tell guests not to use them and push the rewards program as a way to get people to book directly. Vote Reply Share
    via u/Lenithriel
  • 21
    Font - Head_Razzmatazz7174 · 11 hr. ago And that's why I pay attention to the front desk clerk. If they tell me it's not worth the trouble of trying to save a couple of dollars. I don't. I figure they've been doing this a while and have some idea what they are talking about. Bonus points if they can direct me to a place to get food that either delivers or isn't too far away. Vote Reply Share
    via u/Head_Razzmatazz7174
  • 22
    Font - ilovemackandcheese 17 hr. ago I'm so glad I found this subreddit and will always book directly with the hotel Reply Share Vote • 15 hr. ago EducationalState4374 Me too. I'm not a hotel worker and I came here for the entertaining tales. Little did I know I would be learning so much. I'll never use OTAs again. And I have so much more respect for people in the hospitality industry. (Was a server for years many many moons ago) Vote Reply Share
    via u/ilovemackandcheese, u/EducationalState4374

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Tags

customer service prepaid-reservation front-desk-clerk saving money OTA hotel-guests tales-of-the-front-desk online-reservation online-travel-agency hotel-booking service industry vacation
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