'I forcefully upsold them and made them pay double': Entitled guests demand refund from hotel manager for rooms booked at hotel next door

Author image for Isabella Penn
Isabella Penn
Jan 19, 2024 10:00 AM EST

People who work at the hotel front desk see a lot of interesting stuff. On a subreddit, hotel receptionists and managers alike have shared stories about entitled customers making all sorts of weird requests. But one story might take the cake. This one guest not only booked more people than allowed for 'single rooms' but he actually booked at the hotel next door.

When he couldn't check in at the right time (because check-in wasn't for another few hours), he got upset and went to the OP's hotel next door. Surprisingly, he asked for a refund from the first hotel. Even though the front desk person told him many times they can't give refunds for another hotel's booking, he didn't give up. So, in a clever move, the front desk person couldn't refund him but charged him extra for a room in their own hotel. Keep reading to see how the story unfolded next. 

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  • 01
    Posted by u/Magical __Entity 1 day ago Ç So I just took petty revenge on some entitled guests and now I feel kinda guilty
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 02
    Some important background info first: my hotel is located directly next to a smaller, motel-type digital hotel. If you've not seen one of these yet, it's a hotel where there is no staff on site. Booking, check
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 03
    in, payment and check out all happens via smartphone, and the only human workers involved are housekeeping plus one off-site guy with a telephone that can be called during business hours, in case there are questions. There is a
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 04
    contract between the two hotels: we do their housekeeping and maintenance, because wer're right next door and the one actual employee lives like an hour away. That means we
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 05
    have keys to all rooms, even spare keys we can give to guests in case their digital door-openers don't work. Our front desk can even see their reservations, but not edit / process them in any way.
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 06
    Now to the actual tale. Picture this: it's 8:30 AM on a Sunday and I'm working front desk. Only a few rooms are currently in use, January weekends are very slow around here. Enter Entitled Guy 1, who comes up to me and asks if we have single rooms available. I tell
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 07
    him yes and also give him our prices. He then proceeds to tell the tragic tale of him booking two single rooms for him and his colleague at the hotel next door, but being unable to check in, claiming ,they never received the code for checking
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 08
    in, but they had to pay upfront and the rooms are non- refundable, now they can't get their money back!" I ask if they have tried to call the number that should be in their confirmation, since this is a completely different hotel from ours and I can't really do much about it. He says yes, but nobody is picking up.
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 09
    I then bring up their reservation on my computer and immediately spot the issue: ,,I'm sorry, you made a booking for today, so the earliest check-in time is 4 PM." I point out both the date and the check-in time to them. ,,Yeah,
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 10
    we saw that." he replies, „but when booking there was also a thing where we could enter an estimated arrival time and I entered 8 AM. So why can't we check in now?" ,,Because check- in starts at 4 PM" I repeat myself and explain to them that it's a digital hotel, which is
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 11
    why the prices are significantly lower, and that everything is processed digitally, so they won't get their key untill check- in time. ,,Wait, you can see my reservation, cant you just check us in?" he asks, grinning like the grinch who just had a wonderful awful idea.
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 12
    I check my system. The rooms are currently empty, I could just give them our spare keys like we usually do when the digital ones don't work. Now, handing out keys without permission from the guy who runs the hotel next door is
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 13
    against the agreement, especially if guests aren't checked in yet. The worst possible consequences for me would be a stern talking to from my own manager, nothing I wouldn't survive. But this guy obviously thinks the rules don't apply to him, so I
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 14
    decide to stick with policy in this case. „I'm sorry, I can't just check you into a hotel that isn't mine without expressed permission from their manager. I can try to call them though." I make the call and as expected, nobody answers.
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 15
    Again, I apologize to Entitled Guy and tell him we can try to call again later, but chances are they might not be able to check in before 4 PM. He rolls his eyes. ,,We were up all night, we need to sleep RIGHT NOW and we actually have to leave before 4 PM... Wait a second let me talk to the others." he says
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 16
    and leaves the lobby. I have just enough time to wonder why ,,guys" was in plural before he comes back in, with Entitled Guy 2 who I assume is his colleague and two young ladies in tow. So not only were these guys trying to check in almost 8 hours early, they also wanted to stay with four guests while only paying for two. That's the
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 17
    point where my compassion for them disappears and I'm glad to have stuck with policy. The four of them now ask me if I have rooms they could check into right now and check out somewhere around 4 PM. Since my hotel is practically empty, I
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 18
    tell them yes and also give them the prices. They of course comply that that price is about double what they already have paid for next door, and also that I had told them a lower price earlier. I put on my most professional customer service voice and tell them ,,Yes, I'm very sorry, I must have misunderstood earlier, I
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 19
    thought you were looking for two single rooms." They know they're busted, but all they do is smile and say ,,You DO have big bed rooms too, don't you?" We then go through the whole check-in spiel and I make them pay upfront as is policy with walk-ins. They take their keys and are about to leave, but
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 20
    Entitled Guy 1 suddenly has another wonderful awful idea. ,,Fine, but now that we're staying with you, could you at least get us our other rooms cancelled and the money refunded?" I decide to feign ignorance and reply ,,I'm sorry, didn't you tell me the rooms were non-refundable?" ,,Yes, sure, no FULL refund, but we should at least get some compensation. It's not our fault
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 21
    that we couldn't check in after all. The website allowed us to enter an estimated arrival time, it really should have told us the time we entered wasn't possible before allowing us to book non-refundable rooms, don't you agree?" At this point it's getting difficult to keep up my professional face, but I manage. Somehow.
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 22
    ,,Unfortunately, if the correct check-in times were displayed, there isn't much I can do. I can only see the reservations, not interact with them in any way. Again, it's not my hotel, therefore I can't cancel rooms or give refunds on their behalf." ,,So... we should try and call again later?“ I tell them yes, and finally the interaction is over and they go up to their rooms.
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 23
    It isn't until a few minutes later that the feeling of guilt kicks in. They very likely won't get their money back, since they have no ground to stand on. Non- refundable means non- refundable, and the check-in times were definitely displayed on the website. I effectively just forcefully upsold them and made them pay double the price they already paid, just because I didn't want to go against policy this one time.
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 24
    Sure, they were in the wrong, but now I feel petty. Fellow front desk people, am I the ble? a Edit: fixed some spelling mistakes. Also Update: guess when they made that original reservation. Less than 15
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 25
    minutes before they came in. I know many hotels that actually have a front desk and still couldn't react that fast, especially during checkout time.
    via u/Magical__Entity
  • 26
    CERTIO
    via Mikhail Nilov

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guests aita hotel malicious compliance upcharge tales from the front desk petty hotel room entitled Reddit entitled people
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