Hotel guest attempts to rig the system by claiming he didn't check in and demanding a refund, front desk clerk calls on his bluff: 'I can prove you are lying'

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Bar Mor Hazut • Senior Editor
Jul 19, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Everyone wants to know what tricks they can use to try and rig the system, especially if it means they can save money. It doesn't matter who is on the other side of that exchange, as long as you come out better on the other side, right?

Well, no. As fun as it can be to find little ways to "save" money, there is a clear line between using acceptable little tricks to spend less money or get better deals, and actually lying and cheating others.

The hotel guest in this Reddit story tried to rig the system and get a refund on a room after they already stayed in it, and he did it by contacting his online travel agent and claiming he was never in the room in the first place. Unfortunately for him, the travel agent didn't immediately issue a refund and decided to call the hotel to make sure he didn't show up. It is not surprising that the front desk clerk could easily see that the guest was lying…

Scroll down to read the full story. After that, click here for a story of an entitled driver who pushed a pedestrian out of a parking spot, using her car.

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  • 01
    "Nice try"
    via Canva
  • 02
    Guest wants a refund for room they stayed in
    via u/FrostyMudPuppy
  • 03
    Just got a call from an OTA. They called about a past stay and informed me that the guest wished for a refund because he was unable to use the room due to having booked at the wrong hotel.
    via u/FrostyMudPuppy
  • 04
    Cool, give me just a moment to look into that. I popped into the folio to check for a no-show fee. There isn't one. It's the standard fee for the room as if it was checked in. Hrmm, okay. That should only be the case if the guest checked in.
    via u/FrostyMudPuppy
  • 05
    So I take a moment to look at the changes made to the reservation. The guest checked in. To check in, the guest would have been required to provide a CC.. which they did. Records clearly indicate the guest checked in and out of the room.
    via u/FrostyMudPuppy
  • 06
    I am genuinely curious if they booked at another hotel that was at the wrong location if they're just trying to pull one over.
    via u/FrostyMudPuppy
  • 07
    Edit: wow. The consensus seems to be a cheating spouse. Makes sense. I have no idea why this didn't occur to me
    via u/FrostyMudPuppy
  • 08
    RoyallyOakie · 20 hr. ago Haha...that's an easy "NOPE."
    via u/RoyallyOakie
  • 09
    • mfigroid 16 hr. ago The correct terminology in the lodging industry is "LOL, NO."
    via u/mfigroid
  • 10
    Awesomekidsmom · 16 hr. ago • Has to get a refund to prove to wife he wasn't there & then the rant he got scammed starts
    via u/Awesomekidsmom
  • 11
    SkwrlTail · 21 hr. ago Entirely possible. Still, it's on the OTA. They have customer service folks who deal with this. Message or call them, tell them that the reservation was not a no-show, that it was used, and the guest's card was swiped. May want to make copies of related documents, set them aside in case the guest decides to file a claim or something...
    via u/SkwrlTail
  • 12
    MonkeyChoker80 · 13 hr. ago I'd lay bets that Guest was there, but Guest's spouse was not...
    via u/MonkeyChoker80
  • 13
    ShadowDragon8685 · 12 hr. ago Thats very likely, but it's also none of anyone's d ה business. The only thing that matters is that the customer was there, and their card was swiped.
    via u/ShadowDragon8685
  • 14
    Dovahkin111 19 hr. ago Hah, nice try.
    via u/Dovahkin111
  • 15
    ChristianaSilverton · 16 hr. ago Honestly, from dealing with customer shenanigans I suspect the guest was lying through their teeth. It is entirely likely the OTA knows it too and is just humoring the customer by calling. If I were
    via u/ChristianaSilverton
  • 16
    in the position of the OTA I would be telling the guest, sorry, the hotel said no. Refund denied. Customers will complain about the stupidest things.
    via u/ChristianaSilverton
  • 17
    Catona 11 hr. ago • I've had people try and pull this before. Some people seem to think that they can call the OTA and just tell them they didn't stay and that the OTA, not having any way to know weather the guest was physically at the hotel or not, would just believe them and issue a refund.
    via u/Catona
  • 18
    They don't think the OTA will have the foresight to just simply call the hotel and verify with them whether the guest was there or not.
    via u/Catona
  • 19
    CountNight Auditor · 10 hr. ago Management has made it clear that guests have to insert those cards in all but a few cases because of how often they'll claim to have not stayed at the hotel. At least in the systems I've used, it shows if the guest's CC was inserted.
    via u/CountNightAuditor
  • 20
    IB4WT · 8 hr. ago This is someone who thinks they can game the system and no one will bother to check. Good on you for actually checking!
    via u/IB4WT*
  • 21
    Teksavvy- .5 hr. ago This has been happening more and more... Had to send an OTA a pic from surveillance system showing the guest was there, along with all of the appropriate paperwork, as they lied and lied. She's banned now but what a pain in the ……..
    via u/Teksavvy
  • 22
    quasi2022 . 10 hr. ago Gods I still remember the guy that wanted us to change the fee description from no show to something else because he didn't want his company to know he didn't show up.
    via u/quasi2022
  • 23
    krittengirl ⚫ 7 hr. ago I've had them ask to retroactively completely change the dates of the stay because they were not here on the days that the company expected them to be here for.
    via u/krittengirl

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guests workplace-stories hotel guest employee hotel front desk work reservation tales from the front desk reddit story entitled Reddit funny weird entitled people
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