‘Turn off the birds?…’: Hotel staff members share the ‘weirdest’ questions guests have ever asked them

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Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Oct 25, 2024 1:00 PM EDT

Working in hospitality can be exhausting, to say the least. Working front of house especially, because now you are dealing with all kinds of crazy people and you have to do it with a pleasant demeanor the entire time. That takes a lot of work! However, sometimes all the crazy is worth it just for the ridiculousness of it all. You really get to see just how air-headed people can truly be. Luckily, even if you don't work in a hotel you can still hear about some of the wild and whacky questions guests have asked, through the wondrous world of Reddit! People asking if they can turn the bird sounds off… And by bird sounds, they mean the real birds in the trees outside… Or if the hotel could turn off that horn going off outside every now and then. That is the fog horn that helps prevent boats from crashing into the coast. Yeah, I'm sure the Coast Guard would be really happy about that… See what other crazy things guests have asked hotel staff below! 

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  • 01
    "People ask me what can I do about the wind!!..."
    via Unsplash+ (and Getty Images)

    This image is for illustration only, and the subjects are models; the image does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • 02
    Weirdest question you've been asked. Hey! Long time listener first time caller. So I'm sure there are tons of weird questions people get as a front desk attendant. And I'm sure mine is not as weird as I think it is. But tonight I feel I got what I feel is the weirdest question in my last 1.5 years as FDA. So I work in a hotel in Seattle and now that it's fall we're getting a lot of overcast and drizzle/rain. So this lady comes up to me, this is the interaction. Lady: excuse me? Me: hey! How can
    via ComparisonNo4655
  • 03
    Me: (literally looking around the room)... ...... umm outside. Lady: but where is it? Me: .... (Looking around the room again) umm well we're in a city so you're best bet is to go outside and there's a lake 2 blocks down that would be the best area since there's a lot of open sky and a few less buildings. Lady: but it's raining. Me: yes it is, there is some overcast tonight. Lady: ok thank you (she grabs an umbrella we leave out for guest use and heads out)
    via ComparisonNo4655
  • 04
    30-45 mins later she comes back Me: how did it go? Lady: it's a bit cloudy tonight. ☹ Me: yea it does get cloudy here in Seattle. It's probably gonna be cloudy the next few... (She cuts me off) Lady: days? Right? Me: ......months. This is the PNW ma'am. Im sure it's not as odd as it seems in my head but I just had to see if anyone else has had just weird or odd questions. And no she was not intoxicated. She was completely coherent, I've interacted with her multiple times during her stay (she's l
    via ComparisonNo4655
  • 05
    Ekd7801 I had a guest ask me if we could "turn off" the bird noises from outside the window. I told her that those were in fact real birds. She followed up with asking me to make them move. Told her that we could not do that.
    via Ekd7801
  • 06
    No-Description7849. where I live, at night the tree frogs come out at night, and peep and "coqui" and make a bunch of noise. I work in an open-air restaurant, so you can hear them around you. We're in the mfing tropics. things people have said: 1. Can you turn the rainforest Cafe noises down? we're trying to have dinner 2. excuse me there seems to be an alarm going off, can you turn it off? 3. can we be seated under a different fan that doesn't squeak? People refuse to believe it's frogs. Like w
    via No-Description7849
  • 07
    Certain Cable7383 Guest calls desk about noise coming from outside window. Dispatch security guard to investigate situation. Security returns laughing. It was the fog horn sounding as it was foggy out. She asked if we could turn it off... I'll reach out to the coast guard see what I can do.
    via CertainCable7383
  • 08
    XxTrashPanda12xX Probably not the weirdest I've had but very in line with yours.... I live in Wisconsin, when fall hits, temps drop like a lead balloon (the last 2 days and today being an exception). This interaction occurred last week... Guest: Is it very cold outside this morning? Me: checks phone It's about 42 degrees right now. (That's a little bit above freezing for our metric friends) Guest: It was very cold yesterday too.
    via XxTrashPanda12xX
  • 09
    Me: It was, wasn't it? :) Guest: Do you know when it's supposed to get warm again? Me: Probably not until next summer, to be honest. Guest, face fallen like I had delivered news his dog died: ..... Oh...... - (Seriously if you're not a fan of cold don't come to Wisconsin outside of June, July and August... and even then its a crapshoot)
    via XxTrashPanda12xX
  • 10
    Accurate-Goose7910 "can I ask you a weird question?" "...sure?" "If I pay you $200 can you rub me for like 30 minutes?" "Um.... I'm going to have to go with no" Asked totally unprompted.
    via Accurate-Goose7910
  • 11
    sdrawkcabstiho My weirdest question got some traction here earlier this year. Guest from out of town needed a ride to the restaurant he chose for dinner tonight and asked for a taxi, so I called one. It gets here, he talks to the driver for a minute or so and then the taxi takes off and the guest comes back to me. Guest: "That taxi was VERY expensive." Me: "Well, our city's taxi's are actually pretty reasonably priced compared to some places I've visited." Guest: "Can you call me a cheaper taxi?
    via sdrawkcabstiho
  • 12
    Me: "The taxi rates are mandated by the city, every taxi costs the same." Guest: "Oh. Well, can I call an Uber?" Me: "Of course, we have Ubers pick up and drop off people here all the time." Guest: "Great, can you call it for me and bill it to my room?" Me: "What?" Guest: "I don't have an Uber app. Can you call me one and bill my card on file?" Me: "No, that's not how Uber works. You need to pay for it through the app using your own registered payment method."
    via sdrawkcabstiho
  • 13
    Chris_GPT I worked in a hotel in Pigeon Forge TN, a touristy remora on the the shark that is Dollywood. There is no shortage of dumb questions on the daily and I'm a smart likes having fun. Here are my favorites: 1: who Caller: When do they turn the smoke machines on? Me: Smoke machines? Caller: In the mountains, when do they turn them on?
    via Chris_GPT
  • 14
    Me: They're the Smoky Mountains, there are no machines. Caller: How do they get the smoke then? Me: Uhh... it's complicated, just trust me. 2: Caller: Are y'all's rooms on the inside or the outside? Me: Well, they're rooms so they're intrinsically inside. But, I think I know what you're asking, are we a hotel or a motel? We're a hotel, you enter the rooms from inside the building. Caller: So I can't pull my car up in 'em?
    via Chris_GPT
  • 15
    Me: No sir, that's a garage. 3: (As told in another thread) Caller: Is your indoor pool inside? Me (after receiving this question once before): No ma'am, our outdoor pool is inside and our indoor pool is outside. We rotate them like tires, for even wear. 4: Caller: When will the leaves change? Me: It's April, the leaves don't change until Fall.
    via Chris_GPT
  • 16
    Caller: Right, but when? Me: The exact date? Caller: Yes. Me: Ma'am, if I knew that, I wouldn't be working here. 5: (Not a phone call... three little old ladies from a Wisconsin church group in my lobby at 5am) Lady 1: Excuse me, when does the breakfast room open? Me: 6:30am.
    via Chris_GPT
  • 17
    Lady 1: Is that fast time or slow time? Me: staring blankly in confusion, scrambling for a smart assed answer while processing "fast time" and "slow time" Lady 2: Our time or your time? Me: Why we would serve breakfast in your time zone? All three of them stare blankly. Me: I have a guest here from New Zealand. We'd have to serve breakfast at like, 9pm. All three of them stare blankly.
    via Chris_GPT
  • 18
    Me: sighs and points at the clock You see that clock? All three, like trained dogs, swivel their heads in unison to look at the clock. Me: When that clock says 6:30, it's breakfast! All three of them, "Oh! Thank you!" 6: Caller: I would like to reserve four adjoining handicap rooms.
    via Chris_GPT
  • 19
    Me: I'm sorry ma'am but I'm afraid we can't accommodate that. We only have one specifically handicap accessible room per floor, and they adjoin to our kitchette rooms. All of our rooms are handicap accessible though, with wide doors and bathrooms. Caller: Why can't you just put four of those rooms together? Me: Because that would require rebuilding the entire hotel. Caller: So? Me: Well, we certainly wouldn't be able to finish that in time for your visit. Caller: Oh. But I haven't told you when
    via Chris_GPT
  • 20
    IntoxicatedRat All the weird things I've been asked, keep in mind I am working at a hotel; Do I have an oxygen tank/concentrator, do I have a humidifier, do I have distilled water, can a nurse come flush my line, can you flush my line, do you have a blood pressure cuff, do you have a wheel chair, do you have a spare IV rack!? You'd think I worked in a hospital, but I don't! Edit: The wind! I almost forgot about people asking me what can I do about the wind!!
    via IntoxicatedRat
  • 21
    AdDry7306 I worked at a hotel owned by the magical rodent in Orlando so I could write a novel on the stupidity. I had a guest convinced they could use their Universal ticket at Disney and wouldn't be swayed otherwise. I had a guest have a meltdown that JetBlue canceled his flight and he thought I could fix it. I can call JetBlue for you, but I can't magically make a plane appear. My favorite was always when they asked when the rain would stop. I would just stare and pull up the weather channel a
    via AdDry7306

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