'Has this person not ever stayed in a hotel room?': Entitled hotel guest tries to check in at 3 AM the day of his booking, doesn't realize why they can't take him

Author image for JR Atkinson
JR Atkinson • Writer and Editor
Feb 5, 2025 12:00 PM EST

If you've never been to a hotel before, there might be a few tips and tricks you don't know about. You may not realize that a "continental breakfast" is not as fancy as it sounds. You may not know to check the Bibles on the nightstands for cash. And you may not know that check-in is usually in the afternoon. You would be forgiven for the first two, but that last one was probably made clear to you when you booked it. Sometimes they can check you in a couple hours early if the room is ready, but not in the middle of the night because that would be, well, crazy!

The entitled patron in this story didn't quite realize that, or did but didn't want to accept that reality. So instead he made it the hotel receptionist's problem. Because that's always what you should do. If you've made a mistake, never accept blame and try to fork it off on someone else. This is Karen 101. 

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  • 01
    "I will send the bellman up to wake the people who are in the room"
    via Unsplash+ (Getty Images)

    The image does not depict the actual subjects of the story. Subjects are models.

  • What follows is a classic tale of entitlement mixed with a little middle of the night drama. The receptionist was left thinking about what they could have done differently, even though commenters assured them it was the customer's fault. Read on for the story and see what you think. 

  • 02

    Guest tried checking in early at 3AM and got mad that they couldn't

    This is 3 hours until the end of my 16 hour double. At this point I'm pretty relaxed as all that's left is to run the audit, make coffee and set up breakfast. Or at least I thought so. A man walks in with who I presume is his daughter. "I'm checking in for ." No biggie, last check in before
    via u/No_Significance5173
  • 03
    running the night audit. He hands me his ID but I don't see his name in the arrivals. "Are you looking to make a reservation?" I ask calmly. "No it's a reservation under my name." Of course, after digging through next day's reservations it pops up. "I apologize sir, check in for this is not until 3PM tomorrow.
    via u/No_Significance5173
  • 04
    If possible, you can call beforehand to see if they can check in early past 11am check out time." Furious, he states that he sent a message to our email that he wanted to check in 2-3am on morning of check in day. After digging through various emails, I find his request which was only
    via u/No_Significance5173
  • 05
    typed out: "looking to check in 2- 3." No AM or PM even mentioned lol. I explain that to him and it makes things worse, demanding I change the dates. Given it's a third party, my hands are tied but I let him know he can call the third party support to see if they can help him. "That'd be good."
    via u/No_Significance5173
  • 06
    He replies before standing there almost 2 minutes in silence giving me a death stare. "Sorry sir, I can't call the third party website, you have to reach out to them personally." This man is beyond posed now, shaking his head and yelling at me about how ridiculous it is he can't check in
    via u/No_Significance5173
  • 07
    early at 3 am. He leaves, and when I finally think he is gone, he comes back to yell at me some more, demanding a pen so he can write something (I'm guessing a complaint). Dude took the pen and just stormed off into the night. Honestly this job has been chill for the most part but, man now I'm considering leaving given how crappy humans can be sometimes lol.
    via u/No_Significance5173
  • 08
    GU A JA wwwww BL AU N CHECK-IN
    via Helena Lopes
  • 09

    Other workers were quick to swoop in and commiserate with this story.

    NocturnalMisanth... 3d ago Dumbass thinking he can get 2 days for the price of one.
    via u/NocturnalMisanthrope
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    ShowMeTheTrees • 3d ago When they're aggressive straight out of the gate, it's a sure sign that they know. they are in the wrong.
    via u/ShowMeTheTrees
  • 11
    Annie_Benlen 3d ago • Sad truth is, you are likely to encounter crappy humans. no matter where you work.
    via u/Annie_Benlen
  • 12
    DaneAlaskaCruz 3d ago . Yup, yet another person who does not understand that check in is at 3 pm and you get stay in the room overnight until noon the next day.
    via u/DaneAlaskaCruz
  • 13
    Anything outside of this time is extra and will probably cost more. Has this person not ever stayed in a hotel room?
    via u/DaneAlaskaCruz
  • 14
    Most likely they have and are just trying to weasel some extra hours into their stay. Don't take it personally, OP. There'll be more situations identical to this one and others just as stupid. Take care and hope you find another job that you'll enjoy.
    via u/DaneAlaskaCruz
  • 15
    • wannabejoanie 3d ago This happened to me last weekend, but the lady was actually quite nice about it, realized she had booked after midnight -she and her husband were traveling across the state to visit family in a blizzard and it took them many hours longer than expected, so when they arrived at 2am they couldn't exactly crash with the family.
    via u/wannabejoanie
  • 16
    I explained the issue and that the early check in fee amounts to pretty much a full night's stay and she.... didn't argue, she was mildly upset at HERSELF for making the mistake, paid the fee, and i got her signed up for the rewards program and taught her the evils of OTA reservations. (At a certain level, rewards members don't have an early check in or late check out fee)
    via u/wannabejoanie
  • 17
    I'm fully expecting to go back to my shift tonight and read that she trashed the room though, it was almost too easy of an interaction
    via u/wannabejoanie
  • 18
    FCCTOG 3d ago Years ago, I ran a Hotel near a large amusement park and my staff had to deal with guest who had reservations for a Saturday but would arrive at 7:00 AM on Saturday to check in. I instructed my staff to ask the guest at what time did
    via u/FCCTOG
  • 19
    they think they might leave on Sunday and each and every one of them would reply that they would be leaving at around 12 noon on Sunday. My staff would them inform the guest that is what the people who checked in on Friday told us, they would check out at 12
    via u/FCCTOG
  • 20
    noon on Saturday and that is why you can't checked in until after 3pm on Saturday. We have to wait until the guests who are currently in your room leave, then we clean the room and no, even at 1pm we won't have your room ready. Check in time is after 3pm for a reason and one that we are required to follow.
    via u/FCCTOG
  • 21
    spidernole 3d ago With those kind of customers, I console myself that the people in their life hate them even more.
    via u/spidernole
  • 22
    John_EightThirty... . 3d ago "I'd like to check in early for my reservation next week." dafuq?
    via u/John_EightThirtyTwo
  • 23
    nikkier123 3d ago • I've made a reservation and knew my flight wasn't arriving until 11pm. I put in my note that I was going to be checking in super late and to not give my room away because I'd be there. I can't imagine that someone would assume that there would be a room available for a day they didn't book. Oh wait, yes I can. Ugh. People.
    via u/nikkier123
  • 24
    EmergencySure2... • 3d ago We had a guest a few months back mad that we wouldn't unlock the exit from our dining area so he could park there. It was a windy day and the glass door tends to swing wide open during sand storms. So we keep it locked. There are doors at the end of the hallway and parking out those doors as well. 3 rooms away from his.
    via u/EmergencySure2573
  • 25
    Guest proceeds to park next to his window, take out the screen and go in and out through the window with his bags. In the process of this temper tantrum he damaged the screen and got charged for that as well.
    via u/EmergencySure2573
  • 26
    Curlytomato • 3d ago Certainly sir. I will send the bellman up to wake the people who are in the room. It may take a bit as I they may want to shower and pack their things.
    via u/Curlytomato

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