‘All the red flags of idiocy is there': Local Karen calls hotel pretending to be HOA threatening to tow a car in their own parking lot, gets laughed off

Author image for Elna McHilderson
Elna McHilderson • Managing Editor
Aug 22, 2025 4:00 PM EDT

A hotel manager enjoying their day off gets a text from the person working the front desk that day. It says that the "HOA" called and were threatening to tow a guest's car… In their own parking lot. The manager rolled their eyes at the thought of it all. First of all, the hotel did not have an HOA and secondly, their parking lot was private property and very small. So there was really no reason for anybody to threaten such a thing. After a little investigating through questioning the employee, the manager was quickly able to deduce that this was the local Karen throwing a tantrum. Apparently, she just didn't like the car and wanted it towed, so she lied and pretended to be an HOA. Again, the manager simply rolled his eyes, and laughed the problem away. Turns out if you're a Karen trying to bend the rules to satisfy them, you should probably get your lie straight before going through with it… An HOA? For a hotel?? Come on, Karen. You can do better than that. 

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  • Cheezburger Image 10545274368
    via Unsplash+ (and Lynn Van den Broeck)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • "The Tale of how an HOA called us (a hotel) threatening to tow a vehicle on our private parking lot"

    It was a sunny evening. I had typed up an entire story pertaining to the title and I randomly decided to click the notification icon on the Reddit website.
    via Shyam09
  • Rookie mistake. I lost everything I typed. So here we are again. Let's do it.
    via Shyam09
  • It was a Sunday afternoon. I was off, enjoying my peaceful, happy, non hotel life. The sun was out, my shades were down because f that heat, my AC was cooling, and I was staring at my ceiling contemplating how cats. have the reflex of super charged ninjas.
    via Shyam09
  • *DING* A text. From the hotel. From the current FDA.
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  • "Hey! We just got a call from the HOA for the GM. She said that it was about <guest's> car and that it needs to be moved or else they will tow the car away by tomorrow and they want a call back."
    via Shyam09
  • I stare at my phone. I'm sorry. But scam calls or idiotic Karen calls don't need to come to me. Like all the red flags of idiocy is there.
    via Shyam09
  • But I'm curious. "HOA?" Not me wondering if the caller managed to come up with a fun, exciting acronym. Maybe Hotel Owner's Association?
    via Shyam09
  • A group of hotel owners that just manage the cities' hotels and bind they down with rules and regulations free of charge.
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  • "Yeah." Not the answer I wanted but it is what it is. "Did they leave a number?" Maybe a little phone call during my shifts will bring some form of excitement.
    via Shyam09
  • "No. But I can pull it. from the call logs." I laugh to myself. How are we supposed to call back and prevent the towing of a vehicle. if they didn't leave a number to call back as requested.
    via Shyam09
  • "So how did they know <guest's> car!" "Oh they didn't say her name specifically.
    via Shyam09
  • SHADED PARKING NORTH GARAGE PARKING CLEARANCE 9.9 о
    via Unsplash+ (and Ryo Ito)

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • It was more like the car was parked in the parking lot and homeless people take shelter in it."
    via Shyam09
  • I stare at my phone. Look our lot is small. I know what car he's talking about and I know how pedantic that guest is with the car and privacy and safety, etc.. and one of the parking lights is right above it.
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  • Like you'd have to be the dumbest homeless person to try to take shelter in that car of all things. I'm not even sure there's room lol.
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  • He can't pull the number because surprise surprise... *67 was probably used.
    via Shyam09
  • So ends the tale of the Karen who called pretending to be HOA to threaten us with a good time.
    via Shyam09
  • **BONUS STORY:** Dis ed guest cussed out a FDA woman because she refused to button up his shirt.
    via Shyam09
  • She didn't feel comfortable doing it. But he cussed her out. I find out and guess who isn't going to extend.
    via Shyam09
  • I told him that and his answer was "she didn't want to help me." Wooooooooow.
    via Shyam09
  • Okay, so? Doesn't give you the right to cuss her out over something stupid and trivial.
    via Shyam09
  • If she wasn't comfortable, she isn't obligated to do it.
    via Shyam09
  • And these guys have been extremely kind to him as well to the point where he was, IMHO, starting to take them for granted.
    via Shyam09

  • Working the front desk of any hotel is a tough job, whether you're at a five star hotel or one. No matter where you go, Karens will find you. Luckily, after working a while in this industry, you become an expert in dealing with these adult children's tantrums. 

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