Hotel guests seem to understand everything the front desk employee is telling him, except for the fact that he has to pay for a room reservation: ‘Eventually he seemed to understand that this was leading nowhere and he tried another direction.’

Author image for María Cetra
María Cetra • Writer
Jul 30, 2026 1:00 PM EDT

Is not really about misunderstanding, but more about playing dumb to get what they want.

There is a difference between genuinely not understanding what you are hearing and simply playing dumb to avoid accountability. Customer service teaches you how to distinguish it in a second. This Reddit story is proof that some customers love to treat employees as if they were the dumbest people, especially if it can get them something for free. I've already talked before about how much some people will fight just to get something comped. There is nothing new in that. But pretending to not understand the language to avoid paying –when you already proved that you understood everything else– is an original experience.

Playing dumb can sometimes work. I get why some entitled guest who is trying to avoid paying for a room reservation may use it. But it can't go on forever. To just try it, it's wildly disrespectful towards the front desk employee that has to put up with you, but to sustain it for a long time because you just want to avoid paying is on another level entirely. You want a room. Then you have to pay for it. There is no exception. It doesn't matter if it's cheaper somewhere else, or if you are an influencer. You need to pay for it!. Do it and stop wasting the poor employees' time. They have better things to do than to deal with a disrespectful and cheap guest.

With all these stories, I always think about the satisfaction the customer service workers are probably feeling once the interaction is over. It probably feels like taking your high heels off after a long day. That relief after people get on your nerves during a whole shift for things that were never going to happen is crazy. There should be some way these people could defend themselves to reduce these kinds of interactions. Nobody deserves to have to put up with this nonsense for hours every day. And customers have to be nicer. There is no way some people cause this much trouble to workers. They need to stop. 
 

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  • 01
    A/N: I'm typing this little by little while I'm arguing with this guy but he stops every 5 minutes to stare at his phone silently, going back and forth between his emails and his bank account. I've been stuck here with this guy for 45 minutes as I type this. The guy wants a room for tonight (July 24th to July 25th, even though it is nearly 5AM on July 25th right now). So I made the reservation for tonight and it
    via BillieLD
  • 02
    A front desk employee using the work tablet to make a reservation.
    via Proxyclick Visitor Management System

    A front desk employee using the work tablet to make a reservation.

  • 03
    would cost him 58$. The guy tells me his buddies paid cheaper online and he goes online to show me that he can get a room for a cheaper price. I explain him that the reservation he's making is for tomorrow (July 25th to July 26th) and that this type of room is currently full, that's why it's more expensive tonight. He reserves the room anyway since he needs a room tomorrow as well.
    via BillieLD
  • 04
    So, I get the email for the reservation for tomorrow and the payment goest through as well. All is fine. He seems to understand that he has two reservations now, one for tonight and one for tomorrow night which he tells me is what he needs. But only the one for tomorrow is paid, I don't have his credit card number in the reservation for tonight. The payment is the part he doesn't seem to understand (I'm sure he
    via BillieLD
  • 05
    understands by now, it's been nearly an hour and he just doesn't want to pay...) The part that doesn't help is that his first language is Spanish and I don't speak Spanish so, once in a while, when it gets too complicated, we have to speak through google translate. Holy sh ! He just paid and got his room! I'm free!!! Right, so that guy seemed to understand everything, even the
    via BillieLD
  • 06
    fact that we're a hostel and that his room is gonna be shared with other people, he actually came in asking for a shared room. Tonight, the cheapest place we have is for a bed in a 6 people- dorm. Tomorrow, a few places are left in the 12 people-dorm (more people in the room so the room is cheaper because you share with more people but I assume I don't have to explain that to you...) He kept going to his email, showing me the reservation for tonight
    via BillieLD
  • 07
    clearly marked at 58$ and going to his bank account to show me that he paid a price of 40$... At this point, we were just repeating ourselves and the conversation was going nowhere. Guy: "So I can sleep tonight?" Me: "Yes, if you pay the room for tonight." Guy: "But I paid." *Shows me his phone again*
    via BillieLD
  • 08
    Me: "Yes, that's the room for tomorrow." Guy: *Stares at his phone in silence for a few minutes* "So I can sleep tonight?" That's what the whole exchange had become. Eventually he seemed to understand that this was leading nowhere and he tried another direction. He told me that his buddy, who I know for a fact is staying in the 12 people- dorm that is currently full, told
    via BillieLD
  • 09
    him he could go and sleep in his room tonight. I tell him that the room is full, he cannot go there, there are no empty beds. I could tell I was wearing him down at this point because he just went to sit to the side, swiping between his emails and his bank account again and again. I was giving him 5 minutes now before I asked him to leave because he's sitting in the hostel and doesn't have a room. Eventually he sighed and walked back to the desk to give
    via BillieLD
  • 10
    me his card. The whole thing took less than a minute, he paid, I gave him the keycard and the paper with the rules and his room number and he left to go to his room. That few seconds had taken an hour of arguing to get him to understand that I wasn't giving him a room for free.
    via BillieLD
  • 11
    A person holding several hundred-dollar bills in their hands.
    via Alexander Mils

    A person holding several hundred-dollar bills in their hands. 

  • 12
    CircleOvWolves If I have to explain things to someone for 45 minutes I'm just going to refuse service. I've had to do that before. Some people are just too ignorant to be worth my time.
    via BillieLD
  • 13
    skdnn05 It's our slow season right now, but tonight has been oddly busy. I got tired of "online it says $65!". By 1am, I was responding with, then just reserve it online. But call them or you'll book the wrong date. 2 people didn't listen. And tonight I was doing no one favors. You'll either need to wait until after audit and pay early check in or call back and argue with the OTA. By audit, I was sending them outside to handle their sh until they were ready.
    via BillieLD
  • 14
    sacredblasphemies It's one of the reasons I hate doing these on audit shift. Look, if you want to stay for this current night, book it ahead of time for the night. If you book it after midnight, it's going to show up for the next day. Check-ins for that day begin at 3pm. If you want to check in NOW, assuming we even have availability, you're going to pay an early check-in fee. (For us, it's $75.)
    via BillieLD
  • 15
    What really gets me is when people book the room after midnight on a night we're sold out. And then they come in at 1am or whatever and expect to be able to check in. "But, I have a reservation..." "Yeah, for tomorrow". "But it's after midnight, it's technically (X)day". Sure, but we literally do not have rooms. We are sold out. The night you booked for begins at 3pm. Come back then.
    via BillieLD
  • 16
    ZerTharsus Me after 10 minutes : "listen mate, either you pay right now, or you get out and you are back tomorrow. Its simple".
    via BillieLD
  • 17
    PathWalker8 He tried wearing you down. Good you stuck to your guns
    via BillieLD

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hotel guest tales from the front desk misunderstanding payment entitled people
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