As I Said On The Phone…

If there is any one thing that has consistently baffled me in my eleven years in hospitality, it has to be people showing up four, five, six, or even fifteen hours before check-in and becoming indignant when I tell them I don’t have a room ready for them yet.

Case in point: I get this phone call at a quarter to noon.

Guest: “I have a reservation for tonight. I want to see if an early check-in is possible — ideally, in the next hour.”

Me: “Can I have your name, please?”

I pull up his reservation and see that he has booked a suite with two double beds, a room type that we will only have one of tonight.

Here, I should mention a few things. Our check-in time is 4:00 pm and our checkout time is noon. We were completely sold out last night. We had two large groups in house who are all due out today — one for a wedding and one for a family reunion. As of the time I’m taking this call, none of these rooms — including the sole double queen suite — have checked out yet. They are in it for the long haul.

I inform the gentleman on the phone of all these circumstances.

Me: “While I can still get you in earlier than 4:00, the earliest will probably be around 2:00.”

Guest: “That’s fine. See you in a couple of hours!”

All good, right?

I don’t know what happens in this guy’s brain between the time he hangs up the phone and the time he shows up at the desk forty-five minutes later, but here’s how it went:

Me: “Hello. Welcome. How can I help you today?”

Guest: “Hi. I called about an early check-in a while ago. I’m not sure who I talked to but the reservation is under [Guest].”

Me: *A bit confused* “Uh, yeah, that was me you spoke with earlier, but as I said on the phone, we don’t have any rooms yet and probably won’t—”

Guest: “Yeah, but that was forty-five minutes ago. I figured you’d have one ready by now.”

Me: *Still a bit confused* “Yes, sir, but as I said on the phone, we only have one of the room type you reserved available for the night, and that room was still occupied at the time you called—”

Guest: “Well, we left [City] at 7:00 am and just got off the road. My kids have been stuck in the car for five and a half hours.”

Me: “I understand. But as I said on the phone, my best estimate for when that room will be ready is 2:00 pm.”

Guest: “You don’t have any rooms ready?”

Me: “The only rooms I have ready are King Standards and I don’t—”

Guest: “That won’t work; I’ve got my wife and three kids with me. Can you just call me when the room is ready?”

Me: “Of course, sir.”

I have to point out that the guy wasn’t being too rude, and I can understand that he was probably worn out from a five-hour road trip with three kids, but why the h*** would you just show up an hour and a half earlier than when you were told the room would be ready? I just don’t understand why this dude had to get on the road at 7:00 am when he knew how long the drive would take and obviously knew what time check-in was.