Check Yourself Before Check-In
Our hotel company/owners have two of the same properties, one in my town and one in the next town over, about twenty minutes down the highway.
Our guests get cross-pollinated all the time. They don’t look closely at their booking confirmation and show up at the wrong hotel at least once a week. That was the case for a lady who came in tonight to check in.
I can’t find her reservation anywhere, and her confirmation number isn’t pulling anything up.
Me: “May I please see your booking confirmation?”
I see it was for the other hotel, the next town over, AND it was on an advanced purchase rate.
Me: “Ma’am, I will be happy to accommodate you, but you have already prepaid for the room at the other hotel, and you would need to contact them for reimbursement.”
The guest was very nice and understanding and opted to get back on the road and go to the correct hotel.
Twenty minutes later… I get a call from the other hotel’s front desk. In a super snarky tone, she starts yapping:
Other Hotel’s Front Desk: “You just had a guest at your hotel who you turned away and refused to accommodate; can you tell me why that is? You also told her we would not be able to cancel her reservation without a charge, when that is not the case. For future reference, if you could please refrain from misinforming our guests, we would really appreciate it.”
Now I know that is not the situation the guest presented her with; maybe something got lost in translation, or she misunderstood.
She was so repetitive. I could not get a word in. And she kept hammering that “for future reference.”
At this point, I’m silent, just waiting for her to notice that super special detail where the guest is on an advanced purchase rate. When she finally notices, her entire tone changes.
Other Hotel’s Front Desk: “Oh my gooooood! I’m soooooooooo sorrrryyyyyyyyy! I didn’t seeeee that! I’m sooooooo sorrrrryyyyyy! Woooow.”
I finally chime in.
Me: “Alright, so, for future reference, if you could just try to have all your information lined up before you call and berate me for a mistake I did not make, I would reeeally appreciate it.” *Click.*
