I worked in a hotel that was at the budget end of the market. It was within easy travelling distance of a popular theme park, and we sold packages that included tickets to the park. A lot of these were through agents or third-party websites, pre-paid to the agent.

A guest on one such package came to reception one morning with a minor but legitimate complaint about her room, looking like she was geared up for a fight. I apologised and told her what I’d do to put it right. This seemed to take the wind out of her sails a bit, so she paused, and then she seemed to think of something else to complain about.

Guest: “We’re not happy about the bus to [Theme Park]! The website said it ran from outside the hotel, and we thought it was included.”

Me: “I’m sorry, but the bus isn’t affiliated with us in any way. It does run from the stop opposite the hotel, but it’s just a regular bus service. You booked and paid through [Agent Website]; if you feel their website is misleading, you do need to raise it with them.”

Having failed to get the response she apparently wanted, she started to walk away. Then, she suddenly turned and shouted:

Guest: “And nobody told me it was Easter!”

I must have looked confused as she followed it with:

Guest: “I’ve probably paid more!”

Luckily, she stormed off before I had to explain to her again that we’d had no part in her booking process, that she’d selected her own chosen dates online through an agent, and that she’d booked a room including her school-aged children… who would have been on Easter break at the time.

A few years ago, I worked at a wing delivery place after moving across the country for college. I accidentally left my microwave at home, but luckily, my mom had some business in the town I was living in, so she tossed it in her car and brought it with her to her hotel.

We’d discussed it beforehand, and she got a hotel in my delivery radius. She ordered some wings, and I was the driver for it. I got the wings, headed over, and started going to the elevators. I gave the front desk workers a small wave as I went by.

I got up to her room, made some small chat, and took my microwave from her. I made my way back down to the lobby, and the front desk workers called me over.

Worker: “What are you doing with that microwave?”

Me: “It was my tip from the customer!”

That hotel didn’t have microwaves in the rooms, so they let me go. I loved the confused looks on their faces.

It was a sold-out weekend at our hotel because of a major corporate convention. Guests were coming in from all over the country. The rooms were assigned by the housing bureau and paid for by their employer. It had been a crazy night with people finding out they had roommates, a non-smoker being assigned a smoking room, and two hated competitors being assigned to the same room (intentionally done by their boss, with notes not to move them).

One of our last arrivals for this group was a man named Robin. Immediately after Robin checked in, he returned to the desk with a young lady in tow.

Robin: “There must be a mistake; I’m in a room with a woman I don’t know.”

Lady: “I’m sure he is a nice guy, but staying in a room with a strange man…”

Me: “I apologize, but we didn’t assign the rooms; they were assigned by the housing bureau.”

Robin: “Could I pay for my own room?”

Me: “Unfortunately, we’re sold out.”

There was a hotel on the other side of downtown that had rooms — but of course, all the convention meetings were at our hotel. I did point out that if they could find someone in a single room to switch with, I would be more than happy to reassign the rooms. They retired to the bar to figure things out.

I later saw them together at the convention’s social hour. They approached me and said they would make it work, and they asked if I could send up a pair of robes.

A year later, I’d forgotten all about Robin and his roommate when I received a call to come to the desk. There at the desk were Robin and his roommate, both with wide smiles on their faces. She was holding her hand up in that way all new brides do to show off their rings.

That weekend a year before was the start of their whirlwind relationship. They had just gotten married and decided to spend their honeymoon in the city where they’d met. I helped them plan their sightseeing activities and made restaurant suggestions.

They returned for the next two years that I was at that property. The last I heard, they had a child on the way and had relocated to our area.

I work in a hotel on both PM and night audit shifts, but this happened on my PM shift early on. I work for a name-brand company that is franchised. We are a smaller hotel with only ninety-five rooms and no VIP lounge.

I get a call from a guest who is to show up tomorrow. I recite the standard greeting and am asked a question I have never been asked before.

Guest: “I was wondering if you have a VIP lounge at your hotel?”

Me: “No, but we do have a business lounge and open lounge.”

Guest: “Okay, so since you have no VIP lounge, I happen to be a [Rewards] member, I get a free breakfast as stated in the policies.”

Me: “Sorry, but that policy only applies to hotels outside of Canada and the US. We do not provide breakfast due to not having a VIP lounge.”

Guest: “Well, you are wrong, and I will have to ask for your manager to prove you wrong.”

Me: “He is currently on the phone. Would you like me to transfer to his phone and you can leave a message?”

Guest: “No, you are obviously giving me the runaround. I want his name and email. I want your name, and I will be making a call to corporate about you.”

I provided her with the information she wanted.

I came in the next day, and she had canceled her reservation. My general manager told me that she was told no by both him and corporate and was not happy, so she canceled it because her status did not sway her any favor.

You’ve got to love entitled people.

I was working in a hotel on Christmas Eve. We had six checkouts that day. It was the first Sunday morning shift in months that I didn’t have the second girl with me. I expected a day on my Kindle and then going home to my entire immediate family after my shift. I expect my family to be home once I get there, but an elderly lady threw a damper on my Kindle plans.

At 8:00 am, a man in his late fifties or early sixties came in the front door holding a Tylenol bottle.

Man: “My mother is staying with you. Can I have a key to her room to give her these painkillers? She’ll have trouble getting up.”

He wasn’t on the reservation, but he knew her room number, her name, and her phone number — just enough for me to feel comfortable going up with him with the emergency key.

We chatted in the elevator. Yes, he celebrated Christmas; that’s why his mother was staying with us. And he appreciated that I was going to the room with him. It was just a polite little conversation.

I knocked on the woman’s door.

Me: “Ma’am, Guest Services is here with [Man].”

Woman: *Frantically, through the door* “Please help me!”

She was in the room’s foyer flat on her back, fully conscious, and wiggling like mad to get up. Her son darted to her side, obviously trying to figure out the situation, and I knew that we had to call for EMS. I had my phone with me, so I told her to stay still and called 911.

As the dispatcher asked questions and I passed them on, I found out that the woman was eighty-nine years old, she had been on the floor for only a couple of minutes, and she didn’t trip; she lost her balance and fell backward.

The dispatcher asked if anyone would be downstairs to direct EMS to the room, and I realized that I would have to leave them to go to the desk. I put a hand on the woman’s shoulder and genuinely pleaded with her to stop trying to get up because an ambulance was coming and they’d help her, and I ran downstairs.

I called my general manager while waiting because there was no manager on duty. He asked me to take pictures of the area once everyone was cleared, and I agreed.

I directed the first EMT to the woman’s room once they arrived and felt that I should be out of everyone’s way, so I went back to the desk. EMS and the woman’s son came through the lobby with her on a gurney with a collar and an oxygen mask, and the son thanked me by name.

I went back to the room and took pictures, but I know my general manager is frustrated because all movable furniture was pushed out of the way, and I said in my text that I remember the layout being standard when I came in. At least I got pictures of the bathroom floor being dry.

I made my morning call to my mom almost an hour later than usual and relayed how the morning had been so far. I have a grandfather in his early nineties who lives with my parents, so I told her the details of what I saw, and we agreed that they probably wouldn’t blame the hotel because her son already seemed to be wary of her falling, considering he didn’t want her getting up to answer the door. My mom pointed out that my family wouldn’t blame a business if my grandpa fell and said that he’d lost his balance.

I really hope she’s okay and that her family can still enjoy the holiday.