What It Means To Be A Woman In The Service Industry

I work the third shift as a hotel auditor. It’s been a very busy night and it’s very late. I’m finishing up with some computer work before I start the audit when a man walks in.

Me: “Hi, what can I help you with?”

Guest: “I just want a tour of the place.”

Me: “Uh… right now?”

He nods and I glance at my watch nervously. It’s after two am. I know tours of hotels are fairly common, especially for extended-stay hotels, but I’m not working for one of those. And even so, I’m not really willing to do a tour of the hotel alone for safety reasons.

Me: “Um, well, I’m sorry, sir, but it is after two am. I can’t really take you around the property right now. But I’m more than happy to give you a rundown of the area.”

Guest: “What? Why not?”

Me: “It’s just our protocol. We can do tours in the morning and afternoon, but we stop doing them after seven pm, just so we don’t bother any sleeping guests.”

This is half the reason, but the more obvious reason is that I’m a young woman working alone, and I’m not wandering around a hotel alone with a man.

He grunts. I point out our lobby, breakfast area, and the general direction where the pool and exercise rooms are, and I explain general basics about the hotel.

Guest: “Can I look at one of the rooms?”

Me: “Unfortunately, not at this time, sir. I don’t have any vacant rooms to show, and I’m not allowed to leave the desk, anyway. If you want to look at a room, please come by in the morning when my manager is here. He’ll be more than happy to help you further.”

He scowls at me.

Guest: “Look, I just want to look at the rooms. I live close by, and we need a hotel whilst we do renovations.”

Me: “I understand, sir, but I’m not showing you the rooms at this time of night.”

Guest: “I don’t see why you can’t just show me a room.”

Me: *Finally fed up and dropping my customer service voice* “Because it’s really late at night and I’m not allowed to. You can go to our website and look at the gallery for a general idea if you want, but to physically see the room, you’ll have to wait until morning.”

He huffed a bit and then walked out the door with a mumbled “goodbye.” It wasn’t until after he left that I realized my hand had been clutching the pepper spray I keep clipped to my belt loop.