Fury at How Guest Insists on Trying To Check In at Hotel: 'Absolutely Not'

Newsweek

2 days ago

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A hotel manager has vented their frustration online over an entitled guest demanding an early check-in.
Reddit user More_Paramedic3148 recounted the incident, detailing how the guest and his wife had arrived at the hotel at 1:45 p.m. After being greeted by the original poster (OP), the man just pressed his phone to the plexiglass divider without saying anything.
The display showed arrival dates, but he offered no name or context.
Eventually, the man muttered, "Check in. Early check in," before repeating, "It says 2 p.m. check-in," again and again.
"I am well aware the room isn't ready, and even if it were ready, after this robot energy? Absolutely not," the OP wrote, who told the man that there were no early check-ins that day and asked him to return at 3 p.m.
Stock image: Bell on a hotel front desk.
Stock image: Bell on a hotel front desk.
Photo by Chadchai Krisadapong / Getty Images
When the man and his wife returned at 3:05 p.m., the OP was stunned at the transformation.
"Suddenly, he's capable of speaking in complete, polite, human sentences. Smiles, even," the OP recalled.
"Like we didn't just go through an awkward tech demo for the future of human-robot communication an hour ago.
"And here's the kicker: people are always unassuming of me being the manager. I could've done something cool. I might've made magic happen. But... nope. Ya blew it."
In a message to Newsweek, the OP said the man's wife was "kind" and that when she was there, "it was good vibes all around."
They interacted with the man once more when the couple's key got locked in the room.
"We got that sorted quickly, and everything was smooth after that."
The OP added a "little PSA," specifically, "When you check into a hotel, please start with your last name and speak like a regular human," they wrote.
"Your front desk staff want to help you—we really do. Just don't be a jerk about it."
Reddit Reacts
Reddit users were quick to weigh in, with many sharing similar experiences.
"What a weirdo, especially the change in attitude," one user wrote.
"I've arrived early for check-ins plenty of times and apologized because my timing was off.
"Sometimes a room has been swapped for one that's ready, sometimes I have to stash my stuff 'til the room is available. I'm always grateful that the staff tries to accommodate me."
Another person speculated, "I am thinking his wife set him straight while they were waiting."
Meanwhile, "What you witnessed was the before and after of a magical substance called coffee," one Redditor quipped.
Hotel Horror Stories
Complaints on social media from both hotel guests and employees often attract online attention.
In one example, covered by Newsweek, a post from a guest went viral, which showed glaring lights spilling into their hotel room in the middle of the night.
One incident from another Newsweek article involved a hotel restaurant server who took a group of nine women to task on TikTok for their bad behavior at brunch.
"[I was] treated like a wet doormat after my Herculean efforts, despite all odds, to give them a good meal," she said.
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