Behind the polished smiles and smooth service of a hotel lurks a world of untold stories. Each one provides a glimpse into unusual obstacles, quirky encounters, and unexpected adventures that might easily make for a binge-worthy show. Prepare to check in and uncover the secret drama, humor, and compassion that exist behind the scenes of hotel life.
Story 1:
I worked at a luxury, 5-star hotel. A couple in their 50s were regular guests. One day, the husband came in with a gorgeous blonde—not his wife. Our manager gave them the couple’s usual suite. But while they were out, the manager quietly went up to the suite and took photos of their belongings, which she then sent to the wife.
It turned out the wife had suspected her husband was che:ating and had asked the manager to gather proof to help her with the divorce settlement. Unfortunately, this landed our manager in serious trouble, and she was fired not long after.
Story 2:
I worked the front desk at a hotel next to an airport. A bunch of flights were canceled, so we were sold out.
A guy came in looking for a room. He didn’t believe that we were full, so as a joke, I told him, “Unless you want to sleep in a closet, we’re sold out.” He paid me $50 and took our storage closet. © ulyn / Reddit
Story 3:
Story 4:
I used to work the front desk of a 1,200-room upscale hotel in San Francisco with a restaurant on the top floor. Our garage only held 300 cars, and on weekends it was often full. We’d put out a sign saying, “Parking for Hotel Guests Only.” A valet would take the guests’ cars to a nearby public garage.
About 11 p.m. on a Friday night, a Ferrari drives up, and the guy wants his car parked, saying he’s going to the restaurant. The valet says, “Sorry, we’re full—hotel guests only.” The guy tells the valet he’ll be right back.
He comes up to the front desk, demands a room, and I check him in. When I go to hand him the room key, he snaps at me to forget the key and just park his car. © ChuckinTucson / Reddit
Story 5:
I was working at the front desk one night. It was 11:25 p.m., and I had 5 minutes left in my shift. I was dying to go home. I got a call from a room on the 3rd floor, and it was a woman sounding very worried and scared, near tears. She started screaming and said she needed help because she couldn’t turn her light on and didn’t know what to do.
It was impossible to talk to her on the phone, so I ran upstairs to help, since she sounded very distressed. When I arrived at her room, I noticed the door was slightly open. I knocked and leaned in. She called out, “HELLO, HELLO, please turn the light on!”
The room was in darkness, and I couldn’t see where she was. I turned the light on (simply hitting the switch—it was just turned off) and noticed the guest was in bed with all her clothes on. I politely said, “Is everything okay? The light is on now. Is there anything else I can help you with?” She replied in a much calmer tone, “Could you please turn the light off? I’m going to bed.” © themanfromthedam / Reddit
Story 6:
Story 7:
My fiancé was completing her daily workload when she came across a room that smelled like tropical air freshener. Apparently, the person staying in the room had attempted to make a smoothie in their bathtub. The kicker was that she couldn’t remove the blueberry stains from the tub. © screamforthecream / Reddit
Story 8:
I was a front office manager (ran the front desk), and a lady came up and asked for everything complimentary we offered—literally. She wanted tampons, extra soap, razors, deodorant, mouthwash, toothbrush, floss, and even the loaner bathroom scale. Then she proceeded to dump the entire bowl of Starlite mints into her purse. She was clearly out of her mind. © katduffy / Reddit
Story 9:
Story 10:
Working at a small boutique place, just starting my day shift at about 6:30 a.m. Hadn’t even had my coffee yet.
A woman came to the desk, visibly shaken. She tells me, “I can’t find my husband. He’s not in the room, and all his clothes are still there. He’s a sleepwalker, and I’m worried that he has wandered into another room.” At this point, I am starting to chuckle a bit to myself, but quickly stop at the thought of a screaming woman finding a naked stranger in her room. First thought is to check the CCTV.
We head up to the first floor. Our CCTV is actually in the back of our linen storage, and I bring the woman with me—not even sure why I did, probably because she wanted to come. As soon as I got the door open and the lights on, there was her husband sleeping spread across our bundled duvet covers, with one open half covering him.
She woke him up, and of course, he had no idea where he was. She wrapped him up and took him back to bed. They checked out later, and the dude was bashful. I told him not to worry about it, as he gave me a great story to share. © sbouvette / Reddit