Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Hotel shenanigans

Collapse
This topic is closed.
X
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

  • Hotel shenanigans

    Usually I don't deal with a lot of stupid or angry people at the front desk, but so far today I've had two.

    1...A little late to be trying to reserve a wedding/reception venue

    A lady came up to the hotel doors today and knocked. No big deal there because right now everybody has to knock. But what she asked when I opened the doors sort of blew me away. She's apparently getting married at the end of the month and wants to book the reception hall and a bridal suite. Now, despite all the 'Rona crap going on, we've had fairly steady booking for weddings, and on the date she wants to book we're already booked right up. It's a small venue, and there's a wedding/reception already taking place there on the date the lady wanted. And she thought that by calling the other property is part of the hotel group that she'd get a different answer...guess what? I answer the phone for that site as well, and I've got all the information for our sites right in front of me.

    I suppose I should be glad that she's not trying to book the hall and suite at some ungodly hour of the night...ugh.

    2...Good luck finding a hotel that will accept cash right now

    Another lady pulled up outside our doors and banged on them to be let in. Her first question was "Doesn't anybody answer the phones here?"

    Uh, yeah, that would be me, and I haven't had a call from anybody about renting a room for a couple of hours. "I can take your reservation now, if you'd like, ma'am."

    Guest: Yeah, I'd like one of your outside rooms for tonight. You take cash right?

    Me: At the moment we are only set up for credit or debit, and we need a card on file in case there is any damage to the room so that we may recoup any losses.

    Guest: Oh, I don't have my card with me. I can pay cash though.

    Me: I'd love to be able to take a payment via cash, ma'am, but we literally are not set up for accepting cash. (Which is not a lie at all...we used to have a cash box that we could use, but it was removed completely due to pandemic regulations here).

    Guest: Nobody is taking cash! I guess I'll have to go get my card then.

    She walks out, has a very animated conversation with the people she's with, and they all leave. She was very determined to use cash, and didn't want to leave any sort of deposit even if we were able to accept it, nor did she want us to have her address despite us needing it for every reservation we take.

    Right now, no hotel here is accepting cash due to the pandemic. And it is not like renting a hotel room is considered essential, so there isn't any room to budge on that policy right now as far as the owners go.

    Prior to all the regulations, if somebody paid cash we'd ask for a credit card on file to bill any incidentals or damages to, or a cash deposit of $250 that we would deduct incidentals from, and we would not give any part of the deposit back until we had inspected the room for damages.

  • #2
    No cash? WTF?
    AkaiKitsune
    Sarcasm dear, sarcasm. I’m well aware that dealing with civilians in any capacity will skin your faith in humanity alive, then pickle anything that remains so as to watch it shrivel up into an immortal husk thus reminding you of how dead inside you now are.

    Comment


    • #3
      Difficult--or just time-consuming and therefore expensive--to sanitize it.
      “There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old’s life: The Lord of the Rings and Atlas Shrugged.
      One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world.
      The other, of course, involves orcs." -- John Rogers

      Comment


      • #4
        A lot of Canadian money has been plasticized, but it is very time consuming to sanitize each bill as it comes through. But it is fairly standard for hotels not to willingly accept cash at the best of times, especially without a credit card on file to charge for any damages that may occur. Pre-covid, if the potential guest absolutely did not have any access to a credit card, we'd take their payment for their entire stay up-front and also get a $250 cash deposit that they'd only get back if there was no damage to their room when they checked out.

        Comment


        • #5
          We still take cash, but the bosses are discussing doing away with coins. Not because of Covid, just because it's such a small amount they don't want to bother.

          Comment


          • #6
            The most irritating thing someone can say when it comes to cash... "But it's legal tender! You HAVE to accept it if I offer it as a form of payment!"

            (Note: In NZ, while cash is 'legal tender', there is in fact no legal obligation on the part of a business to accept it - a number of businesses have gone fully digital and only accept click-and-collect orders or EFTPOS/Paywave in store)
            "At the moment there is no legal obligation for a retailer to accept cash. The only legal obligation is for the Government to accept cash in the form of taxes and to be able to pay off your debts in New Zealand dollars," Mr Hawkesby (Assistant Governor for NZ Reserve Bank) said.
            Violets are blue,
            Roses are red,
            I bequeath to thee...
            A boot to the head >_>

            Comment


            • #7
              Quoth Kagato View Post
              The most irritating thing someone can say when it comes to cash... "But it's legal tender! You HAVE to accept it if I offer it as a form of payment!"
              More so if the "cash" is all or mostly coins.
              I'm trying to see things from your point of view, but I can't get my head that far up my keister!

              Who is John Galt?
              -Ayn Rand, Atlas Shrugged

              Comment


              • #8
                Kagato -- The law here in the US is apparently similar; POS sales are not considered "debts," sooooo... Whether a place has to accept coins at all is up to individual states' laws.
                "For a musician, the SNES sound engine is like using Crayola Crayons. Nobuo Uematsu used Crayola Crayons to paint the Sistine Chapel." - Jeremy Jahns (re: "Dancing Mad")
                "The difference between an amateur and a master is that the master has failed way more times." - JoCat
                "Thinking is difficult, therefore let the herd pronounce judgment!" ~ Carl Jung
                "There's burning bridges, and then there's the lake just to fill it with gasoline." - Wiccy, reddit
                "Retail is a cruel master, and could very well be the most educational time of many people's lives, in its own twisted way." - me
                "Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down...tell you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens...makes her a home." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds, "Serenity" (2005)
                Acts of Gord – Read it, Learn it, Love it!
                "Our psychic powers only work if the customer has a mind to read." - me

                Comment


                • #9
                  I just had a phone call where all I could think was 'wtf...good luck, lady'

                  A little bit of background - there is a spa attached to the main hotel and I sometimes will answer their calls at my desk. Not a big deal, thankfully. And this particular call was a spa call.

                  Potential Guess (PG): "I know masks are mandatory starting on Monday, but I want to know if people getting massages there have to wear masks now while getting a massage."

                  Me: Yes, we require masks while getting any services done.

                  PG: Not all spas require them yet, so neither should you.

                  Me: Ma'am, masks are a government requirement for us to even be able to be open and it's been a requirement in place since the first day we re-opened. I do know that if you're laying face down on the massage table that you can loosen your mask, but you must keep it on.

                  PG: I know there are still some spas who aren't making customers wear them...I'll just call one of them!

                  Me: That's your choice, ma'am. Have a good day.

                  I fully get that there are people out there who don't want to wear masks, but just because you say another business doesn't make their clients wear them doesn't mean that we're going to allow you to not wear them here. And considering that it was only a couple of minutes before closing on a Saturday evening and most spas are closed on Sundays here lately, she's not going to have much luck book a massage anywhere.
                  Last edited by KuariKaydrith; 08-22-2020, 07:43 PM.

                  Comment

                  Working...
                  X