Working in the hotel business is never going to be boring, that is a given you know going in. How could it be? You are inundated with people from all parts of the world and all walks of life. Everyday will probably never be the same twice. And the things some staff discover. The men and women of the hospitality world could write a soap opera than wold be stranger than fiction. Heck just staying in hotels has left me shooketh!
Redittor u/ghst0 wanted the hospitality staff out there to tell us a few tales by asking.... Hotel staff of Reddit, what was the most memorable thing you saw in guests room?
You Better Werk!
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Had a man that would stay with us every month or two for a single night. Probably mid-50s, short, unassuming, casual suit, about as bland and unnoticeable as possible. Would show up around 7 o'clock with luggage and alcohol, check in, and not come down until checkout. One night he called down because his TV wasn't working and when he opened his door he was in full drag; dress, pantyhose, make-up, wig, but still spoke in his normal voice and acted like nothing was out of the ordinary. Mentioned it to the manager in the morning and it turns out he'd been doing it for years, just coming to the hotel, dressing in drag, getting drunk and watching TV by himself. No visitors, no phone calls, never left the room. kentonk
Salad is LIFE!
As the owner of a bed and breakfast place for the last 8 years the craziest thing i ever found was an old battered notebook with "Why i love salad" written on the front and then literally 40-80 pages on why salad was amazing. There'd be the occasional suggestion that the author believed salad to be alive in some sense. Looked like it had been written on and off over the course of several years. BestShelter
The Clean Up....
I had to clean up a room after a pimp got kicked out, so all their stuff was still in there and the room was completely trashed. The T.V. was smashed, chairs/table flipped and tossed, Someone threw a bottle of lotion against a wall, and the whole room was covered motivational notes like "Get That Dough" or "[Hooker name], the Bread Winner." There was also a vibrating adult toy, a smashed iphone, and some pants toting the line between really short shorts and a denim thong.
I learned a lot about the fine art of hookery after the experience like how much perfume they use to keep the room from smelling like disapproving headshakes from Jesus. Or how they use literal gallons of mouth wash and a ton of disposable toothbrushes (they must be training to become dentists).
Overall I think it was a good lesson into my career options if the whole hotel thing doesn't work out. AllergicToStabWounds
The List is Endless....
Well....
-checked empty room left with doors wide open, on table was brown bag with over $20,000 cash.
-tried to wake a guy up to checkout, but he was dead.
-basketball team used a toilet for communal poops, no flushing. All weekend. The entire toilet was encased in a mountain of poop. They must have had to stand on the ledge of the sink and lean over. Or straddle one foot on the bathtub and somehow not fall into it. It took devotion. Horrible and wtf at the same time. Woebegone67
Happiness in the bathroom....
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I was visiting my mother's old college friend at a hotel in Jacksonville, Florida. My mom didn't say why we were going to go visit her in her hotel room of all places. Well, when we get to her room I immediately noticed the air conditioner was turned all the way down and there were towels all over the floor. We walk in and she just grins and says "look in the bathroom." Well... as soon as we walked in we noticed 6 penguins hopping in and out of the tub filled with ice. She worked for Sea World and apparently when they travel with the penguins, they hang out in the rooms with them was awesome. arangus
Join us?
I was once delivering a food service tray to a young couple. After knocking and hearing "come in" I tried to fish the keys out of my pocket but just couldn't wrestle the tray etc. So I called out that I couldn't open the door.
The lady came to the door and tried to open it just a crack but again we couldn't get the tray through the small opening. "F**k this!" she says and throws the door open. I was literally shocked because 1. She looked like a Victoria secret model and was wearing a really nice matching bra and French knicker set (purple with white lace in case you're wondering) and 2. Her boyfriend was coming out of the shower in his towel, dripping wet looking like some kind of superhero caught between cases.
All three of us laughed it off but I'll never forget how both looked so shocked and yet were the hottest real life couple I've seen ever since. IGiveBagAdvice
Room 405.
I used to work as a chambermaid in a hotel and 1 day my supervisor told me to inspect room 405 because a colleague was doing her rounds and hadn't returned.
I entered said room quietly and walked in on another maid having sex with the hotel Jr manager. She was mid 20s and he was 50 something.
They didn't see me, I quietly exited and pretended I didn't see anything. I returned to my supervisor and said the room was empty as I didn't want to get involved. wannabebunny23
The Stench....
I used to work in a hotel as a summer job and was the first one to enter a room when a guest had left. This hotel had some very expensive rooms. One day I was greeted with a disgusting smell while entering one of the expensive rooms.
The bath was flooded, the shower was used as a toilet, leftover food was scattered on the carpet. The best part was a trashbag full of human waste next to the bed. Closed the door and rang my boss.
The hotel had to completely renovate the whole room and the guest was charged a not so small amount of money (don't remember how much exactly.) This was the worst case that I came across but it happens more often then you think. Marverus
Lady Parts...
Worked at a high end resort with private homes, cabins, and a few general lodging buildings. One of the general buildings had 11 rooms and a common area on the first floor with a TV, fireplaces, etc. One of the private owners was staying in one of the rooms (think he home was being worked on, but she wanted to use the resort amenities).
She proceeded to get extremely drunk at dinner and go back to her room. It's close to midnight and I'm doing my final rounds before heading home for the night. I walk into the common area of the lodge and find Ms. Private Owner passed out on one of the coaches face down, @ss up in a night gown that was pulled up revealing all her parts.
I called my Night Audit to come help me rouse her and get her back to her room. I didn't want to be the only one there when she woke to avoid any type of harassment blame. We spent about 10 minutes trying to get her awake before she finally came to and let us carry her back to her room/bed. The whole time she was thanking us and asking us to "stay the night with her" wink wink. We refused, got her into bed with a bottle of water and some aspirin on the bedside table. She never mentioned anything to either of us again. Wthermans
The Morgue.
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Dead people. Sadly, if you work in this profession, on a long enough timeline, this will happen. MrShkreliRS
Yep you get to be maintenance, housekeeping, coroner, and everything else for $10 an hour with no food or bathroom breaks for 8 hours + SuperHotelWorker2007
"ACTION!"
Not Staff but a guest. I was staying at a Hotel in Tennessee. I think it was a Holiday Inn. This was like 5 years ago. So I was in my room watching TV during the day. I hear what sounds like sex in the room next to mine. It keeps going on for a few hours. There were a number of breaks and stops during it. I could hear the guy asking If she was alright and how she was doing. she was really loud and hamming it up. I eventually put it together, that they were filming a porn. A_Drunk_Monkey
And your name is?
As a guest, weirdest thing that ever happened was that a really cute blonde in a suit walked straight into my room. I was seated naked on the couch talking to my SO and I jumped up in shock. Ensued a really awkward moment.
Apparently she got the wrong room + her key card could open ours (a master key?)... still not sure how this could ever happen. Hotel compensated us with champagne. dw_jb
You're a Doll....
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There was this one guy who stayed at least one night every week and he always requested the same room. We thought he was maybe making drug deals or something so we searched the room after he checked out one day.
Turns out he was hiding a blowup doll under the mattresses. We threw it away and he only came back once after that. I kinda felt bad for him. AbohZati
So. Rude.
We had a high school soccer tournament in town for a few days. When I went to clean the room, I was initially very excited because the beds were already made, so I just had to clean the bathroom, vacuum, and take out the trash.
I put my hand on one of the beds while I was getting back up from picking something up off the floor and heard this awful crunch. Pull back the sheet, and there's a layer of potato chips all spread out between the bottom and top sheets.
I had to strip both beds and remake them, and then vacuum again because of how many chips ended up on the floor during that process. I was blessed to not have that room again during their stay, but over the next several days other housekeepers discovered similar incidents involving shaving cream, craft supplies, and silly string. Little animals.
It wasn't the grossest room I ever cleaned by a long stretch, but I feel like its a better story than forgotten anal beads, booze bottles, and the general grossness of people who do their own hair removal in hotel bathrooms. (Honest to God, you'd think an alpaca got drunk in the shower.) MrsMeredith
Roar and Run!
A bear.
First, you gotta understand that a lot needs to happen for this to occur. Our lowest floor, was still about a meter and a half from the ground, and each outside room had a balcony rail. However, a guest had decided to want to unload his motorcycle from his truck and leave the ramp down, so (I'm assuming) he could ride the bike up when he was done.
The guest that was staying in the room had room service, decided to leave the food uncovered and the balcony doors open, and later went to the hotel pool/spa to relax. Upon returning, they had gone to us at reception and said that there was a bear in the room. Puzzled, we quietly approached the room and slowly opened the door. Lo and behold, there was a bear eating room service and making a mess of my afternoon.
We called Parks Canada to deal with it. Guest was not charged a cleaning fee. little_asian_man_89
Snap....
A woman came down to the front office and told me her TV isn't working and it needs to be fixed. I told her I could do it but I would be in her room and if that's fine with her.
She told me to go ahead and left the hotel. I went to her room and walked to the TV. Looking at her bed I saw a ball choker, cuffs and a whip. I was like. Damn girl.... Well I fixed her TV and saw her the next day on check out. explision
I can't breathe!!
Entering the room was like walking into a giant's bladder. The smell of pee - ancient, stale, concentrated pee - was overwhelming, and my first thought was that I was going to find the sheets or carpets soaked, or the toilet overflowing. But despite the smell, there wasn't a drop of urine anywhere, or any visible source for the phantom pee stench.
What there was was noodles. Two empty bags of takeaway from the Wagamama's next door, and all the contents upended into the bed. The white sheets were slick with noodles and duck teriyaki, the smell mingling with the pee-miasma that filled the room.
As I gingerly pulled the noodle-soaked sheets from the bed, a huge, greasy c**k-pump covered in semen rolled out and flopped onto the floor. The bin contained used c**k-rings. I cleaned the room as best I could, and tried my best to cover up the smell with air-fresheners, but nothing could get rid of the smell. The room was offline for days, just trying to air out the stink. CelestialMollusc
Meow....
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Cats. Cats everywhere. And a $100 tip with a not that said, "thanks for taking care of these guys, be back in a week."
She didn't come back. Flapdoodle65
You're Hilarious. Not.
My buddies and I created such a scenario once. We had just finished up the Marine Corps Ball in Vegas and our buddy was still passed out drunk when we went to check on him. So we rolled him up in every sheet and blanket we could find so the cleaning staff would stumble across him then waited in the room next door. Sure enough, the cleaning lady shows up and unearths a 6'4" 245 pound Marine much to both of their surprise. He screamed like a girl and she started swearing at him in Spanish. It was hilarious. Vict0r117
16? That's Ambitious!
Not me, but my wife worked for a well known hotel chain. She had a call to send up 12 bottles of champagne to one of the high end suites. She walked in to Mike Tyson with 16 scantily clad Asian escorts. callingacrab
When we're intoxicated, or even the slightest bit tipsy from having a little too much to drink, our immediate perspective on things is hazy.
But there's nothing like a bit of alarming news or a jarring incident to snap us out of the fog and focus on the moment.
Sometimes alcohol isn't always to blame for our impairment.
It can be a state of mind, like a perpetual numbness from being complacent in life, and all it takes is one shocking moment to rattle us back to our senses.
Curious to hear from strangers online about this type of scenario, Redditor Known_Challenge_7150 asked:
"What’s one thing that sobered you up real quick?"
These individuals were witness to shocking events that sobered them up right quick.
Bleeding Out
"Got out of a taxi and found a naked man profusely bleeding from his head crawling up the driveway in my condo. Called him an ambulance completely forgot I was absolutely wasted until 45 minutes later when I'd helped him translate and in to an amublance and stepped in my front door."
"Later a few days later learned he'd slipped in the tub and literally crawled out for help. Poor dude. He was fine but I genuinely thought he was going to die there."
– DongLaiCha
Tragic News
"At a bachelor party and we got a phone call that the groom’s father had suddenly passed."
– accountnameredacted
Bottom Of The Barrel
"I went to visit my parents back in July. I was homeless and deep into fentanyl addiction so I lost a lot of weight. My folks could see it. They knew something was up. Anyway, I spent the night and I was getting ready to leave in the morning and I looked at myself in the mirror for a good long time. I finally had enough and told them everything. They took me to detox, from there I went to rehab. Graduated in August and been living with them ever since then. I have 160 days clean and sober."
– Crotch-Monster
A reality check can be enough for some people to snap out of it.
Like Father, Like Son
"Was driving a drunk friend home, he had been on a bender again and was smart enough to call me for a lift rather than try and drive. As I helped in to his house his mother came down the stairs and said 'your as drunk as your father' and went back upstairs. I haven't seen him drunk since then, he still drinks but the thought of turning into his dad scared him out of hard drinking."
– psycospaz
Busted
"Flashing blue lights."
– FiddleOfGold
"This sobered me up just thinking about it."
– redmaple_syrup
Losing Sight
"Woke up to no sight in one eye. I had cataract surgery so just thought one of the lenses had slipped and it was an easy fix. Eye doc says nope, you had a stroke. I loved soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and salty food, which caused high blood pressure, which caused retina damage. Over six months was able to get most of my eyesight back with medication, and all back within a year. Trying to navigate life with one eye was very sobering. Started taking HBP much more seriously."
– MissHibernia
Quitting The Bottle
"Looked up someone I went to highschool with who was an awesome guy. Found out he had been dead for 3 years from alcoholism, at age 33. I made an overnight change. I hadn't started drinking that night yet, 10 months ago. Haven't touched it again since."
– omgtater
These disturbing moments were enough for Redditors to immediately come to their senses.
Unplanned House Guests
"Me and a buddy Woke up in someone’s living room, realized neither one of us knew the people, they were just nice and let 2 drunk guys sleep on their living room floor. We didn’t even say goodbye."
– Oneinsevenbillion75
Serious Health Warning
"Elevated liver enzymes."
"And the knowledge that this sh** was gonna kill me and I just couldn't orphan my family over it."
"So I opted for recovery, instead."
"Clean and sober since June 5, 2009."
– Far_Meal8674
The Joyride
"Grew up in a rural area. The little town hosted dances at the hockey arena, everyone (adults and kids) went and they overserved everyone, regardless of age. I was maybe 16 or 17 and was absolutely sh*tfaced, and jumped in the back of someone's truck with about 8 other people to go back to someone's cottage for after dance drinking. The driver (still don't know who it was) started racing one of his buddies and we whipped around small dirt roads, flying around blind corners on the wrong side of the road, going god knows how fast. It was basically a disaster waiting to happen. It was crazy scary and I was sober and thankful to be alive when we finally arrived."
– foxfood9116
The human psyche is a fascinating thing, isn't it?
How we can automatically focus on something urgent at a crucial time, even after getting buzzed from drinking too much alcohol.
But as we're in the thick of the holidays, it's a good reminder to drink responsibly and stay off the roads if you drive to your celebratory destination.
Cheers. Stay safe. And happy holidays.
We've all complained or vented about something in our lives which, in the grand scheme of things, wasn't exactly a problem, or is very easily solved.
Then there are those who complain about things that others almost hope will happen to them at some point in their lives.
These are known as "first world problems", as they are problems that pretty much only the world's one percent faces.
From having to fly business class instead of first class, or being served Roederer instead of Dom Pérignon, these complaints are often met with amusement, bewilderment, or even anger.
Redditor jennimackenzie was curious to hear the most absurd "first world problems" anyone ever complained about, leading them to ask:
"What’s the most ridiculous 'first world problem' you’ve seen people get worked up over?"
"Tale As Old As Time..."
"I once knew a mom who was legitimately devastated, to the point of tears/grief, because a doctor predicted her 8 year old daughter's final height to be around 5'2","
"Which wasn't tall enough to get cast as Belle at Disney World."
"That was the child's (and her mother's) only dream in life, apparently."
"Didn't appreciate my suggestion that she could be Minnie or Mickey."
"Lol!"
"Only a face character would do!"- TravelLovingMom
"Must Be Funny, In A Rich Man's World..."
"My boss from about a decade ago was this insanely rich dude who always went to the bank to get fresh and crisp currency."
"He'd call the bank in advance to make sure they had some on hand."
"I think he was a germaphobe."
"He had a trash can that he'd throw $1 and $5 bills in that he thought was 'dirty' and regularly just donated it vs spending it."
"I asked him why he did this and he said it was too much trouble and asked if I wanted it."
"I said f*ck yeah dumped it into my bag and when I got home it was close to $400 in singles and fives.
"Another time, he wanted to upgrade all the computers in his studio, so we went to a store and bought 10 PCs."
"They all had $150 mail in rebates and he wasn't bothered to go through the trouble of mailing them in."
"3 weeks later I received $1500 after spending a whole afternoon filling out all those goddamn forms."- azninvasion2000
Money Burn GIF by nog
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Who Wore It Better?
"When I was about 19 years old, I was at my boyfriends family BBQ."
"I was wearing this pretty floral sundress."
"His cousins girlfriend showed up in the same dress and she was SO mad that she went and changed."
"I will never understand being upset when someone is wearing the same thing as you.'
"Did you really think that your shirt you bought off the rack is going to be unique to you?"
"No."- mertsey627
Seeing Red! Or Blue In This Case...
"The blue of the balloons wasn't quite the same as the bridesmaid's sashes."
"Years ago my wife and I attended a wedding."
"It was very low key."
"The dinner was in the dining hall at the university where the couple met, cinder block walls and all."
"It was a Baptist wedding - no booze and very serious."
"The dark blue balloons attempting to liven up the hall were a slightly darker shade of blue than the sashes on the bridesmaid's dresses."
"The bride lost here sh*t and absolutely raved for nearly an hour."
"I can't remember how they finally managed to talk her down."- mechant_papa
south park wedding GIF
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See You In Court!
"Rich neighbors who end up in expensive court battles because they disagree about where a tree can be planted or whether the color of a fence fits in with the street’s 'amenity'."
'These disputes get really heated and rack up huge lawyers’ bills."
"The most pathetic part is after the judgement when they are arguing about who should pay the other party’s costs."
"Lots of affidavits filed citing the 'emotional distress' they had to endure, or painting themselves as brave warriors who were forced to take a stand to fight for 'justice'."
"Also lots of pompous litigants insisting that the judge refer to them by their 'Dr' title."
"An absolutely insane dumpster fire of entitled rich people problems."- ElectrocRaisin
It's Always People With Money Who Don't Want To Pay!
"I work in a public library."
"People will get so so mad if they have to be put on a wait list for a book."
"A popular book that just came out."
"Ok our services are not only free but so are the books."
"You’re welcome, a**holes."- Switchbladekitten
A Warm Butt Is A Happy Butt!
"My own."
"We have a bidet toilet seat (Fabulous! Everyone should have one!) and not only does it wash your bum and blow dry it, but the seat's heated!"
"It's shocking how much a heated toilet seat makes the whole process more agreeable."
"Except: We had a power outage and I went to use the toilet and the seat was cold!"
"Unacceptable!"
"This shall not stand!"
"I was really upset because it didn't feel good."
"Then I stopped and thought: This is the most first-world problem anyone's ever had."
"I was really pissed because my heiny was tepid."
"I got over it."- DeathGrover
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Holy Matrimony!
"Weddings are a gold mine for this question."
"People get so hyped up over their 'most important day of their life'."
"They'll destroy friendships, go into debt, and have crazy expectations."
"It's not always the couple who go crazy, either."
"Sometimes, it's the parents or another family member who feels entitled to control the wedding."
"It's just a party."
"Be considerate of guests, have plenty of food and drinks, and enjoy it."- magicrowantree
When Fast Food Isn't Fast Enough...
"Having to pull off to the side to wait for a drive-thru order to be brought out to you because your food isn't ready and there's a line building up behind you."- demanbmore
In Case You Don't Think Customer Service Employees Are Undervalued...
"I was working the return desk at a Target next to a military base so I have so many stories."
"One of my favorites was a lady who had her baby shower before revealing the gender and was livid that she had received floral newborn diapers when she’s having a boy."
"It was a huge box of super expensive, all organic diapers, that we didn’t carry and therefore could not return."
"I cannot accurately express her fury and disgust."
"How dare either suggest her boy could wear feminine diapers."
"I suggested she donate them if she didn’t want to use them and she instead threw away the entire box."
"When she left we pulled it out and threw it in our donate bin."
"There have also been multiple times where mom’s order massive toys and when we bring them out to the car they get furious that they aren’t wrapped."
"We don’t offer wrapping services."
"Here’s the thing, if you don’t want your kids to see the toys you got them for Christmas or their bit to day DON'T BRING THE CHILD WHEN YOU PICK IT UP."
'I’ve had multiple women scream and curse me out that I had ruined their kids Christmas by bringing the toys they ordered out to the car like they requested."- clever-mermaid-mae
Customer Service Waiting GIF by Juno Calypso
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Happiest Place On Earth!
"I used to work for Disney."
"That in itself should tell you everything."
"However for fun I'll give you two specific stories one form our tech department and one from my wife who worked bookings."
"I specifically worked for their call center to help with technical issues with magic band and the website."
"Suddenly got worse huh?"
"A right of passage call everyone has at least one story of is the 'Dome call'."
"Basically there is a subset of Disney Guest (TM) that believes if it rains at Walt Disney world there is someone that will push a button to encapsulate the whole of Disney property in a dome to keep out the rain."
"I'm not kidding."
"If this button is not pushed they call our tech department to angrily ask why."
"My wife worked booking."
"Pretty much everything including Bibbidi Bobbidi boutique and Pirate's league."
"These two things did roughly the same thing difference being price and theme."
"BBB was expensive did more and was focused on princesses, pirates league did a bit less and focused on mermaids and pirates."
"Lady called up my wife, and got pissed about BBB being booked up (It goes FAAAAST)."
"Karen: 'Im going to give the phone to my daughter and I want you to tell her how you are ruining her vacation by not letting her do BBB'."
"Wife proceeds to explain how pirate's league is so much cooler and how she can be a mermaid or pirate and basically gets the kid to start demanding to their parents about how they want to be a mermaid instead of a princess."- trollsong
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The horror!
Being booked into a junior suite at Disney World instead of an executive suite!
It's almost as bad as having no money for groceries, or no food to feed you children...
Said absolutely no one.