Hotel Front Desk
Los Angeles, CA
Male, 27
For the past two years I've worked the front desk at a boutique luxury beachfront hotel in Southern California. My job can range from simply checking guests in & out to many other duties, including: pretending I work in different departments so that behind-the-scenes chaos is never seen by a guest, shielding guests from stalkers that come looking for them, and picking up used drug paraphernalia from a trashed room. Ask me anything.
This is the cheap internet searchable answer: "They are placed there by a group called a non-profit Christian organization called the Gideons. The Gideons are not preachers, but businessmen who feel called to help with this ministry. They raise money from churches and individuals and use this money to print and distribute Bibles to many places--wherever they are allowed to put them--such as hospitals, prisons, and motel rooms. Through feedback and letters they receive, they have learned of many people who picked up one of their Bibles in a desperate moment and found the faith to turn their lives around. All Marriott hotels have Book of Mormon, too, because Mr. Marriott is/was (don't know if he is still living or not) a Mormon." We don't have them at our property, so it must be an aging habit among hotel owners. Wouldn't it be cool to start a different trend, like placing a box of legos or something cooler in there? I guess whatever floats your boat...
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You would think that would automatically annoy a staff member, right? But when it boils down to it, you pulling the toilet paper or whichever supply off the cart yourself, and not calling the front desk or housekeeping asking them to pull someone away from their other duties to bring up just 1 item, is actually HELPING the hotel run faster and more efficiently. I say if you're a guest, and you actually NEED the item, not just taking it as a souvenir for the hell of it, go for it! If you're NOT a guest, and just passing through, then that's not a very nice thing to do, since ultimately lost items mean the paying guests will have to pay for that. If a housekeeper ever approached you as you were taking something from their cart, you could kindly explain that you needed the item and no one was around to give one to you. He or she should understand.
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It's so hard to point out one specific incident, but I would say the phone call from someone that makes me jump through dozens of hoops to get them a specific type of reservation (for some callers, this process takes weeks of back and forth), who then cancels for no apparent reason. I mean this is someone who's had me also book them a car service, massages, dinner reservations, made me go to my Director of Sales to see if I can get them a rock-bottom rate, and I work so hard for so long out of the goodness of my heart, and then...sorry! Cancelled. Second place to that would be guests of guests being the hardest ones to deal with, asking for things that the hotel would and should never actually provide as a service, when they're not even the ones paying for the room! That to me is crazy.
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Probably gunshot wound to the foot of a John in the lobby being attended to by his hooker at midnight. Kind of tops it all, I think.
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Movie Theater Employee
Why is movie theater food so overpriced?
McDonald's Manager
Were you proud or embarrassed to tell people you worked at McDonald's?
Professional Reseller
What kind of mark-ups can you fetch on the clothing you resell from thrift stores?
Hotel laundry services are mroe expensive because of how many levels of service they encompass. Compare, say, taking your own laundry to the dry cleaners and picking it up. You're on the time schedule, say 2-3 days on average, of the cleaner, you're doing the leg work of taking it there and picking it up, etc. With a hotel you literally do nothing except drop the laundry in a bag and in many instances never even have to take it out of your room, so the extra costs are associated with the door-to-door services and all the steps in between that cost the cleaners, and in turn, the hotel extra money. Most of the guests that pay for it are the business travelers that can expense the cost, or on occasion someone who has the extra money around but is too busy to take care of it their selves. That type of guest is able to spend on laundry but also valet and all of the other usual extra services.
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I wish i could have answered your question earlier Jerilyn, because it sounds like you may have needed the answer in the moment, but in any event, you should be fine to visit a hotel room and knock on the door if ever you feel there is a legitimate reason. Even with a Do Not Disturb Sign on the door, you still have the right to ask a question of a guest if you feel that his or her safety, or the safety of others, is in jeopardy. It's often a good idea to bring another staff member with you so that if the situation into which you're entering is sensitive, you have a witness that can later prove that you did the right thing, if it comes to that. I would just follow procedure, and do what you know is legally and morally right, and you'll be fine.
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You can always complain or ask to change rooms, however booking through third-party sites without doing independent research first, including contacting the hotel directly to ask questions, can often leave you not getting what you expected. If you call us directly to ask us what our hotel is like, we WANT to telly you and really appreciate the call. That way we can get you into the type of room you want, and if you're staying for a week, who knows, maybe we'll get you a better rate than bookit.com!
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