Three Things Hotel Clerks Don't Want You to Know
Confessions of a Former Front Desk Clerk and Guest Services Supervisor
From the time I was old enough to carry a work permit through high school graduation, I worked as a Guest Services Representative/Front Desk Clerk at an extremely well known chain hotel (which shall remain nameless). The last year of my employment at this large hotel I carried the title of Guest Services Manager, which allowed me to learn about even more of the insane inner workings of the hospitality industry.
As a former Front Desk Clerk and Guest Services Supervisor, I have compiled a list of the three most important things that hotel clerks don't want you to know:
I Can Give You a Lower Rate
When being trained to work as a Front Desk Clerk, employees learn the ins and outs of room rates. From upping the rates on dates in which the hotel is nearly booked to slowly lowering the prices when several rooms are available, don't fall for the old story that the clerk is not authorized to give you a better rate.
Nearly all large chain hotels offer a wide variety of minor discounts on room rates - that often are barely advertised or not advertised at all. Popular discounts include: military and or government worker discounts, senior citizen discounts, police and fire fighter discounts, frequent visitor discounts and programs, and AARP.
Your Room Only Appears to be Clean
Before assuming that your room has been fully sanitized, consider this: most chain hotels have a relatively small staff of housekeepers that only work until late morning/early afternoon check-out times. This means that the individuals cleaning rooms have a very small window of time to clean several guest rooms. On days in which each housekeeper must clean fifteen or twenty rooms in four hours, the uniform appearance is achieved as quickly and effortlessly as possible.
You Leave it, You Lost it
Throughout the three years that I worked at this particular hotel, I took endless telephone calls from former guests that had left personal items in their room. Jewelry, money, electronics, food, medication, clothing and much more were among the most popular items that would seemingly "disappear" from guest rooms on a regular basis.
Source:
Experience
Published by Mallory Collier
Born and raised in Southern Indiana, I have always had passion for hair, skin and nail care. I enjoy sharing my beauty victories, blunders and advice with others, as well as purchasing and experimenting wi... View profile
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20 Comments
Post a CommentExcellent article. Thank you!
People have NO idea how many rude, evil or just plain psycho people scream in our faces for things out of our control. If you are the one guest who is kind and treats the front desk staff like human beings, they will BEND OVER BACKWARDS, just for you, because you were the highlight of their shift. If a guest is mean, I will still help them, but it is solely to get them away from me and they will not get any extra effort on my part. I have worked other customer service jobs, and I can tell you, there is nothing quite like working at a hotel. So if I was to give a single piece of advice to people looking to stay in any hotel, it would be to be friendly with the desk. It will get you a long way toward a fantastic stay.
Here's the deal at the hotel i work for. I personally don't treat any customers differently based on whether they booked through a third party or through the hotel. Why? Because I get paid diddly squat and any extra money the hotel receives from guests booking from us instead of the third party NEVER goes in my pocket. Regardless of how they booked, the first people to arrive get their pick of rooms or the best rooms, until I get down to the most undesirable rooms (i.e. next to the elevator and ice machine). I do however, try to save some good rooms for any elite members or people who call and make requests beforehand.
I CANNOT STRESS ENOUGH how important a friendly attitude, or at least calm attitude is towards the front desk staff. Whoever said that you attract more bees with honey than vinegar is spot on. If a guest is checking in with a positive, friendly attitude, I will upgrade them without being asked. People have NO idea how many rude, evil or just plain psycho peopl
I was a hotel front desk clerk for years and here's another one we don't want you to know- we also jack up your room rates if you're a real jerk when you're checking in, or just becuase we're slow, because we have an Average Daily Rate (ADR) we have to hit to avoid getting yelled at. Which means, sorry, no discounts!
When I traveled a lot for business the only item that ever went missing from hotel room was the LA Lakers hat I got to bring home as a gift to a relative.
THIS IS GREAT! I try not to think about those germs in the room though. I mean, UGH!
Terrific topic and an interesting, informative article. Thanks!
I worked as a security guard at a Ramada Inn. Just by overhearing the front desk clerk, I could tell how things are run. Good article, Mallory!
A very enlightening article! It will now make me think twice on staying at a hotel. Good grief customer service is going downhill faster and faster nowadays.
It's good you're passing on your experiences to the general public. Once saw a programme about some of the scams guest would pull to get money out of the hotel. This article made me think of an Alan Patridge sketch. The girl at the desk puts up with Alan's silly remarks until he's about to leave and then she finally explodes...