Ehhh... where am I?

Have you ever have to deal with someone who lost his memory?
It happened to me once during a night shift.
I was doing my work when around midnight of a busy night two ladies steped to the far end of the reception. They tried to get my attention with a few “Hello” and “Excuse me”. I must admit that at first I didn’t even notice them and that when I did I was a bit irritated. Why couldn’t they come closer to me when they were seeing that I was working on my computer? I was about to find out the reason.
I went over to them. One tall blond lady wearing a skirt and a blouse and a more petite lady wearing…. Well, at first I thought she was wearing a business suit until I noticed that in fact she was wearing only a large jacket. And that was it!
I was baffled and out of embarrassment I looked at the “dressed” lady who started to explain the situation. She was coming back from a dinner with colleagues and was going up to her room via the staircase. There, much to her surprise I think, she found the second lady. Completely naked and with no clue what she was doing there. Thinking of it, it was a funny situation. But that night I was just wondering in which big mess I was being thrown. Drug scandal? Rape? Prostitution?
I looked at the half naked lady again and she started asking me where she was. Which city, which hotel… Man, this must be a prank! Where are the hidden cameras? Questions like these are only asked in movies!
At least she managed to mumble her name and I was relieved in finding out that she was actually one of our guests.
I couldn’t possible leave the reception at that time and the first lady offered to accompany our “Miss nakedness” up to her room. I guess she was starting getting worried about her jacket.
When she came back I asked her if she had noticed anything strange in the room. Alcohol, drugs, pills… Luckily that was not the case.
The rest of the night was more on the normal side. But I took care to ask the night cleaner to check all floors and staircases for naked ladies. He was more than happy to oblige and even a bit disappointed when he didn’t find anybody wandering around.
At the end of my shift I explained my colleagues the situation and asked them to check on the guest later during the morning. Then I went home to sleep, but as soon as I woke up I called the hotel to have some news about my latest friend. Apparently the strangest thing that happened was that she actually checked out acting as nothing had ever happened.
Well, maybe she forgot…

Relationships

Have you ever had a relationship with one of your work colleagues?
Many of you will say "No, are you crazy?!" I simply ask you "Why?"
Let me tell you this: It is a great thing if you work in the same company but in different offices/departments. You have the same boss, but you will face different problems, challenges, tasks while running into each other during the day. Wha better ccasion to share a wink and a smile? You will be able to sneak in the occasional kiss or caress. Meaningful smiles and looks will appear on your face. You will be able to call each others office pretending to talk about work while just wanting to hear the other persons voice. Or how about spending lunch break together?
Personally I find it soothing that my girl is near me.
At home you will be able to discuss what happened at work and the other person will actually know what and who you are talking about. And after bitching a bit about coworkers and the management it is great to put those issues aside!
I firmly believe that it is a great thing. Just remember to remain always professional on the job (at least when others can see you).
Now you will insit that there are also downside to this situation. Well, of course there will be gossip about you. But there always is, so nothing new here. Same goes for discussions, fights, etc. It will only make you become closer.
The real risk is that seeing each other every day at work and at home, is that you might start taking the other person as granted, as someone who is always there in any case. The time you spend together at work is great but it is not the same as being just the two of you. So become inventive! You will have quality time together as well as decent quantity.
I suppose the greatest problem arises if you should break up one day. That is of course a real possibility, but you can deal with it as well. You can decide that you are mature enough to continue working in the same company together. You might decide that it is time to look for a new job. Actually it can be the motivation you were looking for to make a radical change!
I went through all of these steps and I wouldn't trade them for the world.

Ghosts

You know which is one of the most haunted places on earth? The hotel reception of course!

The ghost, or sometimes ghosts, roaming our workplace are a weired bunch. They do not want to scare you to death. No, they take their pleasure from moving objects around. Or from making them disappear.

Have you ever needed a pen but suddenly there was none to be found? You were sure you had plenty just a minute ago, weren't you?

You need some scrap paper? A stapler? A city map? You look frantically around you. Nothing... When finally you find them on the other side of the reception and asked who moved them: Nobody!

Doesn't this make shivers run down your spine?! Nobody touches anything but things continue to disappear only to surface again in the oddest places. When you're lucky that is... Once it happened to me that an important report vanished never to be found again! And of course nobody even went near it. One moment it was on the desk, the next... puff!

So forget English castles, cemeteries or abandoned houses. The place with the most paranormal activity is without a doubt in hotels!

I always wanted to become a...

How have you started your career? Have you always known what you wanted to be? Have you tried different paths before finding your very own?

Personally I have always lived in a hotel as part of the managing family. Helping out was never a problem. Washing some dishes (that was fun, you should try it!), a bit of filing and helping here and there. Until one day I was ordered to the Reception!
Staff shortage.. You all know what I'm talking of. That's why one day I had to put on my suit, shirt and a tie and went to work at 7 am. What an ungodly hour!
My career moved at the speed of light! After only 3 months I was responsible of the reception. The staff shortage had just become a staff disappearance! Basically the work schedule was like this:
morning shift: me
late shift: my 22 year old cousin
night shift: another poor soul
Of course when we had many arrivals or departures we worked a few extra hours or work a double shifft. But help was on its way! A 19 year old intern...
This period lasted for a bit more than a month. But how did we end up in this situation? Very easy. One day a new receptionist had to start but never showed up while on the same day a girl quit. Actually she asked for holidays and when she didn't get them she ran away. She even left all her clothes at the hotel. I wonder who was chasing her. But that's a different story...

It was fun in a way and I must say that I learned a lot. Over here they say that if your in shit up to your neck, you will learn how to swim. They must be right!

That is MY room!!!

First of all I have to admit that this story has been told to me by a collegue during a training program. I was assured that it is a true story, but you never know. Nevertheless I found it funny, so here we go:
Everyone who works at the reception knows those regular guests who always want the same room. It has to be the same one. Not the same size and form on the same floor. Not the same one on a different floor. The very same it must be!
Generally it's not a problem. The guest books in advance and you block the room. Easy! Sometimes the guest books the same day though. Of course only when "his" room is already allocated to someone else.
The main character of this story was a middle ages businessman who visited the hotel a few days almost every week of the year. He always got the same room, until day x. When he found out that the room was already occupied by a different client he got quite mad and loud. To no avail the Duty Manager assured him that he would get an even nicer room, a free upgrade, a free drink at the bar etc. Mr Businessman could not be satisfied without "his" room.
The accident ended there. The client finally accepted a different accomodation, but remained grumpy for the rest of the stay.
A few months later though, renovation works started on several floors. The airconditioning and heating had to be changed and get modernized. Some parts of the ceiling in each room had to be removed. When the workes started on our heros room ceiling a plastic bag fell down from behind one of these ceiling panels
Guess what they found in the bag. An inflatable doll! No wonder the guest got angry when he couldn't have his room. Someone was already waiting for him!

As I said at the beginning, I don't know if this is a true story, but everytime I check in one of these guests who always insist on the same room I can't help but wonder what they might be hiding!

Hello!

Good morning and welcome to hotel xy! Reception speaking, my name is John. Thank you for calling, how may I help you?

Honestly, do you like these answers when you call a hotel? And do you understand or even listen to any of that? Has it ever happened to you that you open your mouth to speak but realize that the person on the other side of the line wasn't done?

The one above is by far not one of the longest I've heared or were forced to recite. But all hotel manuals and all standard procedures ask of you to waste your breath and the callers time! I'm not completely against them. I'm surely against giving your name. What for? Who cares? "The caller will have the feeling to know you, feel more at ease..." Don't make me laugh!

And the longer the presentation the less enthusiasm a receptionist will show when answering the phone.

I tried to speak loud and clear, but my doubts return when I get these answers to my "standard answer":

- Good morning, is this the hotel xy? (come on, what did I just say?)

- Hi, I would like to open a new bankaccount. (Sure, send me the money, I'll take care of it!)

- Hello, I need an appointment with the gynecologist (Hmmm...no clever answer to that)

- My electricity bill is too high, can I speak with you? (No)

- Oh, hi Stephanie! (ok, the hotel had "Stephanie" in its name, but I surely don't have a girls voice!)

- any other call where they think they are speaking with a differnt hotel and start asking for roomnumbers that don't exist, clients who have never checked in etc

So my suggestion is to keep it short, smile while answering the phone (it will be easier with a short greeting) and sometimes just forget manuals and unflexible standards. You are in a hotel, not in the army!

Overbooking

This is a cry for help to all Revenue and Reservation Managers: Please, do not exagerate with overbooking!!!

Do you know this situation when you start your shift and you see -3,4,5 or even more rooms on the "available rooms" screen. All of us hope that the guests will arrive late of course, so that the Night Manager will have to deal with them. Guess what the Night Manager hopes for...

Let me tell you about 3 situations that occurred to me.

The first one happened on December 31st. Yes, New Years Eve. You plan your trip with your girlfriend (or boyfriend) taking care even of the smallest detail... Oh, it will be so very special! You don't know how right you are!

When I started my shift that day it was already busy at the reception. Early check ins of course! So while answering questions, handing out city maps and verifying the cashier I managed to have a glance at the occupation for the day. -25. What??? There must be a mistake? That was not the same situation as yeasterday. Not even close!

Someone forgot to block the dates on a few booking sites... And as you can imagine the city was full on that day. So where should we send them?At 6pm we already ran out of rooms. I went back to the Front Office Manager as new clients approached and he just looked at me and asked "What do you want me to do?".

My memories of the final part of my shift are only a blur. I remember calling all possible hotels in the area, sending people out to a nearby residence , calling taxis and paying them. I remember a lady coming back crying and screaming at us that we ruined what should have become the best day of her life. I also remember a couple who turned out to be also working in a hotel and living nearby. They understood the situation, went back home and left us their room. I could have kissed them!

I don't know how we managed, but we found a bed for everyone.

When my shift ended I went out, had a few drinks and went to bed exhausted. I was so happy that I didn't have to check into a hotel!

The second situation happened while I was doing my nightshift. I heared the elevator coming up from the parking and a few seconds later a tired businessman was standing in front of me. It was 1.15 am and of course we were fully fully booked.

I started the standard procedure of avoiding the clients eyes, clearing my throat and deciding which was the best excuse to use. Of course OUR hotel is NEVER overbooked! A family with a sick kid had to stay one night longer, the heating stopped working on a whole floor late in the evening, a bad witch made a floor disappear. But we never, ever overbook our rooms!

The funny part was of course that the states bigges fair was being held in that period and the only room I could propose was about 120 km from our hotel (and if the guest didn't have his own car we would have had to pay for the taxi...). I prepared myself for the worst verbal aggression. But nothing came. I was baffled and relieved and felt really sorry for this client.

By the way, this guest became a regular and every time he arrived late in the evening. I made sure we always had a room for him!

On a different occasion a lady refused to leave the hotel. So we borrowed a roll-away bed from the hotel next to us and put it into a conference room. This room was on the groundfloor, streetside, had glass walls and only an almost transparrent curtain to block the view. The shower was... in the fitnessroom. So the guest had only to walk through all of the gallery and take the elevator downstairs. But she was happy and slept for free!

So, dear Revenue and Reservation Managers: Please do not exagerate with the overbooking. Or one day we will revolt and t5hrow you into the angry mob of guests waiting for alternative accomodation.

Saving money

Yes, yes, we're still in a deep crisis. Or so they say.
Looking around though you can see that people have started acting weired. They would do anything to save a penny. Well almost. This is just one example that happened to me:
I was working at the reception of a 5 star hotel during a lazy afternoon when I looked up from my computer and saw a couple in front of me. Behind them one kid. No, there were two of them. Ehh...where did the third one come from? Presumably from the same place the forth one was coming. I wasn't aware of this check in. I had some single rooms arriving and some double rooms, but this??? I immediately started to do what all professionals do in this situation: sweat, look for an excuse for the missing reservation and sending very bad thoughts to our Reservation Manager. Of course at the same time I was politely smiling and welcoming our guests.
Then they told me their name. Hang on, I knew this name. I had it on my arrivals list! Good, then I only mis-read the roomtype! Immediately the sweating stopped and the apologies to our excellent Reservation Manager started.
But I let out my sigh of relief too soon. The computer said: 1 twin room
I decided I would just point that out to the guest and see what would happen. To my amazement, Mrs Guest (who was quite large) confirmed this, while Mr Guest (even larger) asked if maybe we could change that to a double bed. You know, he said, it's more comfortable. And the children I asked? They will sleep with us in the same bed of course.
Of course! What could I do at that point? I used another well known and always effective trick of the Receptionist trade and let my jaw drop to the ground while collecting my thoughts and ask myself if I had some problems with my ears.
I dared to ask if we should open the sofa bed for a small supplement, but i was shushed by a simple question: What would they need that for?
That was when I decided to admit my defeat in understanding some people and gave them the keys to their room. I looked after them as they walked over to the elevator happy as can be. Guys, they didn't even all fit in the elevator!!!
What can we do? We are in a crisis and we need to save money. But luckily this leads sometimes to funny situations and a good laugh is worth a lot of money!

How many are you???

Group check ins are great! Group check ins are easy and fast! Group check ins... can become a nightmare!This particular check in happened a few years ago. It was early in the afternoon of a nice saturday in summer, the sun was shining and I was on my way to a nice BBQ with friends. Ah... the perfect day was what I was thinking. Then my phone rang...My collegue, who was working alone (remember, group check ins are easy, so why have 2 receptionists work on this magnificent day?) called me asking if I could run down to the hotel to help him. Something was wrong with the group booking. I must admit I was somewhat relieved. My collegue was laughing and the hotel was on my way anyways. This couldn't be so bad. I arrived at the hotel in shorts, t-shirt and sunglasses, only to be met by a full entry hall, an angry GM and a laughing collegue. It was a hysterical laughing. A small detail I had missed over the phone...So what the hell had happened? The group arrived, my collegue started handing out keys and useful information. The problem was that at a certain point the prepared keys came to an end, but people kept coming to the reception asking for a room key. ??? was what appeared on my poor collegues head before he started getting nervous, called me and the GM and wondered how to get out of this situation. So I sat down in the backoffice in my very professional shorts and started reading the correspondence of the booking. It was quite thick and I wondered what could have gone wrong with so many written details. After a few minutes reading we noticed something strange: why would an agency use two different letterheads?

Very easy! It was not the same agency! So it were two different bookings, two different groups and one big common mess!

The only positive aspect was that we had enough free rooms. So we sent the rest of the guests to their rooms and in the new found calm we started looking for answers to our new questions: Who belongs to which group? Who is in which room? How are we going to calculate the amount for the bill? But most important: Who the was the Einstein who stapled the two reservations together?! The first three questions were not too hard to answer in the end. It just took some time. The last one will remain a big mystery until the end of time. Of course nobody had done it!I spend a good part of the afternoon checking in the group, cross checking number of guests, names, room numbers and in the end we managed to finish it all. We actually worked so well that the clients would thank us for the nice stay. No, not in a sarcastic way, in a truthful way!

And hey, it was even as fun as having a BBQ in the sun! Ok, this is a huge lie! At least my friends were nice enough to leave me a few ribs, sausages and a few cold beer that day! What is true though is that even though you know that you will never get payed for the extra time, people will continue asking of you to be flexible and work strange shifts, you even have to skip BBQs, it feels so damn good to come out well of such a sticky situation!

Welcome!

Welcome!
How else could I start this blog? Is there any more important word for people in hospitality?
I don't know how you got here. If you were directed to this page. If you stumbled on it by chance or overheared someone talk about it. It doesn't matter anyways. Welcome to everybody!
You might start wondering what this is all about. If there is a sense to it all... That, my dear friend, is all to see! On these pages you will find stories. True stories, funny stories. Probably some sad ones too. Maybe a few confessions, secrets unveiled. But most important of all it will allow you to have a look behind the scenes of a hotel. Things you never dared to ask. Things you never thought you might ask. Things you really don't care about. But they all come in a package!
So move on. Lean back, relax and start reading.