r/hotels

Dear fellow hotel receptionists, this post is adressed to you, because my job is on the line, and I'm running out of solutions. I accidentally pre-authorised the Booking.com virtual card of a reservation that I thought was payment on arrival. Realising the mistake that I had made, I debited the amount of the pre-authorisation (€50), planning to collect the rest of the payment (€125.50) right after. Alas, I had forgotten that we could only charge a virtual card once, even when we charged an amount smaller than planned. I have been calling Booking.com 15 times for the last 8 days, begging them to create another virtual card with the remaining amount (Expedia do it so easily) but they just wouldn't cooperate. Their behaviour is just so weird; they lead me on half of the timen telling me they can see that indeed we only debited €50 out of the €175.50 we were supposed to charge. As if they were trying to buy themselves some time and try to get me off the phone. But every time I chase them, they tell me "well on our side it appears that the full amount was taken, so there's nothing we can do, please call your card reader provider". Even when I point them out the the fact that they wouldn't assist me on collecting the money that THEY owe us is like stealing, they wouldn't help.

Please if you have any advice, I would be ever so grateful. Of course it was my mistake to begin with, but I'm only human, and no matter what, our hotel deserve to be paid for the service provided.

When looking for a specific hotel and searching a broad area it shows $75 a night, but then when I zoom in and search a detailed area where I was looking if there were any closer locations (there wasnt) but when I did that and clicked "search this area" it shows $98?... I wish I could show pictures of it bc I dont understand, because theres not a hotel right next to it thats the other price, both prices are showing for the same hotel.

Going to tenerife for a week with my girlfriend of 1 year late june. Holiday is paid and booked for but hotel offers all inclusive. Is it worth or can i add it on when i get there?

We also dont have a credit card between us so will this be an issue?

And idk what to expect so any and all advice / tips appreciated.

Thanks

Background: I'm looking for ways to advertise and take bookings for a little old motel but I'm a little concerned about screwing it up and getting fired lol - are there potential setbacks or pitfalls with booking.com?

I have a non-refundable room in Vienna booked at this fabulous hotel for May 30 to June 3 (four nights). I just found out I need surgery and have to cancel my trip! The hotel won’t refund even with medical documentation. Any suggestions on what I can do other than leave this room empty? It was €1666! Any advice is welcome.

Anybody else work in the industry that gets absolutely irritated at the default usage of handicapped accessible rooms from third-party sites?

I recently started helping manage a hotel I inherited from my parents. It’s a bit older, but occupancy is still fairly stable mainly because of the location.

I’m trying to understand where hotel owners think investments are actually worth it, especially for an older property. Everyone talks about renovations, but I feel like there are smaller or overlooked things that improve guest experience, operations, or long-term profitability. For those who own or manage hotels, what investments gave you the best ROI? Trying to avoid wasting money on things that look nice but don’t really much needed

Hi guys,

So yeah, basically what it says in the title.

I became a hotel sales manager by being in the right place at the right time.

It is a small hotel, 40 rooms, I am the only person in sales(hence must be the manager I guess lol) but other than tourism high-school I don't have any other education. I've actually been at this position for more than 2 years and I dont know what am I doing yet.

Owners are coming from another industry and had money so they figured, hey, let's build a hotel.

I came as a receptionist and stayed in sales as they asked me do I want the job.

Funny thing is, I've had better results than people that were on this position before me but I'm lost.

What do hotel sales usually do every day?

How do I find new contacts/travel agencies, how do I approach them?

I haven't even touched marketing, I only do cold calls here and there to travel agencies.

We never went on any travel fair, atleast not all this time I am here, not sure if that is something we should do?

Should I do something with marketing also or is that not my job. I'd still love to start with that, acquire a new skill maybe. I will start an internet marketing course on Monday.

Sorry if the story is all over the place, I can't really focus on typing as I'm on the job (doing nothing as most of the time).

TL:DR-I work in hotel sales, have no idea what I'm doing, most of the days I do nothing and I'm just rotting away and feeling guilty but don't know what and how to do it.

Why do people make reservations under their own name when they know they won’t be there for check in 😭😭😭 PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD put the name of whoever is going to be at check in as the reservation holder 😭😭😭

I am looking for a really good hotel that is worth the money for downtown Los Angeles.

We are going to Toms Watch Bar for a big UFC fight and are going to be staying down in LA for the weekend. Might go out to go bars/clubs after but we dont really kow the area. I know Hollywood has some clubs bars but if DTLA has some too we might stay there.

My top places are:

The Hoxton

Sheraton Grand

InterContinental Los Angeles Downtown by IHG

Hotel Indigo

Hotel Figueroa, Unbound Collection by Hyatt

Its going to be 2 people in the room.

Hi All,

So a very raw question and asking for open and honest responses - I am not here to promote anything but need a reality check - I penned a book about Hotels that is kind of academic, applying Psychology, Sociology and Anthropology to the service industry as a whole; just a genuine question on whether or not this is something of interest to people who work in hotels, or have I just created a pet project with no foundation?

Academic feedback was good on it, publishers were interested but the actual academia courses that could and would apply it are limited, so from a publication standpoint its not a return on investment - they did say to go with it and push forward independently as they loved it and its just the economics of textbook publishing - so question, would a book that explains the guest and staff thinking processes and how to understand and apply them to hospitality be any value to you in an academic course or as a standalone book?

So after looking for a job for nearly 2 years I've found one as a receptionist in a three star hotel and I must admit adjusting takes a tad bit more mentally and takes longer than I'd like so I wanted to ask about any potential tips?

For the record I'm good with people and speak English rather fluently (I'm not a native English speaker) + using computers is not a problem, since practically the whole place runs on one PMS, given the majority of my education since high school is related to computer stuff. I think my biggest issue is fear of not keeping up with "image" of the hotel because frankly being rejected from jobs like wiping floors or serving at McDonald's can mess with your ego and self worth more than expected and now I'm in the fucking 3 star hotel. My supervisors are very kind and patient but that sadly doesn't help me not feel like I'm making a place less functioning just by being there as much as I'd like.

So far I have a trial period but I'd really like to extend my stay there because I feel like having to go through this job hunting bs again might finish me </3 so I gotta perform good

🚨 Review of Pueblo Bonito Sunset Beach Golf & Spa Resort

Rating: 1/5 – Unsafe, Unsanitary, and a Complete Violation of Guest Trust

I rarely write reviews, but after a five-day stay here, I feel a responsibility to warn others. This was, without question, the worst hotel experience I’ve ever had—and at times, it felt genuinely unsafe.

⸻

❌ Check-In Failure & Reservation Not Honored

We reserved a king suite, but upon arrival were told it was unavailable. Instead, we were placed in a room with two single beds and told to “check back later.”

No apology. No urgency. No solution.

We never received the room we paid for during our entire stay.

⸻

🦠 First Room – Filthy and Uninhabitable

The first room was beyond unacceptable:

• Black mold on the walls
• Filthy fingerprints and grime throughout
• Boot and foot marks on the walls
• Heavy dirt and neglect everywhere

Most disturbing:

🚨 What appeared to be human feces smeared on the wall next to the toilet

On top of that:

❌ No air conditioning
❌ No hot water

We were forced to stay in this room for two full days.

⸻

🧊 Bare Rooms & Poor Experience

The rooms are extremely underwhelming:

• Empty refrigerator
• Minimal amenities for a “luxury” resort
• Overall worn-down condition

Room service took two hours, and when it arrived, the food was ice cold and inedible.

⸻

🍽️ Food – Shockingly Bad

The food across the resort was consistently terrible:

• 9 out of 10 meals were inedible
• Steak was like chewing shoe leather
• Chicken was dry like cardboard
• Multiple people in our group refused to eat after one or two bites

If you stay here, do not rely on the resort for food. Eat in town or buy groceries.

Unfortunately, the experience became even worse on the final day of our trip.

My wife Kate and I both became violently ill with what we strongly suspect was norovirus or severe food poisoning after eating sushi at the resort on our last day. Within hours, both of us were extremely sick.

We spent the next 48 hours vomiting continuously and experiencing severe gastrointestinal illness, followed by another three full days bedridden recovering after returning home.

It completely ruined the end of our vacation and turned the entire trip into an absolute nightmare.

⸻

🔧 Second Room – Still Broken

After two days, we were moved, but the problems continued:

• Shower handle broken and unusable
• AC locked at 17°C (62°F) with no way to turn it off

⸻

⚠️ Serious Safety Hazards

We encountered multiple dangerous conditions:

🚨 Glass shower door hanging off hinges
⚡ Exposed electrical wiring under the kitchen counter
⚡ Broken outlets in the bathroom

We documented all of this with video and reported it repeatedly. Nothing was fixed.

⸻

🚪 MAJOR PRIVACY VIOLATIONS

The most disturbing part of our stay:

On four separate occasions, hotel staff entered our room without permission or warning.

• One incident occurred at 10:15 PM while my wife and I were in bed
• Three maintenance staff unlocked and entered despite a Do Not Disturb sign
• This happened three additional times after we reported it

This is not just poor service—this is a serious violation of guest privacy and safety.

⸻

⛰️ Frustrating Resort Design

The resort is built into a steep mountainside:

• Walking is impractical
• You are completely dependent on golf carts
• Wait times can reach 20–25 minutes

Even basic movement around the property becomes frustrating.

⸻

⚖️ Attempt to Silence Our Experience

After we provided extensive photo and video evidence of the unsafe and unsanitary conditions, the hotel manager expressed concern and apologized, even providing a personal phone number for follow-up.

We were told our stay would be compensated.

However, at checkout:

• We were offered only a partial refund (1 out of 5 nights)
• This refund was conditional on signing a document agreeing not to post our photos or videos online

They had these forms ready at the counter, which suggests this is a standard practice.

In other words, they attempted to buy our silence to protect their online reputation.

We declined.

No refund is worth allowing other families to unknowingly walk into these conditions.

⸻

🧠 Final Verdict

This resort markets itself as luxury, but the reality is:

• Unsanitary and poorly maintained rooms
• Extremely poor food quality
• Broken systems and long delays
• Failure to honor reservations
• Ignored safety hazards
• Repeated invasions of guest privacy
• Serious illness following resort food consumption
• Attempts to suppress honest reviews

At best, your stay will be frustrating.

At worst, it could be unsafe.

I strongly recommend staying elsewhere!!

Im a 34 year old male, no fiance or kids, clean background.

Anyone know any cheap locations in the U.S.? The max im looking to spend is $315 a week

Me and my family will be visiting from out of town and expecting to arrive around the dawn hours. Understanding check in times, how would we go about it to be able to check in? Are we going to have to wait till the check in time hits?

We have Apple TVs in our lobby, conference rooms and a couple of event spaces.

The problem is every time a screen shows the wrong thing or a guest or staff member accidentally changes a setting, someone has to physically go and fix it. During a busy period that is genuinely painful.

Conference room screen showing the home screen right before a meeting. Lobby display stuck. AirPlay open to everyone so guests are randomly connecting.

We fixed this by putting everything under Apple TV MDM. Locked screens to specific apps, set AirPlay access by room type, wiped and reset remotely when needed. Front desk stopped getting calls about screen issues.

Curious how others in this industry are handling it. Still doing it manually? Using a tool? Would love to hear what works.

Hey quick question, my credit card has a different surname than the one on my ID. Will that be an issue? For example, my ID says Jane Doe, but my credit card says Jane Doe Smith.

I’ve been wondering about post-stay communication. If you run a hotel, B&B, or short-term rental, do you actually reach out to guests personally via WhatsApp or text after they check out to thank them and ask if everything was okay? Or is this usually handled by automated emails/surveys?

I know some travelers never get a WhatsApp message, while others get very personalized touches. Do you do this, and if so, how do you manage it?