I work for a Hotel managed by a major corporate chain. Ask me

>>1133394
How do you handle unpaid-for guests of the customers, if at all?

>>1133400
Whomever stays in a room with a guest is their business. They accept responsibility for their guests behaviours if they are in the room with their permission. Rates are by the room, not the guest # - sales just uses the guest numbers to track and analyze shit. That being said there are limits on the number of people who can be in a room of a certain size or type, but this is dictated by your states fire safety code. Ex. Our single kings can have a max of 5 occupants, I believe, legally.

>>1133394
Ever fucked any lonely MILFs? Or been asked to cuck some bald fat loser's wife? Or ever boned the Honduran maids?

>>1133407
No but people do be hooking up

We've got a houseman (who probably won't be here much longer cause he routinely doesn't show up for work) who were pretty sure is boning the events coordinator and I can confirm has fucked guests in their rooms several times. Lately he's taken to telling girls he works with management. Nigga you a houseman you clean toilets.

I work overnight and no one has tried pulling the sex card yet but I did respond to a noise complaint about a couple fighting but when I got there it was just the girl, in her nightie. She invited.me in to verify she was alone. I told her i believed her and went back to the desk.

Her boyfriend was back like 30 minutes later and they went back to fighting I almost had to throw them out.

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Your board is slow niggas. Let me take this moment to assure you that if you're one of those people who bitches about everything hoping to get free stuff, we do hate you, and we hope you die.

So you work at the reception I take it? Would you recommend it? What are the pros and cons? How is the pay and what country are you in?

>>1133425
>Your board is slow niggas
Welcome to /trv/.

>>1133394
Were there any guests trying to scam their way out of paying or who made up fake complaints to get free stuff? I've seen older.people be extremely upset about the mundane shit.

Who do you feel about the different nationalities? Are there any preferred or then hated group of guests with regard to their native country?

>>1133489
Of course, people raise being a shyster to an art form at hotels. I once had a woman try to argue with me that her king size bed was not in fact, a king sized bed. This was during intermittent bouts of reminding me her daughter was pregnant and how far they'd traveled. People will pick up on anything and use it as an excuse. Once, someone tried to tell my co-worker their room should be comp'd because the weather was bad during their visit and it ruined their trip.

>>1133500
As always it varies, but in my experience -

Mexi's will cram a lot of people into one room, but are generally quiet. Don't tip.

Black people will cram a lot of people into one room, make noise, demand lots of fucking towels. Don't tip. Tend to complain about obviously stupid shit - be the most transparent at trying to get stuff. Most are chill though.

White People will complain about anything. Are usually very entitled. Will out right to your face tell you they want half off your room because you had to plunge their toilet or something.

Euro's are usually OK but have wierd fucking habits and seldom speak english. I once had a group of germans walk in, they spoke very good english. They also demanded I take them on a guided tour of the rooms at 12 am before they did anything. On the upside they rented 2 rooms and didn't make any noise.

Limited experience with Arabs but they tend to be chill. Quick to pull the racism card if something goes wrong though, like to pretend the food is bad or spoiled (after eating all of it)

Limited experience with Indians. Tend to be huge jews.

to be continued

>>1133505
>>1133500

All in all it's less about nationality and more about the TYPE of guest - you can usually tell by the length of their stay. Business people stay 1-3 nights usually, tend to just pass through, very low on the need scale: food, internet, bed, thats it. Families tend to stay 3-5 days, always the most entitled, especially white vacationers. Sports Teams just want to wolf down food and drink gatorade. Family Reunions tend to bring out the stereotype in people, I swear to god this one black family reunion was like Christmas with the Klumps. Fat black cliches everywhere. I'm a chunky monkey, but these people were holy shit, and loud and boisterous.

I work overnight though, so my guests tend to either be chill (too tired to give a fuck), or pissed (something went wrong, now they're trying to find a place to sleep at 2 am)

>>1133479
I'm Overnight Audit. I do a little bit of everything. 1/3rd Front Desk, 1/3rd back office, 1/3rd houseman. Reception is a big part of it though, yes. It's definitely a step up from retail like working in a store, but at the end of the day a customer service job is a customer service job - you either have the stomach and the skin for it or you don't. Pay is on the lower end but more than minimum wage, and varies by chain and hotel. As night audit, I made 11 dollars an hour starting. I know at a Hilton I would've made a dollar less. Standard day shift front desk where I am starts at 10 an hour.

It tends to be at least a little more civilized than cashiering, as if nothing else your job can actually require a bit of technical skill (depending on your PMS), so you aren't 100% disposable shit to the company. My brand treats employee's fairly well, and the benefits are good. I work for Marriott in the United States. My hotel is actually ranked worst in our region, thanks to the fuck ups of our previous GM who is no longer with the company (he was 'politely' asked to GTFO). Still, the managers treat us like human beings.

>>1133506
At a franchise hotel it's going to matter entirely who is running the show what your work environment is like and what your benefits are like. At a corporately managed hotel, there are benefits and drawbacks. Expect to deal with corporate kool-aid, stupid training initiatives, etc. But it comes with perks, and it's also harder to get fired. This can be a good thing - or a bad thing if you have an asshole houseman who they just can't seem to get rid of.

It's also interesting to note that none of the major chains - Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt - actually OWN the hotels they manage. Actually owning the building is huge overhead. The owners are generally private investors who then have the company manage the hotel for them.

>>1133505
I worked night audit at a hotel and I must say you're right about the races. Although I would add that Germans were some of the nicest people. They were so polite and soft spoken but not shy to a fault. Usually speak good English and are very friendly, Mashallah. And Indians are huge Jews as well as Pakis (and probably Bengalis too). I once had two Pakis come in with IDs from some Gulf country and they were trying to haggle hardcore.

>>1133534
In their defense its a cultural thing there. You haggle, and blow your top if someone charges you for anything.

Because they're a shitty fucking people.

Ever had some famous people drop in?
Corollary: how were they?

Post weird stories. You know that's why you made this thread.

>>1133394
Not OP but I was a front desk agent for a Marriott. It was an easy college job. Smiled and handled typical guest services shit.

Coworkers:
Front desk agents from the ghetto are difficult. This holds true in a professional setting too.

The girls managing group sales were hot. Easy to work with too.

The housekeepers were hardworking immigrants.

Guests:
Most guests are friendly. Simple check-ins, questions about city sights and food. Some restaurants give incentives to the front desk for sending guests their way, so it's best to ask for options. Be wary if they keep pushing one restaurant.

Couples in bad relationships are difficult.

Families with brats are difficult.

Group guests are difficult. For example, I've never met a more entitled group of people than marathoners.

Jews and Indians can be difficult but no biggie if you're firm and friendly.

I don't know why, but only white guests ever yell about shit.

Weird requests:
A guest wanted a higher toilet because his dick was dipping in the water.

A hillbilly asked for the American flag to be raised higher than the Canadian one.

Weird stories:
Not a lot. Once, someone slipped a note to my coworker saying he wanted to eat her pussy out.

I fingerbanged my coworker once. Never banged a guest.

>>1133505
>don't tip

Asking for something extra doesn't entitle you to a fucking tip.

>>1133616
Welcome to America!

>>1133616
Op here
I should elaborate. We do not expect tip for giving people extra shit. That would be fucking silly. Once someone gave me a tip for delivering something to their room, I was confused and asked them if they were sure.

As part of my 1/3rd houseman duties, I drive our hotels shuttle bus, which goes anywhere in a 5 mile radius of the hotel but primarily to the airport. Our hotel is contracted to Delta airlines, their crews stay with us on their short layovers (sub 15 hrs, usually ~8-9 hrs). Part of this contract service is shuttling them to the airport at specific times to catch their flights.

Now, it is traditional for the Delta's (and occasionally, normal guests who pick up on the habit) to tip the driver $1 at the airport. I don't really give a jiggle fuck, I make a living wage, I never expect tips. HOWEVER, Delta PAYS their flight crews a STIPEND for the *express* purpose of this. So when a Delta does not tip you, they are in fact, taking extra money earmarked for tipping from Delta and pocketing it.

And then of course you get into the Bistro, restaurant staff makes slightly less money and it's made up for in gratuities. This makes the evening shift highly prized, as that is when people buy DRINKS, and people are far more comfortable tipping their bartender than the guy cooking them eggs and french toast.

tl;dr, tipping is weird

>>1133568
Supposedly we had some WWE superstars stay here once but not while I was in.

The relative of a prominent local busissman and a Reverend himself came in here for his gay hookup. He skipped out on the confused guy without paying. Pillar of the community

One of the guests I miss the most I'd Mr. Cokehead. We call him that because he was a coke head. Actually it was probably heroin or something else based on the burnt spoons we found in his room and the white powder everywhere.

He talked constantly, real tweaked but he was nice and polite. Ate a shit load of food, paid for everything, used a ton of hotsauce. Had to be escorted from the hotel by the police - who promptly let him go and he hopped in his cherry red sports car and sped off.

He thanked us all for the stay as the police took him out

>>1133425
Yeah but you give it to us anyway.
Do you think if I carried a little baggie of dead cockroaches around the country with me, and left one somewhere in each hotel room I stayed in, then complained about it, I'd get all my hotel rooms for free?
The chief engineer for a big Marriott in LA told me yes, I definitely would.

>>1133740
In Australia,pro wrestler Don(the Spoiler)Jardine and Gary Hart his manager were returning to the hotel they were staying in. They had their wives with them. Desk clerk looks at them and says,"You can't take whores upstairs." Spoiler is upset and proceeds to beat up clerk ending with a kick in the balls outside. Spoiler is masked. Lesson learned on customer relations. There is a Youtube interview of Gary Hart on this. Aussie incident starts at 2:20.

https://youtu.be/lHhUhlF-wu0

>>1133784
Live ones would work better and i guarantee people do that

>>1133848
I would say bullshit but you have citation. Who the actual fuck says that to a guest?

No other questions then?

I guess to OP and any other hospitality workers. How difficult is it to get a job for like an OMNI, a Four Seasons, a Westin, a Regis, etc.?

>>1133612
>but only white guests ever yell about shit.
thats because we travel a lot and know what to expect and when you do stupid shit we call you on it.
Trust us, if we yell at you, you (the hotel) did something wrong. wheaten it is directly your fault or not.
.
btw whats with precharging my credit card $500 for future hotel service charges (like room service) then refunding it. Hotels never used to do this.
And if you do do this, YOU BETTER FUCKING TELL ME BEFORE YOU CHANGE IT RETARD. especially if I prebooked and prepayed for the room. That might be my safe travel card with a low limit that you just maxed out for shit I'm not going to use. There is nothing ruder then taking a CC to confirm booking and charing an amount to it without telling the person first. Anyone who puts a change on a CC without telling you is a asshole, I don't care if it gets refunded a week later.

>>1133876
In that video there was a comment by someone who knew the clerk and said he was an asshole. Did you see the video? Hart was one of my favorite wrestling managers and his insight of the business is intelligent.

>some hotel employee thinks he's interesting or important enough to have an AMA

Seriously?

>>1133394
I have the same job as you OP, perhaps even the same company.

Construction workers are the worst, they track dirt, gravel, mud and shit everywhere. And the linemen (whatever the fuck that is) like to get drunk off their asses and leave cans everwhere.

>>1134326
You don't have to yell. You can get your point across and not yell. The yelling thing is for dumb fucking white people who can't figure out customer service. Cold, calm, and calculated has gotten me a lot more than yelling ever did.

And the service charge is mentioned somewhere. Whether on the paperwork you signed, the other paperwork you signed, or more paperwork you signed. I realize you're not going to read the fine print, but it was in the fine print. And it's pretty standard to have a hold fee, so you should feel pretty normal about asking if they have a hold fee if you're using a small credit card. Calm the fuck down.

>>1134326
>Trust us, if we yell at you, you (the hotel) did something wrong.
Bullshit.

>I don't care if it gets refunded a week later.
We don't care, sleep in your car if it's such a big deal bitch.

>>1134390
>>1134391
This is why people yell at you, you know in better hotels, if you refuse, they say okay, but you just hold the line and are bad at customer service. You realize you work a job for mcdolands level employees that got order, everyone laughs at you, get a real job.
There is no reasno for the fee, and hotels didn't used to do it, if I say I don't want to use wi-fi or room service, you shuld just say okay, not be a juck about it, thats why you get yelled at like the serfs you are, you are a servent with a nametag. get buthurt all you want on the net

>>1134423
>and hotels didn't used to do it
Things change and will continue to do so, with or without your approval, with or without the money from the job you think pays you so well, and regardless of the bitchy comments you leave in reviews online. There are always more customers, and you are unnecessary.

>>1134426

Not that guy, but how does it feel that you have to listen to stuff like that with a smile in person?

>>1133394
Would you happen to know the economics of the hotel business? I know hotels aren't cheap to build and run but it seems the price of the room is in great excess of what it should be. Like why is a hotel in Las Vegas , New Mexico charging $100 a night. Make that a motel. Also, the best way to get a room cheaper than the walk in rate.

>>1134142
Basic Background check, drug test , having a degree (in anything) and customer service experience helps. Not too hard.
>>1134326
What you're referring to is card authorization. Procedure is, guests card is authorized for the full price of their stay as well as 20 dollars a night authorization for incidentals. This authorization is typically performed at check in, but can be done at any time once the cancellation period expires - within 24 hrs of arrival for standard reserves, within 24 hours of the reservation being made for prepurchase.

The reason this is done is people would put down cards with no money on it or empty money from their account to another and then skip out on the bill thr next day. Too many people gamed the system, so now you need to have the full amount, up front, usually rounded up to the nearest 10 dollars.
If you look at the fine print before you click accept you're going to find every site tells you this in advance, usually twice, to cover their asses, since charging someone's card without their consent is a felony. I assure you, you consented at least twice every time you book a reservation.

>>1134423
>Yelled at like the serf you are

I assure you working front desk is much more complicated than running a register. I've done both.
>>1134427
90% of customers are chill, it's an asshole minority that will ruin your day. You have to be thick skinned, philosophical, and eager to please. And be able to just wash all that shit off at the end of the day, because the hotel is always there and will eat you if you let it.
>>1134438
Hotels have a high profit margin but also high overhead. In the 90s most of the big corporate chains began shedding themselves of as much overhead as possible. As a result, Marriott, Hilton, and Hyatt do not OWN hotels. They MANAGE hotels. The buildings are now all owned by private investors companies, and the big three are actually hotel MANAGEMENT companies. Owners own, company runs, profits are split.

To get the best rate be a member of the AARP, Triple A, or have a military Id. Third parties like Expedia and Price line sometimes also have good deals. Shop around, book in advance whenever possible. If it's late, tell them you got stranded by your airline. Most hotels have a passenger in distress rate worked out with any nearby airports, which technically are for those with paid vouchers from their airline. But in practice if I have rooms and someone is hard up, I'll offer them the rate. It's a steady 89 dollars here, which can be almost half price some nights. Note this only works if you're staying one night. Full service hotels may offer half day rates if you're only in for a few hours. Most select service, including my brand, do not offer these rates. It doesn't hurt to ask, the worst we'll do is roll our eyes.

Which hotel group do you work for? Any of the big 3? IHG, Starwood, Mariott? I myself prefer IHG but that's because I rarely find a good deal on Starwood. Also Mariotts rewards program sucks ass and it'll bring Starwood down with it.

>>1134449
Marriott.

Marriott rewards isnt so bad
Admittedly you get points glacially and your level doesn't mean shit until you hit gold. Still, at full service property gold members get free shit, and everyone has to suck a platinum's dick. A platinum csn book a room at an oversold hotel with a call to platinum services. They can literally force another guest out . And if you ever have to walk a platinum, you have to pay them 500 dollars.

my friend works for a huge Starwood call center that's I guess a major hub for reservations

Hes offered to help me get a job there. This would be my second job as I am already employed. My question is how horrible do you think this job would be?

>>1134457
>Call center
Literally dealing with complaints and stupid questions all day. I wouldnt do it. Like you never get positive feedback on the phone man

>>1134461
I figured as much. I used to work in a call center for a bank. That was hell on earth, but I figured it might be easier for a hotel management group. Guess not...

>>1134462
>Easier
No. Trust me, you do not want to field calls from angry entitled shitheads all day.

>>1134465
Good to know.

I'm just looking for an easy part-time job.

I was thinking of doing the Delta Airlines Ready Reserve, but I've heard that also fucking sucks.

Shit...

>>1134457
>>1134461
>>1134462
>>1134465
>>1134469
Watch out, important guys who are going places in the world coming through!!

>>1134469
Yeah flight attendants get shit on, especially if you're a new hire. Everything is seniority based with them, it's like working in fucking Japan.

>>1134492
Aweful lot of projecting anon. I help people and keep their vacations and business trips running smoothly. If it makes you feel better to be condescending and pretend my job isn't important, go ahead, but one of the reasons I tolerate my job is i can affect what kind of day someone has. I'm not operating on brain tumors, but you never know how the littlest shit is going to affect someone's life. It's definitely always the small details that fuck you, do I expect the opposite is also true.

Anyway shouldn't you be sucking someone's cock?

>>1134492
Everyone has to start somewhere. I have only just graduated from college and landed my first big boy job, but I would like to work an additional job to supplement my income.

>>1133401
this is American.
In Europe you always pay by the number of guests.
Other countries vary.

>>1134515
>pay by number of guest

how the fuck do you keep track? Do you just...force them to march by so you can count them?

>>1134515
>In Europe you always pay by the number of guests.
Literally what. The only difference I've ever seen a number of guests make is for breakfast inclusion. I've been to many hotels all over Europe and have never seen what you claim.

>>1134326
>wah wah wah
Trust me, being calm gets you better results than throwing a temper tantrum.

>muh pisspoor CC limit
Read the fine print about CC authorization. Don't stay at high end hotels if you're a poorfag.

>>1135061
This, jesus Christ i am so much more willing to break the rules for people if they're chill.

>>1133394
So I read the "lifehack" saying that if you need a phone charger you should go to the reception of a random hotel and tell them you forgot it some days ago or something because they always have a big box of forgotten chargers. Is that true?

>>1135493
bump

>>1134438
I'll give you the rundown of hotel economics... i negotiate hotel management agreement for one of the big chains.

a 4 star new build hotel is generally a fairly expensive thing to develop, and while costs vary widely based on local land costs, local material costs, and local labor costs, it's probably safe to assume an all-in cost of $350,000 per guestroom for a quick back-of-envelope. so, if you're building a 250 room hotel (typical size), we're at about $87.5M. You can probably finance ~60% of that, if you've got institutional equity backing and even without recourse, at L+450 (depending on market, etc.). So you've gotta put up ~$35M, and you're on the hook for monthly debt payments beginning when you start to draw down on the loan (usually with 12 - 18 months to go in construction, depending on how you can stage payments).

...to be continued

>>1136873
once you're open, you're looking at a roughly 3 year period until you've reach "stabilization", which is generally defined as the point when you've reached your anticipated long-term occupancy level, and your average rates will only raise even with market growth. your typical departmental margins will depend highly on whether or not it's a union or non-union hotel, and if union, what departments, but the expected difference in profitability is likely 3% points to 5% points of operating profit. More if you're heavily dependent on food and beverage.

you typically want to underwrite to a 10% cash on cash return in the stabilized year (net operating income divided by all-in cost to develop), and once you've factored in leverage and anticipated hold periods, you're likely targeting anywhere from a mid-teens to a mid 20s IRR, depending on location and period in the development cycle.

...to be continued

>>1136878
lower-end hotels, and ones without food and beverage operations tend to have better returns and cost less to develop, but are more like commodities, thus harder to make work long term.

also, most hotels are on roughly 8 year renovation cycles, during which the renovation costs ~8% of the revenues generated during those prior 8 years. as an owner, you've been putting away ~4% per year into a replacement reserve, but you'll still have to invest more. likely through a recapitalization where you can pull some of the equity out that you've been paying down as principal.

feel free to ask more questions; it's raining here, so i'll be around for a while.

bump, interesting

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How much is theft of property a part of hotel life? Probably happens every day, right?

>>1134326
Am I witnessing the white version of "we dindu nuffin" ? Cause this cracked me up.

>>1137613
white entitlement

>>1137585
Depends. Towels and shit? Constantly.
Also holy shit this thread is still here

>>1136881
Sounds like a huge fucking money sink for not much return, whats in it for the owners ?

>>1139089
This is /trv/, you must not come here often.

What's the best way to get an inexpensive room without resorting to something stupid?

I've worked for Best Western and now works for an independent downtown hotel. Statistically, we're the busiest 3 star hotel in town.

Done it for 4 years in total now. I agree with most things in this thread, but I'd still say it's the best job I've had so far.

Pros:
>get to learn and practice languages
I'm fluent in two languages, conversational in three, practical w/ Google translate in three more, and know phrases from five, to a total of 13 languages.
>free breakfast buffet, and restaurant prepared lunch and dinner when on shift, including coffee
>straight up gifts from guests when you do a good job
>always work available, so can earn more by taking more shifts
>can play vidya when there's no guests around
>wicked employee parties

8/10 job. The hours are long and managing the guests is like managing a kindergarten, but I fucking love it.

>>1140148
Chat up the receptionist.

>guest arrives at 9AM
>"Hi, can we check in?"
>"Sorry sir/ma'am, check in is at 3PM"
>"Oh okay"
>they leave their luggage
>comes back at 1PM
>"Hi, can we check in now?"
>"Erhh, no, sorry, check in is still at 3PM"
>"Okay, we'll just wait around the lobby then."
>one hour passes
>"Hi, can we check in now?"
>"No, sorry, it's still one hour until check in time."
>"WHAT KIND OF HOTEL IS THIS? WHY CAN'T WE CHECK IN NOW? WE'VE WAITED FOR 5 HOURS."

If you do this, FFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK YOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUU.

>>1133394
why do you post shit anime

>>1140451
I kinda do this, except for the shouting and complaining.
Most of time they check me in before the "official" check in time. Sometimes even in the morning.

>>1140469
Yeah, that's not a problem at all. As long as you're cool and we have rooms, we're gonna check you in.

>>1140148
I always respect honesty, I'm also a sucker for a sob story. So for me sone guy being like look man I really need a place to stay and I'm strapped for cash etc... most hotels will have a triple a rate at least. For one nighters I give desperate people our distressed traveller rate which is supposed to be for people stranded by airlines.
>>1140195
>They fucking feed you
This doesn't sound like the norm. Well get stuff for employee appreciation week and sometimes holidays but that's it. We do occasionally get gifts from guests.

As for vidya, im night audit and here I am shitposting on 4chan

>>1140451
what's the big deal about this? Why not just let him check in if there is a free clean room available?

>>1140457
Fucking fight me right now.

OP, which is worse...

Welcoming in in a thief

OR

Making a guest feel unwelcome

>>1134423
Everyone take a good look.
This is what white trash looks like

>>1140451
>check in is at 3PM

if your hotel does this, fuck you

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>>1133394
I love FLCL, OP.

Ever heard of Ichi the Killer?

It's quite good.

How about hookers? Do you ever have them hang out in your bar? Do they get rooms and then you see a steady stream of guys going up there? Do you ever see guys walking in with obvious hookers or sugar babies?

I know you must have some good stories here.

What's your favorite type of pie?