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I worked in and later managed hotels in Santa Monica, SF, and Beverly Hills for over a decade. I recall one time, a woman checked in and asked that a "do not disturb" be placed on her door and her phone. A careless front desk agent transfered a call to the room, and within a few minutes, there was a man charging through the front doors towards the elevator in a huff, and she was calling down to the desk screaming that her husband was going to come find her and kill her. The guy didn't know her room number, but figured he'd find her... security stopped him and maced him after he charged them. He had a knife.
A couple months later, she sued the hotel for some hundreds of thousands of dollars for putting her life at risk, and the hotel settled.
In another situation in a different hotel, a person called and said, "Hi, I'm looking for Ms. ____ ____. Is she in room 505?" The agent said, "Let me check. Oh, no, she's in room 608." "Thank you." Her estranged ex came up and started beating on the door, threatening to kill her.
A couple months later, she sued the hotel, and the hotel settled.
We also had people prank the hotel and say "I'm the girlfriend/boyfriend of the guest in room ____, they've got a gun, they're gonna kill themselves!" or "I just got a message from them, they're gonna jump from their window!" at 3am. Security goes and checks, and wakes up a family. The hotel ends up comping part of their stay for the inconvenience; some drunk sociopath on the other side of the country is chortling to themselves thinking of the mess they've just caused people they don't know.
Everyone wants to be left alone by the hotel or security right up until the moment that they need their help - at that very moment, they want them to intervene, swiftly and perfectly. If only that's actually how life worked, it'd be great... I feel for this guy but the honest truth is that if every time I checked in someone who looked agitated I alerted the authorities, I'd have been out of a job and the hotels would have been sacked with lawsuits left and right.
I worked in and later managed hotels in Santa Monica, SF, and Beverly Hills for over a decade. I recall one time, a woman checked in and asked that a "do not disturb" be placed on her door and her phone. A careless front desk agent transfered a call to the room, and within a few minutes, there was a man charging through the front doors towards the elevator in a huff, and she was calling down to the desk screaming that her husband was going to come find her and kill her. The guy didn't know her room number, but figured he'd find her... security stopped him and maced him after he charged them. He had a knife.
A couple months later, she sued the hotel for some hundreds of thousands of dollars for putting her life at risk, and the hotel settled.
In another situation in a different hotel, a person called and said, "Hi, I'm looking for Ms. ____ ____. Is she in room 505?" The agent said, "Let me check. Oh, no, she's in room 608." "Thank you." Her estranged ex came up and started beating on the door, threatening to kill her.
A couple months later, she sued the hotel, and the hotel settled.
We also had people prank the hotel and say "I'm the girlfriend/boyfriend of the guest in room ____, they've got a gun, they're gonna kill themselves!" or "I just got a message from them, they're gonna jump from their window!" at 3am. Security goes and checks, and wakes up a family. The hotel ends up comping part of their stay for the inconvenience; some drunk sociopath on the other side of the country is chortling to themselves thinking of the mess they've just caused people they don't know.
Everyone wants to be left alone by the hotel or security right up until the moment that they need their help - at that very moment, they want them to intervene, swiftly and perfectly. If only that's actually how life worked, it'd be great... I feel for this guy but the honest truth is that if every time I checked in someone who looked agitated I alerted the authorities, I'd have been out of a job and the hotels would have been sacked with lawsuits left and right.
AH yes.... And then of course there is the caller who just asks for a certain room number. If they answer the caller says they are the front desk. There has been a mistake and they need to get their credit card number again. Thanks and what is the correct spelling of your name.
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