And You Deserve This Because????

There's a way Groups are generally handled at hotels. Usually it's 10 or more rooms and a certain number of nights. Less rooms will also fall under the Group heading if they are staying for a long period of time. These groups sign a contract agreeing to a rate for a certain number of nights, so everything is outlined up front. Usually for a reduced rate if they are staying for long periods of time, we only do maid service once a week to keep the costs down. With the construction we have had going on locally, we have had quite a number of construction and contracting groups going in and out lately.

One particular group came in without a contract and just wanted rooms at the rate we were giving to other contractors who had come in with contracts. They got it and their period staying here started in May. It appeared at the time that they were staying for about two weeks, which put them well before our busy season, which kicked into high gear Memorial Day weekend. However, because they just came in and sort of plopped themselves down here, nothing was outlined from the beginning.

Members of the group would leave and come back, making reservations and checking in under others, leaving us to hold rooms for them when they didn't need any more. It was a real nightmare just from that point of view. There were other issues as well - one guy wanted to go in the waterpark in his underwear. He did this every day - I think it was a source of amusement to him to unnerve the attendants there by doing this. They would come down at exactly 6 AM to the hot breakfast, take a "TO GO" bag with them to the job, and come back just before breakfast ended at 10 AM to eat again. Corporate was screaming at us about the food bill, and I don't know what they expected us to do to lower it.

It started going downhill when their reservations began overlapping into our busy season. We had people who had reservations for this time and we couldn't kick them out, especially when they were paying over $100 more for the same rooms! So, what happened was on the weekends when we were sold out we bought rooms at another hotel and had the people from this group move over to the other hotel. Now, we paid for the rooms for that night and didn't bill them AT ALL for any rooms, plus they were free to come on over here and eat their breakfast.

The day before they were to move to the other hotel, letters were slid under their door explaining that there were other reservations for their room made before they extended their stays and we would be moving them for the weekend and they could move back on Monday afternoon. Well, one of the group members took exception to that and said he wasn't moving. He didn't pack up any of his stuff and basically was refusing to move.

Our GM and another manager went into his room on the day he was to move and packed up his stuff. They didn't take it out of his room, they merely packed it and made it so his key wouldn't work, so he was escorted to the room and told to move his stuff out and next door to the place we had arranged for them.

You know he didn't go quietly. He made as much noise about this as he could and really caused a scene at the front desk. I wasn't here, but I heard about it.

And that wasn't the end of the story.

This person happens to be a member of the brand's frequent stay program, so he wrote a letter to the brand offices complaining about being shipped off to a "basement room" and having his stuff "packed up and removed from his room" as well as "being treated rudely".

Okay, HE was the one who came here without a reservation and continually extended his stay, which was at a reduced rate, until he was in our busy season, and still expected to be getting the reduced rate. HE was the one who carried on at the front desk. HE was the one who refused to pack up his things when we told him he had to move for people who had made reservations for that weekend before HIS GROUP decided to extend their stay.

And to top it off, HE'S not even paying for his room - his company is! And the night he is complaining about, no one was paying for it!

But "the customer is always right" so one night got credited back to his company.

And what does this teach this rude man? That if he carries on long enough, he can be as rude, belligerent, and obnoxious as he wants and people will kow-tow to him.