New Year’s Eve Front Desk Bingo: Police, Party Chaos, and the Case of the Wandering Laptop Charger
If you think your New Year’s Eve was wild, spare a thought for hotel front desk workers. While you were busy clinking champagne flutes or hunting for someone to kiss at midnight, they were dodging trashed lobbies, impromptu police visits, and, apparently, playing “Lost & Found” with their own laptop chargers. Welcome to the world of hospitality, where the only guarantee on New Year’s is that something weird will happen.
This year’s entry in the ever-expanding saga of “Tales From The Front Desk” comes courtesy of u/jasontheninja47, whose New Year’s morning had all the makings of a hotel horror bingo card: surprise overtime, mysterious intruders, a police cameo, and the classic “where the heck did my charger go?”—all before the first coffee break.
The Pre-Dawn Wake-Up Call: Not All Heroes Wear Capes (Some Wear Name Tags)
Picture this: It’s the morning after New Year’s Eve. You’re three hours away from your shift, possibly still dreaming of a world where guests don’t turn the lobby into a frat house. Suddenly, your boss calls. “We need you—immediately.” The reason? Two homeless individuals had snuck in overnight, following a parade of tipsy revelers through the doors, and decided the hotel lobby was as good a campsite as any.
As the original poster (OP) recounts, the pair “slept on the couches, trashed them, rummaged through things, and even broke some glass.” By the time OP arrived, though, the police had already escorted the duo off the premises. Crisis (temporarily) averted, but the story was just getting started.
The community quickly picked up on the chaos. As u/Separate-Cap-8774 wondered aloud, “How were homeless people in the lobby all night, and not one employee was aware of this?” It’s a fair question, and u/evil_shmuel chimed in with an industry insider’s perspective: “Probably a hotel with no staff at night. There are some, such as long-term hotels and more.” New Year’s Eve, as u/Bennington_Booyah noted, can be especially tricky: “It can be very difficult to tell who belongs where.” When everyone’s bleary-eyed and staggering, who’s to say who’s a guest and who’s just…visiting?
The Great Charger Caper: CSI—Front Desk Edition
With the villains seemingly vanquished, OP grabbed lunch and returned to the front desk to clock back in—only to notice their laptop charger had vanished. Cue the suspenseful music! It turns out the same pair had boomeranged back around, couldn’t get inside this time, and instead decided to trash the vestibule. In their haste, they left behind a bag containing none other than the missing charger.
Sometimes, hotel security is less about high-tech surveillance and more about the universe returning your stuff in the strangest ways. As u/LxRv advised, “I’d give that charger a wipe.” Good call—because nothing says ‘New Year, New You’ like disinfecting your reclaimed electronics.
For OP, the whole ordeal played out like a bizarre, victimless crime drama: “The lobby gets trashed, police get involved, my stuff gets stolen, but somehow recovered and I never even saw them even once. Happy New Year, everyone.”
Tales from the Front Desk: NYE Edition
Of course, OP wasn’t alone in their New Year’s chaos. Other hospitality workers chimed in with stories that could fill their own bingo cards. u/Ekd7801 recapped their “scorecard” for the night: “Passed out partygoer in the lobby restroom, kids making prank calls to the front desk because their parents left them alone in the room, half of first shift calling out.” If there’s a pattern to holiday shifts, it’s unpredictability.
And then there’s the darker side of party culture. u/SkwrlTail shared a sobering account: “We had a couple of drunk partygoers check in. He bailed about two hours later. She came down at breakfast and was very confused. I think she may have been roofied. Had to tell her what room she was in four separate times.” Other commenters expressed concern and empathy—a reminder that for all the laughs, these stories sometimes highlight real issues that hotel staff must navigate with care and professionalism.
Still, the community kept the humor rolling. u/Fine_Worldliness3898 summed it up: “I swear I want to just come in once more for the stories.” And when the situation gets especially absurd, there’s always that one commenter (looking at you, u/SlippySlappySamson) who suggests, “Shit in the bag and then leave it outside for them. Speak to them in the language they understand.” (Let’s chalk that up to New Year’s Eve stress talking.)
The Moral: Hospitality is Not for the Faint of Heart
If you’re ever tempted to think of hotels as serene sanctuaries, spend a holiday behind the front desk. You’ll see humanity in all its glory—and its messiest, weirdest moments. From impromptu sleepovers to lost-and-found miracles, every shift is a new adventure.
So next time you’re checking in, maybe give the front desk staff a little extra sympathy. After all, they might have just won (or lost) a chaotic round of New Year’s Front Desk Bingo.
Have your own wild hospitality story? Share it in the comments below—because, as this thread proves, the best tales are the ones too strange not to be true!
Original Reddit Post: New Year’s Front Desk Bingo: Police, Trashed Lobby, and Stolen Stuff