Snot, Song Requests, and Booking Blunders: A Fever Dream at the Front Desk
There are days at the front desk that pass in a blur of polite smiles and routine check-ins. And then, there are days that feel like you’ve wandered into a fever dream—where the bizarre outweighs the banal and you’re left questioning your very existence (and maybe the laws of physics). For one Reddit user, u/Ok-Resort706, this was one of those days—a shift so surreal it could only be recounted in the hallowed halls of r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk.
If you’ve ever worked in hospitality, you know the front desk is a crossroads for chaos and comedy. But nothing could have prepared our hero for a double feature of unsolicited “advice,” unexpected bodily fluids, and a guest with a geographical blind spot. Buckle up—today’s shift is about to get weird.
Breakfast, Boomboxes, and Boogers: A Morning to Remember
Our story opens on what should have been a normal morning. The night audit is over, breakfast is on the horizon, and the vibe is good. That is, until 7:30 am, when a guest barrels toward the desk with the kind of energy usually reserved for a Black Friday sale. Her mission? To bestow some “advice” about the hotel’s breakfast music selection.
Now, if you’ve ever been accused of controlling something you have zero authority over—like the thermostat in an office or, in this case, the playlist—then you know the frustration that creeps in. Our front desk protagonist does their best to be diplomatic, explaining that, tragically, they do not wield the power to change the tunes. But the guest is relentless. She wants age-appropriate jams, and she wants them now.
Just as the situation reaches peak awkwardness, fate intervenes in the most unexpected (and, frankly, disgusting) way: a rogue drop of snot makes a gravity-defying leap from the guest’s nose. Time slows. The world tilts. Our hero’s only concern? “Please, please don’t let that land on my counter.” The guest, mortified, mumbles something about “just input” and beats a hasty retreat, leaving both dignity and mucus behind.
The Great Remote Booking Fiasco
If you thought the morning couldn’t get weirder—think again. Fast forward to 10:15 am, and a new challenger enters the lobby. This guest, fresh from who-knows-where, needs a room for a medical procedure. Nothing out of the ordinary… until she reveals her itinerary involves landing in a city “EXTREMELY far away” later that night. She’s convinced she can book a room at that distant property, for that night, while standing in this lobby, at this hotel, simply because the hotels share the same brand name.
Cue the front desk worker’s confusion: Is it me? Am I the problem? Have the rules of time, space, and hotel reservations fundamentally shifted while I brewed my morning coffee? The guest, refusing to accept defeat, settles into the lobby to try booking a room online—while waiting for her cab to catch a flight that leaves in 20 minutes. The fever dream is now in full swing.
Why Does This Happen? The Front Desk Magnetism
If you’re wondering why the front desk attracts such… memorable encounters, you’re not alone. Hotels are liminal spaces—people are tired, stressed, and out of their element. Add the pressure of travel, the siren song of “special rates,” and the misconception that every employee is a master of the universe, and you have a recipe for madness.
But let’s face it: this is what makes hospitality so endlessly entertaining. Where else can you get a morning soundtrack critique, a live demonstration of human anatomy, and a booking request that defies geography—all before lunch?
Lessons in Patience (And Sanitation)
Despite the chaos, our front desk friend handled it all with admirable restraint. Did they want to scream when blamed for the music? Yes. Did they recoil at the snot? Absolutely. Did they resist the urge to point out that hotels are not wormholes enabling interdimensional check-ins? You bet.
Hospitality is about patience, flexibility, and the ability to keep a straight face when everything around you gets weird. For every fever dream shift, there’s a community of front desk warriors ready to commiserate, roll their eyes, and swap stories.
Your Turn: Share Your Fever Dream
Have you ever worked a shift that felt like a fever dream? Got a story that tops a snotty song critic or a guest attempting cross-continental booking magic? Drop your wildest tales in the comments!
And remember: if you ever find yourself at the front desk, don’t shoot the messenger—especially if they’re just trying to keep the counter clean.
What’s the strangest thing you’ve seen at a hotel front desk? Let us know below!
Original Reddit Post: Today feels like a fever dream