The Front Desk Diaries: When Entitled Guests Demand the Impossible (and Call the CEO)
Picture this: it’s late at night, the hotel is buzzing with excitement because a flock of celebrities have taken over the town, and you, the lone night-shift front desk warrior, are holding down the fort. Most guests are tucked in, enjoying their fluffy pillows and tiny shampoo bottles. Suddenly, in walks a guest ready to turn your peaceful lobby into a battleground of entitlement. Sound dramatic? Welcome to another episode of The Front Desk Diaries, where the most impossible requests come to life… and you get blamed for everything.
Our story, inspired by a recent viral post on Reddit’s r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk, is a classic. It’s got all the ingredients: a self-important guest, a loyal enabler, a full hotel, and a front desk agent who is just trying to survive the night without losing their sanity—or their sense of humor.
Let’s set the scene: Our protagonist, u/AnyaGraceful, is managing the night shift at a hotel bursting at the seams. As she’s checking in a guest, he jokes, “I have two rooms—no, I’m just kidding.” Ha! Classic. Except he actually does have two rooms, but under two different names.
Here’s where the plot thickens. Hotel policy says: if two rooms are reserved under the same last name, they try to put them together. But these reservations? Different names, no special requests, and—newsflash—the hotel staff are not clairvoyant. Most rooms are already assigned, keys made, and guests are snoring away, blissfully unaware of the drama unfolding downstairs.
But our guest wants his rooms together NOW. When told this isn’t possible, he transforms from “quirky check-in guy” to “angry, mean, toxic baby.” His friend, lounging on the sofa, chimes in with a supportive, “She doesn’t care!” (Spoiler: she does, but there’s only so much a mortal can do.)
The guest, refusing to accept reality, sarcastically suggests kicking someone out to accommodate him. (Alexa, play BAD BLOOD.) When told that’s not happening, he escalates—blaming the front desk for everything from the room assignments to, apparently, the world’s problems. He even threatens to call the CEO, only to discover that—surprise!—the only person he’ll reach at that late hour is the same beleaguered front desk agent.
Let’s pause and appreciate the absurdity. Front desk agents are not omnipotent beings. They don’t make the rules, they just enforce them. They can’t kick guests out on a whim, rearrange a full house, or magically conjure up adjacent rooms when the hotel is packed. And yet, when things go sideways, who gets the blame? That’s right—the person standing at the counter, wearing the name tag.
This scenario plays out daily in hotels everywhere. The lesson? No matter what service industry you work in, you’ll always encounter people who think “no” is just a suggestion—and that their inconvenience is a personal attack. The friend on the couch, the one enabling the tantrum? There’s always one in every group, fanning the flames instead of offering a reality check.
But let’s give credit where it’s due. Our night shift hero stands her ground, keeps her cool, and even manages to inject some humor into the situation. When the guest threatens a dreaded one-star review, she shrugs it off—because, as she wisely notes, “one star does not define your life and what a wonderful person you are.” Preach!
So, next time you’re at a hotel and things aren’t exactly as you pictured, remember: the person at the front desk is doing their best with the tools (and the keys) they have. Sometimes, the answer is “no”—not because they want to ruin your night, but because magic wands aren’t included in the employee handbook.
To all the night shift warriors out there: keep your heads up, your humor sharp, and your patience infinite. And to the rest of us—let’s try not to make someone’s shift harder than it needs to be.
Have your own tales from the front desk (or another service front line)? Share them below! And if you’ve ever witnessed a guest go full “I want to speak to the CEO,” let’s hear how it turned out. Maybe together, we can make “no” a little easier to accept—and a lot more entertaining to read about.
Original Reddit Post: Yet ANOTHER entitled spoiled toxic guest