The Great Snow Scraping Debacle: When Hotel Night Auditors Are Asked to Be Parking Lot Superheroes
Picture this: It’s a bone-chilling winter night at a modest 121-room hotel. You’re the lone night auditor, battling the ticking clock and the occasional guest complaint, when suddenly you’re handed a new “duty” by your manager. Forget the front desk—your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to sweep snow and scrape ice off every single car in the parking lot. Yes, every car. Even in a blizzard. Even if there are 121 of them.
It may sound like the set-up to a sitcom episode, but for one Redditor (u/FD_Hell), this was a very real, very baffling job expectation. What followed was a snowstorm of opinions, laughs, and hard-won hospitality wisdom from the r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk community.
When Night Audit Turns into Snow Patrol
Let’s set the scene: You’re working the graveyard shift at a small economy hotel. You’re already juggling late-night check-ins, guest requests, the phone ringing off the hook, and that mysterious printer that only jams after midnight. Then management, in a moment of either genius or madness, decides your nightly “busy work” will now involve braving the arctic winds to clear snow and ice from every guest vehicle outside.
You might be wondering, “Who’s watching the desk while you’re out there?” Spoiler: No one! As u/FD_Hell, our heroic OP, pointed out, “So who exactly is watching the front desk or manning the phones?” The answer, of course, is nobody, because management never got that far in their logic.
And the risks? Oh, they’re as slippery as the parking lot itself. As commenter u/iamsage1 mused, “What would have happened if you slipped and fell? Maybe knocked out?” Adding a touch of dark humor, they concluded, “That would be my ‘no way.’” Because nothing says “hospitality” like face-planting on the curb at 3 a.m.
The Insurance Nightmare: Paint Scratches and Lawsuits Galore
While the initial request was eyebrow-raising, it quickly turned into a legal and liability minefield. u/Ancguy summed it up perfectly: “Way too much of a chance for someone to claim you ruined his paint job and insisting you pay for a new one. No thank you!” The threat of fraudulent claims loomed large in the minds of seasoned hotel staffers, with u/craash420 chiming in, “My first thought was about how many fraudulent damage claims would be filed.”
It’s not just about the cold, or the effort, or even the time it would take to clear off as many as 121 vehicles. It’s about the very real possibility that a disgruntled guest, spotting a scratch or a streak (real or imagined), would demand the hotel—or worse, the night auditor personally—pay for a full repaint. OP had the foresight to ask for this risk to be put in writing, but, “This of course was never done and I never touch one car in the lot.” Instead, they wisely made scrapers and brooms available at the desk for any guest who needed them.
“Busy Work” or Busy Nonsense? The Real Role of the Night Auditor
Let’s be real: The night auditor’s job is not about lounging around eating snacks. As u/Matticus0989 pointed out, “Working the front desk isn’t just sitting around doing nothing. You have to be there and man the phones, deal with guests, complaints, general cleaning/organizing, etc.” Imagine trying to explain to an irate guest that you missed their wake-up call because you were scraping the ice off their rental Corolla. That’s a customer service horror story waiting to happen.
Other commenters, like u/Sharikacat, saw right through management’s motives: “This comes from asshole managers thinking they need to make the auditors justify their higher pay. They look at ‘tasks per hour’ rather than accepting that the higher pay is for a reliable, responsible person to be there when no one else wants to.” In other words, the real value of the night auditor is their presence, judgment, and ability to handle emergencies—not their biceps or snow-removal prowess.
The Community Verdict: “The Worst Idea Ever!”
As the comments rolled in, a clear consensus emerged: This was, hands down, one of the most misguided hotel management ideas ever. “Haha…the worst idea ever!!” declared u/RoyallyOakie, speculating that it probably started with some “genius going on about the night guy sitting there doing nothing and wouldn’t it be great if….”
u/SDdude27 captured the absurdity best: “Even if you guys were at low occupancy with ‘just’ 30 cars, that’s a F*** TON of work to clear off 30 cars. Even 1 car can be a mini workout in heavy snow! To do the entire parking lot would take the entire shift lolol.” The mental image alone is enough to make anyone shiver.
And in the end, the community’s advice was crystal clear: If your hotel expects you to moonlight as a snow-removal crew, it’s time to hand them a scraper and show them the door.
Conclusion: Would You Do It?
So, next time you check into a hotel on a snowy night, spare a thought for the night auditor. They’re already juggling more than you know—and if they’re not outside scraping your windshield, trust us, they’re still earning every penny behind that front desk.
Have you ever been given a wild, unreasonable “busy work” task at your job? Would you have agreed to this snow-scraping madness? Share your stories in the comments, and let’s keep the laughter—and the lessons—rolling!
Original Reddit Post: Night Audit Stupid 'Busy Work'