When Hotel Management Lets Creepy Guests Run Wild: A Front Desk Horror Story
If you’ve ever worked in hospitality, you know that “the customer is always right”… until the customer starts stalking your staff and harassing children in the pool. Welcome to the wild, weird, and sometimes infuriating world behind the front desk—where sometimes management’s idea of “guest service” is to tell employees to just “endure” a guest’s creepy behavior.
Recently, a chilling post on r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk captured the internet’s attention with a saga involving a predatory guest, a powerless supervisor, and a general manager (GM) who made “profit over people” their personal brand. Strap in, because this story has everything: hotel drama, legal nightmares, and a chorus of Reddit commenters ready to burn it all down (with lawsuits).
Checking In: When “Customer Service” Goes Too Far
Let’s set the scene. Our storyteller, u/Whitepinephotos, is the evening front desk supervisor at a hotel that, frankly, sounds like it needs an exorcism more than a TripAdvisor review. The morning staff pulls them aside with an urgent request—not for system help, but to address a guest who’s been making relentless, unwanted advances on housekeepers and even guests. One tenured housekeeper (you know she’s seen everything) is visibly shaken after being followed, cornered, and stalked by this guest.
Normally, a polite “please stop harassing our staff” is enough to send most creepers slinking away. But this guy? He ignores all warnings and escalates his behavior. The supervisor does everything by the book: verifies the facts, contacts management, and recommends eviction.
But here’s where things go off the rails. The GM’s response? “Don’t do anything right now. The staff will have to endure until Monday.” That’s right: two more days of creepy encounters, because apparently the cash register takes precedence over employee safety.
The Reddit Jury Deliberates: Liability, Lawsuits, and “Defenestration”
The r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk community did not hold back. Insurance investigator u/SumoNinja17 delivered the first (legal) blow: if someone was sexually assaulted onsite, the hotel would be fully liable for not removing the guest after being warned. u/Separate-Cap-8774 went further, warning that forcing staff to endure harassment could make the GM personally culpable for sexual harassment—and open up a lawsuit that would make the GM’s head spin faster than a revolving door.
Multiple commenters cited US federal law: if a business knows about harassment by a customer and does nothing, they’re on the hook for creating a hostile work environment. As u/Zealousideal_Pie7050 quoted straight from the EEOC:
“The employer will be liable for harassment by non-employees over whom it has control (e.g., customers on the premises), if it knew, or should have known about the harassment and failed to take prompt and appropriate corrective action.”
And it’s not just a US thing—u/faeriehasamigraine chimed in with the UK’s similar protections, reminding everyone that staff safety is a legal mandate, not a suggestion.
Of course, some community members were ready to skip the paperwork. After the guest started harassing kids at the pool, u/phazedout1971 joked, “Quiet word with several parents and he'll leave through his room’s window and take the quick way down.” (u/PlatypusDream added: “Defenestration… such a lovely term!”)
Management’s Epic Fail: “Thanks for Letting Me Know”
As the weekend rolled on, the guest’s behavior worsened: stalking staff, mocking kids about their bodies, and generally making the hotel a no-go zone. The GM’s response to being told about the pool incident? A limp “thanks for letting me know.”
Meanwhile, staff are scared, dodging the guest, and relying on each other for updates. The supervisor, powerless but persistent, keeps documenting everything and pushing for action. But on Monday, the plot thickens: not only has management done nothing, but the guest extends his stay for ANOTHER MONTH. Cue collective Reddit rage.
u/DogsandCatsWorld1000 and u/LilaValentine gave practical advice: document everything, escalate to HR, and put it all in writing to protect yourself and force the company to act. “Your manager might be a dick about this, but only if they aren’t responding properly to the situation,” LilaValentine dryly noted. Others, like u/Equivalent-Peanut-23, reminded everyone that “employees have a right to be free from sexual harassment regardless of who the harasser is.”
The Takeaway: Don’t Endure—Escalate!
So what can you do when management’s only action is inaction? Reddit’s consensus: escalate, escalate, escalate. Document the harassment, go over the GM’s head, and involve HR, corporate, or even law enforcement if necessary. As u/Wigglerstew43 put it, “Management has a responsibility to protect their staff as well as their guests. That one guest is not more important than the other guests or staff.”
And if you’re stuck in the supervisor’s shoes, cover your own backside: keep a paper trail, save all texts and emails, and make it clear (in writing) that you’ve raised the alarm. If your company won’t protect you, the law just might.
Conclusion: Whose Side Are You On?
This saga isn’t just a juicy tale for Reddit—it’s a warning for every business that thinks profit trumps people. When management tells staff to “endure” harassment, they’re not just risking morale—they’re risking lawsuits, reputations, and their own jobs.
Have you ever faced a workplace where management ignored serious harassment? What would you have done in this supervisor’s shoes? Share your stories (and your best “defenestration” jokes) in the comments below!
Because at the end of the day, a safe workplace shouldn’t be a perk—it should be the bare minimum. And no one, staff or guest, should ever have to “endure” a creep for the sake of the bottom line.
Original Reddit Post: My general manager told staff to endure a creepy guest