When Third-Party Hotel Bookings Go Wrong: Tales of Upgrades, Karens, and Luggage Cart Acrobatics
Anyone who’s ever worked a hotel front desk knows it’s a 24/7 stage for human drama. From the grateful and gracious to the downright delusional, you never quite know who’s stepping out of that revolving door next. But few stories capture the wild ride better than those involving third-party bookings—where miscommunications and misplaced blame are as common as lost luggage.
Recently, Reddit’s r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk played host to a double feature courtesy of u/TheNiteOwl38: one story of a kind-hearted upgrade gone right, and another of a guest whose review skills outpaced her ability to book the right date. The resulting reviews (and the management’s reactions) offer a hilarious, sometimes maddening, but ultimately insightful look behind the check-in counter.
The Upgrade That Almost Wasn’t (and Why Notes Matter)
First up: our hero, the night auditor, faces a classic third-party booking snafu. A group of guests arrives, only to discover the room they’d booked through an external site doesn’t have enough beds. The guests are understanding—no “let me speak to your manager” in sight—so our front desk friend does the right thing and upgrades them to a two-bedroom suite, free of charge.
Management’s reaction? Mostly applause. Both the General Manager (GM) and Operations Manager (OM) back the decision—“they more than likely would've done the same thing,” reports the OP. But there’s a twist: the Front Office Manager (FOM) is surprised, not by the upgrade itself, but because she almost charged the guests an upgrade fee at checkout, thinking it was a mistake. She only realized her error after reading the notes left on the reservation.
As u/CaptainYaoiHands bluntly puts it, “The notes on the reservation IS you keeping them in the loop. She never should have been making any decisions on a reservation WITHOUT reading the fucking notes on it. What is wrong with her???” A sentiment echoed by many in the thread, where shift note neglect is apparently a universal hotel headache.
The silver lining? The upgraded guests left a glowing review, specifically naming the night auditor for their kindness. “I don’t get good reviews that often since working as an auditor,” OP admits, so the praise was especially sweet. As u/AnitraF1632 summarized: “The guests learned how to book on a third party site, and that being nice gets you better service. And you learned to keep your FOM in the loop when you give an upgrade. You also learned that your managers have your back, which is always a good thing to know.”
When “The Customer Is Always Right” Goes Off the Rails
If only every story ended with happy guests and high-fives from management. Enter our second act: a guest who booked the wrong date through a third-party site, canceled, and then balked at the (correct) new rate. After leaving without staying, she took to the review section to air her grievances, accusing the front desk of being unhelpful, rude, and even of telling her she was “too poor” to stay. (Spoiler: that didn’t happen.)
The reviewer also dragged in a new accusation: the front desk agent had an issue with her young daughter “standing” on the luggage cart. The reality? The kid was jumping on it, risking both her safety and the hotel’s insurance premiums, prompting a polite request to stop.
The GM handled the review with tact, apologizing for her feelings but standing firm: third-party booking mistakes are the guest’s responsibility, not the hotel’s. And as for the luggage cart incident? “He backs my decision to make her ask her daughter to get off the luggage cart since no children (or anyone for that matter) are allowed to be on top of them, standing, jumping, or anything else,” OP reports.
The community had thoughts. “Nobody wants kids climbing a luggage cart. Anyone reading that review knows she's a [jerk],” wrote u/RoyallyOakie, voicing a sentiment most hospitality workers can get behind.
The Community Reacts: Accountability? In This Economy?
Perhaps the most entertaining part of the Reddit thread is the chorus of front-desk veterans who’ve seen it all before. “Would this sub even exist if people weren't generally like that?” mused u/robsterva, referencing the guest’s refusal to accept responsibility. OP’s reply? “You’re not wrong.”
Others shared their own tales of impossible reviews: being blamed for insufficient “boat traffic” by the hotel (u/Lost_Ad533), being expected to control the weather (OP), and, in the ultimate “not my circus, not my scorpion” moment, being dinged for a scorpion in the hotel parking lot—in the desert. As u/wannabejoanie said, “The tarantula migration is a Big Deal here. It was in the fucking parking lot.”
When it comes to third-party bookings, u/SkwrlTail offered some industry insight: “People will sometimes ‘accidentally’ book for a cheaper date, then expect the hotel to change the date but still honor the original price.” It’s a common trick, and one that’s forced many booking sites to clamp down on changes. Cheaping out, as u/Intelligent-Dig2945 added, “will always catch up with you in the end.”
Lessons from the Front Desk: Be Nice, Read the Notes, and Don’t Jump on Luggage Carts
So, what’s the takeaway from this two-part saga of upgrades and outrage? First, kindness pays off—literally, in the form of unexpected upgrades and glowing reviews. Second, for hotel staff, communication (and reading your shift notes!) can save everyone a heap of trouble. And finally, for guests: if you book through a third party, triple-check your dates, and don’t expect the hotel to fix your mistakes for free.
As the thread’s best wisdom goes, “Honestly, it’s a vibe check. Weird vibes, you get a shitty room. Good vibes, I will move the sun and earth for you.” (Thanks, u/wannabejoanie.)
Got your own wild front desk story or a review that made you laugh out loud? Share it in the comments below! And remember: in hospitality, as in life, a little patience (and a sense of humor) goes a long, long way.
Original Reddit Post: Update: Third Party Guests and Their Reviews