Why Are Front Desk Agents Being Quizzed on Hotel Pricing? Inside the Bizarre World of Corporate Training
Picture this: You’re at the front desk of a bustling extended stay hotel, expertly handing out key cards and answering the age-old question, “Is there free breakfast?” Suddenly, an ominous email arrives from corporate headquarters. It’s not a guest complaint or a shift change—no, it’s something far stranger. Apparently, you and every other front desk agent have been “voluntold” to take a 21-question knowledge test about N2 pricing. Hurdles? Forecasts? Revenue management? You’re just trying to print out receipts and smile through your fifth late check-in of the night!
When Corporate Training Goes Rogue
This exact scenario played out for u/Final_Collection9237 and their coworkers, as shared in a recent r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk post titled Strange training requirement. The post quickly racked up dozens of upvotes and sparked a mini-rebellion in the comments. The reason? None of the front desk agents could pass the mysterious “N2 pricing” test, and corporate wasn’t offering any hints—no passing score, no answer key, no context. It’s like the SATs, only with more acronyms and less teenage angst.
If you’re not in the hotel industry, you might be wondering: what’s N2 pricing? Why would front desk agents need to know about it? And, most importantly, is there a cheat sheet?
The short answers: it’s a revenue management strategy, they probably don’t, and…maybe, if you know where to look (but good luck finding it!).
The Great Disconnect: When Training Misses the Mark
Let’s be honest—most of us have suffered through a bizarre or irrelevant corporate training session at some point. (Who among us hasn’t “agreed” to a 90-slide PowerPoint about data security while sneakily checking their phone under the table?) But asking front desk agents—the heroes of hospitality, the keepers of the keys—to master the intricacies of pricing forecasts and rate hurdles? That’s a new level of corporate confusion.
The Reddit thread features fellow hotel workers commiserating and swapping horror stories. One person joked about “just clicking random answers until the system lets me through.” Another wondered if perhaps the training was meant for a different department, only to get sent out en masse due to a clerical oopsie. The original poster summed it up best: “Believe me, no one wants me messing around with forecasts, hurdles and pricing!”
Why Do These Weird Training Requirements Happen?
So why does this happen? Sometimes, it’s as simple as a blanket email blast—the corporate office wants to make sure everyone is “trained,” so they check all the boxes by sending the test to every employee, regardless of job title. Other times, it’s a case of “better safe than sorry”—in case a manager is out or someone steps up, the company wants cross-trained staff. Or, most likely, someone in corporate just doesn’t quite understand what front desk agents actually do all day. (Hint: It’s not adjusting average daily rates or calculating revenue per available room.)
There’s another, sneakier reason: compliance. In the age of endless audits and liability, companies want proof that everyone has at least seen the training, even if they’ll never use it. If the whole property gets quizzed, the company can say with confidence, “See? Everyone is prepared!”—even if nobody could actually pass without a miracle (or a cheat sheet).
The Comedy (and Tragedy) of Unhelpful Tests
The cruelest twist? The test software doesn’t tell test-takers which questions they got wrong. It simply spits out a fail message and invites you to try again. Over and over. It’s enough to make anyone question their life choices—or start searching for that mythical cheat sheet. (Spoiler: If you find one, drop it in the comments. You’ll be a hero among hospitality workers everywhere.)
In the meantime, the front desk staff does what they do best: laugh it off, help each other out, and hope that next week’s surprise training is about something actually relevant—like how to deal with guests who microwave fish at 2am.
Conclusion: Have You Survived a Strange Training Too?
So, next time you check into a hotel and see the front desk agent smiling—just remember, they might be silently worrying about their N2 pricing exam results. If you’ve been caught in the crossfire of head-scratching corporate training (hotel or otherwise), share your story below! Maybe together, we can solve the great mystery: why do companies keep giving us tests we’ll never need?
Have a tale of training gone wrong? Drop it in the comments, or share this post with a coworker who’s ever muttered, “Why am I learning this?” Let’s laugh (and commiserate) together—no cheat sheet required!
Original Reddit Post: Strange training requirement