Working the Holidays: The Unsung Heroes Behind Hotel Front Desks (and Why Your Aunt Keeps Calling)
There’s a certain magic to checking into a hotel on Christmas or New Year’s Eve—twinkling lobby lights, the faint scent of cinnamon, and the promise of fresh towels. But behind that counter, someone is missing family dinners, dodging the same questions year after year, and maybe, just maybe, using their shift as the perfect excuse to skip awkward get-togethers. Welcome to the upside-down world of the hospitality worker’s holiday.
If you’ve ever asked a hotel worker, “Wait… you’re working on Christmas?”—this post is for you. If you ARE that hotel worker, you’ll find camaraderie, commiseration, and a few good laughs from the frontline. Gather ’round the virtual lobby; it’s story time.
“But You’re Working on Christmas?!?”: The Never-Ending Conversation
Let’s set the scene: It’s December, and the family group chat is buzzing. Plans are being made, casseroles scheduled, and then—cue disbelief—someone remembers you work at a hotel.
“What???? You’re working on Christmas !??? How is that possible???”
You sigh, as you’ve done every year, and explain—again—that hotels, like Santa, never close. Your shifts run Tuesday to Saturday. If Christmas falls on a workday, then yes, you’ll be behind that desk, not the dinner table.
As the original poster, u/frenchynerd, shares, this conversation isn’t just a one-off. It’s a holiday tradition. “But can’t you ask for a day off on Christmas???” family wonders. Technically yes, if your coworker wants to swap, but as OP dryly notes: “That would be surprising.”
For introverts, though, there’s a silver lining. As OP admits, “I do also use this as an excuse to avoid any form of event.” Who knew working the front desk could double as a social shield?
24/7 Service: The Price of a Warm Bed (and Quiet PJs)
Here’s the reality: Hotels don’t close. Nurses don’t get to lock up the ICU, and toll booth operators don’t vanish for the holidays. As u/RubyRed8787, an ICU nurse, puts it, “Some family members still don’t understand that the hospital never closes. They also do not get the concept of night shift and why I wouldn’t be able to come to a daytime event after working from 7pm to 7am.”
This is the “upside down” schedule that hospitality and essential workers live in. The rest of the world wraps up with loved ones, while front desk agents, toll booth operators (shout-out to u/elseldo, who enjoys union benefits and a solid data plan for streaming), and night auditors keep the lights on.
And yet, it’s not all doom and gloom. There are perks—like holiday pay, as OP admits with a smiley: “Yes.” And sometimes, the peace and quiet of an empty lobby (or a blissfully empty apartment building after your shift) is its own kind of holiday magic. As u/Grieie quips, “The idea of dealing with people, to then go to a party, then deal with more people is my idea of hell.” Sometimes, a quiet night in PJs, scrolling Reddit, is the best gift of all.
The Guests, the Gaffes, and the Great Holiday Irony
Perhaps the greatest irony? Guests themselves. As u/ScenicDrive-at5 recounts, a guest checking in on Christmas exclaimed, “Ah, it stinks you have to be here.” The front desk agent chuckled: if staff weren’t there, the same guest “would be hopping mad.”
Hotel workers are the invisible elves making holiday getaways possible, yet their presence is both pitied and demanded. And when hotels do close—like the small town in Australia where hotels rotate Christmas Day openings (thanks to u/birdmanrules)—guests are, shall we say, less than jolly.
It’s not just hotels. From post office graveyard shifts (u/aquainst1’s New Year’s story) to resort chefs (u/Bladrak01’s 30 Christmases without a single holiday off), the service industry is powered by people whose calendars look nothing like the rest of society’s.
Making It Work: New Traditions, Quiet Victories
So how do workers cope? By making their own traditions. As u/cynrtst shared, their son’s night shifts inspired the family to celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas on Mondays. The day doesn’t matter—just being together does. And as for those who ask, “Can’t you just get the day off?”—well, as u/Grieie deadpanned, “I could, but I like money.”
Some swap shifts out of kindness, like u/petshopB1986 covering for a younger coworker. Others, like u/SkwrlTail, squeeze in family time after the night audit—though sometimes, as they learned the hard way, that means missing the festivities altogether.
And then there’s the secret perk: dodging family drama. As u/Emergency_Mango_2456 gleefully admits, “It does come in handy when you prefer to not do the family thing for the holidays!!” There’s a peculiar joy in having work as a ready-made excuse for skipping that one aunt’s fruitcake.
The Bottom Line: Be Kind to Your Holiday Heroes
So next time you check into a hotel on Christmas, wave at the night auditor, thank the toll booth attendant, and maybe—just maybe—remember their schedule before texting them mid-shift. Hotels (and hospitals, and post offices, and more) don’t run on Christmas magic. They run on people.
And if you’re one of those people? Here’s to you: the unsung hero of someone’s holiday. May your shifts be quiet, your guests be kind, and your holiday pay be worth every minute.
Have a story from the front desk—or the night shift? Share it below, and let’s raise a virtual toast to the real MVPs of the season!
Original Reddit Post: Working on Christmas and New Year's