Whether it’s a five-star luxury accommodation or a two-star motor inn, the outlandish occurrences are the same. These hotel workers gave us the dish on some of the craziest things they’ve seen. From filthy freaks to raunchy vacationers, these saucy stories will shock and stupefy. If only hotel room walls could talk.
1. Trail To Terror
I was working at Quality Inn, and after three days on a short-staffed team, I finally had a chance to clean a room. The moment I entered, I noticed a scattering of blue pills everywhere and a path of them led to the bed.
All I could see in the room were a giant milk jug and an economy-sized bag of off-brand cereal next to the pills. The room was stuffy and carried a strong, peculiar odor that I couldn't immediately identify.
As I approached the bed, I noticed a box on the nightstand labeled "anti-diarrhea medicine". The smell became increasingly overpowering. Then, pulling back the sheets, I made a disgusting discovery—it was a mess of diarrhea.
I felt a combination of worry and repulsion, thinking about the person who stayed in the room. I made my way back to the front, where the bathroom door was closed.
With apprehension, I cautiously opened the bathroom door only to be slapped by an odor that reminded me of decay. Trying not to throw up, I switched on the lights and used the broom to lift the toilet seat.
The toilet was brimming with a horrifying mixture of feces and blood, looking like an evil witch's bubbling cauldron. I bolted out and informed the maintenance crew. The response was that we just had to do our best to clean it up. I just looked at him, apologized, and quit right there.
I wasn't about to risk my health cleaning up a biohazard for a wage of $14 an hour.
2. Beauty Fades, Dumb Is Forever
A handsome gentleman regularly visited our boutique hotel for business. One night, he approached the front desk, inquiring if we had seen a blonde woman leave. We hadn't. But then again, we didn't see her arrive either since they used the side entry.
The gentleman returned to his room only to call us a few hours later. Apparently, his firm and the local authorities would be needing our security footage soon.
"Okay, sure," we assured him. "But, what's the issue?" turns out, he had entertained a lady of the night in his room. This lady persuaded him to take a quick trip to the store, and during his absence, she swiftly cleared out all his work electronics and personal valuables.
The man, understandably, was quite embarrassed. The female staff in the lobby just kind of lost interest in him following that incident. Not because of his visitor, but because he showed poor judgment.
3. If You Can’t Stand The Heat, Get Out Of The Kitchen
A tense chef had a disagreement with an uptight bistro worker. The situation only got worse, leading to a physical fight when a kitchen knife was introduced. They ended up tussling on the floor after bursting through the swing-door, just as the area manager was entering.
Law enforcement was notified, and I believe both of them either lost their jobs or ended up in handcuffs.
4. Some Old-Time Fun
When I was just 15, I worked as a busboy in a resort tucked away in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Every now and then, my job at the resort's restaurant required me to deliver in-room meal services. Their safety concerns led them to ask only the male staff for these duties. Once, I was selected to take a food tray up to a guest room.
Upon reaching the room, I was met with an unexpected surprise—the door was answered by a woman wearing very minimal clothing. Though I never set foot inside, from the doorway, I could see a group of about eight or nine older men and women, all in their 60s and 70s. Most of them were barely dressed. Even as young as I was, the peculiar odor in the room made it clear what was going on.
They were generous with their tip. After the delivery, I headed straight back down to the restaurant to resume my duties. No one asked about it and I didn't tell anyone; I assumed they'd find it hard to believe.
5. Searching For A Sleeping Beauty
Just as I started my shift at a quaint boutique shop around 6:30 am, before I even had my first cup of coffee, an upset woman approached me at the counter. Breathlessly, she said, "My husband, who's known to sleepwalk, is missing from our room and all of his belongings are still there. I fear he's wandered into someone else's room."
A chuckle almost escaped me thinking of the alarming scenario of a woman shrieking at the sight of a naked stranger in her room. My immediate idea was to refer to our CCTV footage. So, she accompanied me to our first-floor monitor, unusually located at the back of our linen cupboard.
As I swung open the door and flicked the lights on, lo and behold, there was her stripped-down husband ardently snoozing atop a heap of our bunched-up duvet covers, draped casually by an unfolded one.
6. Hubs Went To Play When Wife Was Away
A group of hotel guests was attending a conference. There was an incident one evening at roughly 10:30 pm when a man, clad only in underpants and a bed sheet, strolled from his room to the lobby. His face was bloody, and based on his demeanor, he appeared to be dazed, possibly due to a concussion, intoxication, drug use, or a combination thereof.
He let security know that he had a dispute with his boyfriend. As a result, a pair of security officers were dispatched to speak with the boyfriend in their room, while another officer stayed with the injured man at the front desk, waiting for medical assistance. Upon their investigation, the officers found out that the injured man had defecated in one of the beds while unconscious.
After a night out, the boyfriend returned with his wife and two kids and discovered him in such a condition. As both men were coworkers attending the conference, the family man had expected to meet his boyfriend in the suite during the conference hours, while his family were sightseeing.
Back at the front desk, the security supervisor relayed the newfound information to the injured man, which triggered him. He lunged at the supervisor, and after some struggle, the supervisor was able to handcuff him. The police were summoned, and the man was detained and checked by emergency medical technicians.
7. Taking Out The Trash
We held a festive gathering for a rubbish removal company. Over 200 garbage collectors were present and we provided an open bar for them all. One attendee went a bit overboard with the drinks, ended up in the kitchen, and started breaking all sorts of stuff including plates.
We discovered him the next morning, completely out cold and minus his clothes in a stairwell.
8. Please Make This Guy Disappear!
I have a friend who works in the event management industry and often collaborates with hotels. There was this one instance when they had a grand event, and they'd hired a magician who, funnily enough, resembled the Tim Burton's take on Willy Wonka—long-haired, slightly feminine, with a somewhat uncomfortable aura about him in his velvet suit.
His performance was rather peculiar for a grand event—he started off with a couple of basic magic tricks which he then followed up with a lengthy narrative about him mastering hypnosis from a supposed successor of Franz Anton Mesmer himself. He also bragged about learning Sanskrit chanting from Himalayan monks. Young ladies were his preferred subjects for showcasing his hypnosis skills.
The event organizers got apprehensive about where the show was heading but fell victim to the Bystander effect, not being able to shut it down immediately. Luckily, his hypnosis acts turned out to be generic stuff you'd see in any TV sitcom.
Despite being booked for two 15-minute slots, his first took an extensive hour to conclude. As a result, the organizers had to forgo his second performance due to a time crunch. The magician, strangely, assumed it'd be okay to mingle with the attendees post-event.
The same night, a prom or cotillion for a girls' private school was being held at the same hotel. The magician was spotted flirting with the young guests in their fancy dresses, which led the chaperones to request the hotel staff to remove him for his inappropriate behavior.
The event organizers shrugged off the responsibility mentioning they no longer controlled the magician's actions since he'd completed his performance. Everyone sensed the guy's creepy vibe, and they agreed to have him leave. But he wasn't going without a fight!
When the hotel staff insisted on his departure, turning him down as a potential guest due to complains about his conduct, he threw a toddler-like tantrum at the front desk. At last, the hotel decided to call security, needing them to handle the situation as the magician stubbornly wouldn't leave the premises and was causing a ruckus. Eventually, law enforcement had to be involved.
Unexpectedly, as soon as the cops arrived, he bolted! A chase ensued, with the not-so-fit officers struggling to keep up. They were finally able to locate the magician hiding under a catering table at the cotillion, allegedly peeking up girls' dresses, following a tip from a chaperone. The chase resumed, leading to a fire exit alarm going off as he made his way out.
He attempted a bizarre run, arms pinned to his side all the while, ending up at the edge of the hotel property, near a patch of woods. Slightly away from the hotel's ground, he started mocking the officers, claiming they couldn't arrest him for trespassing. Well, he soon was proven terribly wrong—the winded officers managed to tackle him on the spot.
He was dragged to a squad car all the while babbling gibberish, cursing the officers using his 'Himalayan street knowledge.' He was taken away, and after that, his whereabouts or what happened to him, remains unknown.
9. A Bunch Of Brawling Babies
I was the lone worker at the hotel during the night shift, which ran from 11 pm to 6 am. It was around 3 am when I got several calls about an ongoing quarrel in one of the hallways upstairs. I picked up a pair of scissors, concealed them in my sleeve, and went upstairs to check out the situation. Upon arrival, I found two men involved in a heated fistfight.
Even though I'm quite tall and broad-shouldered at 6'2", these guys were taller and more muscular than me. From out of a nearby room, another equally broad guy emerged brandishing a knife, yelling "Back off from him". I kept my distance and started shouting at them. They all froze in their tracks and turned to look at me.
My mind was setting up for a quick escape when suddenly their aggressive postures collapsed. The man dropped his knife, the pair untangled from their fight, heads bowed, and one muttered a quiet "Sorry". They looked like children caught sneaking cookies.
I firmly stated that they needed to exit the hotel immediately, or else I would involve law enforcement, and they all silently acknowledged. They tagged along obediently as I walked them towards the elevator, spending the whole journey murmuring their apologies and sulking while I ushered them out.
I've never witnessed a scene shift from chaos to calm so rapidly.
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10. First Day Fantasy Find
My earliest work experience dates back to when I was 14-years-old and started working at a hotel as a handyman. My tasks primarily consisted of basic upkeep and, on odd occasions, unclogging toilets.
I vividly recall my first day on the job. A guest in one of the high-end suites complained about a faulty TV. I immediately headed up to have a look.
Hidden behind the enormous TV console was a pile of adult magazines, which, at my tender age was quite eye-opening. My immediate reaction was to declare, "These need to be taken to management."
But in the end, I ended up stashing them away in a utility cupboard packed with toilet papers, towels, and other common items. Not gonna lie, I would sneak in and indulge my curiosity quite a few times.
11. A Jolly Good Tip
One evening while I was working as a doorman/concierge, I had the responsibility of delivering luggage to a room where a guest was staying. When I knocked, I found the room occupied by three men and a woman, their hands filled with red SOLO cups and a large bottle of Grey Goose on display.
The guest invited me to join their celebration, but I kindly declined. Despite his insistence, I stayed strong on my decision. I attempted to extract myself from the situation when the guest reached into his pocket to tip me. However, he only had 100-dollar bills left. I told him not to bother about it, but he insisted, saying, "No, stay right there".
Following this, he accessed the room safe, scooped up an array of candies, and handed them to me with a smirk. Gratefully, I accepted and quickly exited the room. On my journey down in the elevator, I examined the candy and realized it was, in fact, a selection of THC infused Jolly Rancher candies.
12. Tackled By A Two By Four
Right as I was about to start my early morning shift, I had a chat with a fellow employee outside while she took her smoke break. It was still before sunrise, and suddenly, this man mumbling something about his lost family approached us, armed with a 2x4 plank, threatening to strike my co-worker's head.
I quickly jumped in to shield her, bracing my arm to absorb the possible attack. Then came a surprising turn—the man halted his swing midway. We stood there, almost nose to nose, with the 2x4 poised mid-air like a baseball bat, and then, just as unexpectedly, he ran away, dropping the menacing object.
My colleague quickly darted to pick it up right after to ensure he wouldn't retrieve it for a second attempt. Once we had the plank inside, we noticed that it was studded with nails. We both felt extremely lucky to have avoided being hit by it!
13. Hop On SWAT
On a bustling Saturday night in a city center's large-scale hotel, twenty-two-year-old me was the one in charge. The hotel was completely filled with participants of a girl's dance contest. Suddenly, an undercover cop flashed his badge at me saying, "We need to discuss something."
He showed me a Snapchat video of people flaunting weapons and what seemed like illegal substances. All this was supposedly happening in one of my hotel rooms.
"We’ve been after them for a while. We intend to catch them here." I tried reaching out to the hotel's general manager and the assistant, but I couldn't get a hold of them. In my youthful naivety, I didn’t know how to question such authority.
So, I disguised the cop as a houseman, equipped him with a clipboard, and tasked him to use his olfactory skills for detecting cannabis to find out the suspect’s room.
However, luck wasn't on our side. After reviewing security footage without any result, we guessed that a friend of the suspect booked the room. The detective identified the suspect loitering in the lobby.
He suggested me to approach the suspect with a ruse of having won a free stay to extract his room number. But I did not comply with that idea. Unexpectedly, an hour later, the suspect himself turned up, saying he had lost his wallet.
That was a much-needed breakthrough. I asked him, “Could you share your name for verification purposes in case your wallet is found? And your room number as well? I'll ring you up with updates.”
I forwarded the information to the undercover cop. Another officer had joined him by then, and they announced that a SWAT raid was about to happen soon.
I was against it, but I felt it was too late to retreat. With still no response from the higher management, I briefed the staff and refreshed them on the hotel's protocols. I stayed there until the SWAT team arrived at 1 am. I guided them to the concerned floor using the service elevator. Instead of knocking, the team used explosives on the door.
And then, there was visibility-blocking smoke everywhere. Since the hotel structure had open-air atriums along the rooms, the fire alarms blared, causing panic among the guests. There were crying children and anxious mothers. We, unfortunately, lost the dance group's business permanently after this incident.
14. Things Did Not Go Eggs-actly As Planned
At the hotel waterpark where I was employed, we came up with a grand plan to kick off Easter one year. We organized an impressive Easter egg hunt featuring over 500 eggs, with a single special golden egg that came with a cash prize.
We pulled out all the stops in promoting the event. The notice was everywhere—on our website, in TV and radio spots, and we even got local news channels to give a shout out.
However, in all our enthusiasm, we overlooked one crucial detail. As a special treat, hotel guests were allowed into the park a couple of hours ahead of the general public. The day of the event arrived, and we quickly grasped our error as our hotel guests promptly started the egg hunt.
When the gates finally opened two hours later to welcome a large group of eager children and their hopeful parents, all the eggs had been snapped up. To add to the crisis, the water's heating system broke down. So picture a totally packed waterpark, devoid of Easter eggs, freezing in Minnesota's icy April weather, with the water absolutely chilled.
15. In Deep Trouble
A visitor contacted the police due to excessive noise coming from a neighboring room. The police arrived and accompanied the front desk clerk to the source of the disturbance. When they opened the room, they discovered an unusual scene: an exotic dancer, her two children, her former husband, her aunt, and an unrelated man.
This eclectic group was engaged in the strange activity of deep-frying chicken late on a Tuesday night. One vivid memory is of a man dashing out of the lobby with his deep fryer, scattering oil everywhere.
16. Face To Face With Evil
In 2006, a man who had tragically ended the lives of his wife and daughter in their residence before escaping to the UK, booked a room at the hotel where I worked. I provided him with service, completely oblivious to the horrendous circumstances. It wasn't until law enforcement arrived to question me that I became aware.
The realization was the oddest, most heartbreaking sensation—that this man, who appeared so ordinary and cordial during our conversation, had been responsible for such a horrific act just 24 hours prior. The impression of this incident remains with me, even after all these years.
17. Lack Of Communication Is A Bad Situation
During my time in maintenance—a role that often involved guest duties, security tasks, and other miscellaneous errands at the properties I looked after—my radio buzzed with a request from the front desk. They wanted me to inspect a room. "What am I looking for?" I asked, to which they simply responded, "Just have a look."
I poked around the room, which was marked as unoccupied. Nothing seemed amiss. When I returned to the front desk, it was swarming with police officers who expressed a desire to enter the room. I let them know it was empty. However, I added, if they had a warrant or had booked the room, I'd gladly unlock the door for them.
It unfolded that a gentleman had phoned, claiming someone had attempted to kill him in that room. Consequently, I was dispatched without any prior information to either confirm the presence of a corpse or possibly discourage somebody from pursuing a drastic course of action. He rang the emergency services again, this time alleging he was armed and in our parking lot—another fabrication.
This disturbing incident eroded my trust in my colleagues' communication skills. We remained in the dark about the final outcome, but hypothesized that the police may have ended up at the wrong hotel due to some kind of mix-up.
18. The Lube Man Cometh
In the past, I was employed at a Marriott hotel. This chain of hotels has what you can think of as a 'no-entry list' featuring guests who are no longer welcome at their properties. One notorious individual on this list is nicknamed "Lube Man". He's only stayed at a Marriott a handful of times, but each visit ended in disaster.
He left lube deeply embedded in every piece of furniture, to the point where all of it had to be disposed. Carpets needed replacement due to various bodily fluids, amongst which were feces and blood. It honestly was revolting. My heart goes out to the cleaning staff who had to cope with the aftermath.
19. Hung Out To Dry
My job was at a big hotel in Chicago, often visited by business guests. One guest decided to hang his suit jacket, not in the provided closet, but on the ceiling sprinkler. Not the best decision, as it led to the breaking of the sprinkler's glass tube.
As a result, the sprinklers went haywire, releasing LOADS of mucky water everywhere. And 'everywhere' included all the rooms below, turning them into a disaster zone. Just imagine, the chain reaction started on the 19th floor!
This simple act—a suit jacket hanging from the wrong place—resulted in damages that ran into hundreds of thousands of dollars.
20. Locked Out Of Love
We got a complaint about a noisy disturbance near one of our swimming pools. It turns out, a lady who was residing in a suite next to the pool found herself locked out on the patio. She was making a ruckus, banging on the sliding door and yelling. Upon hearing this, the room supervisor and security head hurried over to her suite.
When they arrived, they discovered a man just casually sitting on the couch, engrossed in watching television. Apparently, the two of them had a quarrel which led him to purposely lock her out on the patio.
The most comical part, however, was the final sentence in the guest incident report. It declared, "Mr. and Mrs. X are on their honeymoon and will be staying with us for the next three days."
21. Proud Pooper
I once had a job in an upscale hotel, catering to guests from all around the world. One day, as I was pushing a cleaning cart down a corridor, a guest approached me, attempting to convey something.
But, our language barrier made things difficult. After some futile attempts at conversation, he motioned for me to follow him into his room. And so, cautiously, I followed him into his bathroom.
The pungent odor in the room hit me instantly. He directed my attention to his toilet which housed an enormous, well, let's just call it a "present." Despite his ongoing barrage in his native language that I couldn't comprehend, I was puzzled about his motive.
Then, with a push of a button, he triggered the toilet to flush, effectively eliminating the 'present'. He triumphantly turned to me with a bizarrely proud look on his face. All I could do was smile back, give him a double thumbs-up, and quickly exit the scene.
22. The Skinny-Dipping Dudes
I recall an outstandingly zany story from when I was working at a hotel. There were these five lads who'd rented a suite for some weekend relaxation. Despite it being high summer and the hotel bustling with activity, they weren't deterred from making the most of their time.
They arrived donning vibrant, matching Hawaiian shirts, their faces brimming with excitement. As their stay concluded and I was wrapping up their checkout, I casually asked about their experience.
One of them enthusiastically responded, "Oh, we had an absolute blast! We got so hammered that we all decided to go for an impromptu skinny dip in the hotel pool!"
I initially brushed it off as a silly joke, but then the others started sharing details corroborating the night's adventures. What really startled me was the fact that they had completely disrobed and jumped into the pool--all while other guests were nearby.
They assured me that they didn't see anyone else around the pool, which was a huge relief. Still, it left me wondering how nobody spotted their adventurous evening dip. Shrouded in luck, this wild escapade seemed to fly under the radar, leaving no guests any the wiser about their antics.
23. Balloon Boy’s Bar Trip Was A Bust
A man approached our hotel bar one night around 11pm, dressed in just a Speedo and brandishing between 15 to 20 balloons. He wasn't wearing shoes and the balloons were his only possession.
Our pool area was already shut at the time. He requested a glass of wine, to which my quick-witted colleague took the chance to inquire if the payment would be applied to his room's tab. The bloke simply replied, "No, I'll handle it with cash."
My fellow worker then let him know that he wouldn't be able to serve him. Confused and irritated, the balloon guy wanted a reason. My coworker provided him with a straightforward response — "If you're not using a room charge, it means you're either out of payment methods or happen to store cash in your Speedo.
We're not keen on that. Kindly exit." Realizing we weren't about to pour him that drink, he amusingly declared, "Well, I don't have any use for these anymore." He then released all the balloons, sending them to the ceiling, and strolled off.
24. Hulkamania
Back in the late '80s, when I was a high school senior, I started working in hotel security. My job was at a high-end hotel situated just a few miles from World Wrestling Federation's main office. The hotel was a frequent stopover for numerous wrestlers.
My everyday tasks included monitoring all the hotel floors and ensuring other areas of the hotel were safe. One night, I heard a sudden, piercing scream. As I moved towards the scream, a small toddler, crying and running, approached me in the corridor.
Before I could even ask what was going on, Hulk Hogan dashed down the corridor, scooped up his kid, and quickly apologized. Following the brief encounter, they hurried back to their suite in the hotel.
25. The Universal Language Of Yup
During my time as a hotel housekeeper, our staff was incredibly diverse, with colleagues hailing from places like Haiti, Japan, Mexico, Russia, and more. One of my coworkers, a friendly Japanese man, wasn't fluent in English but always radiated positivity. He had a peculiar relationship with a Haitian man on our team—despite their shared language barrier.
This Haitian coworker spoke minimal English, and although I never heard them engaging in conversation, I often walked in to find them sharing a laugh before they resumed work. On one such occasion, I got the chance to see their unique camaraderie.
I was restocking my housekeeping cart when the Japanese man strolled in, heading for the elevator. Upon seeing him, the Haitian man greeted him with a jubilant "Yup!" To which the Japanese man responded with the same enthusiastic "Yup," proceeding to press the elevator button.
They exchanged this single word for about a minute until the elevator doors closed. Later, I caught the tail end of a similar exchange, making me realize that this was their daily ritual. It was then I discovered how a straightforward "Yup!" could bridge a language gap. This single word was all they needed to communicate and maintain their bond.
26. Relentless Jerks
In my past life as a hotel front desk clerk, I was subject to daily harassment. One regular guest always tried to lure me into his room with flirtations and requests. After informing my manager about this, he took over when the guest next requested a towel delivery. The guest had prepared himself by waiting in his room completely naked.
On a separate occasion, a different guest was part of a long-term group stay. He seemed a bit timid I believed he had a crush on me. His comrades attempted to dupe me into joining him alone in an elevator, after which I strictly started using the stairs.
Some people didn't hesitate in voicing their desire to be intimate with me, leading me to barricade myself in our office until management could come to my rescue. No doubt, it was the most daunting job I've held.
27. Two Scoops Of Spite
At a hotel I once worked at, a visitor requested an ice cream via room service. She got upset about something related to her order and purposely spilled the dessert onto the carpet.
She then informed the staff member that it was his duty to clean her mess. As he attempted to grab a cloth from his trolley, she stopped him by blocking the door and refusing to let him leave until he tidied up the spillage.
The unfortunate employee had to resort to using the sleeve of his uniform for the clean-up. The next day, management asked the guest to meet with them. In that meeting, the hotel manager informed her that she has been blacklisted from staying in the hotel for the rest of her vacation, and also in the future, without any exceptions.
28. Money Doesn’t Buy Class
As a university student, I spent my summer breaks as a camp counselor at a posh 5-star beach resort nestled in an affluent area. Because I was strapped for cash, I'd volunteer for any "official babysitting" services needed by the guest families. You'd be amazed to see how many super-wealthy parents show negligible responsibility towards their kids or have any regard for others.
Some families had their nannies in tow, so my job was to stand-in whenever the nannies had an off night. There were multiple instances when parents informed me they'd be back by midnight, only to return the following day.
I'll never forget this one family—the couple went off to a fancy party nearby, ended up booking a hotel room, and left their toddler daughter with me—crying—for a full 36 hours. No one could get hold of them. They were supposed to only be out for a 3-hour dinner.
High-end resorts are hesitant to kick up a fuss or interfere. I had to miss my college classes, skip a family event, and scrap my plans to attend to this little girl all weekend.
The parents breezed back with nothing more than an apology, paid me solely for the first night, and nothing more. I had paid for the toddler's meals out of my pocket and wasn't reimbursed. The resort insisted I let it slide.
29. Hitting The Bottom Of The Bottle
I'm employed by a business in the hospitality industry. There was an instance where a woman who was a guest in one of our hotels had ordered a considerable amount of wine the previous night, raising enough alarm for the reception team to escalate the issue to management.
Despite setting a limit for her alcohol consumption, it was already too late. The guest later contacted the front desk, expressing that she felt unwell and requested new sheets.
She firmly asked that the housekeeping team refrain from entering her room; she intended to manage the situation herself. Coincidentally, the manager of guest services spotted the interior of the room as the housekeeper delivered the linens.
It became apparent that "feeling unwell" had translated into an unfortunate scene: numerous empty wine bottles, significant mess, and extensive urine coverage on virtually every surface.
The situation was so dire that we had to close the entire floor for deep cleaning, which necessitated professionals in protective gear. Law enforcement had to be involved to ensure the guest's departure. Needless to say, I'm grateful I'm no longer a part of the front desk team.
The National Guard, CC BY 2.0,Wikimedia Commons
30. Movie Maniac
A man arrived, pulling a luggage cart packed with boxes and a VCR. After about half an hour, we started getting multiple complaints about loud and inappropriate noises originating from his room.
Despite repeated attempts, our warning calls to the room went unanswered, prompting me to contact the police. They arrived rapidly, and together we approached the room.
We couldn't figure out what the noise was. Repeated knocking yielded no response, so we decided to enter the room. Inside, we found a suggestive film playing on a TV (though now in silent mode), surrounded by a heap of adult-oriented VHS tapes, roughly fifteen to twenty.
Various adult toys and lubricants were scattered around the room, but the man was nowhere in sight. We decided to leave the room as it was until the next morning. When we checked again, it appeared he hadn't returned. We disposed of his possession in the dumpster.
31. Clean Up Catastrophe
In one of my earliest jobs, I worked as a houseman. Together with a co-worker, we were instructed to go to management. They tasked us with cleaning a room which seemed to be the scene of an awful domestic violence incident involving a man, his wife, and his child. The room was covered in blood—splattered across the ceiling, art, flooring, and even in the restroom.
We spent an entire day scrubbing everything clean. This incident must've taken place the prior evening or maybe even the same night, and we were assigned to clean up only after the police had finished their work. It was simultaneously a very frustrating and heartbreaking experience.
32. The Worst Wedding In History
I used to work at a large hotel which had a spacious banquet hall, situated in a town that was designed with a German aesthetic. As expected, this town didn't see many Jewish visitors. Nonetheless, our banquet sales team did a commendable job in persuading a Jewish couple to celebrate their wonderful wedding at our venue. The ceremony proceeded without a hitch.
As we transitioned from the ceremony to the reception, the entire wedding party, including the newlyweds, were lounging outside the entrance, taking a breather and enjoying a leisurely smoke during their photo session At the same time, there was a WWII reenactment event taking place in the park just a block away from our hotel.
Then came a truly unfortunate series of events—a Jeep loaded with men dressed in full Gestapo uniforms pulled up at our entrance, inquiring where they could find some lemonade.
Seeing this, the wedding party's faces turned from shock white to furious red in a matter of seconds. As the manager on duty, I found myself scrambling to compensate for the unforeseen predicament.
33. Total Clean Out
Over the summer, I held a job at a hotel with 50 rooms. There were just two of us manning the reception desk, which got pretty hectic at times. A couple came to stay for a week, carrying enough luggage to astonish my co-worker and myself.
They actually moved all of their belongings into the room—even the windows. Yes, you read that right. They removed our windows. Sadly, we both lost our jobs that day.
34. A Shockingly Sad Discovery
Once, we had a chap staying with a colleague in a separate room for an extended period. Both of them were electricians, working on an expansion project at our local aquarium. This man discovered his wife's infidelity and, devastated, decided to end their marriage.
Subsequently, he took out a significant amount of cash from their joint bank account, put it in several envelopes, and entrusted it to his colleague for safekeeping.
On that same night, overwhelmed with despair, he managed to pierce through a ceiling tile in his bathroom and reach a steel rafter. He secured an extension cord there, and tragically, ended his own life. The housekeeper, greeted by this heartbreaking scene, found him lifeless the next morning.
35. Sharing Their Riches
My mom has held jobs at various hotels throughout Austria. One day, a wealthy man and his family arrived at the hotel empty-handed. They then went on a shopping spree and bought the fanciest jackets and ski gear money can buy—brands like Moncler and North Face.
When it was time for them to leave, they decided to leave all of their purchases behind for the hotel staff to keep. The family was beyond nice and courteous. On top of that, they gave my mom the largest tip she's ever gotten while working the front desk.
36. Their Tub Runneth Over
My dad is in charge of maintenance at a lovely hotel. Very early one morning, he was called in to handle a serious leak that was pouring into the lobby. They traced the source to a room above, but no one responded when they knocked on the door.
When they tried to open it, they found it was secured with a chain lock. The sound of a running shower could be heard inside, so they called out to see if anyone was there.
Eventually, a man woke up from a deep sleep and opened the door. He also opened the bathroom door—and I couldn't believe what I was seeing. It was his girlfriend, who was unconscious on top of the drain in the shower! Everyone thought she was dead, which caused the still-hungover man to panic.
The hotel staff contacted the authorities and an ambulance. Luckily, the girl turned out to be fine, though extremely intoxicated. The hotel promptly charged their credit card for the full amount required to cover the damage, which totaled several thousand dollars. As a result, they were clearly told they were no longer welcome to stay at the hotel.
37. Bless This Mess
In the past, I was the administrative assistant for the sales team at an old, prestigious hotel, famed for its supposed hauntings. It seems some eerie vibes had spooked our housekeeping crew, making them avoid certain rooms and hallways due to perceived ghostly activities.
As a result, we had the kind courtesy of the housekeeping department's secretary to organize for a priest to perform blessings in these spectral spaces. I must admit, it gave our lunchtime conversations quite the thrilling edge.
38. Stuck With Savages
I used to work the graveyard shift at this hostel. Unfortunately, I got let go after some really drunk guests decided to toss furniture off the roof deck, which ended up tangled in the power lines. The fire brigade had to come out to remove it.
Thankfully, no one was injured. Before all this happened, I'd given the boss a heads-up that these guests were trouble, but she didn't take me seriously. It was the most terrible job I've ever had.
39. Low Budget Boozer
One day, a lady stumbled into our place, so tipsy she nearly collided with our front sliding doors. She insisted on paying $90 for a room, arguing that she personally knew the owners. This price was ridiculously low, even for our slowest days, and I had been told that people who get deals like this would directly contact the owners.
Because I was still quite new, I panicked and called my boss when the woman started getting angry and pushy. She left, then came back a few minutes later. My manager, who also manages the hotel next door, walked over and warned her that if she returned, he'd call the police.
Surprisingly, she showed up the next evening and left me a gift card as an apology. Unfortunately, the card was empty.
40. Babydoll Was Bunted Off The Balcony
One night, a coworker was stationed at the drive-through entrance when a woman, only clad in a nightgown, frantically approached. She was extremely upset and deeply bleeding from an injury on her head. The truth was incredibly dark—apparently, she'd had a heated argument with her boyfriend, who had then thrown her off a two-storey balcony.
41. Hold Your Horses!
For a while, I held a job at a reception desk. There was this woman, noticeably lacking patience, who continued to express her frustration audibly, even though I had recognized her presence. She was only waiting briefly, less than a minute, actually.
Then, she decided to twist the phone cord, much like how you'd bend a garden hose to stop the water. I presume she figured that if she could disrupt the call, I'd be compelled to shift my attention to her.
42. Unidentified Festering Object
During my time in housekeeping, my coworker once urgently asked me to check something out. While cleaning an occupied room, she discovered a sizable, brown, solid-like substance just randomly placed on the carpet. We both hovered around it, contemplating if it was feces because it didn't smell and there was something unusual about it.
She rang up our supervisor to alert them while I resumed my regular tasks. When the guest got back, he was billed for a comprehensive cleaning and questioned about his peculiar carpet mess. Apparently, he had overloaded on Guinness the past evening causing him to throw up a nearly dense, brown blob on the carpet.
Then, astonishingly, he proceeded to sleep with the mess lingering in his room and left it as it was for us to discover while he enjoyed his day out.
43. A Trail Of Destruction
When I was 18, I had a job at a hotel bar. There was this one night when a guest overindulged at an off-site party. Afterwards, he caused quite a ruckus at our hotel. He somehow got into a few of the hotel's offices, leaving them in a disastrous state.
Not satisfied, he located a forklift at the delivery area and used it as a battering ram to smash a wall. This damaged a waste pipe and somewhere along the way, he managed to lose all his clothes.
It didn't end there. He left the hotel and made a beeline for a nearby grocery store. Sans clothes, he wandered through the store causing an extensive amount of damage worth thousands of dollars.
44. Eyes Up Or Else!
Right from the brisk days of early spring until late fall, the hotel where I used to work was a whirlpool of activities. Every week, it would host at least one convention. Attendees loved taking time off from their meetings to unwind in nature.
The hotel has two towering buildings, each over 30 stories, separated by a constantly bustling street. This thoroughfare often saw taxis and ride-sharing vehicles ferrying guests back and forth.
To ensure safety amidst the dense foot and vehicular traffic, the crosswalk linking both towers was marked with northbound and southbound stop signs. Significantly, a median stop sign was placed, and the crosswalk along with the median had been painted bright yellow for clarity.
On one fateful sunny afternoon, a woman, who appeared to be in her late 50s, started crossing the street, engrossed in her phone. This is when everything changed for her. While crossing, the searing image of her being hit by a taxi, blatantly unaware of the pedestrian, is still etched in my memory.
The violent impact hurled her 30 feet down the road. Following the harsh clash of her head against the tarmac, she was instantly rushed to the hospital. Tragically, she didn't survive. She had been in town with her partner, who was engaged in a conference at the time of the accident.
My job, albeit gut-wrenching, was to review the surveillance footage repeatedly in order to compile an incident report.
45. Goodbye, Pie Guy
We nicknamed one regular visitor "Pie Guy". He'd stroll into our hotel without booking ahead, hand over cash for his stay—always including an extra $100 cash deposit. The following day, we'd discover his bathroom and tub filled with the leftovers of various pricey pies.
When it came time to collect his deposit, he'd never show at the front desk because he knew we'd keep it for cleaning up his mess. We tried to stop him from coming by putting his name on our "no rental" list, but he simply came back using other names.
Once, we even found a rough, handwritten list in his room repeatedly scrawled with the words "pie" and "pants".
46. Working It Out In The Workout Room
A lady showed up in the lobby around 11 pm, looking for the gym. I unlocked it for her, thinking she might be one of those 24/7 fitness enthusiasts. Much to my surprise, when I returned around 3 am to lock it again, she'd made a makeshift bed on the treadmill.
Turns out, following a row with her husband, she decided not to share a room with him. Hence, I gave her our last available room for the night.
47. The Number Two Worst Guest
There was this guest at a very high-end hotel where rooms go for over $1,500 a night. He lounged in the lobby, puffing away on a few Cuban cigars and downing around a liter of Patron. At a certain point, he had to use the restroom, so he staggered over to the bellman's desk to ask for directions.
He set off to the bathroom, leaving the bellman with a strange smell. The bellman turned to find something brown on the floor right by his desk. As he watched the guest shuffle downstairs, he noticed him leaving a trail of droppings behind him! His trousers were long and the unfortunate contents just kept falling out every couple of feet.
When the guest finally reached the restroom, he proceeded to create a messy work of art on the stall's walls. After leaving behind his dirty pants and a disaster for housekeeping to handle, he got handed the cleaning bill the following day.
In response, he threatened to leave a scathing review claiming himself to be an influential 'hotel critic.' Despite his threats, he ended up getting banned from the hotel and never saw his trousers again.
48. Bubble, Bubble Toilet Trouble
I once encountered a strange guest who was a member of a land mapping team, visiting weekly. On one occasion, she phoned the hotel reception, saying, "My toilet is full of bubbles. What's causing these bubbles?" I suggested it could be due to a recent flushing of the water pipes. Her response made me face-palm.
"Wait a moment, I'll bring you some". Despite me swiftly assuring her it wasn't needed, she had already hung up. Fast forward five minutes, and there she was, emerging from the elevator holding a glass of crystal clear water. She proclaimed, "It was all fizzy just a moment ago!"
Following this, I had no choice but to retreat to the back room for a head-shaking moment of silent contemplation.
49. Facing Off With Fireworks
A group of wealthy Chicago teens from a lacrosse team booked four rooms under the name of their only companion who was 21. They foolishly decided to set off fireworks inside a mini-fridge. In their hasty departure, they left behind a high-quality Bluetooth speaker.
Instead of handing it in at the front desk, I decided to keep it for myself. I was sure they wouldn't return after the fireworks episode. They really were thoughtless.
Judgefloro, CC0, Wikimedia Commons.
50. An Abandoned Guest
My pal runs a small highway-side motel. We'd often spend late nights just hanging out and talking. During one of these nights, he got a call about a loud crashing sound from a supposedly empty room. We decided to investigate.
After knocking to no response, he unlocked the door to find a cat been the cause of the commotion, knocking down a lamp in the process. The little feline instantly warmed up to us. Puzzled, we headed back to the front desk to check the records.
Turns out, the last guest had left the cat behind three days earlier! When we rang him, he confirmed he'd ditched the cat and had no intentions of returning for her as he was cross-country already.
So my friend decided to adopt the abandoned cat. Now, she's sort of the motel's mascot, making the rounds on the property, and keeping any pesky rodents in check. Her picture even adorns the wall now, included as part of the "staff".
Getty ImagesSources: Reddit
