I’m with the band

I’ve talked a lot about the check in process and how simple it can be and how difficult it can be… if you don’t make it simple.

• Make the reservation in the name of the person checking in.
• Add anyone else’s name to the reservation if they are staying in the room.
• Have your identification and method of payment with you when you check in.

Seriously, that is it. The only other reason we have problems at check in is they don’t read their confirmation about deposits or resort fees. That covers about 98% of it yet, 1 in 15-20 check ins have a problem.

The other 2%? Add an enormous ego to the above.

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I do my best to try to not judge people but people with overblown egos tend to get on my nerves. Now there is a difference between confidence and ego. It can be subtle but it is there. The difference is knowledge and wisdom. Back up your ego and it is confidence. Spew crap and it is ego. The person with the big ego also tends to feel that the rules don’t apply to them. Enter Ricky Rocker, band manager and incoming guest.

 

RR: I have three rooms, I need to get my people in those rooms now.

Me: Ok sir, I will need your ID and credit card.

RR: (hands me the two cards)

ME: Ok, I have one reservation under your name. Who are the other rooms under?

RR: That would be the guitarist Rick Fender and the drummer Bill Highhat.

Me: I will need them to come up to the desk with their ID so I can check them in after I check you in.

RR: Yeah, that is impossible, they aren’t here. They will be here in 2 hours.

Me: I won’t be able to check them in until then, unless you call the wholesaler and have them change the names on the reservations.

RR: Yeah, that isn’t going to happen. See, I am the manager, I made the reservations. I am checking into the rooms.

Me: Our policy is that you have to be the person checking into the room with valid ID and credit card.

RR: Listen, this isn’t my first rodeo here. I have been to 40 hotels and they always let me do this. You don’t want to do this, dude. This is going to ruin you. We are important in this town and we need sleep to have a gig tomorrow in Cali.

(ok, side note, this is a Saturday night. It is 10pm, two of the 4 band members are here with the band manager. The other two are driving from somewhere. So, if you are a big thing in the town, my town, why didn’t you have a show on a Saturday night and why is your show in California on Sunday night. You know what bands play on Sunday and not Saturday… bands that aren’t big.)

Me: Sir, the only thing that is going to “ruin me” is not following hotel policy and checking you into three rooms and only one of them is in your name. As I said, if you call the wholesaler and have…

RR: You’re pretty new at this, right? You are not listening to me. Check me into the rooms.

Me: Sir, I can’t ch…

RR: Oh you can, you just won’t because you think you are some big shit right now. What you don’t like how we are dressed or is the music too loud for you?

Me: I don’t even know who your band is or what type of music it is? These are the rules.

RR: We have to be on the road in 5 hours. Just get this done.

Me: Ok, fine. I will break policy and risk getting fired and check you into the two rooms that are not in your name.

RR: Finally!

Me: but I can’t check you into your room that is in your name.

RR: What do you mean? It’s in my name!

Me: Yeah, you see there is a problem with that. An hour ago, a guy came up to the front desk and said he had booked a room in your name and didn’t have your ID or a credit card in your name but he harassed me for 10 minutes and just like now I gave in and gave him your room even though just like you, he had no proof to the room.

RR: Oh, you are some smart ass.

Me: That is the first thing we agree on, sir. So do you want to call the wholesaler and change the reservations or just check into your room.

RR: Let me speak to your manager.

Me: Sure, she is the lady that has been standing next to us for the last 10 minutes.

Mgr: Sir, my employee is correct in stating our policy. .Would you like to check in to that room now?

RR: This sucks, man. Never staying here again.

Me: and that is your prerogative, sir.

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Thanks for the follows and comments

Follow me on Twitter: @VegasHC

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Top 10 of Super Happy Joy Joy

=First, thank you for all your responses and messages over the last couple days. You have warmed my heart and made me smile and cry (but it was a good cry). So here is my answer to my own question, now what?

My list of what made me love Vegas and what I enjoy about Vegas. The thing in Las Vegas that I still love doing and going to. This could be restaurants, venues, sites, pretty much anything. Of course, this blog is not only about me. It is about Las Vegas and the people that come to Las Vegas so please send me comments and include your choices. You don’t have to have 10 but let’s limit it to 10. I know some of you can list 50 but try and narrow it down.

So without further adieu, from the home office in David Letterman’s basement…

Vegas Hotel Confidential’s Top 10 Things I Love in Las Vegas

 

Ten

Casa Fuente at Caesars  – I only have one vice, smokingdrinkinggambling. If you do it all at once it only counts as one and this place fits the bill nicely. Very good bartenders and the rest of the staff is knowledgeable and always friendly.

Nine

Nacho Daddy – My favorite bar in Las Vegas, specifically the Fremont Street location. Great food, great drinks and the staff is the best. The prices are very reasonable. Nothing bad on the menu.

Eight

Red Rock Canyon State Park – Nature’s beauty in all her glory. Whether you want to sight see or hike or just a relaxing walk in some fresh air, you will have a great time.

Seven

Fremont Street Experience – This one would be higher up on the list but I can only take the drunk crowds for so long before they wear on me. I love hanging out at Whiskey Licker or the bar at the Four Queens and watching the live bands, especially Alter Ego and Spandex Nation.

Six

House of Blues at Mandalay Bay – My favorite music venue in Las Vegas. Great acoustics, great selection of music acts and great vantage points no matter where you are.

Five

The Peppermill – I love old school Vegas kitsch and I would visit this place even if the food sucked. Good thing the food is great too. If you like people watching, especially hungover people watching, there is no better spot.

Four

The Bellagio Conservatory – Every single display I have seen over the last 20 years has taken my breath away. I wish I had 10% of the creative ability that their designers have. It’s worth the bit of suffering I get from my allergies

Three

Wicked Spoon Buffet at the Cosmopolitan – I have eaten at probably 90% of the buffets in Las Vegas and this one is hands down the best one I have had. The twist on standard buffet fare is impressive. The staff is also tremendous. They make even a solo diner feel special. Well worth the price.

Two

The Grand Canal Shops at the Venetian – I am not sure I have ever bought anything in any of the shops. I have eaten at some of the restaurants and sat in St. Mark’s Square and had an espresso and gelato. Someday I hope I can afford to buy something there but I just find so much beauty walking around. I am a sucker for this kind of architecture.

One

The Bellagio Fountains – I have seen the fountain display over 40 times, I have seen them during the day, at night, from above and they always amaze me. Absolutely stunning. I always tell first timers that if you only have 1 hour in Las Vegas, go see the fountains. You will have had a memorable trip.

 

This was a tough list, a lot of my favorites are gone and I tried to limit the number of restaurants because to be honest 7 of the 10 would have been food related. I think there will be some more top 5’s and 10’s to come.

I hope you enjoyed the list and it inspired you to try a couple things. I look forward to seeing your lists.

Twitter: VegasHC

So what now…

I really don’t know what to write. I had a blog ready to write last Sunday. I was forming things in my mind and jotting down some notes while at work. Then some hotel guests started coming up to the front desk asking me if I had heard. Did I know anything? Was everything ok? I had no idea. My wife texted me and told me to stay away from Mandalay Bay and come home straight after work. All I knew was there was a shooter and it was not safe.

I spent that night watching the news. Seeing the panic, the sadness, the madness and all in utter shock. 30 minutes turned into hours. Was there one shooter, were there 5 shooters, were they in other hotels, was there a suspicious van outside the Luxor. Even ISIS claimed it was them.

Well, it is now 7 days later. 59 dead, hundreds more injured. I haven’t been able to watch the news for the last 3 days. It just got to be too much. Too many talking heads spouting rumors and thoughts of conspiracies, false ideas, all the whys and hows and maybes. It became too much.

So what now?  Well this is definitely not the time to talk about the drunk girl who forgot what hotel she was in or the guy with no cash but needs a room. There was a time and I hope there will be a time again but it is not today.

A guest talked to me today about how things were 30 years ago. How this was something that you didn’t imagine happening and now it seems how every year things get worse. There are school shootings and club shootings and just a division throughout the country. I am not going to use this blog as a something to spout my views on gun control, race or any of the many other differences that we have that has led to violence. I don’t want the comment section to turn into a war zone. That is not what I am about or this blog. What I can and will do is vent and here it goes.

I love people, I don’t hate people. I dislike some people but I do not hate people. I love Las Vegas and I love my job. I love writing this blog and I love reading the comments you write… but I hate when innocence is hurt. I hate when innocence is lost. I hate that some people feel that justice is served by killing others. I hate that people think that they need to hurt other people. I hate that this man took the lives of so many. I hate that some people are now worried about coming here. I hate that I have let one sick son of a fucking bitch get into my head and into my heart and tore my world up in the last 7 days. I hate that friends and family had to wonder if I was ok. I hate that I had to go on facebook and twitter and declare myself safe. No one should ever have to do that. I hate that guests come in and constantly ask me how I am doing because it is not meant as how are you doing today, it is how are you coping with what happened last Sunday.  I hate that some people are having issues with some of the casinos posting messages welcoming people back to Vegas and wanting them to book  with them. Do they want people to come? Of course they do, they are a business but this isn’t a marketing campaign. This is about rebuilding trust and support for the whole city. I hate that there are stupid people that say if 20,000 fans all had guns that this wouldn’t have happened or would have been stopped sooner because… no!

I have learned one big thing because of this event and I have to say I am grateful. I live in an amazing city. Take away Fremont St, take away the strip, just ignore it for a minute. THIS IS A GREAT CITY and A GREAT COMMUNITY. Our first responders are amazing, our police force stopped a maniac before he could do even more damage. Our doctors and nurses flooded into every hospital whether they were supposed to be there or not. We lost far less than we could. Thank you to all the concert patrons who helped everyone else. Thank you to all the blood donors. We filled our blood banks within hours. Thank you to all the people who have sent in donations, bought shirts and hats and pins. A go fund me page that originally had a goal of $2 million is over $9 millions now.  The motto “Battle Born” is not just words it is an attitude.

I will not let this fucktard beat me. I will be back. I may not be originally from here but I am #BattleBorn and #VegasStrong.

Love to all of you, be strong and thank you for every kind word.

 

@VegasHC

You can’t handle the truth…

I think that one of the basic human flaws is not being able to admit when you are wrong. So many arguments that go on and on because no one can admit fault.  I’m not sure if it is out of embarrassment or pride or being too stubborn. I think for a recent guest is was probably all those reasons and maybe some mommy issues as well.

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Guy with his 2 buddies are walking up to the desk with beers in hand and testosterone dripping down their legs.

Guest: I just made a reservation for tonight on wholesale.com.  The name is Jim Jagoff.

Me: Sir, I see the reservation but it appears to be made for the 24th.

JJ: No, I made it for today.

Me: Sir, here is the printout for your reservation you made. It’s for next week. You can call wholesale.com and see if they can change the date to today.

JJ: Oh, I didn’t make the mistake, they made the mistake, they changed the date after I made it.

Me: Did you make it online or call the reservation in.

JJ: on their website but they changed it.

(now after standing in front of this guy for 2 minutes I can see how someone might want to screw him over but no one changed any dates but here he is calling them on his phone. He is now pacing around the lobby and cursing at a Spinal Tap 11 volume. He is now on his way back to me even though I am with another guest.)

JJ: They are playing stupid about changing the date but they are not going to do this to me.

Me: Yes sir, but could you please watch the language around the other guests.

JJ: Whatever, just do your job and I’ll take care of this.

(I was trying to do my job but I keep getting interrupted by an asshole. Mr. Funtime Happyhour is back and apparently his reservation is now fixed.)

Note: the following conversation was about a 10th of the tirade he laid on me and less racially offensive. I spent a long time thinking about whether to use all the language he did but I just can’t. Me, using the words here wouldn’t make him more of an asshole and I don’t think makes this post any more valuable.

JJ: They said they fixed it but I had to pay more money for tonight. Can you believe that. Those gutless pussies are making me pay for this shit. Well, I am going to have the last word. Typical call center bullshit. They don’t even live in this country and they think they know how it works here. Get this, he said his names was Brian, more like Brianhisnaruto. All those… (ok now picture me cringing as he attempts to describe his take on the Indian people… and 2 minutes later.)

Me: Ok sir, I just need to get a credit card to charge the resort fee and security deposit.

JJ: They didn’t tell me anything about that, let me call them back.

Me: Sir, just let me finish the check in and you can call them back after that. You can’t get your room without paying those fees, no matter what they say.

JJ: Piece of shit, bitch face crooks. How do any of you stay in business?

(well because everyone pays those fees and most people actually read what they are signing or paying for but hey, we can’t all be this guy.)

Me: I’m not sure, sir. I just do as am I told. I am essentially just a talking puppet who lives to serve you in hopes that I will get a nod of acceptance and that you will not put a curse on me.

(ok, so maybe I just thought most of that).

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Well, the three of them went off to their room to probably compare their “luggage” and long distance pissing contests. Oh, and because I know it is on your mind, yes I did give them a room right above the air conditioning unit, next to the elevator. No comment on if they got an unscheduled wake up call.

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Life is Beautiful weekend is coming up. Let’s remember that Life is actually Beautiful and also precious. Be safe if you are coming to the festival. Don’t leave drinks unattended, stay in groups and remember that sometimes what happens in Vegas sometimes leads to a lifetime of bad memories and therapy. It could also end up worse. This great city has a penchant for inviting the dregs or society to it’s front door. Please don’t be a victim.

 

Twitter: @VegasHC

 

I met Cliff Clavin

Ok, not really but I think I just met the guy that they based the character on. I think most of you know who Cliff Clavin is. The character from the TV show, Cheers. The know it all at the end of the bar who really doesn’t know it all.

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Cliff: I have a reservation for tonight.

Me: Yes, sir. I will just need your driver’s license and a major credit card.

(searching for reservation. I can’t find it.)

Me: Sir, what website did you book it on? Do you have a confirmation letter or e-mail?

Cliff: I booked it on wholesale.com and I never received a confirmation.

(I start looking for the reservation on wholesale.com. I can’t find it. I eventually find the reservation in our system. When he typed in his name he reversed the first and last name so the reservation was under Clavin Cliff instead of Cliff Claven. It was also booked on a different website than wholesale.com)

Me: Oh, I have it here. The name is just reversed and it was booked on 3rdparty.com, I will just need to charge the card for the resort fee and security deposit.

Cliff: Whoa, I didn’t read anything about a resort fee. I ain’t paying that. I’m a local, I’m from Henderson, I know how things work here.

Me: Sir, the resort fee is mandatory. You will have to pay it or I can’t check you in.

Cliff: You aren’t understand me. Wholesale.com never said anything about a resort fee. You ain’t dealing with no weekend gambler here. I live in Henderson. I know things. I know your scams.

Me: Ok, first you booked a reservation on 3rdparty not wholesale.com and you are required to pay a resort fee upon check in.

Cliff: No, I’m not. I have lived here for 6 years. You aren’t dealing with a rookie here.

(Ok, a little break from the story here because maybe I am assuming too much here. For those you you that live here, do you know everything about every hotel and their policies just because you live here? Is there a class that I missed? If you live in Orlando, do you know everything about Disney World just from osmosis? Does every New Yorker know everything about every Broadway show? Just questioning my own sanity here.)

Me: Sir, if you are refusing to pay the resort fee, then you will have to call 3rdparty.com and cancel the reservation to get your money back.

Cliff: No, I won’t.

Me: Yes, you will, sir. They will not refund your money if you don’t.

Cliff: Listen, you don’t know. I told you, I never got a confirmation from wholesale.com so I don’t have to cancel. If I never got a confirmation and if I never got a confirmation then I never had a reservation. I live here, I know how this whole thing works.

Me: I am not going to stand here and argue. I am just letting you know what is going to happen. You did not book with wholesale.com. You booked with 3rdparty. You have a reservation. I have it right here, even if you typed your name backward. They have your credit card info and have charged you for the room and tax. You have been billed for it and when you try and dispute the charge they are going to call here. I am going to tell them you showed up, refused to pay the balance owed and I advised you to call and cancel. I don’t know what you know about the hotel business here in Las Vegas but I work in this hotel and I am telling you that is what will happen.

Cliff: I am not arguing with you. I am just giving you a little free education on how things work in this town and that I know all about this scam you are running with me. It may work on those other idiots but I won’t play your game.

Me: Ok sir, have a good night.

(he walked off, I typed up a summary in the reservation for everyone to see when 3rdparty eventually called. They did, he disputed, he lost, he paid.)

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I am always amazed at the smugness of some people who profess to know everything about everything and then tell the person what they are doing wrong. I get this more from the high rollers and locals.

They constantly make assumptions on the little they know or how it once was.  In the last week, I have had people assume

• that because they got a suite upgrade last time that it would be the same this time.
• we would accept their mother’s credit card because another hotel back home did.
• They would be able to get the exact room number they wanted because they want that room.
• That the room rate wouldn’t change when they moved their reservation from a Wednesday to Friday stay to a Friday to Sunday stay.

 

Thanks for following, I appreciate the comments and e-mails. I love the interaction.

Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter (@VegasHC)

 

 

Calgon take me away…

If you are people person and are a generally upbeat and glass half full type of person then working the front desk of a hotel can be a pretty easy job.  Usually, you have a difficult guest and you stew over it for a little bit, you vent to a coworker or, in my case, you blog about it. It is a rare situation when you encounter a guest that makes you question coming into work because they are still in the hotel. Your fellow employees keep telling you how bad could they be. Then you get that ultimate storm that everyone genuinely hates. Not just the front desk, I am talking bell staff, valet, housekeeping, wait staff and bartenders. The Cruella Deville of hotel guests and she is with us for 4 nights.

Day 1

• Guest is upset because she wants a smoking room and there isn’t one available. She also didn’t book one. She demands to have one tomorrow at 11 am when the people in the rooms tonight need to be checked out. I explain that the room might not be available at that time because of cleaning. Well, if that happens she wants her resort fee comped.
• She comes back to the desk because valet has taken her car. Of course, she gave them the keys but didn’t tell them to take the car and some of her luggage is still in the car. Valet brings the car back and she retrieves the luggage but wants the valet written up.
• We get a call from the room because she is unhappy with the bellman. Apparently the bellman didn’t tell her how to operate the television.
• No one has been tipped by her at this point.

Day 2

• She calls at 9 am and wants her new room. It isn’t available yet. Now she wants a food credit because everyone in the hotel is incompetent. The supervisor gives her a $15 food credit.
• At 11:15 am she is moved to the smoking room. She complains that she is no longer on the same floor as her friends (she was the night before). The clerk informs her that she had to switch floors because she wanted a smoking room and they are on a different floor. This is stupid to her and she wants to talk to the manager.
• At 12:30 pm she calls and wants a microwave in her room so she can heat up her free breakfast. We don’t have microwaves. Now, not only is everyone that works here useless but now the hotel is a piece of crap. She demands that a bellman come to the room, get her food, go somewhere to heat it up and bring it back. That doesn’t happen.
• Luckily, she leaves for the day and we don’t hear from her again.

Day 3

• Valet is now back on her bad side because she wants her car and it takes 10 minutes for her to get her car and now she is going to be late for her 6 pm dinner reservation. It is 5 pm. She also wants us to be aware that housekeeping was very inconsiderate to her in the morning because they were cleaning the rooms next to her at 10 am and she wanted to sleep in.

Day 4

• Her wake up call was set for 9 am did not happen until 9:02 am.
• She comes down at 9 pm to once again complain about the drink service while gaming and that housekeeping knocked on her door at 10 am to clean her room. She did not have a do not disturb sign on the door but 10 am is too early. Let’s remember that she wanted other people disturbed on Day 2, so she could have her smoking room.
• At 9:45 pm she calls down and says she needs a bellman to her room at 10:15 pm to bring her bags down to the front desk and her car from valet so she can load up her stuff tonight instead of in the morning and if the bellman isn’t there at 10:15, I am in trouble.
• At 10:06 pm she calls again letting me know that the bellman only has 9 minutes left.
• The bellman does make it on time and she gets her stuff in the car. He received a $2 tip for 5 bags.  No one else that I am aware of got tipped during her stay with the possible exception of the wait staff. I was not aware of that but I did talk to a bartender that was stiffed.

Day 5

• Before leaving she meets with the hotel manager for one last complaint. The hallway her floor smelled way too smoky. (She is on a smoking floor!!!)

Just to get rid of her, the manager comped her resort fees. The wonderful thing about all of this, is that I will never see her again. We put her on the Do Not Rent list. Kharma 🙂

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Question Time

I received the same question by 3 different people this week about paid upgrades and do the front desk staff get a commission.

Yes, at the places that I have worked I did get a commission for selling an upgrade. It is basically 10% of the cost of the upgrade. My biggest commission was $24 for a $60/night upgrade on a 4 night stay. It’s not a big perk but it’s something.

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Thanks for following the blog. Make sure and follow me on Twitter (@VegasHC)

Q & A – Part 2

Ok, so we have a bunch of questions that have come up in the last week so let’s see what we have. Remember, I can only answer questions based on my experience or from speaking to other desk clerks. Anything really specific should be asked directly with the hotel you are booked at.

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First off we have a non-hotel question. What are some really good and popular blogging websites?

Well, on the top of the list I would have to say WordPress, which is what I use. It is highly functional and I use the free service. There is a pay service but so far I am very happy with this. I am not that knowledgeable on html or other web publishing stuff and this site makes things very simple.  Blogger, Medium, Wix and Weebly are other ones I looked at before choosing WordPress.

My wife and I had a bed bug experience at a south strip resort. The front desk and management handled it perfectly with independent lab testing to verify the bedbugs, dry cleaning, new luggage, different room, resort credit and future comps. This all was granted without us getting upset but rather just informing them of what we found and requesting a different room. It seemed that this resort had a “play book” for this type of incident. I have shared this story with other people and they have had bedbug experiences also and didn’t get nearly the care and credits we did.

Do resorts have policies and procedures for these incidents or is it handled ad hoc? Would our experience have been different if we had called yelling and screaming about the bugs and demanded comps?

They definitely handled the situation well. My management probably wouldn’t have done all those things but there are certain things that are automatically done. We definitely get you into another room immediately. Then we have someone inspect the room and get the lab involved and get the room cleaned throughout. We generally will close the rooms around the infected room and inspect and clean them as well. These are all standard procedures. As far as new luggage and cleaning of clothing. it really depends on the issue. I have never seen new luggage given. A resort credit is fairly common as well.

As far as your reaction, it goes different ways. We love to see your type of attitude and we love working with people that have your attitude. You are definitely going to get our empathy and support. We will remember you next time and definitely take special care of you. If you are yelling and abusive. Well you will get the same treatment because of the bugs but we are also going to note on file (some of the time) that you are a real pain in the ass and you might not get the same care depending on the clerk. I get a lot of repeat customers and I also read the profile notes on guests. Treat me nice and I will be your best friend, treat me wrong and well, hope I am in a good mood when you come back.

We didn’t put the bugs in your room and we know how we would feel if we checked into a room with bugs. We also have procedures and you calling me names and yelling doesn’t change what I do to remedy the situation. It does affect how you might be treated afterwards.

Can you give me your general thoughts on 4 people in a room instead of 2 people? Aren’t there usually additional charges for the 3rd and 4th people? Also, general thoughts on rollaway beds.

My general thought is I don’t care. I often giggle about the person that books a room with one or two beds and try to be slick checking in when I see the other 2-5 people trying to “sneak” into the room.

Now just because I don’t care doesn’t mean the hotel doesn’t care and they want the rooms charged accordingly because the room rate is based on double occupancy.  If I see it abused I have to ask them about the number of people in the room. Housekeeping also keeps an eye on things and records extra towel and blanket requests. You are signing a contract when you check in. You are saying there are only 2 people in the room. You break the contract and the hotel can charge you more.

As far as the rollaway bed… it is probably the least comfortable thing to sleep on outside of an air mattress (and maybe a couch). It is not a bed, it is a cot (in my experience). It is a chargeable upgrade. Sometimes I charge it. sometimes I don’t. Book a room for 3 people and say you want separate beds. I will generally put one in free of charge. Be rude or nasty and you are getting charged or maybe we don’t have any left 🙂

Is there a way the front desk can set it so the room charge can’t be made? Say, I’m traveling with some friends as well as friends’ friends that I don’t know well. I’m paranoid that someone will charge something to my room while I’m drunk. Is it a thing to request to not take room charges?

Absolutely, it is usually just a click of a button. We can deny charging, we can limit who has a key. We can limit who can check in or make any changes to the reservation. It would make my life easier if more people actually did that so we don’t have so many disputed charges.

A couple questions about the likelihood of a room upgrades (all other things being equal):

1. Does it make any difference whether we are checking in early, at the regular stated time or later in the evening?

2. Does it make any difference if we have booked through the hotel, a third party vendor, or are on a hotel comp?

1. Depends (sorry). Earlier in the day we have more play with rooms. Later in the day, we might be in a position that we have to upgrade people when the basic room is oversold.

Then there are some days when we are not upgrading anyone (well almost anyone) and then there are some days when a third of the rooms are upgrades.

2. If you book through a third party you are probably less likely to get auto upgraded. It also depends on the price you are paying. If you are paying $30 for a room and another guest books the same room at $60, I am more likely to upgrade the higher priced guest.

I am always looking at who is coming in and who they booked with before deciding the auto upgrade.

Now, the tipped upgrade is completely different. How nice are you to me? How are we situated for rooms? Oh, and never walk up to me and say something like, “So get me a upgrade will ya?” or “I want a suite with a view on a high floor” when you booked a run of the house from a website for half price.

Could you give us some insight into your typical day of a Front desk clerk. Do you have a meeting before you start for the bookings for the day and the week? Do you only work one shift or do you have to rotate (ie do some graveyard shifts)? Has the record visitation numbers and the shift more to conventions and non-gambling customers changed your job, for good or bad.

We do not have meetings each day. We do have a log book and another book regarding policy changes that I read through when I get on shift to see if anything has changed.  Most of the time I work the same shift. That does not apply to everyone. I have seen people work day shift one day and swing shift the next and finish the week two days later on graveyard. It really depends on the hotel and your experience. You generally have 3 main shifts and then people that are split shifts that cover lunches and breaks. You also have 3 types of employees, full time, part time and board or on-call that don’t have regular shifts. Generally the big resorts have the board or on-call staff.

Although it takes time away from my family, my favorite shift is swing shift. I get to check in more people and deal with guests when they are at their happiest… just arriving.

As for the shift between the gambling and non-gambling guests. I can’t really speak on the shift because I wasn’t working in Las Vegas several years ago but I can speak to the difference in guest type.

Gamblers want free stuff and some comfort in their room. I repeatedly see guests get comped rooms and a couple hundred in free food and they are still asking for 20% off the buffet or a line pass to a club.  They are also pissed off at every fee.Take the free stuff and be happy.

The non-gamblers don’t care about the fees because their bosses are flipping the bill. They do want to know about all the amenities and want a room that conforms to what they need. They want a work station, room service, a gym open 24 hours and a quiet room because they have to get up at 5am.

Both can be great. Both can be pains. You just have to listen to the queues they give you and hope for the best sometimes.

If I make a reservation under my name with my credit card, and also my brother’s name on the reservation (before either of us arrive), can my brother check in with a his credit card?

At my hotel, yes and I would assume at most hotels, as well. It would be best to check with your hotel. They would need to have their ID and credit card and be on the reservation.

If I book with a third party website can I get a AAA or military discount at check-in?

I have to admit that this is my question and not someone else because I am tired of this question at check-in.

No, you cannot get a discount for one simple reason… YOU ALREADY PAID FOR THE ROOM!!!

What do you want me to discount? There is nothing to discount because you paid for the room already… and already got a discount from the third party.

Oh, and if you booked through the hotel. Ask at the time of making the reservation. If we have those discounts and you didn’t get it done at reservation, then we have to change the billing codes at check in to put the discounts in. This slows the check in process. Ever been at a grocery store and someone is paying by check and they don’t have anything ready when they get to the cashier? You just did the same thing.

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