Hotel Help Page
tips to help travelers avoid confusing hotel situations
| 1. never be afraid to call the hotel directly | we don't mind hearing from you. make all the requests you want in advance. it's MUCH easier for the hotel to sort out requests in advance than it is at check in. |
| 2. don't rely on outside sources | central reservation centers, online travel discounters, your coworker who stayed here last month: none of these people is at the hotel every day and knows all the ins and outs. the hotel operator's job is to know things about the hotel, or if THEY don't know, you'd better believe they know how to find out |
| 3. we've probably heard it before. if not, we probably won't be shocked | wardrobe emergencies, people locking themselves out of their rooms in underwear or pajamas, odd food requests, want to order room service over the phone long distance for your spouse so they will have a hot meal waiting for them when they get back to the hotel, looking for a gay bar, strip clubs, lost luggage, forgot to pack your size 15 dress hsoes, looking for apartments/housing, industrial spy changed jobs and likes the hotel but doesn't want former coworkers to know you are staying there, your kid dropped toys down the toilet and stopped it up... it really almost never hurts to ask. we are professionals and this is what we are trained to do. you may hear "well, that's a new one to me" but it will almost certainly be followed by "give me a minute and we'll get this worked out" |
| 4. billing | if you have any billing requests, take care of them at CHECK IN. it's much faster for everyone if the billings arrangements are made before the items are added to your bill things like splitting the room costs, making sure your pay per view porn movies are billed on a separate page are all best done in advance. |
| 5. billing #2 | feel free to ask for a copy of your bill at any time. trust me, the hotel knows how much they have a record of you owing at all times. it doesn't hurt to check for errors, especially if you are there for more than a couple of days |
| 6. debit cards | do you know ho wdebit cards work? really how they work? they do NOT work just like credit cards, no matter what your bank tells you. at my hotel if you use a debit card to check in, our computer authorizes for the room, tax and either $50 or 25% of expected room costs, whichever is greater. another hotel i know of authorizes for $50 PER NIGHT over the amount of the room authorization on a debit card means that the hotel's system asks if the money is in the account. the bank's system agrees that the money is there and then FREEZES it until the hotel completes the transaction at check out. and then, depending on the bank or credit union, it could take 3-10 business days to get that money released by the bank call your hotel well before you arrive to find out their policy and see what options they have. many hotels will allow a cash deposit for "incidentals." you can often also use a combination of payment options. like using your debit card to make a prepayment, which means the transaction for the room and tax is completed at check in and then a regular credit card or a cash deposit can be used for incidentals. |
| 7. incidentals | there are lots of things at a hotel that can cost you besides room and tax. there can often be charges for local or even toll free phone calls, internet, the bottled water in the room (it should have a price tag,) rollaway beds, cribs, refrigerators, etc. also all of these have charges which can be applied to your bill: the mini bar, gift shop purchases, room service some hotels will charge you if you smoke in a non smoking room also, damages to the room may need to be paid for. and i don't just mean punched your fist through the wall damages (it does happen) just today at my hotel someone got a $75 charge for carpet cleaning because they drank to excess at a holiday party and vomited profusely all over the room |
| 8. phone chargers | did you leave your phone charger behind? so did a lot fo other people and when left unclaimed they often reside in lost and found or the front desk and may be available for you to use. this can also apply to computer chargers. not all hotel offer this option, but it's fairly common from what i've been able to find |
| 9. amenities | whether a hotel has a gift shop or not, it may also offer certain things at the front desk. so always ask the desk first. if they don't have extra toothbrushes, mouthwash, deodorant, sewing kits, shoe sponges, nail files, cotton balls, q-tips, shower caps, stamps to sell, pens, blank paper, envelopes, shoehorns, corkscrews, soap, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, sugar packets, plastic bags... they probably know where to get them |
| 10. ask! | i can't say this enough. if you don't ask you won't find out. if your hotel doesn't have a concierge, the front desk is probably trained to do the job. or ask for a manager (but it's kind of insulting to the front desk staff to ask for a manager for something simple like a room number change or directions without letting them have a go at it first) |