How common is it for hotels to mix up rooms?

I’ve never had this happen but I have noticed over the 35+ years I’ve been booking hotels that receptionists seem to be getting less and less competent in all sorts of ways. When you consider how much more complex keycard systems are than having a physical key with a room number on, it’s perhaps not surprising it happens.

Always travel with a door wedge

I once took a cohort of Year 10 students to Berlin and a gaggle of pissed up squaddies were given the key to a room containing 4 teenage girls... that took a lot of explaining to parents!

I walked in on someone once. The hotel had had a computer system issue and it had happened to a colleague the night before. I entered what was meant to be my room and walked in on a bloke in bed watching TV. I backed out as fast as I could whilst apologising profusely. This was in a relatively smart hotel.

I’ve also walked into a clearly occupied room but with no one in it twice before - Hiltons both times.

As a result I always use the physical lock and or the chain so that people can’t do the same to me. Most of my hotel stays are alone on work travel - family trips tend to be to villas or apartments, which I much prefer!

I always use a door wedge too (an alarmed one). I’ve never had someone try by door and I travel solely monthly but it helps me sleep soundly.

It's only happened to me once. But first was a stranger trying to get in at 11pm, followed by a member of staff trying to get us out as they'd decided we overstayed. And then they called us. It was 1am before they decided we were in the right room for the right nights.
We got a big discount off our stay that morning.

From the other thread specially Travelodge - very common. I did it literally all the time. Some examples of how this happens:

• Guest books for one night. Guest then extends the stay by booking online. Guest does not return to reception to check out and in again - assumes stay is extended in same room. Reception do not receive key card back, assume it has been taken home with guest (common occurrence). Room marked as vacant. Room very much occupied.

• Guest checks into room X but is given key card for room Y. System shows Y as vacant, X as occupied. It's really the other way round. Key cards generally aren't linked to the booking system - just a separate thing you enter the room number into manually. Happens a lot.

• Guest is accidently checked out. This happens by taking fat stack of key cards, running each through the scanner to find the room number, then manually checking everyone out, and fat fingering it along the way.

• Two guests in room. One leaves early and drops key in box. Key found in box, room checked out. Other guest remains in room.

• Straight up human error or language barrier. 'Can you go check the air con in room 6-8?' says non-native English speaker to non-native English speaker. Off they go to room 1-6-8 and breeze straight in.

• Guest had incident in the night - water gone in room for example. Night shift moved them into another vacant room, and didn't save the move onto the system. Morning comes, room expected to be clean and empty is dirty and occupied.

Travelodge pay minimum wage and operate lone working. Sometimes it's carelessness, other times it's quite literally too much for one person to do perfectly. Shifts end at 7, morning staff start at 7. There is no crossover to do a proper handover and share information - they won't pay for the overlap. So you rely on notes to keep you in the loop, and a huge number of the staff don't speak perfect English, particularly the nights team.

I have also had it happen twice: once, I was allocated a room, I opened the door, there were bags in there and a person in the shower! I closed the door and went back to reception to complain.

The second time, we were all asleep in bed (family trip) and a couple walked in and turned the light on at 3am! They went back to reception, we complained in the morning but the hotel manager was unbothered and not apologetic

It’s not uncommon. I’ve walked into a Holiday Inn room to find an elderly man in his boxer shorts, which was embarrassing for everyone.

I also stayed in a pub where they had rooms upstairs but no stair gate or anything to prevent pub punters walking upstairs. It was quite old-fashioned and the doors just had a physical key, no swipe card. I must have forgotten to lock myself in from the inside and was lying in bed in my pjs watching TV at about 11pm when someone opened the door and was about to step inside. I shouted out, and they scarpered. I quickly locked the door and then complained to the duty manager next morning who just shrugged and said it was probably someone going to the wrong room. In all the hundreds of times I’ve stayed in hotels, I can honestly say I’ve never tried to access the wrong room.

I always double lock hotel doors now but still feel a bit vulnerable unless there’s a keychain. I often put my suitcase or chair in front of the door so that I’ll at least hear anyone trying to enter.

I had a male staff member walk in on me at about midnight in a posh hotel in Leeds! Was super scary as I was asleep and who knows what he was planning. Rang DH and stayed on the phone with him all night.

After many weeks of arguing with their complaints team, I finally got a refund.

I've had it happen at an airport hotel in New York. It actually happened more than once- two other couples were given keys to our room!

Luckily I was with DH but it was unnerving, and we spent a very sleepless night in our clothes on top of the bed.

Hotels overbook as part of their business model don't they? I wonder if that has an impact if the computer systems don't catch up quickly enough.

I was once given the key to the wrong room so went to reception and sorted. I was then contacted after checkout and accused of smearing feces all over the bathroom. I can only assume it had happened in the room I was initially allocated but they insisted it was my room!

Sometimes there's a chain or a bit that kind of folds out which stops the door from being opened more than a crack.

Nothing ridiculous about that at all!

It’s not that rare. I’ve walked in to a room with someone in the bath (I have to believe that I reversed out so quickly and quietly they never realised!) and another with someone else’s stuff everywhere twice.

Thankfully I’ve never had someone try and get into my room (apart from housekeeping despite shouting no thank you!). But I also take a door wedge and double lock the room.

He said it was no-one from our firm, which considering there was a few hundred of us there, I find unlikely! 🤣 The story gets trotted out every year though.

I’ve had it happen twice.

its terrifying.

I’m now ridiculous about the door being security latched at all times.

editing to add the reason I suspect I have been unlucky or lucky depending on how you look at it is because my surname is complicated and often confuses poorly designed computer systems.

It’s poor form from the reception staff and you’ve been unlucky enough for it to happen more than once. It’s like a bank giving out personal info, it can happen due to human error but it’s rare as it’s absolutely not on.

My colleague was given the key to his room and walked in on a couple having sex in the middle of the afternoon. This was at a conference centre. Since then I've always made sure the door is double locked from the inside!