People looking round our hotel room?

[Randomchat]

Staying in a lovely 5* hotel for 2 nights. Total treat, it's lovely.

Yesterday we went out for the day. Came back around 3pm and there were hotel staff in our room showing people around. They wanted to book the place for a wedding. They were right in the room, the woman was in the bathroom looking around. The man had opened the wardrobe.

I asked them immediately to leave and they did but they took their time about it, actually standing by the door commenting on how the room was a bit small. I nearly had to push them out and close the door.

We spoke to the reception staff later and they said it's common to let people look around occupied hotel rooms.

Really? Is this common? Right in the room opening wardrobes, not just putting their heads round the door for a quick look?

We got offered a free drink to compensate.

It's still bugging me this morning. I want to go to reception and make clear to them that no-one is to go in our room. Dh says I'm making a fuss. Cleaners go in there every day so this is no different.

I'm interested to hear if this is indeed normal and I'm over-reacting by being bothered by it?

I'll be wondering all day if someone is looking round our bedroom.

You make a formal complaint to the hotel general manager and their head office. I would expect an upgrade to a different room.

Definitely not acceptable. In fact i can remember going to visit a hotel we were thinking of booking for our wedding night. When I phoned they said someone has booked the bridal suite today but they aren't arriving until 3 so come quick and we'll show you around. When we got there they said so sorry, the guests turned up early so we can't allow access to the room and showed us some photos and one of the more standard rooms. A bit disappointing for me but EXACTLY what they should have done.

YANBU. That’s shit. They should ask you in advance bare minimum. Really awful service.

I want name and location of hotel.

I spent many years living in hotels 3 or 4 nights a week for work, including some very posh establishments. I've never encountered this sort of thing in my life, and I'd have been outraged if I had! Definitely time for a formal complaint and/or tweet...

You're being far more chill than me! I'd be fuming and complaining (politely just to anticipate the MN whataboutery) until hopefully id get a refund of the entire stay or an extra night. The fact they tried to gaslight you by saying its normal makes it even worse. Honestly its a really dodgy thing to do. Id be referring to the recent travelodge case where a woman was sexually assaulted etc. How can you feel safe in your room when apparently the staff will give a key to whoever wants to wander around? What if something had been stolen?

🤣🤣🤣

I’d be bloody cross too! I’d ask to speak to management and tell them how unhappy you are with it.

Bad enough for you but if I was an employee I'd be furious - always the finger of suspicion pointed at them.

Hotels do wierd things for weddings. It’s obviously a huge amount of money so they keep the couple happy - I guess this couple demanded to see it so they took a punt that you’d not notice the 10 mins they came in. I’d let them know you plan to write a review that the room isn’t private. Obviously housekeeping is different - you can also stop them going in with a DND sign. Maintenance is different again, as it might be an emergency.

I once booked a hotel in the village my friend was getting married in. Regular booking online.
I didn’t know at the time her wedding party was also staying there (church and reception was elsewhere). We booked a specific room, not the nicest one. A few weeks before the wedding my friend texted me to say she wanted my room as it overlooks her church and she’d told the hotel to move me. Not strange that they moved us (guess that’s up to the hotel) but how did she know I booked it? Well she apparently went through the whole list of names with the manager and told him who was attending her wedding etc and who she wanted where…!

😂 this is so MN. What exactly do you think the OPs “insurer” is going to do, that’s if she is actually covered for a UK break.

Goodness, I’d be making a MAJOR stink to the management about this!

Absolutely unacceptable!

Five Star. I cannot believe this is standard practice. I’d be furious

Good point!

This.

I'd be furious about this too, it's completely inappropriate.

wtf. Not acceptable at all! The only other people who should be in your room are either maintenance or housekeeping! I’d be escalating this further.

Also a good point. What if they showed round a potential wedding client and the room they went into had underwear strewn around/sex toys out/old takeaway cartons with flies buzzing around them?

I'd have absolutely hit the roof and would have contacted HQ.

You and your husband's personal belongings were still in, and this bloke was looking in the wardrobe and his mrs in the bathroom?

Your husband is way wrong; you are NOT making a fuss.

The whole situation is creepy and intrusive, and scary. What would have happened if the staff weren't there? Or if no staff but just you walking in? A free drink is pathetic.

If you don't get a reply from HQ, or not a suitable one, then threaten to go to the press.

I would absolutely be leaving a review saying that they let strangers into your room as common practice. Absolutely outrageous, I've NEVER heard of this happening.

I agree you need to speak to the manager, not the reception staff - who will have offered you a free drink as ‘compensation’ to keep you quiet. But the fact that they did that at all is useful to your case, as it is tacit admission that they did something wrong.

I stayed in a lovely hotel and was thinking of booking it for my parents 50th anniversary as a gift. But they needed an accessible room so I asked if I could see one and they said ‘we can only show you an unoccupied room so this may not be the actual room they get’. Which was completely reasonable and expected! I think the hotel was breaching all sorts of laws: breach of privacy, breach of GDPR, and consumer protection regulations. Escalate it and ask for a discount

I’d be raging!

cleaners?… fine. One would assume that they are security checked and are known to the hotel.

supposed members of the public? Absolutely not. What if something went missing when they’re being shown around? What would the hotel be able to do?

go and speak to the manager and point out just how inappropriate this is, what risk it places on you and the hotel and that a free drink isn’t going to cut it.

I’d expect a room upgrade at the very least. Tell them too that you’re going to bring this up with corporate/owners AND write reviews to warn others that their rooms can be used to show to random people whenever the hotel feels like it.

No I would not be happy and I would want to speak to a manager.

I would be making it crystal clear that it will be on every review I write, that guests can expect to come back to a room they have paid for and find it being shown to strangers.

Unbelievable.

I would not be happy at all and definitely leave a review letting other guests know.