Page 5 | Hotel staff removed my belongings whilst I wasn't there

Tothemoonandbackx · 2022-01-31T17:17:29+00:00

I didn't really know where to put this, so property seemed like the only place that seemed sort of, relevant. My partner has been working away and he's been stopping in Hotels. He's stopped in this certain hotel before and never had a problem. The other night, he had a disagreement with a staff member, nothing audacious. Just a bit of a mix up with the manager telling my partner he could do one thing, and the staff member saying he couldn't. So he goes to work the following morning and everything seems OK, he comes back to find the staff have gone into his room and packed all his belongings into his travel bag and suitcase and removed them from the room. Is this legal??????? And if it is or isn't, is there any specific law or site I can get this information from???? I've googled a thousand things and nothings really coming up on the legality of it all.

Whattochoosenow · 01/02/2022 09:31

I’m sure your partner will be able to sort this out for himself.

MrsSkylerWhite · 01/02/2022 09:35

If the takeaway was the only reason, that does sound extreme.

FinallyFluid · 01/02/2022 09:42

This reply has been deleted

Message deleted by MNHQ. Here's a link to our Talk guidelines.

GrandDuchessRomanov · 01/02/2022 10:00

Three sides to this story OP.

The one you are giving us, your Dh's and the hotels.

Which is it at this point is anyones guess unless you come back and clarify, answer PP's questions.

Sparklingbrook · 01/02/2022 10:05

@NYnewstart

Waiting for the op to come back with further info.

I;m not sure that's going to happen.

I have to admire their choice of topic though. I mean it was 'property' that was dumped but this one's for buying and selling houses and DIY isn't it?

This would have made a better AIBU.

Muckymaisonette · 01/02/2022 10:15

I stayed in a guest house/small hotel “Penny-Pinching Lodge” for a job relocation. I was to stay 4 weeks and was put in a double room. The room tv and lights were wired in (no sockets in the room you had to plug in a hairdryer on the landing - one of the owners had been an electrician in the services).

The first weekend I went away and when I came back found all my things (including underwear, box of tampons etc.) had been moved to a smaller room with no warning or apology “we need your room for one of our regular male guests”.

One evening a (male) friend called by on the way to going out to a pub and we chatted in my room for about 10 mins. The next morning Mrs Penny-Pinching told me in the breakfast room that Mr PP needed to speak to me. He then came in in front of the other guests to tell me “Our male guests don’t like it if you have a man in your room” (wtf!).

I found a room to rent, gave the PPs “notice” and moved out at the end of the second week. The PPs came to see my boss at work and indignantly complained that they were owed for 2 more weeks and that I had a “man” in my room. He laughed at them!

QueBarbaridad · 01/02/2022 10:20

This once happened to my husband simply because he had extended his stay and the cleaner didn’t know, so all his belongings were locked up and couldn’t be got at till the next day!

ZeroFuchsGiven · 01/02/2022 10:26

I know op won't be back but this makes no sense to me AT ALL.

Surely when the DH got back to the hotel and realised his belongings were gone he trotted down to reception and asked why and was given an answer

Hes definitely not telling op the full story.

ElftonWednesday · 01/02/2022 10:41

Sounds shit. Stay somewhere else, leave a bad review, get compensation if they have damaged the goods.

BoredZelda · 01/02/2022 10:56

as I said previously he really really isn't the type of person to cause or fuss, or as you put it "ruffle some feathers" it's just not in his nature.

But the alternative to this is, a hotel has thrown out a long term regular guest, losing what was secure repeat business, at one of their quietest times of year, on the whim of a barman who didn’t like having a calm disagreement with a customer. That’s definitely an extremely unlikely scenario.

I would bet my house on the husband not being entirely honest here.

But yes, having worked in hotel housekeeping for about 15 years when I was younger, a hotel can pack your belongings and move them to storage. It isn’t illegal, nor is it theft.

Gonnagetgoing · 01/02/2022 10:59

@Muckymaisonette

I stayed in a guest house/small hotel “Penny-Pinching Lodge” for a job relocation. I was to stay 4 weeks and was put in a double room. The room tv and lights were wired in (no sockets in the room you had to plug in a hairdryer on the landing - one of the owners had been an electrician in the services).

The first weekend I went away and when I came back found all my things (including underwear, box of tampons etc.) had been moved to a smaller room with no warning or apology “we need your room for one of our regular male guests”.

One evening a (male) friend called by on the way to going out to a pub and we chatted in my room for about 10 mins. The next morning Mrs Penny-Pinching told me in the breakfast room that Mr PP needed to speak to me. He then came in in front of the other guests to tell me “Our male guests don’t like it if you have a man in your room” (wtf!).

I found a room to rent, gave the PPs “notice” and moved out at the end of the second week. The PPs came to see my boss at work and indignantly complained that they were owed for 2 more weeks and that I had a “man” in my room. He laughed at them!

@Muckymaisonette - that sounds awful!

Never had that but an old boss used to stay in a guest house for work on a regular basis.

Gonnagetgoing · 01/02/2022 11:02

There was a guest house near where I live where sometimes I'd stay when I was younger with boyfriends and it was cheap and cheerful but quite nice.

It was obviously used by couples but wasn't the Hilton by any standards!

I actually stayed there as a hotel with a boyfriend one time as he needed to be near a station, my home was undergoing building works and he didn't want the hassle of that (loose floorboards etc). It was ok but very basic in the morning re breakfast and saw it had closed down recently.

Tiredan · 01/02/2022 11:03

Why are people doubtful that this is the whole story? Sometimes people are just a bit bananas and do things that don't seem to have any sense in them at all. It's really, really stressful working with customers and sometimes even the most customer centred worker just loses their shit because they are human.
I once got banned from a shop for declining to buy for half price the item they had broken in front of me while wrapping. I said no thank you, that I'd still like to buy an other one for full price and also offered to get the new one from the shelf. That was it, no other interaction.
The backstory might have been that they were sick with worry about how to pay the rent on the shop, maybe I looked like a nightmare ex, perhaps their kids were sick and kept them up all night, maybe the last 10 customers were assholes and that was just the last straw, who knows.

Sparklingbrook · 01/02/2022 11:14

Why are people doubtful that this is the whole story?

Because from what little we know it seems a huge over reaction.

VanGoghsDog · 01/02/2022 11:27

@Spectre8

Wow I didn't know hotels don't like you bringing in take away food - learnt something new today.

Never had a problem when I've stayed in various hotels. So weird.

It's not that they didn't like him taking it in, he could eat it in his room, it was eating it in the bar they objected to.

I don't think the two events are linked. I think there's just been a mix up in his booking which led them to think he was terminating that day but had forgotten to check out.

Has he asked them?

viques · 01/02/2022 11:38

So sad, this thread is going to drag on forever with posts about other people’s experiences, but let’s face it, the OP is never going to come back , and we will never know the true story.

MN can be so frustrating sometimes. Sigh.

Sparklingbrook · 01/02/2022 11:50

@viques

So sad, this thread is going to drag on forever with posts about other people’s experiences, but let’s face it, the OP is never going to come back , and we will never know the true story.

MN can be so frustrating sometimes. Sigh.

Very true. There's not much point commenting any more, we can speculate forever, but only the OP's partner knows what truly happened.

Calennig · 01/02/2022 11:54

But a small guesthouse wouldn't usually have a bar and restaurant . Sounds an odd set up.

Been in a few that did - usually it's a group of big old houses converted and one had restaurant/dinning room with set menu in and you walk to it.

Though did one that just had a bar - it was opened specially for DH to have one drink - that was stopping near my family - big georgian house with extention converted into guest house.

They've generally been a good experince - but we've tended to go to them when we can't get convenient proper hotels.

Did have one in my 20s - long tem stay that was awful - we had meals provided in evening which was an experience every night but owners DH took it upon himself to question what we'd done all day and find fault - both of us were young females and think he thought he had the right to do that. It was a relief to leave and book somewhere else when we went back to finish up the field work up.

Did stay in one - training course with work but everyone else was booked in somewhere else - where I was asked to move rooms as they had a regular coming in next day - but there I packed up myself and moved.

Only thing to do is ask management what is going on - where is his stuff and what are they doing about long term booking.

Gwenhwyfar · 01/02/2022 11:55

@Moonface88

I work in a hotel. There's no way this would happen without numerous attempts to contact the guest first, by phone if necessary if they're not on site. And a guest bringing lucrative repeat business staying 4 weeks at a time would never be removed like this over something so minor. There's something you're husband isn't telling you.

I'm actually really surprised someone is staying for 4 WEEKS in a hotel without a table and chair in the room. Even pretty basic hotels have a small table and chair.

Toanewstart22 · 01/02/2022 11:57

[quote Tothemoonandbackx]@LIZS he's just not the type of person who would make a scene or be rude. It was just a small mix up.[/quote]
I’d wager… he did. Epically

Gwenhwyfar · 01/02/2022 11:59

@Spectre8

Wow I didn't know hotels don't like you bringing in take away food - learnt something new today.

Never had a problem when I've stayed in various hotels. So weird.

I can totally understand if they have their own restaurant, but in this one the restaurant was closed. In any case, it seems the problem was not having a takeaway, but having it in the empty, closed restaurant.

I can also imagine they don't like the mess from things like McDonalds.

I'm usually discreet when I take food into my room.

Gwenhwyfar · 01/02/2022 12:01

"He then came in in front of the other guests to tell me “Our male guests don’t like it if you have a man in your room” (wtf!)."

Loads of hotels have a no visitors rule. I think it's mainly aimed at prostitutes, but it's still a common rule.
Really shit that they moved you to a worse room when you were a long term guest and touched your personal things though.

Gwenhwyfar · 01/02/2022 12:05

"But a small guesthouse wouldn't usually have a bar and restaurant . Sounds an odd set up.

Been in a few that did - usually it's a group of big old houses converted and one had restaurant/dinning room with set menu in and you walk to it."

In small towns, hotel bars and restaurants are often what all the local residents use as well and guest houses do at least have a breakfast room that could be used for evening meals as well.

Calennig · 01/02/2022 12:11

I'm actually really surprised someone is staying for 4 WEEKS in a hotel without a table and chair in the room. Even pretty basic hotels have a small table and chair.

Many guest houses do just have beds and clothes storage IME - partly why DH perfers hotels for work trips or Airbnbs.

I wonder if it's somewhere ruralish - IL it's guest houses or rooms above pubs or staying in nearby city for hotel - but there are plans for hotel on new development which is currently being built.

mam0918 · 01/02/2022 12:16

@KedgeIsland

But hotel staff enter guests’ rooms daily to clean, and regularly pick up and handle things left on the bed or floor or bathroom surfaces so they can clean and vacuum and bedmake — if you’re not ok with this, pack everything away in your case/the safe/cupboard, or take it out with you for the day. Even if you say you don’t want your room cleaned, staff still have master keys and can enter, and if he had a multi/week booking, housekeeping is likely to have a policy on intermittent cleans to make sure the room isn’t filthy when the guest leaves (especially if they’re eating in the room).

I’m a bit puzzled that this is the bit you had a problem with, when the issue seems to be that he had an ongoing booking for further nights that was terminated without notice.

we deliberately leave the do not disturb or no housekeeping sign up... cleaners have never randomly come into our room on any of the holidays we have been on.

We arent so dirty and inept that we need a maid to clean every day, it's bizarre to me that hotels even offer that but it is just that an offer which you can opt out of.