A man checking into a Holiday Inn Express in Bloomington, Minnesota became irate when the front desk agent wouldn’t upgrade him to a room type he had refused to pay for, and she decided to record it.
He had booked a room with one king bed and a sofa bed through online travel agency site Booking.com. But – he objected – there are four of them, including two kids, and it would be “ridiculous” for them to sleep in that room. (The two adults could have taken the bed and two kids the pull out couch, as another guest pointed out.)
The problem was the hotel was sold out, and only had the room he’d reserved. In fact, he originally booked the room with two beds but it was more expensive and he cancelled it deciding it seems that he’d just ask for what he wanted at check-in and save the difference. It seems like he even showed the agent the cancelled booking as though it was his live one claiming that he was entitled to the more expensive room. The desk agent offered a fee-free cancellation, provided of course that Booking.com would process it that way.
“Are there any other Holiday Express hotels you could check us into?” he asked, hoping that she could somehow help them into another room at another hotel, but she stood her ground and claimed that it wasn’t in her power to do so.
…“Who hasn’t checked in and what else is available with more beds?” he asked, hoping to get a room that someone had already reserved.
When that other guest offered up that the king bed and sofa bed would probably work for four guests, the man told him to “shut it” and threatened him. So the desk agent decided to “just go ahead and cancel” the man’s reservation. He spit on the floor multiple times.
It turns out the guest – insisting aggressively on an upgrade – was basically this character from the ‘frequent flyer famous’ Diamond Guest video of 2011.
I love how the desk agent at a Holiday Inn Express remained calm and professional, and stood up for not just herself but also for another guest. Here’s video and the agent’s commentary:
@localtumbleweed WWJD #karen #karensgoingwild #karensoftiktok #hospitality #hotel #frontdesk #caught #travel #fyp #wwyd #customerservice #problemsolved #war ♬ original sound – 4 4 4
@localtumbleweed Replying to @jamye98 pt 2 #karensgoingwild #karen #hotel #hospitality #hotel #travel #fyp #travel #problemsolved ♬ original sound – 4 4 4
@localtumbleweed Replying to @wnhb_tinkerbell pt 3 #karensgoingwild #karen #hotel #hospitality #travel #fyp #problemsolved #storytime #trial #karensoftiktok #wwyd #war #customerservice #caught ♬ original sound – 4 4 4
People have their phones – and they’re bored – on planes and we get all sorts of ‘passengers gone wild’ viral videos. But we have very few meltdowns at hotels, even though these same people stay in rooms. They’re pushy. And while they’re not stuck inside a metal tube for hours, jerks are jerks whether they’re sitting next to someone inflight or confronting agents at the front desk. We need more front desk agents with cameras – who use them.
