Real Stories of Guests being banned from a hotel
This article will go over real stories from real hotel owners about why they banned a guest from their hotel or property. Many of these issues could have been resolved by having a system in place that would inform the hotel of any priors a guest has had. Many of the problems hotel and property owners complain about come from habitual offenders, persons that have done it before, and continue to do so. These guests are a nuisance to hotel owners because of the damage and substantial problems they cause. A simple check or even a database of prior incidents would help mitigate these problems, and allow hotel owners and property owners to protect their employees, guests, and valued property.
- During a midday shift, a guest began yelling at the maintenance employee while the employee was working in the pool area. The guest was yelling from the third-floor window out of their room. The front desk was notified and they contacted the guest. When the guest was contacted they became belligerent, and sounded intoxicated, they began swearing at the staff. When police were called it turned out they had an active warrant for his arrest. The police came and removed them from the property. This issue could have been mitigated by having a system such as GuestBan in place.
- A guest came into check-in with their friend. The friend was present and stated their willingness to pay for the room. The CC and ID matched and was charged the room amount and deposit amount. All required forms were signed. After the guest checked out, they ran a chargeback on the account, attempting to state it was stolen and they were not present. Luckily the hotel was diligent in their policy and swiped the card into the system, and had the register card signed and the friend’s name written down in the notes. This information helped the Managerial staff win the chargeback. It turned out this guest has done this multiple times to other hotels in the area, and was promptly reported and was banned from the property.
A guest that was staying at the hotel continuously would extend their reservation through a third party, daily. After a week of extension, the guest began calling the front desk staff stating they had overcharged them and refused to pay for another night until the issue was resolved. When the Managers looked into it, there was no issue and informed the guest it was more than likely a third-party issue. The guest became belligerent and refused to come down and pay. Managers knocked on the door and requested the guest pay or leave. The guest refused and stated they would damage the room, at this point police were called. The guest had multiple people in the room that was not on the registration card and were sleeping on the floor of the room. The guest was listed on the do not rent list for the same offense previously, but because it was written down and printed, the front desk staff missed it and checked in the guest anyway.
A guest that was staying at the hotel continuously would extend their reservation through a third party, daily. After a week of extension, the guest began calling the front desk staff stating they had overcharged them and refused to pay for another night until the issue was resolved. When the Managers looked into it, there was no issue and informed the guest it was more than likely a third-party issue. The guest became belligerent and refused to come down and pay. Managers knocked on the door and requested the guest pay or leave. The guest refused and stated they would damage the room, at this point police were called. The guest had multiple people in the room that was not on the registration card and were sleeping on the floor of the room. The guest was listed on the do not rent list for the same offense previously, but because it was written down and printed, the front desk staff missed it and checked in the guest anyway.
- A guest checked into the room and brought over a ‘friend’ later that evening. The ‘friend’ was not on the reservation and had no identification present. The next morning the ‘friend’ came down to the front desk to extend the reservation, when asked to present a credit card and ID they refused and stated the original guest would pay. At this point the front desk asked if they were the original guest, they stated no. The front desk staff asked the guest to make a reservation under their name to check in. The guest refused to pay and became belligerent, causing a scene in the lobby, and returned to the room and refused to leave. The police were called and the guest was removed from the property. The original guest on the reservation was held liable for his ‘friend’s behavior and was banned from the property.
- Guests checked into a hotel that had a NO SMOKING policy stated on the registration card that the guest signed. Shortly after check-in, a hallway began to smell like smoke. The guest who was just checked in was the only person in that section and was promptly called to inform them of the associated fee and the policy. The guest verbally stated they understood. A few hours later the problem began again, at this point the manager’s staff went up and knocked on the door. The guest opened the door and a plume of smoke came out of the room. The managers informed the guest there would be a smoking fee, and requested they stop smoking. The guest stated they understood and apologized. When the managers came in the next morning, they were informed by the morning shift that the guest was still smoking and that there were multiple complaints of smoke in the hotel. The manager’s staff called the guest and informed them they are no longer able to stay there, and subsequently banned the guest for damage to the room. The constant chain-smoking caused the room to go down for over a week, and required daily cleaning and sanitizing to remove the damage done. This incident caused the hotel to change its policy, and remove guests after the first warning.
a hallway began to smell like smoke. The guest who was just checked in was the only person in that section and was promptly called to inform them of the associated fee and the policy. The guest verbally stated they understood. A few hours later the problem began again, at this point the manager’s staff went up and knocked on the door. The guest opened the door and a plume of smoke came out of the room. The managers informed the guest there would be a smoking fee, and requested they stop smoking. The guest stated they understood and apologized. When the managers came in the next morning, they were informed by the morning shift that the guest was still smoking and that there were multiple complaints of smoke in the hotel. The manager’s staff called the guest and informed them they are no longer able to stay there, and subsequently banned the guest for damage to the room. The constant chain-smoking caused the room to go down for over a week, and required daily cleaning and sanitizing to remove the damage done. This incident caused the hotel to change its policy, and remove guests after the first warning.- A guest checked into a room. Later on that night the front-desk staff noticed a person on camera crawling in through a window on the first floor, after further investigation the staff noticed multiple people entering the same way throughout the day, the guest was called because of this suspicious behavior and was asked to leave. The guest refused and stated they knew nothing of what was happening. The police were called to remove the individual from the property. It turned out the person had a warrant out for their arrest and was selling prostitution services out of the room. Due to the diligence of the staff it was caught early and was promptly stopped.
- A guest checked in and asked if it was okay to park their RV there. The front desk stated it was okay for the duration of their stay. The guest parked the RV and ended up staying in the RV instead of the room. Raising the suspicions of the front desk. After watching the cameras throughout the day, it was noticed that people would be walking up to the RV and leaving. Police assistance was requested, and it turned out the RV was selling drugs in the hotel parking lot. The police arrested the individuals, and informed the staff they knew who these individuals were, and it wasn’t the first time they’d done this.
The common problem hotels have is habitual offenders. As you can see from the stories above, many of these issues have happened before, either to them or someone else. Many of these offenders have common knowledge of how a hotel works, and are able to use their wit to get into the hotel. An important factor is a security. Keeping the security and safety of your employees, guests, and property helps facilitate a friendly experience, one that makes guests come back.
A system such as GuestBan would help mitigate most, if not all of the problems with habitual offenders. If it happens once it’s in the system. Allowing others in the network to read into an individual and instantly see if they have been banned from other hotels or not. Many offenders jump from hotel to hotel in one city, causing issues for everyone involved. That’s why GuestBan was created, to help create and foster an environment of safety and security, and to create a positive guest experience when staying with your hotel.
This article was written for informational purposes and shows a few examples of how different hotels and staff deal with issues. Not every hotel is the same, and SOPs and policies differ from location to location. Contact your management team for more information on guest interactions.