Originally Posted by
Hoteliergal
For the example about the house phone, it is against most standards (safety especially) in most brands to have any phones that dial directly to the rooms. They are supposed to go to the operator and they transfer the call. So, I have a hard time believing that. Moreover, if someone does prank call a room from inside the hotel, we do have the resources to investigate it. It may not be a five minute solution, but we can stop unsupervised children from doing that in nearly all hotels. Guestrooms rarely have direct dial numbers so that people outside of the hotel can call without speaking to the operator. But, I can't think of a chain that allows for that without verifying a guest name.
I call a lot of people in hotels, and standards vary hugely. I have been put through to the wrong room (despite giving name and room number), and woken a poor lady up at 4am local time; I am frequently put through to just a room number without any verification of name; I have sat and had a phone ring and ring and ring before an operator answers the phone - incredibly infuriating for me when I am trying to reach someone, and they are waiting for the call, to not have someone answer (presumably because they are also the front desk person etc). I have also been given multiple 'direct dial' numbers so I can avoid such a problem, which is perfect for me, especially at smaller hotels where there aren't a plethora of people to answer the phone. The majority of these are 4* plus, with most being those considered 'luxury' brands.