Crowne Plaza - Looks like someone used my room for a break. What to do?
Dec 16, 2017, 8:37 am
#1
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Crowne Plaza - Looks like someone used my room for a break. What to do?
I’m ending a 3-night stay at a Crowne Plaza in a major Latin American city. Everything had been great until an odd situation this morning. I went down for breakfast at 10 AM, left the “do not disturb” sign on the door, and I’m 100% sure the door was locked.
When I came back no more than 30 minutes later, I immediately noticed that someone had used the in-room coffee maker. My cell phone charger had also been unplugged and moved, and the nightstand drawer was slightly ajar. None of my other possessions seem to have been touched.
I’m not sure I want to get a maid fired, but it seems like a couple lines were clearly crossed here. What to do?
When I came back no more than 30 minutes later, I immediately noticed that someone had used the in-room coffee maker. My cell phone charger had also been unplugged and moved, and the nightstand drawer was slightly ajar. None of my other possessions seem to have been touched.
I’m not sure I want to get a maid fired, but it seems like a couple lines were clearly crossed here. What to do?
Dec 16, 2017, 9:05 am
#2
Join Date: Oct 2014
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Tell the front desk.
There are other potential explanations (I was once given a key card that opened more than my room), so perhaps someone got confused, and walked into your room thinking it was theirs (wrong floor, or turned left instead of right, walked three doors down instead of four, and their key worked. They kicked up the coffee, started to grab their cell phone, and realized... whoops!). Maybe the maintenance unit was asked to check power or something, and got the wrong room.. maybe...
regardless, IHG can't do anything if they don't know, so just inform them.
There are other potential explanations (I was once given a key card that opened more than my room), so perhaps someone got confused, and walked into your room thinking it was theirs (wrong floor, or turned left instead of right, walked three doors down instead of four, and their key worked. They kicked up the coffee, started to grab their cell phone, and realized... whoops!). Maybe the maintenance unit was asked to check power or something, and got the wrong room.. maybe...
regardless, IHG can't do anything if they don't know, so just inform them.
Dec 16, 2017, 9:11 am
#3
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I don’t believe it was an innocent mistake. I had made a cup of coffee for when I got back to the room, and it seems like someone who walked in and saw that and the cell phone charger would know to turn around and leave, not sit there and make another cup of coffee and unplug the charger.
Dec 16, 2017, 9:47 am
#4
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I don’t believe it was an innocent mistake. I had made a cup of coffee for when I got back to the room, and it seems like someone who walked in and saw that and the cell phone charger would know to turn around and leave, not sit there and make another cup of coffee and unplug the charger.
At a minimum the hotel could tell WHICH card was used to enter the room while you were having breakfast.
I truly dont understand why you would post here to ask the question "What to do?" while not reporting this intrusion to the hotel front desk. If it is a maid who did that, she deserves to be fired because this obviously is NOT the appropriate behavior for ANY employee of a hotel. If they dont adhere to the employment requirements they do not deserve the job. Tough, but a lesson needs to be learned here.
Dec 16, 2017, 10:14 am
#5
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I don’t believe it was an innocent mistake. I had made a cup of coffee for when I got back to the room, and it seems like someone who walked in and saw that and the cell phone charger would know to turn around and leave, not sit there and make another cup of coffee and unplug the charger.
To me, anyone even knocking on the door (except in emergency or at my request like a room service) while the Do Not Disturb sign is on is 'inappropriate', let alone walking into your room and doing things while the DND is on. So this case definitely seems worth reporting.
Unless, that is, you believe you might be suffering from a memory lapse and you actually made the coffee and unplugged the charger but you forgot about it.
Dec 16, 2017, 3:10 pm
#6
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I don’t believe it was an innocent mistake. I had made a cup of coffee for when I got back to the room, and it seems like someone who walked in and saw that and the cell phone charger would know to turn around and leave, not sit there and make another cup of coffee and unplug the charger.
Perhaps someone else will come along here with advice you do wish to hear. Maybe you could fingerprint the coffee maker, and then track the culprit down through an illegal hack of the FBI fingerprint system database, and then go confront them.
Dec 17, 2017, 2:23 am
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To be fair it wasn't an international chain, but not only did the maid not get fired, but due to the "distress" we caused her (long time employee, never happened before, bla bla bla) our room was no longer serviced...
Dec 21, 2017, 3:20 pm
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Fine. If you don't like my advice to report it to the hotel, ignore it. You didn't pay anything for the advice, you are free to do so.
Perhaps someone else will come along here with advice you do wish to hear. Maybe you could fingerprint the coffee maker, and then track the culprit down through an illegal hack of the FBI fingerprint system database, and then go confront them.
Perhaps someone else will come along here with advice you do wish to hear. Maybe you could fingerprint the coffee maker, and then track the culprit down through an illegal hack of the FBI fingerprint system database, and then go confront them.
Anyway, when checking out, I mentioned it to the front desk, and they apologized and immediately called housekeeping to try to see what happened. I didn't have time to wait around, and I haven't heard anything from the hotel. Just a really weird incident, even by Lat. Am. standards.
Dec 21, 2017, 3:28 pm
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Even by FT standards, this seems incredibly thin-skinned. All I did was point out that one aspect of your feedback seemed unlikely to be the explanation in this particular case.
Anyway, when checking out, I mentioned it to the front desk, and they apologized and immediately called housekeeping to try to see what happened. I didn't have time to wait around, and I haven't heard anything from the hotel. Just a really weird incident, even by Lat. Am. standards.
Anyway, when checking out, I mentioned it to the front desk, and they apologized and immediately called housekeeping to try to see what happened. I didn't have time to wait around, and I haven't heard anything from the hotel. Just a really weird incident, even by Lat. Am. standards.
Dec 21, 2017, 3:34 pm
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I'm going to give it another day or so and then I'll follow up with the hotel. The funny thing is, the front desk lady asked me to be sure to fill out the post-stay survey I'll be receiving.*
(* Which I've already received — anyone know how long it will stay active? A lot of such surveys go inactive within a week, but I haven't done an IHG one lately. Thanks.)
(* Which I've already received — anyone know how long it will stay active? A lot of such surveys go inactive within a week, but I haven't done an IHG one lately. Thanks.)