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There is nothing wrong with wanting a comfortable hotel room. There is nothing wrong with asking whether an upgrade is available, either. But booking a room at 1 a.m. on a busy weekend and seeming genuinely shocked that the hotel can’t produce your ideal accommodations on command? That’s where things start getting a little ridiculous.

Anyone who has worked in hospitality probably knows this particular flavor of frustration. A guest arrives with a very specific wish list—better room, better floor, better location—and somehow the employee standing behind the desk becomes personally responsible when reality doesn’t cooperate.

That’s exactly what one night-shift hotel worker encountered during what initially looked like it might be a wonderfully uneventful shift. With only two scheduled arrivals remaining, things were looking pretty peaceful. Then a high-status rewards member made a last-minute reservation and walked through the doors with some expectations.

One request quickly became another, then another, until the employee found herself apologizing for practically everything the hotel couldn’t magically provide in the middle of the night.

Entitled Guests

Working the night shift can be so calming at times, but other times, I swear, the unnecessary bulls**t that comes along with it got me questioning my morals.

Basically, when I came in for my usual shift, I was told we only had two arrivals left. Great. That sounds lovely. Now I only have to worry about the walk-ins.

Now, let me paint the scenario.

Can’t wait.

It is the weekend, prime time for groups/teams or other kinds of guests to come along and book their stay at the hotel.

Our occupancy was low throughout the week, but picked up immediately when Saturday came around. A lot of upgrades tend to be granted before my shift or most of the rooms that have bigger spaces would already be taken.

We only have four of the suites, which provide a living room setup and a balcony. People love booking this one, which means it is barely available.

Noted.

This became one of those nights where a high-status member booked a reservation at the last second, 1:00 AM, walking in and showing off his teeth. Putting on a performance to make it look like he did not just make a reservation two seconds ago.

He looked to his son, who went to go play some Pool and then asked if we had any upgrades available. When I told him we do not (he already booked the second biggest room type that we have), he seemed bewildered by the fact that we could not upgrade him.

I explained to him the quantity of the suites and that it is usually better to contact us ahead of time, before the arrival date, because they sell out fast. Still, the man was stuck on the fact that we didn’t have at least one available, specifically on the highest floor.

Can we say “entitled”?

Then, he asked if he could be moved to the highest floor, near the elevator, with the current room type he had (A Double King).

When I told him we only had three available on the second-highest floor and that they were far down the hallway from the elevator, he once again shared that bewildered expression.

Like sir, I do apologize, but you arrived during the small hours of the morning and expected everything not to be sold out or nearly?

No kidding.

Afterwards, he had me running around looking for a wheelchair for his wife, which I felt awful about because she could not walk well and needed a room closer for that very purpose.

Unfortunately, could not find the wheelchairs after searching every storage and electrical room (as instructed by the manager) and had to apologize for all three things.

Not having a room on the highest floor. Not having a room close to the elevator. And not having a wheelchair accessible for guests with physical disabilities.

Come on now.

In the end, this annoyed me deeply because if this were not the last second and we had received a call ahead, we would’ve been able to accommodate or make sure these things were available for requests.

There are really two different frustrations happening here, and one feels a lot more justified than the other.

The guest’s apparent disbelief over not receiving an upgrade is difficult to sympathize with. Upgrades are generally dependent on availability, and arriving at 1 a.m. on a busy weekend doesn’t exactly put someone in prime position to snag one of only four coveted suites. The same goes for requesting a particular floor and proximity to the elevator. Asking is perfectly reasonable; acting stunned when those options have already been taken is not.

Where the hotel deserves more criticism, however, is the wheelchair situation. A guest shouldn’t necessarily have to call ahead for a hotel to know where its wheelchairs are or to make one available if the property advertises that accommodation. The employee clearly tried—searching multiple rooms on a manager’s instructions…and seemed genuinely upset that she couldn’t help the man’s wife. That failure sounds much more like a hotel management problem than something the person working the night desk should have had to apologize for personally.

So while the last-minute guest may have had unrealistic expectations about upgrades and room placement, his wife’s mobility needs are a different story. Sometimes a hotel simply can’t manufacture an empty suite at 1 a.m. But knowing where the accessibility equipment is? That feels like something management should probably have figured out long before anyone needed it.

This person has a fun, sarcastic response.

This person says they could’ve just left.

If you enjoyed this story, check out this post about an employee who got back at slacking coworkers with fresh-baked treats.

And this person just has no patience for this kind of person.

You can’t upgrade someone to a room that doesn’t exist, but the disappearing wheelchair is one amenity worth tracking down.