10 Hotel Staff Whose Adventures Could Inspire the Next Hit Series

Behind the polished smiles and seamless service of a hotel lies a world of untold stories. Each one offers a glimpse into unique challenges, quirky encounters, and surprising adventures that could easily make for a binge-worthy show. Get ready to check in and discover the hidden drama, humor, and humanity behind the scenes of hotel life.

• I worked at a luxury, 5-star hotel. A couple in their 50s were regular guests. One day, the husband came in with a gorgeous blonde—not his wife. Our manager gave them the couple’s usual suite. But while they were out, the manager quietly went up to the suite and took photos of their belongings, which she then sent to the wife.
  It turned out the wife had suspected her husband was cheating and had asked the manager to gather proof to help her with the divorce settlement. Unfortunately, this landed our manager in serious trouble, and she was fired not long after.

• I worked the front desk at a hotel next to an airport. A bunch of flights were canceled, so we were sold out.
  A guy came in looking for a room. He didn’t believe that we were full, so as a joke, I told him, “Unless you want to sleep in a closet, we’re sold out.” He paid me $50 and took our storage closet. © ulyn / Reddit

• I was working at a luxury hotel, and we had a fairly big-name band staying with us. There were no noise complaints, and they seemed to be perfect tenants.
  When they left, and we went to clean the room, every single piece of furniture was nailed to the ceiling in roughly the same configuration as it was on the floor. I found it quite amusing. Management didn’t. © EyesWideStupid / Reddit

• I used to work the front desk of a 1,200-room upscale hotel in San Francisco with a restaurant on the top floor. Our garage only held 300 cars, and on weekends it was often full. We’d put out a sign saying, “Parking for Hotel Guests Only.” A valet would take the guests’ cars to a nearby public garage.
  About 11 p.m. on a Friday night, a Ferrari drives up, and the guy wants his car parked, saying he’s going to the restaurant. The valet says, “Sorry, we’re full—hotel guests only.” The guy tells the valet he’ll be right back.
  He comes up to the front desk, demands a room, and I check him in. When I go to hand him the room key, he snaps at me to forget the key and just park his car. © ChuckinTucson / Reddit

• I was working at the front desk one night. It was 11:25 p.m., and I had 5 minutes left in my shift. I was dying to go home. I got a call from a room on the 3rd floor, and it was a woman sounding very worried and scared, near tears. She started screaming and said she needed help because she couldn’t turn her light on and didn’t know what to do.
  It was impossible to talk to her on the phone, so I ran upstairs to help, since she sounded very distressed. When I arrived at her room, I noticed the door was slightly open. I knocked and leaned in. She called out, “HELLO, HELLO, please turn the light on!”
  The room was in darkness, and I couldn’t see where she was. I turned the light on (simply hitting the switch—it was just turned off) and noticed the guest was in bed with all her clothes on. I politely said, “Is everything okay? The light is on now. Is there anything else I can help you with?” She replied in a much calmer tone, “Could you please turn the light off? I’m going to bed.” © themanfromthedam / Reddit

• I worked the night shift and was the only employee in the entire hotel from 11 p.m. to 6 a.m. Around 3 a.m., I got a few calls about a fight in an upstairs hallway. I grabbed a pair of scissors and tucked it up my sleeve, then made my way upstairs to see what was going on. When I got there, two guys were having a full-on brawl.
  I’m 6’2″ and very broad-shouldered, but these guys were taller and super ripped. As I approached, a third guy—just as large as the other two—came out of a room yelling, “Get off him!” I stopped a ways away and just shouted at them. They all stopped immediately and looked at me.
  I was getting ready to run for it when they all just deflated. The two let go of each other, and one mumbled, “I’m sorry,” under his breath. They looked like a bunch of toddlers who had just gotten caught stealing cookies.
  I told them they would have to leave right now, or I would call the police, and they all just nodded. They followed me onto the elevator and spent the whole time apologizing and pouting while I escorted them out. I have never seen a situation go from 100 to 0 so fast. © Vypernorad / Reddit

• My fiancé was completing her daily workload when she came across a room that smelled like tropical air freshener. Apparently, the person staying in the room had attempted to make a smoothie in their bathtub. The kicker was that she couldn’t remove the blueberry stains from the tub. © screamforthecream / Reddit

• I was a front office manager (ran the front desk), and a lady came up and asked for everything complimentary we offered—literally. She wanted tampons, extra soap, razors, deodorant, mouthwash, toothbrush, floss, and even the loaner bathroom scale. Then she proceeded to dump the entire bowl of Starlite mints into her purse. She was clearly out of her mind. © katduffy / Reddit

• I work at a 5-star hotel. There is a couple who are regular guests. One time, after they checked in, the husband secretly approached the front desk. He asked our manager to send a bouquet of red roses to an address with the note: “Happy 23rd birthday, baby.”
  The manager gladly did what he said, but instead of sending them to the lover, she sent them to the couple’s hotel room. The wife initially thought the flowers were a sweet romantic gesture, but then she realized her husband was seeing a younger woman. She caused a huge scene in the middle of the hotel lobby, yelling and fighting with her husband.
  My manager, who had recently handed in her resignation, started laughing and said it was the perfect farewell memory as she was leaving her hotel management career to focus on motherhood. To this day, we still laugh about it, and we’ve never seen the couple again.

• Working at a small boutique place, just starting my day shift at about 6:30 a.m. Hadn’t even had my coffee yet.
  A woman came to the desk, visibly shaken. She tells me, “I can’t find my husband. He’s not in the room, and all his clothes are still there. He’s a sleepwalker, and I’m worried that he has wandered into another room.” At this point, I am starting to chuckle a bit to myself, but quickly stop at the thought of a screaming woman finding a naked stranger in her room. First thought is to check the CCTV.
  We head up to the first floor. Our CCTV is actually in the back of our linen storage, and I bring the woman with me—not even sure why I did, probably because she wanted to come. As soon as I got the door open and the lights on, there was her husband sleeping spread across our bundled duvet covers, with one open half covering him.
  She woke him up, and of course, he had no idea where he was. She wrapped him up and took him back to bed. They checked out later, and the dude was bashful. I told him not to worry about it, as he gave me a great story to share. © sbouvette / Reddit

Being a nanny comes with its fair share of challenges, often more surprising than you might expect. In this article, nannies share their most jaw-dropping true stories—the ones that will leave you with a deeper respect and appreciation for the work they do.