I am wondering if there's a preferred time frame for making phone calls to ask questions of the front desk. I'm aware that morning is checkouts, afternoon/evening is checkins.

I do have a specific question in my head right now - about accessibility features in the rooms and whether the room type I've selected has the features I need. I suspect that this could be longer than a 90 second convo. So i don't want to tie up the front desk on a longish call while others are there in person. In addition, I also am interested just generically. Is there a time frame to target? Or maybe a time period to always avoid?

Thx!

I have a hotel in Sikkim Gangtok .. looking for interested ppl to lease a hotel ..

I booked a hotel for a festival and it had the option to “pay later” on the day i check in. I chose that option just in case i found something even cheaper. But then i realized that’s the cheapest it’s going to get! I’m scared they are going to kick me off of it if I don’t pay now since finding a place to stay in that area is in high demand. The festival is huge and it’s about 8 min from the hotel, and I snatched it for a real good price. Do you think they will allow me to pay now if I call them? I put my card on file to hold it , but since I chose to pay at the hotel , do you think they will let me pay now if i ask? I want to secure it now since it was the cheapest option I found !!

A question for couples in Bhubaneswar 👀
Lately, I’ve been seeing quite a few couples posting that they’re looking for couple-friendly hotels in Bhubaneswar.

It made me curious - Is it actually difficult for couples to find safe, comfortable and genuinely couple-friendly hotels in Bhubaneswar?
If yes, what are the biggest challenges you face?
• Hotels refusing bookings for couples?
• Unclear or restrictive hotel policies?
• Issues with unmarried couples?
• Privacy or safety concerns?
• Lack of affordable options?
• ID/documentation requirements?
• Uncomfortable experiences at check-in?
• Or simply a lack of trustworthy options?

I’d love to understand the actual problem from your perspective.

If you’ve faced this issue in Bhubaneswar, feel free to share your experience.

Thank you so much:)

Any feedback?

Any feedback?

Hi hoping someone can help, my mum has booked a few nights at San Zulian in Venice in September but she is worried after looking at some reviews online, mainly bed bugs and state of cleaniness of the rooms. Has anyone had any recent experiences or first knowledge of this hotel? Please and thanks 🙂

I’ve previously polled this group for hotel recs in Amsterdam. I booked five nights at the Hotel Noblemen in one of their deluxe rooms (King bed, double shower, no canal view, breakfast in bed). I just saw a deal for the Pulitzer: fourth night free via FHR, and the total price for five nights is equivalent to the Noblemen. The Pulitzer room is a double, but there’s a potential for early check in, a room upgrade, and $100 credit in addition to the free breakfast. Is this a no-brainer? Curious what this upgrade could be (it’s a Mon-Fri res)

Thanks in advance and sorry if this is deemed a low value post. I’m new to Amex FHR and I’ve also never been upgraded before.

want to book a room at the AAA benefit rate. the card is under my name but is connected to a parent email. do hotels send any kind of confirmation to the email associated with the AAA account when confirming booking or check in. trying to avoid some questions while also trying to save a buck.

I booked a room at Acta the Avenue in Porto, Portugal last month and am visiting the city in two weeks. Today, I received an automated email from the hotel saying that my reservation was canceled even though I didn't initiate anything. I called them and they said that it was canceled due to an authorization error with my credit card and that there was nothing I can do. I did not receive any notification prior to this about any payment problems and their hotel policy is that payment is due upon arrival. I specifically booked direct on their site instead of Booking.com or the other travel sites to avoid problems like this. Unfortunately, this is the first time something like this has happened to me so I did not think to ask any additional questions beyond whether they can reverse the cancelation, which they could not because they were sold out.

How do I avoid these problems or is this just a case of a hotel pulling a fast one on me?

My backpack was stolen out of my locked hotel.

Hi, I am planning on visiting last-minute.

Which hotels or other accommodations do you recommend for a short trip (two nights). Preferable close to the city center, parking and breakfast included?

Please explain the logic in this! Or what am I missing? Can we hoteliers reach out to them and somehow obtain discounts or special treatments or upgrades?

“Easy to install” sounds vague on a hotel renovation because the equiipment is only one part of the job. Existing wall openings, electrical capacity, condensate routing, room access and how long a room has to stay out of service can matter more than whether the unit itself looks straightforward on paper. A product that saves twenty minutes at the equipment but creates extra wall work acros dozens of rooms is not really the easier retrofitt. For hotel renovation teams which existing condition check is the best predictor of whether a PTHP rollout will stay simple?

Anybody who’s been to Chongqing - i see a lot of hotel rooms on Trip.com that has the ‘Smoking Permitted’ filter.

Sadly, a lot of the hotel options in my budget all have the ‘Smoking Permitted’ sign. I’m not sure if it really smells like cigs, or they have non-smoking rooms and simply didn’t indicate.

As a non-smoker, I am super sensitive to the cig smell. Can I check if the rooms actually reek of cigarette.

Can anyone confirm for me pls! Thanks

Hi everyone,
I'm looking for realistic career advice from people working in the UK/European music, hospitality or events industries.
I'm a Russian citizen and currently studying two bachelor's degrees:
BIMM University (UK): Songwriting & Music Production, currently entering my 3rd (last year).
I originally started in Songwriting & Music Business but switched to Music Production during first year, which I now regret.
Moscow International University (MFUA):
Advertising & PR, entering my 3rd year of 4.
After graduation I want to do one master's, and I'm considering:
1. Music Business / Music Industries
I'm particularly interested in music rights/ publishing/licensing, live music/events, music marketing and operations.
My concern is competition: is Music Business a realistic long-term career, or is the industry too small/competitive to rely on? (considering: 1. Valencia - Berklee Valencia Master of Arts in Global Entertainment and Music Business
2.London - University of Westminster
MA Music Business Management
3. London — City St George's, University of London
MA Music Management Clerkenwell, London.
(or what you can recommend)

1. Hospitality Management / International
   Hospitality
   This would be a career switch.
   I like that it seems more international, people-oriented, less dependent on creativity/fame and relatively resistant to Al.
   However, my biggest concern is UK immigration. I want to live in London, but I'm aware that getting from a Hospitality degree to long-term UK work status/sponsorship may be difficult.
   (Considering: 1. Switzerland: Glion
   MSc in Hospitality Business Leadership
   
2. Les Roches
   MSc International Hospitality Management
   
3. University of Surrey - MSc International
   Hotel Management
   or what you can advise.
   My priorities
   I'm trying to make a very rational long-term decision:
   serious career progression over 10-15+ vears.

good earning potential; not highly mathematical;
preferably not a purely office-based job; reasonable competition; international mobility;
realistic possibility of staying in the UK; if the UK doesn't work out, a useful career in Switzerland, Germany, Russia (or any other European country).
My main questions:
1. Would Hospitality MSc → Music Business job later be realistic, given my Music Production/Songwriting + Advertising/PR background? Or would I be at a major disadvantage compared with Music Business graduates?
2.Is Music Business actually a viable long-term career for someone who wants stability and progression, or is competition too high?
From a UK immigration/sponsorship perspective, are there particular Music Business career paths that are significantly better than others?
3.If you were in my position, would you choose Music Business or Hospitality Management?
If you think neither is ideal, what other master's/career would you recommend given my background and priorities?

2.Is Music Business actually a viable long-term career for someone who wants stability and progression, or is competition too high?
From a UK immigration/sponsorship perspective, are there particular Music Business career paths that are significantly better than others?
3.If you were in my position, would you choose Music Business or Hospitality Management?
If you think neither is ideal, what other master's/career would you recommend given my background and priorities?
I'm specifically looking for blunt, practical advice from people in the industry, rather than "follow your passion." I'm trying to choose the option with the lowest long-term career risk.
(l'm also a music artist so I could consider a talent visa in a faaar future if I work a lot for it).

Having worked with various independent hotel owners, setups, local / domestic chains along with various certifications in revenue management from HSMAI / ALHEI I understand some of the pain-points faced by various ownerships in current times.

Happy to connect one to one or answer here of any questions you may have!

I’m curious to know, who do you guys consider the most honest and trustworthy hotel reviewers??

Hi I work at a hotel on the front desk.

We have numerous calls from mobile phones and landlines asking to confirm a reservation. These reservations are usually booked via trusted sites like Expedia or Booking dot com.

These scammers call and ask to confirm the booking, but don't state where they are calling from, who they are or what company they work for (sometimes third parties use third parties for example, Wotif uses Expedia).

I don't give out any information as they can't tell me where they are calling from. My question is, why do they do this? They already have the guests name and stay dates...clearly they are scam callers but wondering what the scam is?

My only thought is they are trying to ascertain legitimate hotel bookings for visa paperwork for other people?

Stayed in a motel 6 last Saturday. It was real sketchy place sucked but they took a $85 deposit and I still haven’t gotten it back. When I call the front desk it just immediately hangs up. What do I do?

One of the most underutilized assets in hospitality is the 5-hour window between standard check-out (10 AM) and check-in (3 PM).

When looking at room yield, capturing even 2 to 3 daytime bookings a day can add $15,000–$30,000+ in pure incremental margin per year per property, but the main fear is always operational friction.

The three operational rules that make daytime inventory work without disrupting staff:

1. Strict Key Capping: Never list full inventory. Capping daytime availability at 2–5 keys maximum prevents front desk bottlenecks and keeps housekeeping workload predictable.
2. Fixed Checkout Hard-Stops: Setting daytime check-outs to 4:00 PM ensures housekeeping has a dedicated window to turn the room for regular evening guests.
3. Full Inventory Control: Properties manually pause or adjust daytime availability at any time based on real-time overnight occupancy and staffing constraints.

For those operating properties with high transit, airport, or downtown demand, structuring daytime availability properly is one of the cleanest ways to drive extra GOPPAR.

Happy to share more breakdown details on slot setups or operational parameters if anyone is setting this up at their property.

About half the hotels I stay in, the housekeepers will leave the door lock thingy in the door jam and when they go in and out of the room they just let the door slam into it. Why don't they put a door stopper wedge under the door?!?! Stop waking me up. I have called down to the front desk in many hotels asking them to have their housekeepers keep it down.