Why do the challanging guest come at the worst time?

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He arrived last night at 11:00PM...the fifth night of his 5-night deposit. DH is taking control and I am staying in the background cooking, cleaning and taking the "balance due" to the bank.
tounge_smile.gif
For some reason he thought he would be checking out on Monday and DH gently showed him a copy of his confirmation showing that his scheduled departure is on Sunday, BEFORE 10:30AM.
So far so good...keeping our fingers crossed..
We look forward to your updates, and seeing this unique individual vicariously through your posts.
 
He arrived last night at 11:00PM...the fifth night of his 5-night deposit. DH is taking control and I am staying in the background cooking, cleaning and taking the "balance due" to the bank.
tounge_smile.gif
For some reason he thought he would be checking out on Monday and DH gently showed him a copy of his confirmation showing that his scheduled departure is on Sunday, BEFORE 10:30AM.
So far so good...keeping our fingers crossed..
We had last night what I'm going to term 'jello guests'- the kind who just keep slipping thru your fingers when you try to nail them down! Left early this morning because they had to have a specialty drink. Came back and asked a bunch of questions about things to do in the area. Decided to go back to their room at almost 11 to 'talk things over'. Then they oozed out of the house, one at a time. Then back in. Then back out and I still don't have the keys. Then back in to use the bathroom. OK, way after check out now but their room wasn't cleaned so what's the big deal.
When I left at almost noon they were still oozing around. But the door combos were reset and I was outta here!
We tend to get about 2-3 of these/month. The guests who don't seem to be able to tell time. Who always have 'one more thing' they have to look up on the computer or one more question to ask or one more mug of tea to drink or one more bathroom break.
They're all of a piece, too. Kind of ethereal. Don't answer in full sentences. Get lost halfway thru a thought. I always wonder what they do for a living.
 
He arrived last night at 11:00PM...the fifth night of his 5-night deposit. DH is taking control and I am staying in the background cooking, cleaning and taking the "balance due" to the bank.
tounge_smile.gif
For some reason he thought he would be checking out on Monday and DH gently showed him a copy of his confirmation showing that his scheduled departure is on Sunday, BEFORE 10:30AM.
So far so good...keeping our fingers crossed..
Thank you for keeping him in your State and away from here. I appreciate you.
 
Update on this "eccentric" guest who arrived 4 days late, sacrificing about $1200 in deposit, and paid the remaining 5 days of his reservation in cash. He hasn't been the worst guest we have ever had but he is not one we will hope to see again. Here are a few interesting details during his stay (so far).
Upon realizing that he was scheduled to check out on Sunday instead of Monday he requested that we try to find him accommodations for Sunday night. One of the places we suggested was "off limits" to him since he had been kicked out and was no longer welcome. Apparently he was caught smoking a cigar in the room. There were two other places that had a room available. I called the nearest one, since he said he was familiar with the inn and liked it, and asked the innkeeper for a favor to accept one night (2-night min). When I told the innkeeper the guests name all he said was...."Oh HIM!" Yeah, this guest has clearly been around.
Yesterday he shows up with a large potted plant from the local grocery and proceeds to place the damp, dirty thing on our new wool/sisal rug. Urggggg! DH got the thing outside. I was warned by another innkeeper that he tends to fill the space with large houseplants but can only hope that his shopping spree while here is limited to just this one plant.
He specifically mentioned that he does not eat raw onions and so I left the fresh chives off his entree this morning. "What's the matter? Did you run out of herbs when you got to me?" he says. Once I explained that chives are a type of onion, he settled down a bit. Still, he wanted some chives on the side so he could sample them.
While I was changing over the suite upstairs he came up the stairs to "have a look around". He proceeded to talk as I worked, purposely not giving him eye contact in the hopes that he would get the message and move along. Nope. The "puppy" in him just needed company. And then, "How soon can I book for next year?" is dropped. How does one graciously say "Never"? So I hemmed and hawed and told him that we would contact him in March of 2013. Now all I have to do is remember his cell # and remember not to answer the phone or his e-mails. He is just not a good fit here and we will have no problem filling the place without him.
Awww geeze.....is it vacation time yet? 2 more days....can't wait.
 
Update on this "eccentric" guest who arrived 4 days late, sacrificing about $1200 in deposit, and paid the remaining 5 days of his reservation in cash. He hasn't been the worst guest we have ever had but he is not one we will hope to see again. Here are a few interesting details during his stay (so far).
Upon realizing that he was scheduled to check out on Sunday instead of Monday he requested that we try to find him accommodations for Sunday night. One of the places we suggested was "off limits" to him since he had been kicked out and was no longer welcome. Apparently he was caught smoking a cigar in the room. There were two other places that had a room available. I called the nearest one, since he said he was familiar with the inn and liked it, and asked the innkeeper for a favor to accept one night (2-night min). When I told the innkeeper the guests name all he said was...."Oh HIM!" Yeah, this guest has clearly been around.
Yesterday he shows up with a large potted plant from the local grocery and proceeds to place the damp, dirty thing on our new wool/sisal rug. Urggggg! DH got the thing outside. I was warned by another innkeeper that he tends to fill the space with large houseplants but can only hope that his shopping spree while here is limited to just this one plant.
He specifically mentioned that he does not eat raw onions and so I left the fresh chives off his entree this morning. "What's the matter? Did you run out of herbs when you got to me?" he says. Once I explained that chives are a type of onion, he settled down a bit. Still, he wanted some chives on the side so he could sample them.
While I was changing over the suite upstairs he came up the stairs to "have a look around". He proceeded to talk as I worked, purposely not giving him eye contact in the hopes that he would get the message and move along. Nope. The "puppy" in him just needed company. And then, "How soon can I book for next year?" is dropped. How does one graciously say "Never"? So I hemmed and hawed and told him that we would contact him in March of 2013. Now all I have to do is remember his cell # and remember not to answer the phone or his e-mails. He is just not a good fit here and we will have no problem filling the place without him.
Awww geeze.....is it vacation time yet? 2 more days....can't wait.
 
Update on this "eccentric" guest who arrived 4 days late, sacrificing about $1200 in deposit, and paid the remaining 5 days of his reservation in cash. He hasn't been the worst guest we have ever had but he is not one we will hope to see again. Here are a few interesting details during his stay (so far).
Upon realizing that he was scheduled to check out on Sunday instead of Monday he requested that we try to find him accommodations for Sunday night. One of the places we suggested was "off limits" to him since he had been kicked out and was no longer welcome. Apparently he was caught smoking a cigar in the room. There were two other places that had a room available. I called the nearest one, since he said he was familiar with the inn and liked it, and asked the innkeeper for a favor to accept one night (2-night min). When I told the innkeeper the guests name all he said was...."Oh HIM!" Yeah, this guest has clearly been around.
Yesterday he shows up with a large potted plant from the local grocery and proceeds to place the damp, dirty thing on our new wool/sisal rug. Urggggg! DH got the thing outside. I was warned by another innkeeper that he tends to fill the space with large houseplants but can only hope that his shopping spree while here is limited to just this one plant.
He specifically mentioned that he does not eat raw onions and so I left the fresh chives off his entree this morning. "What's the matter? Did you run out of herbs when you got to me?" he says. Once I explained that chives are a type of onion, he settled down a bit. Still, he wanted some chives on the side so he could sample them.
While I was changing over the suite upstairs he came up the stairs to "have a look around". He proceeded to talk as I worked, purposely not giving him eye contact in the hopes that he would get the message and move along. Nope. The "puppy" in him just needed company. And then, "How soon can I book for next year?" is dropped. How does one graciously say "Never"? So I hemmed and hawed and told him that we would contact him in March of 2013. Now all I have to do is remember his cell # and remember not to answer the phone or his e-mails. He is just not a good fit here and we will have no problem filling the place without him.
Awww geeze.....is it vacation time yet? 2 more days....can't wait..
Silverspoon said:
And then, "How soon can I book for next year?" is dropped. How does one graciously say "Never"? So I hemmed and hawed and told him that we would contact him in March of 2013. Now all I have to do is remember his cell # and remember not to answer the phone or his e-mails. He is just not a good fit here and we will have no problem filling the place without him.
We had this our first year here with a group that always came on the same weekend every summer. When they wanted to make their rez for the following year we told them we'd contact them in January. We wanted to be sure we could handle them. Oddly, in spite of all the horror stories we'd heard, they were a great group and they cam back every year for 4-5 years.
 
He arrived last night at 11:00PM...the fifth night of his 5-night deposit. DH is taking control and I am staying in the background cooking, cleaning and taking the "balance due" to the bank.
tounge_smile.gif
For some reason he thought he would be checking out on Monday and DH gently showed him a copy of his confirmation showing that his scheduled departure is on Sunday, BEFORE 10:30AM.
So far so good...keeping our fingers crossed..
We had last night what I'm going to term 'jello guests'- the kind who just keep slipping thru your fingers when you try to nail them down! Left early this morning because they had to have a specialty drink. Came back and asked a bunch of questions about things to do in the area. Decided to go back to their room at almost 11 to 'talk things over'. Then they oozed out of the house, one at a time. Then back in. Then back out and I still don't have the keys. Then back in to use the bathroom. OK, way after check out now but their room wasn't cleaned so what's the big deal.
When I left at almost noon they were still oozing around. But the door combos were reset and I was outta here!
We tend to get about 2-3 of these/month. The guests who don't seem to be able to tell time. Who always have 'one more thing' they have to look up on the computer or one more question to ask or one more mug of tea to drink or one more bathroom break.
They're all of a piece, too. Kind of ethereal. Don't answer in full sentences. Get lost halfway thru a thought. I always wonder what they do for a living.
.
We get them so rarely. I've had two in the last little while that have had to be coaxed out by 12:30 instead of noon. When guests ask about check-out time, I tell them it's noon and at 12:05 we are in their room moving their luggage out.
Maybe I should change check-out time to 11:59A and that at noon, a fee of $25 applies. The noon thing obviously must work like the 6PM thing, I think it's time to be more precise.
 
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