Hotel Registration questions & lessons learned

[Lovely Victoria]

First, I am posting this with a full permission from the gentleman involved.

I had an invitation from a gentleman to join him for a weekend out of town. I flew in to meet him on Friday and on Saturday the gent went off to a meeting for the day. It was a gorgeous day and our hotel was right by the lake, so I thought a jog along the lake would be a good idea. My running shorts didn’t have any pockets and seeing no other options, I stuffed the hotel key into my sports bra and off I went for a jog (seriously, how else are you supposed to carry the darn key?). After about 5 miles and much sweating, I took the key out from my sweaty boobs and dipped it into the key lock and was met with the evil red blinking lights. Apparently sweating from the boobs can de-magnetize the key. Who knew? So I went down the front desk to have my key reset. The clerk wouldn’t reset the key for me since the room was under the gent’s name only. In order to reset the key, he would need me to confirm the gent’s billing address or have the gent call the hotel to confirm his personal info and confirm that I belong in the room. I could’ve probably googled to found out his home & work address or called him, but I left my phone in the room (it was too bulky to carry it in my bra J). The clerk was telling me that it’s the hotel policy, he can’t let me in, he can’t give me the gent’s phone number, he’s very sorry, it’s the rule, the hotel internet is temporarily not working, I’m very sorry, blah blah blah. (He’s telling all this while referring to me as Mrs. WhatsitWhosit. I mean, if I was really married to the dude, I would probably know his address and know his phone number by heart.) Long story short, after much flirting, the clerk did let me into the room (I think the bit about needing to take my sweaty clothes off and take a hot shower did him in). Mr. WhatsitWhois thought this whole fiasco was very amusing, btw, whereas, I was rather annoyed.

[I usually have the gent put my real name in the invited-guest-permitted-to-have-a-key list, but I’ve only met this particular gent once prior to that weekend, so my comfort level wasn’t there yet.]

Questions:

1. How do you handle the hotel registration when you have a brand new roomie for more than one night (and have a separate agenda for a part of the stay)?
2. Is there a way to get on the room guest list without the gent knowing your real name? (And without raising the eyebrows of the hotel staff.)
3. If the Mrs. WhatsitWhosit were to call the room, could she find Mr. WhatsitWhosit had a roomie for the weekend? Or does it show anywhere in the account /billing statement?

Lessons learned:

1. Find out the gent’s billing address if you are on your own for the day.
2. Always carry your phone and/or memorize your date’s cell phone number.
3. Do not stuff the hotel key in your sports bra and sweat.

[pjorourke]

Or buy a set of running shorts with pockets.

[Mazomaniac]

Mrs. Mazo often flies in to join me when I'm on travel. In order to avoid having her hassle with the front desk I just text her the room number and leave a spare key on top of the ice machine or in some other convenient place on our floor. Even if somebody finds the key they won't know what room it opens. The worst that can happen is that somebody walks off with it.

Not sure this is a complete solution to your question but leaving a spare someplace will at least make certain you get your shower after the run.

Cheers,
Mazo.

[charlestudor2005]

Originally Posted by Lovely Victoria

Questions:

1. How do you handle the hotel registration when you have a brand new roomie for more than one night (and have a separate agenda for a part of the stay)?
2. Is there a way to get on the room guest list without the gent knowing your real name? (And without raising the eyebrows of the hotel staff.)
3. If the Mrs. WhatsitWhosit were to call the room, could she find Mr. WhatsitWhosit had a roomie for the weekend? Or does it show anywhere in the account /billing statement?

Lessons learned:

1. Find out the gent’s billing address if you are on your own for the day.
2. Always carry your phone and/or memorize your date’s cell phone number.
3. Do not stuff the hotel key in your sports bra and sweat.

V--

Interesting situation.

Here are my suggestions:

1. If the hotel has an old-fashioned metal key system, tie it to your shoe laces on your running shoes.
2. Have the gentleman sign a statement similar to the following: "I am John Doe [or whatever his registered name is], and I am registered in Room "X." Whoever presents this statement is permitted an additional key for entry to my suite." Have him sign and date it and provide a billing address. They should be able to compare signatures.
3. Wrap the key in a washcloth before sticking it in your sportsbra (the key is probably going to object to this...I know I would).
4. If you travel with baggies (I do on every trip) put it in the baggie to keep the sweat out.

These really don't address your ID issues, but I think they're workarounds the hotels will honor.

[atlcomedy]

First of all those key cards suck. I think they fail 10% of the time just being in your pocket all day. They are made differently than say the magnetic strip on your credit cards. That said I'm always pleased when I ask for a replacement and the staff does give me the nth degree. It shows me they do care about security.

I am curious about your "separate agendas" -- if you are talking about professional agendas (e.g. seeing another guy) I strongly suggest to the fellas you make her reserve the room in her name. Too many liability issues. The same with renting the room and letting her stay in your room after you are done.

A whole other topic & requires a lot of advance planning, but it is possible to obtain legal forms of id under your alias. Celebrities do this all the time. This does though require that you are totally on the up & up (taxes, etc.).

Memorizing a cell phone (or emergency contact #) is a good idea. His billing address? Ok but that is only one of half a dozen security questions that hotel could ask & all are a little different.

The practical solution is think fast on your feet, as you did. One thing that is helpful is if you check in together or dine together etc. (even if it is just a bellman), assuming discretion is not an issue, is make an impression. Hope that somebody at the front desk will remember you coming in with "Mr. Whatishisname" & they will give you the benefit of the doubt.

[am-a-pleaser]

A lady and I drove together to another city for a three day mini-vacation. We exchanged real names because the likelyhood of it coming out was high. The room was in my name only. The hotel had my cell number. I would think that the hotel could place the call and verify that I had a guest.

We happened to do our sightseeing together. There were times when we were apart, but never had a key problem.

Same thing when I flew a lady out to Vegas to meet me.

Overnight and extended dates involve trust from both people.

I'm glad it eventually worked out for you.

[discreetgent]

Being single, I don't need to worry about Mrs. calling; for an extended stay I always give the lady the option to add their names to the room. On the 1 or 2 occasions the lady did not want to give their real name (typically on an extended date it has not been an issue) they had a key and if it didn't work would need to call me or just wait.

[Lovely Victoria]

Originally Posted by atlcomedy

I am curious about your "separate agendas" -- if you are talking about professional agendas (e.g. seeing another guy) I strongly suggest to the fellas you make her reserve the room in her name.

That was not the type of separate agenda I was inferring to. On an extended date, it's rare that we are together 24/7. The gents usually goes off to a meeting / conference during the day (unless we are vacay-ing together). On a separate topic - "seeing another guy" while on someone else's dime is just wrong.

Originally Posted by atlcomedy

The same with renting the room and letting her stay in your room after you are done.

Hopefully, if you trust someone to spend the weekend with you, then you trust her not to trash the room after you leave. But I could see how this could be a concern for a shorter tryst-type rendezvous.

[discreetgent]

Originally Posted by atlcomedy

The same with renting the room and letting her stay in your room after you are done.

I've done that numerous times; anything from having to catch an early flight and she checked out later in the day to having her stay another day or two if it was a city she wanted to explore and then checkout then. As LV points out once it was an extended date I would trust the lady enough to not worry about it.

[John Bull]

A fanny pack would have solved all the hardware problems.

[atlcomedy]

Originally Posted by Lovely Victoria

That was not the type of separate agenda I was inferring to. On an extended date, it's rare that we are together 24/7. The gents usually goes off to a meeting / conference during the day (unless we are vacay-ing together). On a separate topic - "seeing another guy" while on someone else's dime is just wrong.



Hopefully, if you trust someone to spend the weekend with you, then you trust her not to trash the room after you leave. But I could see how this could be a concern for a shorter tryst-type rendezvous.

Originally Posted by discreetgent

I've done that numerous times; anything from having to catch an early flight and she checked out later in the day to having her stay another day or two if it was a city she wanted to explore and then checkout then. As LV points out once it was an extended date I would trust the lady enough to not worry about it.

As for the separate agenda....I was making a general point...over the years, respectable ladies have acknowledged seeing other clients when their extended date goes off to his meetings....

As for both comments re: leaving the lady the room after you leave. Let's just say different strokes for different folks & we agree to disagree one on this one. It is a risk tolerance thing but I hope you can appreciate where the liability concerns come from. BTW I have a number of civie friends that I love dearly that I would want in my hotel room after I've left.

[Carrie Hillcrest]

Originally Posted by John Bull

A fanny pack would have solved all the hardware problems.

They still make those?

*ducks, runs*

[John Bull]

Originally Posted by Carrie Hillcrest

They still make those?

*ducks, runs*

Sure, or variations thereof.

Like you, I'm waiting on the wisecracks too.

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by John Bull

A fanny pack would have solved all the hardware problems.

And they are particularly attractive on a lady with a nice fanny.

[whitechocolate]

I have had extended dates. Without making things complicated, I always made sure the woman had her own key and I also brought along a small waterproof pouch she could hand carry so she could use it for keys, money etc. It was just part of MY checklist. If you are going to travel together you need to know each other's real names for security reasons and emergency reasons. If either party is uncomfortable with that, they should not travel together.