It’s Time to Outlaw Connecting Doors Between Hotel Rooms

Connectingrooms

All seasoned road warriors know the drill they must go through, at check-in, to ensure a blissful stay: ask for a room away from ice-makers, elevators, partiers and the newlyweds. Nothing new here.

All too often, however, the staff who check us in don’t seem to know anything about the layout of their own property. I can’t even begin to count the number of times I’ve checked-in, usually during the wee hours of the morning, 15 time zones away from home, after a long-delayed flight finally arrived. Needless to say, I’m spent.

However, despite being semi-comatose, I always follow the time-tested script and ask for a room using the aforementioned criteria … with one additional request: “No connecting door, puleeeze!” The scenario usually goes something like this:

Me: Blood-shot eyes half-shut, slumped shoulders, rumpled and coffee-stained clothing). “I’d like a really quiet room. I repeat, quiet is my priority. In fact, I don’t even need a bed, just a q-u-i-e-t room. You know, not near elevators, icemakers, etc., etc.

Front Desk: “Not a problem, sir. I see you are a premium member, so we’ll put you on our executive level.

Me: “You can put me in the basement, just make sure my room is quiet. Oh, one more thing, please make sure it doesn’t have a connecting door to another room … you know how sound travels through those doors, right?”

Front Desk: “Of course, you are all taken care of, enjoy your stay.”

We all know what happens next: Arrive at our room … looks safe, miles away from the nearest ice-maker or elevator, but … upon entering the room … there it is, the connecting door, grrrrr!

It’stime we outlawed those worthless connector doors between hotel rooms.

So, here’s a challenge to all hotel managers who aren’t allowed to eliminate those doors: How about including an accurate schematic of your rooms in the training packets you provide all front desk personnel? Why not load it onto computers or, better yet, glue it to the front counter? Simply train your staff, OK?

The thunderous roar of applause you receive from your most loyal guests, the Road Warriors, will be deafening.