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.