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Hotel bans guest for life for trouser snake joke
A Hilton hotel has banned a guest for life after he made a crude joke in his online reservation, which it feared could have upset staff.
The guest, software consultant Jason Payne, wrote that he had a ‘large snake in his trousers’ in response to a question about whether he was bringing a pet to the Hilton Hotel, Basingstoke.
He said it was the only pet he had, adding "hope that’s OK".
Payne told the Daily Mail that he had never expected his comment to be read, but when the hotel receptionist saw what he had written she laughed.
However, Payne received an email days later, telling him he was banned from the hotel for life.
Cathrin Wurst, the hotel’s front manager, said: "As an employer, we are not willing to accept that our team members are ever put in an uncomfortable situation, due to the abusive language a guest uses talking to them, writing to them or even on the booking form they fill in online.
"As you will understand, the booking comment made on your booking: "There’s a large trouser snake in my trousers. Hope that’s OK" is neither appropriate when making a hotel booking, nor is it funny.
"At reception, the team members are required to confirm any requests or comments the guests have made in their bookings, which means any comment you make will most definitely get read (out), and I cannot interpret putting a comment like this onto a booking in any other way than trying to embarrass the person who will read it.
"As a hotel, like any other employer, we do not accept this kind of harassment of our team members and I would therefore like to let you know that we will not be able to accept any future bookings from yourself."
The hotel chain said in a statement that the decision was taken by Hilton Basingstoke "to protect the wellbeing of its team members".
However, it added: "The guest is welcome to check in at the many other properties in the Hilton Worldwide portfolio."
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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