When a hotel pulls out the morals card...and uses it liberally!

To me, hotels are a refuge from the demands and stress that traveling - whether for work or pleasure - puts on me. Without trying to sound pretentious, I prefer places that offer a safe and comfortable stay, good facilities and F&B services, and offer a space where I can wind down and be myself.

Nowhere is this more important than on business trips. I'm not the best person to maintain a room, and I'm always grateful to the housekeeping staff who put up with me, fold the clothes that I might leave around the room, clear the work desk of all the clutter I manage to put on it, without ever appearing intrusive. And I ensure that I always leave a tip for them, as well as a written comment, on almost every single stay at a hotel. I also believe in being honest in my dealings with hotels. I know a few people who will often lie outright to get out of charges - classic example is the minibar consumption on the eve of departure. But I've never had to do that, because that's how I've been brought up.

So when a hotel gets all righteous and drops the moral card on me, it is more than a little annoying. I was at the ITC Grand Central in Mumbai last weekend (oh, and it was a last-minute emergency trip so I didn't spend enough time at the place, to warrant or justify a stay report). And while the facilities were top notch, there were a couple of things I thought they could do without.

The first is rather simple, and happened at check-in. I'd booked the room no more than a couple of hours before checking in, and it seems that hadn't been entirely updated on their records. So when I attempted to check in, the agent didn't have the complete information with her. I tried showing her the email confirmation I had received, which clearly stated the rate (it was an offer - pay for 2 nights, stay for 3). But she insisted that was not the case, and almost nearly charged me 100%, because she just wouldn't believe me! Thankfully, it took a supervisor and some repeated checking on their systems, before my reservation finally turned up with the right booking particulars, and things sorted themselves out. And to be honest, I think it annoyed me because I'd checked in after a very long, hard day at work. So, maybe I'm to blame.

Now for the second one.I agree that there are always the overzealous guests that believe that hotel towels and other bath furnishings are their own property, and pack them up for home use! And I've often seen rather simple tags attached that say something on the lines of "If you want to purchase a similar bath robe, contact xxx". But this one went a bit too far, and in my opinion, attempted to appeal to the moral fibre of the room guest. This is what it said.

It reads: Dear Guest, This bathrobe is the responsibility of your floor attendant. Should you wish to purchase the same, please contact your executive housekeeper.

Similarly, I found this tag on the handle of the minibar.

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't fairly shocked, or at the least, perturbed. What the hotel was essentially saying, was "don't steal", effectively putting the guest on a guilt trip, should they try and pinch the stuff. Now, the kind of clientele that lands up at a property like the ITC is usually not the type that runs off without paying for a couple of drinks. And in any case, its not like they stock it up with high end champagne, right? So even if someone indeed didn't pay for their drinks, I'm sure the hotel can afford the write off on their balance sheet! I'm not saying they should, but rather, they could.

Both those tags left a pretty bad taste in my mouth. But talking about mouth, they have a pretty decent breakfast, which I'll write about separately!

Strangely, the ITC Windsor that I stayed at last month, is also an ITC owned property, just as the ITC Grand Central Mumbai, and I don't remember seeing such messages there.

Am I over-reacting? What do you think?