Motel stories

I have people tell me that they enjoy hearing stories about the Sea Dell motel, so I thought I would entertain with the latest.  Harry received a call early in the AM last night from the Holiday Inn Express.  They are the only "chain" hotel in Marathon, where the Sea Dell is located and when they have overflow, they send them to us (nice compliment!).  Harry picks up the phone after hours when our staff has gone home, and we have a person who will go and do late night check-ins.  We cannot complain about the phone ringing in the middle of the night - because, as Harry says, "it's money calling."

However, last night the desk clerk at the Holiday Inn had a guest who was 57 years old with no credit card who wanted to use their mother's card number.  It is the Holiday Inn's strict policy to not use another person's credit card unless they can get the registration signed and faxed back by the card owner.  And this potential guest said his mother did not have a fax machine.  We also have that policy in place, but there are occasionally situations where we break that rule.  For example, we have had young people stranded with car problems and didn't have enough money to rent a room for the night and we will discuss with parents on the phone and approve a charge. 

Harry asked the clerk if the guest had a valid driver's license.  No, the guest's license was expired and he arrived on bicycle.  Harry then asked for the mother's phone number so that Harry could talk to her.  The clerk asked the guest for the phone number and then said in an absolute panic that she had to hang up, the man fell to the floor clutching his chest stating he had chest pains and that she thought he was having a heart attack and she had to call 911.

Harry called the clerk back after a half hour to check on how the man was.   The clerk informed Harry that when the EMS arrived, they knew the man, that he as a runaway from a halfway house and had "mental problems."  The poor clerk had been terrified.  The man was carted away.  Another day in the life of the motel business.