A Pittsburgh woman says she was left waiting outside her Marriott hotel room for 40 minutes after no one showed up at the front desk to check her in. The incident happened around 2:30 am, after she had reportedly been traveling and working for 24 hours straight.
The woman, who posts under the username @ashleykjonees on TikTok, shared a video showing an empty front desk with a sign that read, “Please ring bell for assistance.”
Text on the video said, “it’s 2:30 am. nobodys coming to the marriott front desk and they wouldn’t give me a mobile key, so i’m stuck without a hotel room rn. maybe i should’ve stayed @hilton.” The video has since gone viral, gaining over 1.1 million views and more than 74,900 likes.
Creator says she tried multiple ways to reach hotel staff before filming
In her caption, Ashley explained that she had already spent 40 minutes trying to get help before she decided to record the video. She said she called the hotel multiple times, knocked on the door, and called out for an associate. She also said she called the Marriott Titanium hotline, which is meant for the loyalty program’s top-tier members, but that hotline also could not get in touch with the front desk.
@ashleykjonees HI ! for context, i was waiting for 40 min before making this video, I called the hotel multiple times, was knocking on the door and calling for an associate, and called the titanium hotline who also could not contact the front desk. i always stay marriott for work and i have never had to wait this long so i was taken aback by how difficult it was to contact anyone at the hotel. i thought it was a silly tiktok to make, and didn’t expect so much unkind discourse about my intelligence 🥸 @Marriott Bonvoy this is insane 🥲 i’ve been traveling/working for 24 hours and i can’t even go to bed. #hotel #travel #work #fypシ #tired @hilton @ParisHilton
♬ original sound – coochiedestroyer5.6
“i always stay marriott for work and i have never had to wait this long so i was taken aback by how difficult it was to contact anyone at the hotel,” she wrote in her caption. She also tagged Marriott Bonvoy directly, writing, “this is insane.” This is not an isolated incident, as another guest recently claimed Marriott left her stuck without access to her room.
In the comments section, Ashley gave more details about what led up to the video. She wrote, “before filming this video, i called the front desk multiple times, knocked on the door and tried politely calling for an associate multiple times, AND i called the marriott titanium hotline who also could not contact them, after waiting 40 minutes.” She added that she had done everything she could, including setting her anticipated check-in time as 2 am on the Marriott app.
In the second part of the video, Ashley is shown sitting in a lobby chair, filming a selfie-style clip. She has dark hair pulled back and is wearing a white zip-up jacket. Her expression appears tired as she looks into the camera and briefly pans around to show her surroundings. A screaming sound effect plays throughout both parts of the video.
The video sparked a wide range of reactions online. Some viewers questioned why the front desk was unstaffed at all. One commenter wrote, “Since when is the desk not 24 hours?” Others were less sympathetic, with one person writing, “Every day I’m amazed at the amount of learned helplessness.”
Another commenter suggested Ashley should have called ahead, writing, “Here’s an idea – call ahead and let them know you are coming in super late…not rocket science.” Keycard failures have prompted other guests to record their experiences, such as when a mom in Pennsylvania started recording after her keycard failed with her kids alone in the room.
Some commenters who said they had worked in the hotel industry weighed in as well. One person wrote, “As a former night auditor my GM would have my HEAD if a guest was waiting 40 minutes to receive a physical key and especially if it resulted in them having to comp a night.” Another commenter, who said they used to work for Marriott, wrote, “yes you should just stay at Hilton. Marriott has become too large of a company. Standards have fallen.”
One user asked Ashley for an update, commenting, “Any updates?! I’m invested now. That’s crazy!” Ashley replied and confirmed that the situation was eventually resolved. “yes all good over here! after about 40 mins someone came out from the office and got me my key!!” she wrote.
As of now, Marriott and Hilton have not issued public responses to the video.
