A travel TikToker shared a story about Marriott nearly canceling her reservation after she failed to check in by late afternoon, triggering a new concern for fellow travelers who flocked to her page.
The video was posted Sunday to Rae Goes Global, the self-described “solo travel and lifestyle” TikTok account of creator Raeschel Kelly. The Marriott incident has generated more than 665,000 views and 32,000 likes in its first day on the platform.
Most of the story is conveyed via on-screen caption while the creator sips a lemon water inside an elevator.
“The Marriott hotel just gave me a new fear I didn’t even know I should be aware of,” it began.
@raegoesglobal i’m gonna be nervous ab hotels forever now #traveltok #traveltiktok #solofemaletraveler #solofemaletravel #travellife #travelersoftiktok #travelquestions #marriott #marriotthotel #hotelroom ♬ Confusion or something else – Ron
“They called me not even an hour after check-in (4 pm) to see if I was still coming or they’d give my room away. Excuse me. Like, gimme a sec, bro,” the TikToker continued. “This has literally never happened to me before, and I’ve checked in some places at midnight without letting them know ahead. Since when is this the norm?”
The caption accompanying the video took her anxiety beyond just the Marriott chain; she noted, “I’m gonna be nervous ab hotels forever now.”
The TikTok also set off some alarms for commenters who responded.
“What if someone’s on a flight and can’t answer the call?” one commenter queried.
“I’m always afraid this is gonna happen to me,” another commenter said.
A number of people came in to assert that the hotel had overbooked and were trying to determine who was really committed to their reservations.
“Hi! I work for Marriott,” one commenter claimed. “They were overbooked so they booked out more rooms than they had available.”
“They purposely overbook,” another asserted, responding to a second commenter who worked for Marriott and made the same claim, “in hopes of moving the guests into sister properties which are not full that night.”
The TikTok also inspired some commenters to share stories of how they almost lost rooms they’d booked after not giving the hotel a heads-up they’d be checking in late—or, in one case, even though they had.
“Had this happen,” a commenter noted. “Even called & said we would be in at this time as it was late. They assured us that it wasn’t a problem. Got there & they were like, ‘We already batched out for the night.’ I’m like, ‘Not my problem. We did our due diligence.’ We got a room then. It was a ridiculous interaction.”
“My ex and I were late checking in to a hotel in Colorado,” one shared. “The guy closed the lobby early and we had to sleep in the car. It was freezing.”
“This happened to me on my wedding night,” another revealed. “We went to check in after our reception. The frantic looks cuz I was still in my wedding dress.”
The Daily Dot has reached out to Marriott’s public relations team via email.
Update 2/20 3:24 p.m. CT: Kelly, responding to our request for comment, noted the Marriott in question was the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square in Lancaster, Penn. She clarified, regarding her communications with the hotel, “I actually missed their first call and called back, at which point the representative said they just wanted to make sure I was still coming and would mark me as a red eye arrival.” She also added, to give “red eye” some side eye, “I was on my way; we arrived around 6 pm.”
She said, of the virality of her TikTok and the comments accompanying the views, “I think the most surprising thing is the amount of discourse in the comments. For example, hotel employees commenting that this is normal and others arguing against them stating it’s never happened to them. Or, individuals saying one should always give the hotel a heads-up for a late check-in if only by a few minutes, while others insist this is never necessary.”
