Hello, is that reception... can you be my best man?
REQUESTS to play in a national cricket game and arranging weddings at short notice are just some of bizarre things staff at some of Derby’s hotels have been asked to do.
Travelodge has released its list of the most odd, creative and, in some instances, downright unrealistic requests from people staying at its sites over the last 12 months. The chain has three hotels in Derby – one at Derbyshire Cricket Ground, one at Pride Park and one in Chaddesden.
One person staying at the Derby Cricket Ground Travelodge asked to be picked up from the railway station in a Rolls-Royce.
One particularly unrealistic request was made by one guest who asked staff at the hotel if they could arrange for their husband to play in a national cricket game.
However, these requests seem innocent enough compared to those made at other hotels in the city.
One person at the Pride Park site asked staff if they hey could type up their ir handwritten notes while they attended a meeting, while two separate guests at the Chaddesden hotel asked staff to answer their work phones and take messages for them throughout the day.
Perhaps the most unrealnrealistic request was made db by a guest at the Pride Park hotel, who asked staff if they could arrange for them and their partner to get married at Derby Cathedral on the following weekend!.
In an act of sheer desperation, one member of staff at the Chaddesden Travelodge was asked to step in and be best man at a wedding after the original best man was held up at work.
Meanwhile, staff at Pride Park had to break one person’s heart when they were asked if the family of Mr Darcy from Pride and Prejudice still lived at Pemberley – not realising it’s a fictional place in Jayne Eyre’s book. Another asked how fidgety a Derbyshire Fidgety pie is (a pie of sliced bacon, potato, onion, apple and sultana), while one guest asked staff if you have to be a member of the royal family to use Royal Crown Derby porcelain. Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge spokeswoman, said it should be no surprise staff get weird requests from time to tim time.
She said: “Annually we welcome millions of customers from all corners of the UK at our 575 hotels w which includes three p properties in Derby. Th Throughout the year, our hotel teams receive thousan thousands of interesting requests f from business and leisure guests.
“Where possible, our hotel teams will go above and beyond to help customers as they relish a good challenge. Interestingly the requests change regionally, seasonally and this year we have even received interesting requests around social distancing. “However, there are some requests beyond their control such as arranging for someone’s husband to play in a cricket game or answering their work phone to take messages.”