When Audrey overheard Whitney’s disdainful refusal to serve a poorly dressed man at the five-star hotel, she felt compelled to intervene. Ignoring Whitney’s snide remarks, Audrey extended a compassionate invitation to the man, named Nicholas, to stay at her home. Despite the man’s initial surprise, he gratefully accepted Audrey’s offer.
Stepping away from the hotel’s exclusive atmosphere, Audrey led Nicholas outside, explaining the discriminatory policies that governed the establishment. Saddened by the injustice, Audrey offered Nicholas shelter in a spare room she and her husband occasionally rented out on Airbnb.
Grateful for Audrey’s kindness, Nicholas introduced himself and expressed his appreciation for her generosity. Audrey, in turn, introduced herself and her husband, Frank, who arrived in a car just as they were conversing. Without hesitation, Audrey welcomed Nicholas as their guest for the night, eager to offer him a safe and comfortable place to stay.
The woman assisted Nicholas into Frank’s car, and they began the journey home. Audrey recounted the encounter at the hotel to Frank, explaining why Nicholas had ended up with them. Frank listened attentively, nodding in understanding as Audrey finished her story.
Reflecting on their own experience, Frank shared a similar incident they had faced when they tried to rent a room using Audrey’s employee discount on Valentine’s Day. Despite Audrey being an employee, they were refused, citing it as hotel policy. Frank expressed his frustration at the absurdity of the situation, highlighting the inconsistencies in the hotel’s policies.
Everyone deserves to be treated equally.
“Why didn’t you quit?” Nicholas inquired from the back seat.
“I would have,” Audrey responded, “but shortly after, Frank got into an accident and lost his job.”
Frank nodded in agreement, adding, “Yeah, I lost my leg too. That’s when we decided to convert the spare room at home into an Airbnb. Now, we’ve settled down, and we managed to find this SUV adapted for disabled accessibility at a great price. But with only one leg, it’s been challenging to find employment, so we still rely on Audrey’s income and benefits.”
“I see,” Nicholas whispered, absorbing their story. He remained silent for the rest of the evening. Nicholas rented their room for the next three days, enjoying pleasant moments with Audrey and Frank. Through their conversations, he discovered their strong work ethic and appreciated having encountered someone genuinely kind at the hotel.
But it was time to tell the truth.
***
He asked Frank to drive him with Audrey to the hotel three days later. But they were both shocked to see him dressed impeccably in an Armani suit and dress shoes. “Wow, why didn’t you wear those clothes before, sir? They wouldn’t have denied you service,” Audrey said as they all got into Frank’s car.
“I was actually testing them. I’m Nicholas Arnoult. I own that hotel and several others around the country,” the older man revealed.
“What?” Audrey asked in shock, turning around in her seat to look at the man.
“I was actually surprised no one recognized me,” Nicholas commented.
“I think no one has ever seen you. The cleaning staff has only ever met Elizabeth Arnoult, and she was nice but firm,” Audrey continued.
“Yes, my granddaughter is great at managing some things. But honestly, the manager at your hotel has been asking for a promotion because he believes things are running smoothly at that location. But I beg to differ, and today is not going to be a good day for them,” Nicholas stated and went silent. Frank and Audrey side-eyed each other and didn’t say anything either.
“Miss, I would love to see the manager,” Nicholas said to Whitney, who smiled hugely at him after noting his nice, expensive clothes. She didn’t recognize him from three days ago, as if he wasn’t even important enough to remember.
“Right away, sir!” she agreed and picked up the phone.
The manager came right away, and unlike the rest of the staff, he knew exactly who was at the reception desk. “Mr. Arnoult! Hello, sir! Why didn’t I know you were coming? I’m—”
“You are Gregory McKenzie, the manager,” Nicholas interrupted. “But honestly, Gregory. I was here yesterday and was treated like nothing by this lady right here.”
“What? Whitney, what did you do?” the manager turned towards the receptionist in anger.
“No! He wasn’t. I—”
“I’ve also been told a lot about the kind of reception people get here,” Nicholas continued, not wanting to listen to Whitney’s excuses. “And it’s all going to change from now on. Miss Whitney, you’re fired, and you too, Gregory.”
After that day, Nicholas decided to make drastic changes among the hotel staff and management. Some were promoted, and others were fired for keeping the same policies as Gregory. But one significant change he made was hiring Frank as a concierge, although he had no previous training. The older man wanted someone as lovely as Frank to greet his clients, no matter how they were dressed. And his decision paid off.
Frank worked himself up to manager in just a year, and Audrey became the head of the maintenance staff around that time. Nicholas taught them that they needed to treat everyone equally at their hotel. That’s the nature of their career in hospitality.
What can we learn from this story?
Everyone deserves to be treated equally. Nicholas was willing to pay out of pocket but was discriminated against because of his clothes. That’s not how hospitality works. Some people need to be humbled down. Nicholas fired the manager because he instilled that horrible way of treating people at the hotel. He needed to learn that he wasn’t a god and couldn’t do that in Nicholas’ business.