Guests trust the hotel with their identity, their room and their plans. You protect that trust through confidentiality, never revealing who is staying or where, and through professional conduct, including clear professional boundaries with guests.
Why it matters
Giving a room number or key card to the wrong person can put a guest in danger. Unprofessional behaviour, even off duty, damages the hotel and your career.
Key ideas
Confidentiality
Don't confirm who is staying or share room numbers. If a guest is marked as private in the PMS, don't confirm their stay at all.
Key security
Issue a key card only to a registered guest after checking their ID, every time.
Professional boundaries
Be friendly but not personal. Don't swap private phone numbers, accept expensive gifts or post about guests, and follow your hotel's policy on tips.
Step by step
- 1
Ask the caller or visitor for the guest's full name.
- 2
Don't confirm or give out the room number.
- 3
Offer to transfer the call to the room or take a message.
- 4
If the guest is marked as private, say you cannot confirm guest details.
- 5
Deliver messages only to the guest, sealed or through the PMS.
Do
- Turn or lock your screen so guests cannot read it.
- Speak quietly when you discuss a booking.
- Treat every guest with the same respect.
Common mistakes
- Don't give room numbers to callers, even if they say they are family.
- Don't discuss guests in public areas or online.
- Don't accept favours that could look like special treatment.
The situation
A man at the desk says he is in room 305, has lost his key card and wants a new one.
What a professional does
You check his name and ID against the registration in the PMS. If he is registered in 305, you make a new key and, if your system allows, cancel the lost one. If he is not, you issue nothing and offer to call the room.
Useful phrases
“I'm sorry, I can't share guest details, but I can try to connect your call.”
“For your security, may I see some ID?”
Pro tip
Handle every key request the same way, so nobody can talk their way into a room.
Quick check
A caller says she is a guest's mother and asks for his room number. What do you do?
Think about it, then show the answer
Don't give the number. Offer to connect the call to the room or take a message.