Airline Worker Arrives at Hotel, Unprepared for the View: ‘Never Seen This’

An airline worker staying a night at a hotel near the airport entered their room, only to realize there was something strange about their view.

The guest, 29, from California and who chose not to give their name, works at an airline, and recently stayed at the Sheraton Detroit Airport Hotel for work.

And upon entering their room, they noticed another large glass patio door on the other side—which led to the hotel’s restaurant in the lobby.

Having traveled and stayed in many hotels for work, they described it as a “strange experience, as I’ve never had a full door lead to something like this.”

“I’ve had a half wall, with a window before, but a full door [leading] to the restaurant was weird, and honestly prevented me from opening the curtains out of anxiety that the other side could see me” the guest told Newsweek.

“I was able to hear the customers on the other side in the morning time—the wall did not soundproof the door—which made it kind of uncomfortable.” Newsweek has contacted Sheraton Detroit Airport Hotel multiple times via email for comment on this story.

They shared an image of their hotel room to Reddit’s r/mildlyinfuriating sub via their account u/afk3 on July 3, showing their room and the wide glass door, with the hotel’s lobby right outside, including customers sitting down to a meal.

“My hotel room opens into the lobby restaurant,” they wrote in the caption, adding: “Maybe I’m out of the loop but I’ve never seen [this].”

It made waves online, racking up more than 47,000 upvotes as Redditors shared their bewilderment, one writing: “It might not be so bad if it wasn’t a full glass patio door.”

Another joked: “Can I get a cheeseburger with fries to go? I’ll eat in my room,” another agreeing: “You’re right. I only see possibilities here.”

“But look at how big your balcony is. It’s as big as a room. Most people don’t have one this big,” another joked.

The guest told Newsweek they didn’t ask staff to change their room, “as I was there for work and on a very limited schedule.”

They explained they “did not enter through the door in the picture,” instead accessed their room “through a normal hallway,” and was baffled to find the lobby entrance when they arrived into the room.

In 2024, the average daily rate for a hotel stay in the United States was $155 on average, up from $145 in 2022. In 2019, it was $131.21, but dropped to $103.25 in 2020, in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic and decreased rates of traveling.

While this guest’s stay in a room leading to the hotel lobby caused more confusion than anything, certain rooms with a view are a vacation in themselves: in June, Newsweek spoke to Matt Goldman, who stayed at the Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel which offers field-view rooms of the Rogers Centre, home of the Toronnto Blue Jayes baseball team.

As he and his father watched the players warm up before the game, one player threw him a baseball, leaving him with a permanent reminder of his trip.

Ryan Soderberg, general manager of the hotel, told Newsweek at the time: “People often tell us that staying in one of those unique rooms is a ‘bucket list’ experience, and it makes us incredibly happy to know that they enjoyed such a one-of-a-kind moment inside our hotel.”

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