This is in a German national park. I’ve been staying at the hostel for a week– no car. Because I had come back super late at night the previous day and left super early in the morning today, no-one working at the hostel had seen me since yesterday morning. When I got back today, they said “hey, why didn’t you check out? we were worried, we thought you might have fallen while climbing, so we called the police. They were going to send a helicopter out for you.” At first I thought it was totally crazy of them, but then realized that it was my check-out day and that I really was meant to leave with all my stuff in the morning, so of course they would freak out when they didn’t see me.
TL;DR I thought I was supposed to check out the following day, the hostel was confused when they saw all my stuff in my bed, they called the police.
Comments
They seem like nice people. I’d appreciate the concern.
I’m glad all the safety checks are in place and working
I had this happen through no fault of my own. My friend booked the Airbnb and had us checking out a day earlier than me planned. We were near all of the national parks in southern Utah and cell service is sketchy. The hosts were really worried. It was sweet.
It was less fun finding a last minute place to stay that night (they were booked).
Classic Germany. They assume a level of precision and associated safety paranoia that’s a bit above what is customary in most other countries which can be good and bad. Haha.
This would be a good time to finally tell the story where I got roofied in Bangkok, the police were searching for me but I was unscathed. But it’s too long to write. Glad good people care!
This happened to us in Tennessee! We forgot to check out and went out sightseeing for the day, when we came back there was a notice from the local police inside the cabin saying they did a welfare check and to please call immediately. Apparently vacationers in Tennessee often get lost or have an accident on mountain roads so they are proactive on checking on guest that haven’t checked out on time. How embarrassing 😳
It is comforting to know there are safety precautions in place there.
Honestly I would give that hostel a 5* review for caring about their patrons.
I’m impressed by this level of concern for a guest.
In the US, they dont check on you, they just bill you for whatever they can think of.
Years ago, I booked an air bnb tiny house for a weekend to do some hiking in the mountains. Apparently I fucked up the booking and only booked for one night when i meant to book it for two.
I hiked, then hit some breweries and had dinner on my way back to the spot to crash for the evening. When I turned up at the house, there was a couple inside getting ready for bed who were NOT happy to see a tall, drunk-ish guy at their door…the other guy came out into the yard to confront me, threatening to call the cops.
After a heated exchange, I realized my mistake and managed to contact the host, who confirmed my error and told me the cleaner had put my belongings in the garage attached to the main house. I grabbed my stuff and got the fuck outta there, finding a nearby motel to stay for the night.
Every time I think of that story, I thank my lucky stars that nothing too bad happened that night. It was very embarrassing, to say the least.
So were you able to stay another night?
That pretty awesome they got concerned so quickly.
Lol, been there with the awkward mix-ups! No harm done, just a funny story to tell now.
Then eventually you join the search
First time I ever traveled on my own as an adult was for a work trip. I had no clue that there was a specific checkout time; I assumed I still had the room for the day but just couldn’t stay another night. So, I left all my stuff and went to work, figuring I’d grab it afterwards on my way to the airport. Thankfully the hotel just called me to ask if I was planning to stay another night when the cleaners found all my stuff still in the room. After some confusion and explaining that I was a young idiot who had never traveled on their own before, they let me come grab my stuff and didn’t charge me for an extra night. My coworker covered for me while I took a break to rush back and grab everything.
It’s wild to me that they just went straight to calling the police instead of calling you.