I bet that you’d scream your head off if the room you checked into had an overflowing terlit or the WiFi didn’t work. Or if you ran out to your car in PJ’s and locked yourself out without a wallet or phone. Trust me, desk clerks at hotels have their uses and earn their keep. Practically, there has to be someone on site, so why not keep them at a desk, or at least accessible by buzzer?
They also serve as a filter against tweakers who happen to have a few shekels to rub together renting a room and either destroying it or setting a fire and destroying the hotel. Computers don’t have spidey-sense as to when the hotel should suddenly develop a no-vacancy type situation. “Very sorry, sir/ma’am, but we just rented out the last room. All of the others have flooded toilets. Yes, of course, we’ll be happy to give you a full refund.”
(In airports, TSA or private security act as bouncers, but the idea is the same.)
Problem is that the option to deal with a human will disappear or be priced into impossibility very quickly. Fuck that idea.
