Major hotel chain faces backlash for allegedly outsourcing check-ins — to India
In the video, a guest who booked a stay at a La Quinta by Wyndham was welcomed by a tall screen displaying a virtual front-desk employee — who allegedly was in India.
'Do you need one room key or two room key?' the worker can be heard asking in the video, which has more than 2 million views since being posted on Saturday.
The guest replies: 'Two, just in case I lose one.'
The hotel customer then signs a form on the screen using their finger.
3 A traveler staying at a La Quinta by Wyndham hotel was allegedly checked in by an outsourced, virtual worker.
@languageguy1/Instagram
The interaction led social media users to slam the hotel chain for outsourcing jobs to overseas workers.
'More American jobs outsourced overseas. At some point this should just become illegal. If you make money in America, you should hire Americans,' one user wrote in a post on X.
Another sniped: 'What hotel, so I can be sure to avoid it?'
Some frustrated users even called on President Trump to target the practice by slapping tariffs on US-based companies that outsource jobs to overseas staffers.
A spokesperson for La Quinta Inn, which is owned by Wyndham Hotels & Resorts, told the Daily Mail that it is actively investigating the matter.
3 'Do you need one room key or two room key?' the worker can be heard asking.
@languageguy1/Instagram
'All La Quinta hotels are independently owned and operated under franchise agreements and required to have a team member at the front desk at all times.'
Representatives for Wyndham did not immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.
The chain has several La Quinta locations in the Miami area.
It's unclear how widespread the practice of outsourced virtual front-desk employees is at La Quinta hotels and other chains.
Wyndham does offer mobile check-in for some guests, according to its website.
A video posted to YouTube in February appears to show the same large tablet screen being used by an outsourced worker in a Wyndham hotel in Bonita Springs, Fla.
3 Outraged social media users were quick to slam the hotel chain on social media.
@languageguy1/Instagram
'I checked into a hotel by talking to a man on a screen in the entryway. I scanned my ID, swiped my credit card, and the machine provided me a key,' the user who posted the video wrote in the caption.
Another social media user said they had a similar experience with a virtual front-desk employee at a hotel in Dublin.
'Honestly, it was a lot quicker than dealing with front desk staff, and it prints out your keycard,' the hotel guest wrote in a post online.
Meanwhile, a hotel in Amsterdam allegedly used a fully-automated check-in process, where guests fill out a form on an iPad, take a key card from a pile and tap it on a reader to activate it, according to another user on X.
'There's really no reason for these jobs at all in today's age,' they added.
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