Does the Oracle in the town centre offer advice and a reading?

Can the hotel team dress up as the cast of the Lion King when we check in as it is my daughter’s favourite film?

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These are just some of the bizarre requests the Reading Travelodge hotel teams have been asked by customers during the last 12 months.

Today (November 17), Travelodge revealed the most interesting and bizarre requests that the company's four hotels in Reading have received recently.

They include:

  1. Can you arrange for a rainbow to be outside our room window in the morning as a surprise for my wife’s birthday? (Reading Central)
  2. Can the hotel team dress up as the cast of the Lion King when we check in as it is my daughter’s favourite film? (Whitley)
  3. Can you see if a professor from Reading University can be my partner on my friends Zoom quiz this evening? Reading Central
  4. Does the Oracle in the town centre offer advice and a reading? Reading M4 Eastbound
  5. Can you arrange for the exterior of the hotel to be decorated with Christmas lights and for my room to look like Winter Wonderland as a surprise for my husband who loves Christmas? Reading M4 Eastbound
  6. What time does the 24 hour car park shut? Reading Whitley
  7. Can you read a bed time story to my Bengal kitten Simba at 8pm tonight? Reading Whitley
  8. When we check-in can you tell my boyfriend that we have to sleep in separate rooms due to social distance, I find his snoring very annoying? Reading M4 Westbound
  9. Can I borrow your glasses so I look more intelligent on a video interview? Reading M4 Westbound
  10. Can you read me the FTSE share prices whilst I go through my emails? Reading Central

With social distancing dominating our lives in 2020, Travelodge hotel teams have also interestingly experienced a range of customer requests around this requirement.

This included one customer ringing ahead of his booking and asking the receptionist to book him two rooms and for her to say at check-in due to social distancing rules, the couple would have to sleep in separate rooms as his wife snores and he was desperate for a good night’s sleep.

One female customer asked the hotel team to sing and record Happy Birthday into her phone so that she could play the recording every time she washed her hands to be Covid Safe.

One business customer was so taken by the hotel’s 5ft TravelodgeProtect+ Covid-19 safety programme stand that he asked if he could use it as a back drop for all of his business zoom calls throughout his stay.

Whilst an entrepreneur asked the hotel team if they could get a local printer to print his company logo onto 1,000 face masks.

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Shakila Ahmed, Travelodge Spokeswoman said: "Annually we welcome millions of customers from all corners of the UK at our 575 hotels, which includes four properties in Reading.

"Throughout the year, our hotel teams receive thousands of interesting requests from business and leisure guests.

"Where possible, our hotel teams will go above and beyond to help customers as they relish a good challenge.

"Interestingly the requests change regionally, seasonally and this year we have even received interesting requests around social distancing. "However, there are some requests beyond their control such as arranging a reading with the Reading Oracle and dressing up as the cast of the Lion King and performing several musical hits from the movie."