Billionaire Michael Dell was once denied late check-out at a five-star Gurgaon hotel, the former president of Oberoi Group revealed during a podcast. Kapil Chopra sat down with Shantanu Deshpande, founder of Bombay Shaving Company, for a podcast where the topic of hotel customer complaints cropped up.
Chopra, who served as president of Oberoi Group between 2013 and 2018, said that many customers have a problem with the strict check-in and check-out timings set by hotels. He gave the example of Michael Dell, who was once refused late check-out at the five-star Oberoi Gurgaon.
Chopra said that the billionaire chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies walked up to the receptionist in his own “unassuming way” and asked if he could check out late. Dell had just realised that he needed to stay in the hotel till the evening.
Unfortunately, it was the receptionist’s first day at the job. She had no idea she was talking to such an important guest. “The country head of Dell and all the other guys of Dell were on their phones, so Michael Dell was alone in the lobby… he walks up quietly, in his own unassuming way, to the front desk and asks if he can get a late check-out,” Kapil Chopra told Deshpande.
“The lady quotes the policy: ‘Sir, check-out is till 12 pm. If you stay till 6 pm it’s a half day charge. If it’s post 6 pm, it’s a full day charge’,” Chopra said.
{{/usCountry}}“The lady quotes the policy: ‘Sir, check-out is till 12 pm. If you stay till 6 pm it’s a half day charge. If it’s post 6 pm, it’s a full day charge’,” Chopra said.
{{/usCountry}}The small incident became a huge issue, with Michael Dell deciding he wanted to check out from the hotel altogether. Chopra said he received a call from the country head of Dell.
“The country head called me saying ‘yaar you could have charged us more. Why was Michael Dell refused?’” Chopra recalled. “Now he wants to check out because he wants to set an example.”
“Michael Dell is very particular about setting an example,” said Chopra, who quit Oberoi Group in 2018 to launch The Postcard Hotel and EazyDiner.
Take a look at his video below:
You can watch the full episode of The BarberShop with Shantanu podcast on YouTube.
Michael Dell, 59, is the man behind one of the world’s largest technology infrastructure companies. He is worth an estimated $105 billion, according to Forbes.