Couple Books Hotel Room With Queen-Sized Bed But Gets 2 Single Beds Because They're Women
No, they are not sisters or friends… they’re lovers.
filadendron / Canva Pro A Queer couple booked a hotel room with a queen-sized bed, but after they checked in, they were surprised to see the receptionist had “upgraded” their room to two single beds since they were two women.
The couple took to TikTok to joke about the hotel’s assumption about their bed preferences and make light of the situation.
One of the women, Alexa, who goes by alexasearthh on TikTok, posted the video of her and her partner laughing across from each other as they sat on the twin beds.
Now, in 2024, where LGBTQIA+ topics are widely discussed and recognized, it seems old-fashioned that hotels are placing assumptions above customers’ preferences without even asking questions.
Yet, hotels rarely assume a man and woman checking in together are just friends, even though the likelihood of that could be just as common.
The couple’s video is raising awareness of the outdated mentalities many continue to have when it comes to Queer relationships. Of course, it’s not like it’s always easy to tell when two individuals are in a relationship, whether they are straight or Queer. Still, no one seems to question when a straight couple checks into a hotel room with preferences they specifically requested.
So, why is this still happening when it comes to the LGBTQIA+ community?
Another woman stitched the couple’s video, addressing a similar situation she experienced while photographing a newlywed couple.
The photographer, Violet Cristina, stitched Alexa’s TikTok to share the similar assumptions another hotel made against a Queer couple that she witnessed directly.
Cristina explained she was hired to photograph the brides in their floor-length wedding gowns. They took a break to let the women check into their hotel and change into their second outfits.
“They had, like, a pretty nice suite. Clearly, it was an occasion, and they checked into the hotel in full, white wedding gowns, hair and makeup done, me with my huge camera in hand," Cristina said. "I think it was pretty obvious what was going on here. It was a wedding, and it was their wedding.”
Despite the crystal clear evidence in front of the hotel staff, they absent-mindedly asked who had gotten married.
The couple replied that they had both gotten married. Yet the staff continued to misunderstand, assuming they had coincidentally gotten married on the same day but to separate partners.
There are various cases of individuals placing their misinformed assumptions on Queer couples.
Several individuals in the comments of Cristina’s video alluded to similar experiences with people being more prone to believe two brides were sisters or friends planning dual ceremonies rather than a couple marrying each other.
“During my wedding photos, with both of us in white dresses, two separate groups walked by and said, ‘OMG a double wedding!’” another person said.
Photo: Afbeeldingen van anton havelaar / Canva Pro
“When my wife and I got married, we got our nails done before, and the nail tech asked what the occasion was, and we both said, ‘My wedding,’ and she said, ‘Awe, two friends getting married on the same day,’” someone else expressed.
Others who work in the hospitality and wedding industry shared that sensitivity to the various forms of love and relationships is essential.
“I used to design engagement rings. ASSUME NOTHING!” one individual emphasized. “Ask questions, make introductions, but never assume one way or the other!”
The urge to make assumptions about Queer couples is so common that some hotels are including these scenarios in their training to avoid making inconsiderate judgments.
“When I worked at a Marriott, this exact situation was in the training materials, so we won’t do this — it’s such a problem,” someone shared.
This assumption places the unrealistic expectations that women only get married to men, and vice versa, at the forefront of LGBTQIA+ prejudice.
Many Queer couples continue to face challenging biases from the public, which highlights a desperate need for awareness.
These experiences point toward a collective lack of awareness when it comes to what traditional couples should look like.
It's no secret that love exists in all forms around us, and the idea of heteronormativity is not only outdated, but it is irreverent to the LGBTQIA+ community.
While most of the time, these individuals are simply unaware and live in their own bubbles of self-imposed conformity; this behavior underscores the need for open-mindedness in our communities.
As many stated in the comments of these videos, asking questions and being mindful of our differences is a great first step to understanding and respecting Queer love.
Unfortunately, the U.S., along with several other countries, seems to be veering away from this accepting approach and continuing to put heteronormative laws in place, leading to a dramatic increase in discrimination and hate crimes against the Queer community.
Rather than continuing to enforce the flawed ideas of heteronormativity, individuals must acknowledge that love exists in many different forms.
Sadly, restricting the discussion of identity and sexuality among children indicates a push for conformity and heteronormativity beginning from a young and vulnerable age. As a society, we are inhibiting these kids from truly understanding themselves and the world around them.
However, with the surge of awareness and information available online, we can only hope that this old-fashioned mentality evolves as we continue to spread knowledge of the fluidity of love.
Sexuality is a spectrum. Love exists in various forms, and it’s no one’s place to pass judgment or place assumptions on others.
While there are hotels and venues around the world that actually go as far as to reject same-sex and Queer wedding couples, many others are advocating for LGBTQIA+ inclusivity when it comes to the wedding industry, and we must continue these efforts.
If the Queer community is continuously pushed into heteronormative boxes, then we must continue to shine a light on acceptance and inclusivity.
Francesca Duarte is a writer on YourTango's news and entertainment team based in Orlando, FL. She covers lifestyle, human interest, adventure, and spirituality topics.