I am going to have to be more careful, it happened twice in one week!

[CostaRicaRachel]

Well, I run a hotel and it is slow season right now,
so there are not many hotel guests.

So just for fun, early every morning, around 4:30am - 5:00 am
I get up, get dressed (if you know what I mean) and then I go
walk around the hotel, turn off the lights, pick up receipts from
the office, etc

Well, 4 nights ago, an employee forgot to bring in the public computer,
It's 4:30am, I am doing my rounds, I turn the corner and I looking eye to
eye with a male guest on the computer. I said nothing, turned around and
walked back to my room. This guy checked out the next day so I never saw him
again.

This morning it was 5 am. I'm dressed. I walk over and turn off the downstairs lights.
I turn off the stairway lights. I walk up stairs and turn off the second floor lights.
I walk back down the stairs. The second floor lights come back on. I hear a voice behind
me saying excuse me. I turn and I am face to face with female guest standing on the stairs,
holding her suitcase. Again, I said nothing, turned around and walked back to my room.
Later, I heard their car leave, so I went to their room (in drab) and the key was on the
table so they checked out early, lucky for me.

Nothing I can do about it now!

I will have to check tripadvisor and see if there any hotel reviews with the title
Nice hotel, good value, owner wears a dress

[arial]

Perhaps they will merely think it;s some type of Costa Rican tradition??

[Teresa]

I think I would have been the good host and offered to carry the bags saying I have to double up with the other staff when the season quitens down, this is one of their uniforms !!

[Amy Lynn3]

Rachel, you lucky dog, getting to dress at work. Just an idea...why not open the doors for cders to stay at your place. Not free, but let it be known you welcome, both cders and non cders to stay with you. If guest saw you dressed then, you would fit right in.

[Isabella Ross]

Hmmmm...your hotel, your code of dress? Why not?

[Beverley Sims]

Well I would walk around the hotel at 7 o'clock at night less chance of being noticed.
Mmmm! What about the cameras?
Security probably had a field day.

[Katey888]

Rachel - I think you're missing a golden opportunity...

With the right type of reviews on tripadvisor, you could end up with even more business from more 'liberal-minded' guests...

It's a thought, and probably not a very original one...

Katey x

[paulaprimo]

sounds like my kind of of hotel, any vacancies??

katey may be on to something... i have a friend who runs a local B&B and promotes
weekend specials for cd'ers. he does seem to do well!

[docrobbysherry]

I don't walk downstairs dressed in my own home when my daughter's home. Even at 4 AM. Sounds like u enjoy getting "caught", Rachel? I suggest visiting your guests dressed at happy hour in the hotel.

[samantha rogers]

Hey Rachel, I bet you had quite the adrenaline rush from those little encounters. But I doubt anything will come of them. Still, it looks like Im not the only who thinks your hotel might be more valuable proclaiming itselfas Costa Rica's first TG vacation destination.
Hugs

[Tracii G]

I wouldn't worry about it I'm sure the guest don't care all that much.

[Nadya]

If it makes your feel any better, I'd be sure to stay at your hotel if I were ever to go to Costa Rica. Maybe they didn't even notice.

[Barbara Maria]

That's not a bad idea.I'm strictly closet but if I knew of a place where the owner and most of the patrons were cds I'd go there and stay dressed the whole time.I would love to be able to socialize en femme.

[Krisi]

You "run" the hotel (manage) or you "own" the hotel? Big difference. With your experience I would expect you to know that people staying in hotels come and go at all hours and that there's a good chance of you being seen if you are walking the halls.

Do they have security cameras in the halls? If so, you are being recorded.

[BLUE ORCHID]

Hi Rachel, It sounds like you keep pushing your luck, I hope that it all goes well for you.

[deebra]

THINK ABOUT IT, why should CDers automatically feel guilt and shame when confronted in a situation as described? With all the weirdoes and supposively normal people and the so many weird ways they all dress why should we feel guilt about the clothes we choose? Is this a self imposed guilt trip because the masses choose to wear the clothes designers and manufacturers have chosen for each gender to wear and the masses just follow them deaf, dumb and blind? If Racheal and the rest of us didn't carry this automatic self imposed guilt when confronted while dressed but was totally at ease with I'm covered with the clothes I like to wear (just like the weirdos) wouldn't we be better off, and begin to be more accepted and part of the "norm" that makes up our very diverse society?

[CostaRicaRachel]

I own the hotel, so I don't have to worry about getting fired. it is small, 9 rooms, with no security cameras.
And I am pushing my luck. In the past I would go "out" only when the hotel was completely empty,
maybe sometimes with 1 room, but the nights I got caught, there were 3 or 4 rooms occupied.

But something funny happened so funny last night,

First of all, 75% of my customers are Costa Rica and 25 % are business people that are repeat customers.
Also, it is slow, and I have 2 employees managing the hotel from about 8:30 am to 10 pm. So
this time of year, often I don't even see the guests (I like it that way).

Anyway, a friend dropped by and we decided to play some cribbage. I keep all the games next to the
computer. So I walk over to the computer area, turn the corner, and I am face to face with the same
guy I saw using the computer at 4 am when I was dressed. We locked eyes, I'm sure he recognized me.

I know he was Costa Rican, I was so stunned, I picked up the cribbage board, and said "How's it going",
in English, I know he doesn't even speak English. I would have normally spoke in Spanish, but I was so stunned,
I just spoke in English.

The entire rest of the night I was laughing to myself about it.

But after thinking this over, I have decided if I am going to go around my hotel dressed,
I going to have to own it. I won't do it as often, but when I do it, I will be completely
presentable (or as presentable as possible because I absolutely don't pass). If I get
caught, I will just have a nice chat with them and maybe invite them to my room for
a cup of coffee. (yeah, right?)

That was my fun for last night

[Krisi]

We feel that guilt and shame because we are doing something that society doesn't expect us to do and doesn't understand. And remember, it's not just that we are wearing women's clothes, we are wearing breast forms, padded panties, a wig and makeup.

Society views a man trying to look like a woman as wierd, sick or gay. You don't have to like it but life will be a lot easier for you if you accept it.

[Jackie7]

We are planning a Costa Rica vacation this winter, I would be delighted to stay at your hotel and you can be sure it would not be en drab.