September 4, 2026, 1:10 pm | Read time: 5 minutes
When you vacation at an all-inclusive hotel, you don’t have to worry about anything for a few days. However, this feeling seems to lead some guests to neglect respectful interactions. A former entertainer tells TRAVELBOOK about her work at a well-known resort–where she sometimes had to endure sexual innuendos and insulting comments from vacationers who apparently forgot that there are people behind the hotel facade.
For many, part of the luxury of an all-inclusive vacation is being served and cared for. However, this can lead some guests to no longer treat the people who make their vacation possible as equals.
Paula experienced this during her time as an entertainer at a popular resort in the Mediterranean. She tells TRAVELBOOK about personal hostilities, sexual innuendos, and situations where guests clearly crossed boundaries. She rarely felt support from her superiors, she says. The rule was to smile, stay friendly, and not upset any guests.
Body Shaming and Hurtful Comments
As an entertainer, you talk to dozens of vacationers daily. Usually, it’s about courses, excursion tips, or the evening program. Sometimes, however, the “conversations” become unexpectedly personal.
Paula recalls a guest who found her Swabian accent “unacceptable” for a trainer and wanted to know why she had never been to a speech therapist. “I couldn’t just get up and leave,” says Paula, who was unabashedly put on the spot by the man at the table in front of other guests. Instead, she had to smile, listen, and even thank him for the advice.
It was not uncommon for vacationers to comment on the appearance of employees without being asked. A colleague from the fitness team regularly experienced body shaming: Guests openly asked her, “How can you be so fat as a fitness trainer?” Paula herself was repeatedly reduced to her appearance. Guests mocked her sweating during sports courses while she tried to keep the mood upbeat.
Officially, employees could leave uncomfortable situations at any time. However, it was always conveyed that guests should not be made to feel bad. “There wasn’t a proper protocol,” Paula recalls. “You ultimately had to deal with it yourself.”
Sexualization Instead of Appreciation
Things became particularly uncomfortable for Paula when some guests apparently confused her role as an entertainer with something else. During the day, she led sports courses; in the evening, she performed with her colleagues in dance shows. It was noticeable that some men watched the young entertainers intensely. They often stood in the front row, filmed the performances with their phones, and then sought out conversations.
After a show, a guest approached her with a comment she hasn’t forgotten. “He said to me, ‘Everything here is all-inclusive, so you are too.'” For Paula, this was more than a tasteless joke. Such remarks made her feel like she wasn’t seen as an employee but as part of the hotel offering.
How far this thinking went for some guests became clear in an even more uncomfortable situation: Through a manager, a significantly older vacationer conveyed that he would pay Paula to sleep with him. For the then early 20-something, this was, of course, out of the question. Nevertheless, she later encountered the man at the hotel bar. “Because he was a respected guest, I was instructed to speak politely with him about the offer,” she recalls. Only in hindsight did she realize how absurd the situation actually was.
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Blackmail with Bad Reviews
Not all unpleasant encounters were about appearance or sexual innuendos. Some guests were simply convinced they knew better how Paula should do her job.
Once, there was a confrontation with a regular guest from another facility of the same hotel chain. He repeatedly explained to her that certain sports courses were conducted differently there, and she should therefore design her course accordingly. He refused to accept that trainers had some freedom in their course design. Instead, he made it clear that he expected the exact routine he was used to at the next course. “He told me he would write a bad review and specifically mention my name if I didn’t change the course,” Paula tells us. Additionally, he announced he would complain about her to the personnel manager. For the experienced sports trainer, it was particularly unsettling how naturally the guest tried to impose his personal preferences. This attitude put pressure on the entertainer, and he eventually followed through on his threat.
Such complaints were feared among the staff. “For the club director, the reviews were extremely important,” says Paula. If one’s name was mentioned negatively, entertainers had to find a way to get out of the situation. Praise for good reviews was rare. Many constantly had in the back of their minds that any small thing could lead to a negative judgment–they even feared for their jobs.
The More Difficult the Guests, the Closer the Team
Despite the many unpleasant experiences, Paula doesn’t look back negatively on her time at the resort. On the contrary, dealing with difficult guests often brought the staff closer together. “We supported each other,” she says. When guests were unfriendly or behaved inappropriately toward a colleague, other team members often stepped in and took over the situation. After work, they would talk about difficult encounters, vent their frustrations, and encourage each other.
This camaraderie is something Paula remembers to this day. Close friendships formed during that time, some of which still exist. “We were all in the same boat,” she says. Perhaps it was this feeling that made the difficult moments more bearable.