The hotel industry is full of tiny little secrets that they don’t want you to know about when you come to stay overnight while traveling. They might not have literal skeletons in their closets, but the metaphorical ones can barely fit! We’re talking about insider knowledge about how often the duvets and covers on the beds get cleaned, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg!
Of course, there are some positive secrets as well, and ex-hotel employee Janessa Richard spilled the beans in a series of fun and candid TikTok videos. Keep in mind, though, Janessa noted that this is her personal experience working at just one hotel and we really shouldn’t assume that all hotels function this way. (Though most are sure to have their own shady secrets that nobody should know about.)
Check out some of Janessa’s best insights below, upvote the ones that you found useful and entertaining, and let us know what hotel secrets you’ve uncovered if you’ve ever worked in the industry, dear Pandas.
@janessarichard Spilling some 🍵 as an ex hotel employee! ##fyp ##pregnant ##pregnancy ##canadianmamas ##momlife ##toddlermom ##hotelsecrets
♬ Stuck in the Middle - Tai Verdes
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We are legally not allowed to say your room number out loud, which is why we will usually write it on an envelope, pass it to you and tell you "this is your room number".
If you are very nice and we like you, we can upgrade you to a better room or a suite at no extra cost, if there's any available.
Different hotel brands have different policies when it comes to upgrading their guests. The hotel I worked at didn't really care, as long as we had the availability we were allowed to.
I did have some guests who asked for free upgrades, if they were nice I'd give it to them, if they weren't I'd lie and tell them we didn't have any suites available.
That is good but what if a new guest comes in and would like to pay for that upgrade room?
California mom Janessa focuses on videos about hotels, as well as her motherhood journey. She has over 53k followers on TikTok and appears to highly value honesty both in her content and in how she engages with her fandom.
Running a hotel well isn’t as easy as washing the sheets between every customer and smiling at everybody all day long. In a previous interview, Dr. Gabor Forgacs from Ryerson University told Bored Panda about some other aspects of maintaining quality at hotels and how hoteliers can ensure that their businesses prosper.
Dr. Forgacs noted that the main reason why guests return to hotels is simple: they had good memories of staying there. “Not necessarily a gold plated doorknob or the extra skirt hangers in the closet; best memories are created through interaction with people. If service excellence exceeds expectations, guests always remember that,” he told Bored Panda earlier.
If your breakfast is included in your stay but you're leaving before breakfast start time, you can always ask the staff if they can make a little "to-go" bag with a few items in it.
Most hotels do not wash their duvets/comforters in between guests. They wash them maybe once a year which is really freaking gross.
So, the first thing you wanna do when you walk into your room - don't go lay down on your bed, take the duvet off!
Meanwhile, struggling businesses need to reinvent themselves and up their standards. But none of that can happen without some honest appraisal of where the hotel stands at the moment. “Languishing hotels need to take an honest look at themselves to understand the reasons why they can't create special memories,” he explained.
Almost every standard room that you book comes with a water bottle and drinking glasses. I would not recommend drinking from those glasses as most of the time they're not changed in between guests as long as they look "clean".
When I stayed in hotels, I always washed the glasses and cups before I used them.
"I would not recommend drinking from those glasses..." Glasses can be washed.
As tacky as it might look, I can appreciate the wrapped and sealed individual disposable cups offered by the lower-end chains for just this reason. I always reuse them myself during my stay in order to reduce waste.
From now on I will make the glasses look dirty so they’ll be changed for the next guest
I always wash them before using, by experience i know they're kind of wash when the room is being cleaned but are dried with dirty pillow pouch or linen sheet from the room when those are being changed.
Cheap hotels I've been in often come with individually wrapped plastic cups. I don't like the plastic waste, but at least the cups are clean.
The last hotel I stayed in had plastic and paper cups I could just throw out and they would be restocked for the next guest.
Boil the kettle, then boil it again and use that to clean the cups...
and if they look clean they have usually been washed in the bathroom handbasin
On the few occasions we've encountered these (lots in London next to the tea maker), I wash them before use. Otherwise, I bring my own personal mug and/or disposables.
It would never occur to me to pour the bottled water into a cup or glass before drinking: I would assume the rim of the new bottle, which has been under the cap the whole time, would likely be cleaner as well as more convenient. In any case I hope hotels are a bit more hygiene-conscious during the covid pandemic. The cup on the right in the picture doesn't even "look clean" - it appears to have a coffee stain on the outside.
The maids hand rinse them in the bathroom sink if They are used. I was shown when I was trained. It's nasty. They do it to cut down on time spent cleaning the room. Don't use them. FYI the toilet is the cleanest part of the bathrooms.
As a matter of habit you should always pre wash cups, glasses, cutlery BEFORE you use them, as well as thoroughly rinse out the kettle. Even though everything should already be clean, between the housekeepers leaving the room after the previous guests and you entering the room insects could have already crawled over everything lol
Coffeemaker, too. Run plain water through the coffee maker and it is shocking to see how filthy it is.
I heard once some room attendants use the same rag from the toilet to clean the glasses. Urban legend I hope
Housekeeping usually doesn’t carry anything with them you would want to clean these glasses with either. You are lucky if it’s rinsed with water and a clean rag.
WOW! Wondering if that is still the way with this virus going around.
Worked for a large chain hotel as a house keeper. This is 100%. Never use the glasses.
Never use the glasses without washing them first, you mean?
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We ALWAYS recommend booking through the hotel directly. If you book through a 3rd party, your room and room type are not actually guaranteed.
Here in Korea, there's many respectable 3rd party apps and sites for booking hotels at cheaper prices, and we've never had problems with it. You check-in, they confirm your identity, find you in their database and give you the keys. You may make extensions and pay extra for additional services you decided for on the spot.
“Service culture is not built overnight; the way you hire, you train, and conduct yourself is crucial. Mistakes are made all the time; how you recover and show genuine care would make a difference,” Dr. Forgacs said.
Never EVER walk barefoot on the carpets. They are unbelievingly gross. They get vacuumed between guests but are rarely ever washed and deep cleaned.
There are a lot of shady things that happen in hotels. We once had an "escort company" rent out a room and bring men in. We had to call the cops, things got crazy.
When I worked at a hotel (major chain) cleaning rooms we were told to mind our own business, even if we witnessed something illegal or drugs, etc. We were told the only exception is anything involving children or if someone asked for help.
An extra ounce of care for your customers goes a long way. The more you genuinely care about them, the more likely they are to return. “Following up is a secret weapon. Comping, offering a discount or an upgrade for a mishap is what a typical hotel would do. The better ones will always follow up with the guest and on top of a remedy, tell their plan how the mistake will be prevented from happening again,” he said.
Some hotels have a "100% satisfaction guarantee" policy, which means if you find even one little thing that you're not satisfied with, and bring it up to the manager, they might be able to compensate your entire stay.
They do not change the toilet paper rolls in between guests. If there's paper left on the roll, they'll leave it and fold the end to make it look pretty.
Most of these sound like some people are allergic to anything that isn't themselves.
True. I've stayed in hundreds of hotels for work and as long as it looks and smells clean which it always does in a hotel I sleep quite happily
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*me writing article about the secrets of the tents that all people should know*😅😅😅
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I'm very intrigued to write an article about the secrets of spas! Oh boy! You don't want to know!
we're staying in a hotel next week, and this article didn't dissuade me from enjoying myself. OMG! what if there is no brand new roll of toilet paper? what ever will we do!
Nice, but most of the hotel's I've been at tell me otherwise. Hence the disclaimer.
You really expected any of the hotels to say "yes, the carpet is gross, we don't wash the duvet and we don't change the glasses"...like...really..?
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I wouldn't expect a fresh roll of tp every time the room is cleaned that's extremely wasteful and who cares?
All a bit dramatic, if they put a fresh toilet roll out every time what effect would that have on the environment? Do you wash your carpets more than once a year? Most glasses in hotels I've stayed are wrapped. Heres an idea if theyre not,wadh it before you use it.
stayed in more than 3000 hotel rooms ---drank the water, used the glasses, etc ... still alive----
If I am the princess and the pea I should rather stay at home in my own bubble - what a surprise....
This is all old, well known, common knowledge that has been written about hundreds of times.
I work on app development for a hotel chain. The apps have really useful features - you can check in and check out with them, make room requests right through the app, you can cast to the TV from your phone once paired with the app, and you can unlock your door with it. It only works if you're a member and have booked directly though. Our website also accurately lists prices from online travel agents right in its results, and it does price match, so it's really worth it to book through the web or app directly.
Put the remote control in a zip lock bag, it still works and you won't need to clean it.
Most of these sound like some people are allergic to anything that isn't themselves.
True. I've stayed in hundreds of hotels for work and as long as it looks and smells clean which it always does in a hotel I sleep quite happily
Load More Replies... *me writing article about the secrets of the tents that all people should know*😅😅😅
Load More Replies... I'm very intrigued to write an article about the secrets of spas! Oh boy! You don't want to know!
we're staying in a hotel next week, and this article didn't dissuade me from enjoying myself. OMG! what if there is no brand new roll of toilet paper? what ever will we do!
Nice, but most of the hotel's I've been at tell me otherwise. Hence the disclaimer.
You really expected any of the hotels to say "yes, the carpet is gross, we don't wash the duvet and we don't change the glasses"...like...really..?
Load More Replies... I wouldn't expect a fresh roll of tp every time the room is cleaned that's extremely wasteful and who cares?
All a bit dramatic, if they put a fresh toilet roll out every time what effect would that have on the environment? Do you wash your carpets more than once a year? Most glasses in hotels I've stayed are wrapped. Heres an idea if theyre not,wadh it before you use it.
stayed in more than 3000 hotel rooms ---drank the water, used the glasses, etc ... still alive----
If I am the princess and the pea I should rather stay at home in my own bubble - what a surprise....
This is all old, well known, common knowledge that has been written about hundreds of times.
I work on app development for a hotel chain. The apps have really useful features - you can check in and check out with them, make room requests right through the app, you can cast to the TV from your phone once paired with the app, and you can unlock your door with it. It only works if you're a member and have booked directly though. Our website also accurately lists prices from online travel agents right in its results, and it does price match, so it's really worth it to book through the web or app directly.
Put the remote control in a zip lock bag, it still works and you won't need to clean it.
