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!
I'm surprised people don't know this. That's the very first thing I do when I visit a hotel. I also sanitize "high touch" surfaces like the TV remote, light switches, etc.
I know, this is gonna be the unpopular opinion and it's gonna get downvoted, but jesus f*****g christ, that's what you have a friggin' immune system for. Do you lick the remote or eat your dinner from it? Even if guests before you were gross and, dunno, ate chicken wings while switching channels (which you would notice) - wash your hands before eating and you're fine. I seriously don't understand why people feel that urge to over-sanitize everything, causing allergies in the long run because their immune system is plain bored.
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So I should sleep freezing because there is nothing left to cover myself with? I am not sure I get that one.
Try asking for an extra blanket! The extras usually are washed and kept in clean areas and when go back to housekeeping they wash them again to put in the cupboards so the possibility that these are clean are higher!
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The duvet, the weighted blanket between two thin sheets.
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I have always assumed that. Only the covers get washed and changed between guests, not the actual duvet or pillow. I mean you could say that about the mattress too. It's not like they wash the mattress itself between guests. They only wash the sheets.
I assumed the same. Do they normally use additional mattress protector,s? If not, you have an approximately equal barrier (one layer of thinnish fabric) between your skin and the mattress and duvet. The previous guests' sweat will have dried so the covers should keep it from making direct contact with your skin.
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This isn't true for all hotels. The brand I worked for they were changed at every check out. If the guest started more than one day out was done every 2-3 days. Now if the bed sorry has flowers printed or is a solid dark color those are only washed once our twice a year to save it from fading
And this is not a serious health code violation of some sort? People don't just sleep on the beds, they eat, drink, do all manner of nasty stuff… these (and sheets) should be clean for each customer with a tag pinned on to verify it - or something. Even that could be lied about. Always check for bedbugs… you can find specific ways online. You can bring those monsters home with you. Don’t do it!
Why are people so paranoid about hygiene? Of course the duvet or the comforter is not washed after every guest, why should it be? You also do not deep clean the carpet after every guest! As long as the sheets have been changed everything is fine. Laying on it when you walk into the room (fully dressed) is "freaking gross?" Girl, did you ever sit on a park bench? Have you used public transport? Petted an animal? I do not need the whole world sanitised for me, thank you very much.
That seems like BS. I lived in two start hotel in London, sheets were changed daily and every few days I saw big pile of bags with them collected/returned by laundry company.
Sheets, yes. Comforters, bedspreads and duvets, not so much. Cushion covers, probably never.
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Again with the "lay down". It's LIE down, dammit. LIE DOWN! When will you Americans get that straight?!
Not sure if this is the OPs photo or generic, but the "comforter" shown is so you can lie on the bed without taking off your shoes. First thing I do is to remove it, as I always take my shoes off. And they duvet covers, pillow cases and sheets get changed between guests and often part way through your stay.
Oh come on! Why even bother using a hotel if you are going to take the duvet off the bed. Utter nonsense.
It was on our cleaning list, however, I carried sanitizing cloths and wiped things while checking the housekeepers work...just in case, but always a good idea to wipe/spray high touch items..phones, faucets, remotes, lamp switches, door handles, toilet flush handle, hair dryer. Depends on how worried you are
We washed ours quarterly or when it obviously needed cleaning...but still gross. If we had had an onsite laundry and space to store the amount of extra bedcovers, they would have been changed daily.
surely in COVID times these things are cleaned more often, because they dont wanna be labeled as a hotspot.
Some of them don't change the sheets or pillowcases either. Disgusting but true.
This isnt entirely true. I went to a budget Hotel and they actually washed most of their sheets on property.The comforter was one of them. They even washed their pillows in a special machine made for pillows. Sheets were rotated out via a third party company. Many Hotels will send their linen to a third party company and get everything cleaned which will be sent back a day later. Go to Las Vegas NV in a budget hotel They are required to have everything cleaned. This is why they go via a third party.
Oh we knew this years go in '50s when my family travelled. First thing my dad would do was take the duvet or bedspread and fold it down to the very bottom.
This is true - as a student, I worked in a hotel for a summer, cleaning rooms. Towels and sheets and pillowcases -all good. Comforter/duvet, not so much. A friend of mine will always "accidentally" spill some water on the duvet first thing, then request a fresh one. Hopefully, that "fresh" one is actually clean....
In the Hotels I worked in, in New Zealand, duvet covers were changed AFTER previous guests have left, as well as mattress protectors, pillow protectors, bed linen, towels so that everything was fresh and crisp for the next guest. I thought this was standard practice, but after reading some of the comments, seems like it's not the norm overseas.
I doubt it is only once a year but as long as they look clean they wont necessarily be laundered.
I knew this as my parents owned a triple aaa motel and they didn't even do it. I won't lay on the bed covers without a towel under me and I don't sleep with the duvet on
Of course I knew this one. In fact, I know most of these things here, but if I think too hard about it, I'll check in with a flamethrower in hand and that may look suspicious. Unless I am traveling by air, I bring my own pillow (But not "My Pillow", gross). I wish I could bring my own maress, but it really doesn;t fit in the carry-on or the trunk of my car, sadly.
Tow a travel trailer and sleep in that. That's what we do.
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Duvets are not a thing in Germany? Are there two Germanys? They are pretty much the only thing you get here.
Load More Replies... Really?! That is totally disgusting! But surely they must stink of the people that slept in them before? From now on i will be checking the bed for any human hair....
I take the Norwex mattress cleaner spray with me to every hotel, and spray down the mattress, duvet, and pillows, and sometimes even the furniture if it is upholstered
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.
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
Load More Replies... *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.
