Dark Secrets of Hotels

Former hotel / motel employees, share your grossest.

As a former motel asst. manager, I advise: you do not want to touch that bedspread. Take it off and throw it in the corner.

Only use pillows that have covers that can be washed. Those big beautiful decorative pillows that don’t have removable covers? You may as well drink from the gutter.

Bring a large Ziploc bag with you, and immediately put the TV remote in it.

If you touch the telephone, go wash your hands.

Don’t reach with your hand into any place you can’t see. You might find a needle.

This applies to nearly all price ranges except maybe the 5 star luxury resorts that might actually clean things rather than just straightening them up. But I've seen some really nasty 4 and 5 star places too.

I take a Clorox wipes with me to hotels. And wipe down everything, Remote, Sink, TV, handles, radios, toilet, tub, etc.

I roll around naked on the bed spread then change the channel on the remote with my tongue

I use the pen from the nightstand to pick my nose.

I don't doubt this is completely true.

I mean more from an insider’s perspective, the grossest things you’ve seen as an employee there. Like, during my time at one we:

Washed guests’ laundry for a fee (the property saw NONE of this fee income, by the way – it was a cash arrangement). Guests’ laundry went right in the same machine with and at the same time as the sheets and towels from all the other rooms. These are huge, hi-capacity commercial machines, so your skivvies just got washed with the dirty sheets, towels, and washcloths from several other rooms.

Had cereal/pastry free breakfast and served two kinds of milk from those pump-type carafes like you might use to serve coffee. Never, ever, were those containers sterilized. They were rinsed out with cold water, occasionally with a squirt of soap. The shape of the container made it impossible to properly wash. It was like serving milk from a wine bottle. The same wine bottle, for 5 years. Or until it breaks, so presumably they are still using it.

ComplyYouMust - clearly you have some deep seated issues with travel, eating, etc...might i suggest a life as a shut-in? Wait, that won't work, because a bunch of groups deliver food to shuts in...but then we have no idea how that food is prepared and how many hands have touched it, how long it was in the car, container, etc...oh dear...

Har har. I'll save this suggestion in the same file as the one from someone who suggested I could protect myself from 2nd hand smoke by use of a plastic bag to protect my head.

Comply, I hope the bank you work in is better than the restaurants and hotels you've worked at.

And be thankful you can work in these modern times in a smoke-free environment!

::lets out great big vape puff...just to be a pest::

@ joker!

I don't know how it is everywhere, but housekeeping often wipes out the glasses with windex (see- pretty!) - I only use plastic cups in my room...

It's not the same anymore, but we used to keep the "good room" keys in our pockets if a guest checked out early so we could save those rooms for our favorite regulars, (stupid computer system screwing with our tips!)

Atlantic City was always a comedy of errors, though - international guests with different customs and sleeping patterns caused double-bookings more than once when I interned at the Sands!