Former Hotel Employee Shares 7 Things You Should Never Do In A Hotel Because Of How Nasty They Are (2024)

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Check the bed for bedbugs. I stayed in a hotel once. Two weeks later, it was in the news for having a massive bedbug infestation. Nothing came home with me. Oh my God, was I terrified! I was living in Minnesota at the time. So I took everything I had and shoved it outside in the middle of the winter. Negative 30 degrees will kill just about anything if it's in there long enough. But yeah, just lift up the corners of the bed right when you walk in for any little, like, black dots that could indicate like fecal matter from the bedbugs or eggs. Look for anything crawling around. You don't have to go all the way under the bed. Just pick up the corner. I've never seen anything, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.

angelariihiluoma , louento.pix Report

Never ever, ever, ever, ever use the coffee machine in a hotel room. Why Angela, you may ask, why ever don't? Because apparently, some people like to use it as a urinal. So I don't care how addicted you are to coffee. Don't touch the coffeemaker.

angelariihiluoma , Rachel Claire Report

I feel like at this point, everybody knows not to use the top cover. Just take it off, take it off, just throw it on the floor

angelariihiluoma , James O'Gorman Report

Don't use the ice bucket. Unless, of course, there's like a plastic liner in it. But for real, for real, don't use it. People like to use those as puke buckets, as urinals, again which why? There is a perfectly good, perfectly good bathroom. Why? I guess you could be sick, maybe? Or it could be a cultural thing. Maybe some people think they're, like, chamber pots or something. But this is not Regency England.

angelariihiluoma , Kamal Hamid Report

Do not use the glasses that they put in the bathroom. You know, like, the really nice glass glasses. Apparently, housekeepers only have so much time to turn the room and so more often than not, they're just wiping them with Windex. They won't even wash them.

angelariihiluoma , Sarah Stierch Report

Bring flip-flops. Apparently, it's extremely common for people to just do a number two in the shower. So yes, please bring flip-flops. I think it will give all of us a greater sense of hygiene

angelariihiluoma , Nicole Queiroz Report

Always, always, always wear socks or slippers in the hotel room. Well, why is that? Because they never ever, ever wash the floors.
Yeah, that's right. Floors are nasty, nasty. You'll notice anytime you ask for slippers, they are not white. And that would be because the floors are filthy like Christina Aguilera.

angelariihiluoma , mahabis footwear Report

Cleanliness is the top priority for hotel guests, which is why it’s essential to give the housekeeping staff enough time to take care of the rooms

Staying in a hotel should be a worry-free experience. There’s no need to clean up, you have all the necessary amenities, even the bed is being made for you. However, not taking care of things yourself means not being sure whether they’ve been properly cleaned.

Research of microbiological contamination in hotel rooms reveals that certain areas gather more bacteria and suggests they should be cleaned more thoroughly. “Room attendants should focus their limited time in the guest room to cleaning those surfaces that are more likely to be contaminated,” it states. Some such areas include several parts in the bathroom—the toilet basin, the bathroom floor, and the sink—as well as the main light switch.

Angela pointed out that due to the little time the housekeeping staff has for each room, they might skip certain things in there. For instance, the glasses you find in the bathroom or the bed covers.

Not having sufficient time can lead to hygiene violations, which is why it’s crucial to properly distribute the workload among the housekeeping staff. A 2021 study emphasized that it’s important to evaluate the time it takes to clean each type of room when planning the tasks. It suggests managers should assign the number of rooms per person per shift taking these factors into consideration.

It’s essential as cleanliness is guests’ number one priority. PR Newswire presented a survey commissioned by CLR, which revealed that it’s the top criteria for 86% of people looking through online reviews for hotels and vacation rentals.

Reading the reviews of a specific hotel is one way to make sure the room meets certain standards. People in the comments under the TikTok video pointed out that the level of cleanliness depends on each place of accommodation. Some of them used to be housekeeping staff themselves and ensured that all of the things Angela mentioned in her video were properly cleaned at their workplace.

Some people in the comments were shocked to learn this, others shared contradicting opinions

Writer, BoredPanda staff

A writer here at Bored Panda, I am a lover of good music, good food, and good company, which makes food-related topics and feel-good stories my favorite ones to cover. Passionate about traveling and concerts, I constantly seek occasions to visit places yet personally unexplored. I also enjoy spending free time outdoors, trying out different sports—even if I don’t look too graceful at it—or socializing over a cup of coffee.

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Author, BoredPanda staff

Kotryna is a Photo Editor at Bored Panda with a BA in Graphic Design. Before Bored Panda, she worked as a freelance graphic designer and illiustrator. When not editing, she enjoys working with clay, drawing, playing board games and drinking good tea.

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