15 Hotel Workers Shared With Guests Priceless Information to Improve Their Stay

We spend the whole year longing for our vacations, so we can relax in a nice hotel and enjoy room service. But do we really know about what goes on behind these apparently perfect places? There is no one better than the employees to tell us all those details that the hotels would prefer we never found out.

• I worked for a 5-star hotel for a few years. Each employee had a special allowance of $1,500 to make sure they could help guests feel like their stay would be memorable. Once, a guest lost his Rolex and asked the front desk if they had seen it or if one of the maids had taken it. When the guest finally left, the guy from the front desk went out and purchased this person a new Rolex and was reimbursed fully by the hotel. The guest was extra happy and now returns to the same hotel every year. © junglepiehelmet / Reddit
• Any outright complaining you do will likely get you a discount. I’ve realized people are more likely to complain at older properties because, frankly, they’re more likely to get it unquestioned. You’re almost always going to get a 10% difference if you give the clerk any kind of problem with your rate. Selling the room for cheaper is still better than no sale in the eyes of hotel owners. © druumer89 / Reddit
• The best way to cancel your reservation without getting charged, if you’ve waited after the cancellation time, is to call first and say you’re changing your stay to a later date. Then call back within a few hours (hopefully getting a different clerk), and the cancellation fee will be bypassed because there’s now a new cancellation time on the new date. © druumer89 / Reddit

• I currently work as a housekeeper. People leave anything and everything behind. Forgot your curling iron? We probably have one. Need a charger? Yep. Toys for your child? You got it. If you ask, while we’re in-between rooms or cleaning a common area, we’d love to help you out. © prisonschangedyou / Reddit
• Get a free fridge in your room. Say it is a medical need for medication. HIPAA laws mean they can’t pressure details out of you. It may not work for smaller motels/hotels, but should for larger hotels/cruises. © Papapain / Reddit
• I’ve worked in several nice hotels and can tell you that the glasses for toothbrushes are not always washed since the cleaners are in a hurry. Often they are just held under the tap and rinsed. Check for lip prints. © Roslagen / Reddit

• Bed bugs are more common than you think. Most hotels are constantly having to deal with them. Make sure you keep your luggage/clothes off the floor. Ideally, store your luggage on the metal racks they supply, since bedbugs won’t travel onto that. © DigitallySound / Reddit
• Most independent/boutique hotels hate having to pay fees to travel agencies, which are very high, but they need them. So if you call them directly, they’ll give you a much better deal since they’re going to make more profit. They just can’t advertise those deals, since it’s against the agreement they have with the agencies. © DigitallySound / Reddit
• It never hurts to ask for an upgrade. Be sure to mention if there is a reason for the upgrade (birthday, wedding, etc.) and you may get a special surprise. © kanada_kid / Reddit

• The staff on most cruise lines are not trained well enough to handle an “abandon ship” situation. It would be chaos if it were to happen on a large vessel. The safety briefing you go to is just theater, and we want to be there even less than you do. The captain earns bonuses for saving fuel, leaving port early or arriving late means the ship can go slower and conserve fuel, which means more money for the captain. © Thoranus / Reddit
• Hotels sometimes overbook rooms, typically more so in the summer, since that’s a busy season. They are relying on some people either canceling or not showing up. It’s always a good idea to call and confirm your reservation on the day of arrival, especially if you’re gonna be late. © TinkerBell6160 / Reddit
• I work at an upscale resort with an average of $500 a night. I work in the entertainment department. I will say that our child daycare is pretty safe, but the only thing is that we will ALWAYS tell you that your kid had a good time, regardless if they had been crying up until just before you got there.
  Parents leave their numbers with us to call if the kid wants to go home. But whenever a kid complains that they want to go home, we do everything in our power to make sure that they stay. © wwwdotfacebookdotcom / Reddit

• I worked in numerous luxury 5-star properties worldwide. You would be SHOCKED if you knew the food quality in buffets. I’ve seen yellow food coloring added and labeled as “saffron sauce.” Pan-fried sea bass? It’s pan-fried white fish that comes in generic bags labeled “white fish.”
  People change the expiration date on stuff so that the food cost doesn’t increase. The amount of frozen food sold and labeled as “fresh” is astounding! À la carte food tends to have a much better quality! © Bigfatpie / Reddit
• As someone who currently works at a major hotel in a very popular city, I may have some insight. 1) The duvet stories are mostly true. If it looks clean and not wrinkled, then it stays without being washed. If there are obvious stains, then it’s removed. 2) Most times you book with a third party, your room type is not guaranteed (unless you pay more) so don’t take it out on the front desk agent. © BayHarbourButcher / Reddit
• There aren’t enough lifeboats on most modern cruise ships. Generally speaking, about two-thirds of those on board can fit on the boats and rafts, the assumptions being a) the ship won’t sink and b) if it does, about one-third of the passengers wouldn’t make it to the boats anyway. For legal purposes, however, the cruise line needs to be covered in case there is a sinking.
  So once two-thirds of berths have been booked, the remainder is offered at heavy discounts, the kind you see advertised. If you do book one of those on-sale berths, read the small print on your booking, and you will find that you are only entitled to a place on the boat if no full-price passengers are there to claim it. © C**RK / Reddit

What has been your worst experience in a hotel or restaurant? What stories or urban legends do you know about these types of establishments?