Travel introduces you to a plethora of new cultures, foods, arts, entertainment, and more. From uptown to downtown and everywhere in-between, the city is at your fingertips. At every turn, there’s so much to do and see, no visit is ever quite the same. Every city oozes energy, spirit, and style that fuels your wanderlust to extreme volumes. Now with all that out of the way, there’s just one thing we have to mention, the place you stay while you’re visiting any magical city is pretty much a deal breaker. So when you learn about the dirty secrets that a number of hotel maids have exposed, you might think twice about where you lay your head next – with that being said, I hope you’re ready for the secrets we’re about to dish out, some are pretty unnerving.
Nap Time
We all get tired, that’s no secret. However when you think that sometimes the person in charge of cleaning your room is also napping in the same bed you’re sleeping in, it shifts your focus. Even though they’re not allowed to do it, when they have to clean a large suite and have the time, a cat nap is the next logical step.
Nap Time
Just Try It On
It goes without saying that when you check into your hotel, you honestly don’t think of anyone riffling through your stuff. But if you think back to Jennifer Lopez in Maid in Manhattan – it all falls into place. Many hotel maids have admitted that they sometimes try on a guest’s fancy clothes and then just neatly put it back once they’re done. #nothanks
Just Try It On
A Bite
Now and again, maids will “sample” things off of plates headed to your room by room service. So even before your orders is delivered, the maids may have already had a bite. If you think the portions are a bit small, well there’s a reason for that.
A Bite
Whatever
Every hotel rooms comes complete with the ‘Do Not Disturb’ sign, it’s common practice. Well it turns out that most hotel maids simply ignore the sign. Why? They don’t want to come back at a later time to clean your room or to switch out the towels.
Whatever
Pat Down
Unfortunately most duvets, coverlets, and sheets are rarely washed. Recently an anonymous maid reported to the DailyMail that if she had a duvet with a small stain on it that could be blotted out, she would simply pat it down with water until it became barely visible. If sheets aren’t wrinkled or stained, then they almost never get changed. Instead, the hotel maid just smooths out the surface and uses a lint roll to freshen it up. GULP.
Pat Down
When You Gotta Go
Okay so this one may not be ~that~ shocking! But uhh, when natures call, you gotta do what you gotta do. Whether it’s #1 or #2, hotel maids will use the toilet regardless! Even if they’re not supposed to, there isn’t always time to make it elsewhere.
When You Gotta Go
Peace Out
Probably a rule you weren’t aware of but almost all hotel maids clock out by 5:30PM. Therefore if you need something from housekeeping, be sure to ask earlier in the day.
Peace Out
Downgrade
First of all, hotel maids are known to break the rules here and there, however if they get caught? They are likely to lose their VIP roster and will in turn have to clean the less desirable and cheaper rooms. Or they can even have their hours docked.
Downgrade
Tick Tock
Turns out that hotel maids are on a time constraint to clean every room. Which is primarily why they skip the “small stuff” and just big things that are easily seen at first glance. Moreover if a maid complains to management about the time constraint, they will simply ignore him or her.
Tick Tock
Mayweather VS McGregor
When it comes to expensive rooms and private suites, senior members know to call “dibs” – what do we mean here? Well if a guest leaves anything behind and doesn’t claim it within a certain time frame, the person who called dibs gets to keep the forgotten item.
Mayweather VS McGregor
Swipe All You Want
Bet you didn’t know that hotels really want you to take their towels, soaps, and shampoos. No really. It’s just one way that you’ll feel like you’re getting “bang for your buck” and moreover, you’ve a got memento with the hotel’s advertising. Additionally when hotels order towels in bulk, it doesn’t cost as much as you think.
Swipe Allo You Want
Comp
A former maid from the Ritz-Carlton disclosed that all staff members receive a budget of $1,500 which ensure that their guests will have a memorable stay and be treated like royalty. For instance, a guest had lost his Rolex and went to management to profusely complain. The result? He was given a brand new Rolex by the Ritz staff from their compensation budget. Huh.
Comp
Free of Charge
Now here’s a wonderful secret we ALL need to know, the secret of how to cancel your reservation without paying a fee. First of all, if you cancel after the cancellation time, be sure to call first and ask the staff to change the date of your stay. Hopefully, a different staff member will answer the phone which means that the original cancellation fee is no longer relevant because you’ve just got a new cancellation date.
Free Of Charge
Revenge
Yup, make sure you’re nice to all the staff members because you never know what form of vengeance they’ll take out on you. An anonymous maid reported to the Huffington Post that a co-worker got her revenge on a rude guest by using a bathroom towel to mop the floor and then just hung it back up for re-use. Yikes.
Revenge
Dem Dolla Bills
Here’s a tough one to digest but it turns out that hotel maids are paid per room they clean. Therefore if you keep your room clean, they won’t spend so much time cleaning your room and can move onto others.
Dem Dolla Bills
Snoopy
Definitely not a tough one to digest but it is a bit creepy – hotel maids will snoop around your hotel room. Sometimes they don’t know the full story (like how did that stain get there) so they’ll just make up a fun, weird story. That’s one way to pass the time!
Snoopy
Stalk Much?
After you book your boom, there are some hotel staff who will look you up via social media, Facebook and Instagram. Why? Well the main reason is curiosity but also so they can ensure you’ll enjoy your stay. They want to tailor your room to things you’ll like! So if you’re a dog lover, they might put a picture of a dog in your room, and so on.
Stalk Much
Scrub A Dub
Okay here’s a gross fact – hotel maids do NOT scrub the tubs. Instead they just run the faucet or shower and rinse it out. So if you want to take a bath, think again. Or you can smell the tub and if it smells like bleach or clearer than chances are that it was cleaned.
Scrub A Dub
Click Click
While you might assume that the door knob is the dirtiest item in your hotel room, it actually isn’t. Apparently it’s the remote control! Not only does it collect dust and bacteria, but it is virtually never cleaned. EW.
Click Click
On Loan
Most guest forget small electronics like phone or laptop chargers – who isn’t guilty of that?! So if you forgot to bring one with you, just ask a housekeeper, chances are they’ll lend you one that someone forgot.
On Loan
Winner Winner
If you’re a big complainer, chances are you’ll wind up with a sweet discount on your room rate. Usually if you’re older and you complain, reception will rarely question the complaint. Moreover if you complain to the clerk about your rate, you’ll probably going to get a 10% discount! They would rather have you happy then complaining for extended periods in front of others.
Winner Winner
Code Black
Oh, if you thought about skipping out before paying, just don’t. Hotels keep a black list for people who do just that and they will share this information with other hotels!
Code Black
Besties
Without a doubt, all hotels maintain a personal relationship with the local police. Not only does this help protect the guests but also the staff. Plus it’s good for morale! Especially if you’re traveling to a not so safe place.
Besties
Hush Hush
Just like us normal folk, celebrities also stay in hotels! Just nicer ones that we “blue collar” folk could never afford. Well the hotel staff treat their high-profile guests with tons of discretion, often leading them in through secret locations to avoid paparazzi and such.
Hush Hush
Say My Name
While the staff does wear a name tag, they actually don’t like to be called by their name! It just makes them feel subordinate when you use it without asking if it’s okay. One hotel employee explained that it makes them feel like they have absolutely no personal worth and are just an item that’s included in the price of the hotel. Food for thought!
Say My Name
Liar Liar
First things first, the hotel will do everything to make you feel happy and that you had a lovely stay. Therefore they have a certain set of lies they tell to ALL of their guests. Things like all of the rooms are the same, they will remember you next time you come, there is nothing they can’t do, they appreciate all of your feedback, they apologize that you felt uncomfortable, they honestly didn’t mean to come off as rude, they hope to see you again soon, and they are 100% apologetic. Well that puts it all into perspective.
Liar Liar
Bruce Lee Doubles
As most hotel maids don’t want to chase over 50 pillows a day, they’ve got a little trick. They’ll bust out a karate chop down the middle of the pillow and then shove it in, folding it like a bun. When it works, it works!
Bruce Lee Doubles
Magic
You know how hotel mirrors are always sparkling clean? Well there’s a reason for that! Turns out that the maids use furniture polish. Although we should point out that while furniture polish works very well, it can cause tons of buildups and will become difficult to scrub, so don’t try it at home!
Magic
Your Fault
Bed bugs are a serious epidemic and furthermore, are just disgusting. Many hotel guests will immediately check the mattress as thoroughly as possible. However it turns out that the hotel maids blame those same guests for the entire bed bug problem. Some Reddit users claim that the guests’ luggage is what causes the bed bugs to jump from location to location. UHHH.
Your Fault
Deadline
Basically all hotels have a very different set of housekeeping policies, but usually most maids are just allotted 28 to 40 minutes to clean each standard room! Although they get up to an hour to clean a suite. Sometimes maids are assigned an actual list of rooms to clean or they can choose rooms in order to meet their daily quota, which is usually 10 to 16 rooms.
Deadline
Solo
There are times when hotels will pair up maids to efficiently clean larger rooms, while most maids work solo, their interaction with other guests and coworkers is quite slim. According to one maid who goes by the name of Booboo_the_bear, the best aspect of her work is actually the peace and quiet: “I probably spend about 20 minutes of my work day interacting with other people. For an introvert its [sic] ideal.”
Solo
Horror Stories
Almost every single hotel maid has a horror story about what they’ve seen or cleaned up. Things like blood, vomit, drugs, fecal matter, sex toys, and sometimes dead bodies. However any evidence of illegal activity means that the local police or a HAZMAT unit needs to get involved.
Horror Stories
Funky Fresh
Hotel maids don’t just come across some disturbing items left in rooms, sometimes they encounter some silly, weird stuff. In fact, a hotel maid shared to Buzzfeed that she once encountered an absurd item after cleaning a room when a guest checked out. “It smelled a little funky, but I couldn’t find the source of the stench. I went to strip the bed, pulled the sheets back, and the bed was filled with coleslaw,” she writes. “Coleslaw! I had no idea why, and I do not want to know why!”
Funky Fresh
No Cups
Remember how we said that the remote controls in a hotel room are DISGUSTING, well there’s more. “Not using the cups is my number one rule that I tell everyone,” Booboo_the_bear said. “I’ve definitely seen [other maids] polishing glasses with the same cloth they just used to dust the room. I’ve never seen the toilet brush used but knowing some of the people I work with, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest.”
No Cups
Shampoo Nightmare
Jacob Tomsky, an author and hotel employee, said that while the minibar glasses should be spotless, the hotel maids do not have dish soap in their carts. “So some housekeepers will wash the glasses in the sink with hot water and shampoo. But many of them use furniture polish because it leaves the glasses spot-free,” he told USA Today. EW.
Shampoo Nightmare
Tip Jar
No tipping custom is ever the same when you travel but you should know that maids often rely on tips! Just in America, the annual salary for a hotel maid is about $21,000, and often times maids will find that days can pass before they even get one tip. Reddit user JustBeth22, who is a hotel maid working for a four-star hotel in New York, says maybe just 40 percent of guests ever leave a tip. “Some people tip, some don’t as a rule, some don’t realize they can. I have gone days with no tips at all then in one day I made $40.”
Tip Jar
Vulnerable
Unfortunately many of the female hotel staff face the threat of assault whenever they enter a room. “People frequently open their doors naked or just in a towel or underwear,” Booboo_the_bear said. “Some male guests—as well as male members of the hotel staff—make advances, grope, or try to intimidate maids into having sex with them.”
Vulnerable
Much Appreciated
Yup, whenever guests are considerate and tidy, hotel maids LOVE you. “We have a lot of business people that come in to have a quick sleep, take a shower and leave,” Booboo_the_bear said. “A handful of times I’ve had to check if the guest had actually checked in because they’ve left the room so tidy.” Just to make their job a bit easier, you can put garbage in the bin, leave used towels in a pile on the floor, and most of all, you can flush. “I’d say at least 1 in 3 [people] don’t flush. It boggles my mind.” CRAZY.
Much Appreciated
Fluffy!
At some hotels, pillows and bedding are replaced at every single check out. However some budget hotels don’t do so. Even if there are sweat stains or icky marks on pillow covers – instead the maids will just cover it with a new case.
Fluffy
The Jacuzzi
Some maids in the top hotels have spilled the beans that the luxury Jacuzzi in bathrooms are actually, well, not that luxurious. They have said that the jet systems are often neglected in the cleaning process which in turn causes junk to clog them. Furthermore whenever a guest uses the Jacuzzi, most of their bodily fluids and hairs are recycled by the jet system which means that the next person who uses it is pretty much just bathing in someone else’s nasty dirt. Stick to showers, people.
The Jacuzzi
Ice Bucket
You know that ice bucket that you use to chill a nice, expensive bottle of champagne? Well it’s got some more uses actually. Like guests who use it to throw up in when they can’t make it to the bathroom in time! WHAT?! Hotel maids recommend that you line the ice bucket before you use it yourself.
Ice Bucket
Record
In fancy, upscale hotels, guests will have a file on them in the hotel system, information such as past stays. Furthermore, guests themselves can ask to include information to their file to be more comfortable the next time they stay. Such as a person’s love for orange juice, this way the staff will know to leave your favorite OJ next time you come.
Record
Just Don’t Smoke
When staying at a “smoke free” room or hotel, if you do smoke then you will be charged about $150 or more. Moreover, hotel maids will report you if you don’t follow the rules, as it helps them earn more money. Plus, if you think that you can mask the smell somehow, like with plastic bags, you can’t. Hotel maids know all!
Just Don’t Smoke
Chair Game
Uhh, some hotel maids recommend that you NEVER EVER sit directly on any of the chairs or sofas in the hotel room. In fact, they recommend that you put down a towel or sheet before you sit, so you can protect yourself. What’s the big deal? Well there are some guests who choose to sit there naked and others will purposely leave behind stains. Oh, those stains are usually just wiped over by the hotel maids and not thoroughly cleaned.
Chair Game
Monte Carlo
Ahem, it has been reported that a FANCY 5-star hotel in Monte Carlo had a maid doing something unorthodox. When a guest returned to the room, he/she found the housekeeper in the bathroom cleaning the toilet. With the guest’s OWN toothbrush. As soon as hotel management were alerted of the problem, they didn’t apologize but rather said, they’d take care of it.
Monte Carlo