In the eyes of a vacationer, hotels are just a fact of life. You plan your trip, book your hotel room, and then you enjoy your stay. It all just seems very mundane, doesn’t it?
Well, it might surprise you to learn that the world’s hotels are full of secrets. In fact, there are plenty of things that even the world’s most luxurious hotels and hotel chains might not want you to know… And it’s exactly those secrets that we’re going to expose.
Below, we’re going to share 20 things that hotels don’t want you to know. What kinds of things are we talking about? Well, ask yourself this: Do you know what the most germ-infested thing in any hotel room is? Do you know what the best days to book are if you’re looking for a deal? Do you know why it’s not always wise to book a hotel through a discount booking website?
If you’re not hip to the answers of any of the above questions, then we’re about to set you straight. The following 20 secrets about hotels are things that you should know and that just might help you to make your next booking when you take that vacation to which you’ve so been looking forward…
1. No Vacancy? Maybe Not…
Just because it says there’s no vacancy, it may not actually be true. The only way to find out for certain is to call…
2. Skip the 800 Number
When you do the above, don’t use an 800 number that goes to a central booking office. Instead, call the hotel directly.
3. Hotel Deaths are Common
If you’ve stayed in enough hotel rooms in your life, the odds are incredibly high that you’ve stayed where someone else died.
4. Famous Deaths Increase Demand
When someone famous dies in a hotel room, demand for that room can skyrocket. For example, the Beverly Hilton had to retire the room that Whitney Houston died in due to the demand.
5. Early Sunday
If you’re looking to get a nice room for a good price, the best time to book is for a Sunday early on in any month.
6. Not So Clean Bedspreads
At some lower-class hotels, that bedspread may only be getting clean once every 90 days!
7. Be Careful with Sheets
In fact, there are some hotels at which the sheets might only be changed if they’re visually dirty… That’s just gross!
8. Paying Per Room
Many hotels around the world pay their housekeepers not by the hour, but by the number of rooms they clean.
9. Your Remote Is Dirty
The remote control can have up to five times more germs on it than the remote control in your own home… When’s the last time you cleaned that thing?
10. So’s the Light Switch
If you’re looking to avoid picking up germs in your hotel room, then make sure you give the light switches a wipe before using them…
11. Booking Sites May Not Have the Best Rates
You’d be surprised by how often you can get a better rate on a room directly through the hotel’s website, rather than through a booking website.
12. Hotel Suicides Are Common
The suicide rate among people staying in hotels and motels is orders of magnitude higher than it is among the general population.
13. Leave a Tip
It seems like it’s falling out of favor, but it’s always advised that you leave a tip for your housekeeper. (If you do, they’ll often hook you up!)
14. The Sex Trafficking Problem
It should probably come as no surprise that hotels form a vital cog in the international sex trafficking epidemic…
15. Spotting Sex Trafficking
Which is exactly why many hotels around the world train there employees about how to spot incidents of sex trafficking when they’re taking place.
16. Front Desk Tips
Rather than asking the concierge for places to see and eat, ask someone at the front desk. You’ll get the unvarnished truth, as the front desk folks aren’t getting kickbacks.
17. Finders Keepers
Left something behind in your hotel room? Odds are that the person who cleaned your room just pocketed it…
18. A Smile and a Nod
Looking to get an upgrade on your room? You’d be surprised how far a smile and a nod at the front desk can get you…
19. Not Changing the Glasses
Those glasses for water on the fridge? It’s entirely possible that they’ve been sitting there for months. Be careful!
20. Take the Toiletries
Hotels want you to take the toiletries when you check out… That’s why they’re branded! So remember the old saying: free is for me.
