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Confessions of a hotel maid - read if you dare!
I'm pretty sure I won't have to tell any of you just how unsanitary many hotel rooms are. We've all heard about the exposés on TV where someone would shine a CSI style ultraviolet lamp around the bed, lighting up the kind of stains you really wish you had not known about.
MSNBC has posted an article from a former hotel housekeeping staff member - and the story may make you think twice about drinking out of the bathroom cup.
For starters, after several weeks on the job, she decided that using the vacuum was just too much work, and simply picked the worst of the crumbs off the floor by hand.
Once she learned the in's and out's of how the room inspector worked, she even stopped cleaning sinks and simply wiped them dry to make them appear clean. Sometimes she was not in a "scrub the tub" kind of mood, and simply did a quick spray and wipe.
Thankfully she informs us that she never skipped changing the sheets - apparently even a hotel maid has her limits as to how low she will go.
Of course, things are not just bad for the guests. The housekeeper describes an incident where someone had soiled their bed linens so badly that all the sheets had to be disposed of in a biohazard bag. Sleep well!
I wonder if the housekeeping is more attentive in any of these ultra-weird hotels:
Filed under: Hotels and Accommodations
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 9)
Pam Jan 23rd 2009 8:22PM
I will never forget a time we stayed at a very nice and new Marriott hotel. I pulled down the sheets and blankets before we went to sleep, I felt something at my feet once I settled in and pulled back the sheets only to find a "used" condom! I went crazy, my husband called the front desk and we were immediately given a different room. He is a frequent traveler and always stayed at the Marriott brand hotels. We also got a voucher for 2 free nights at any Marriott brand hotel. Still makes me sick to think about it..
Maryloowho Jan 23rd 2009 10:18PM
When I traveled alot for my job, I also used Marriott a lot, due to their great reputation. I heard, a long time ago, by a frequent traveler, that once you are settled in your room, just calmy and politely call the front desk and ask that the sheets be changed. No reason should be necessary, but just a bland comment, like- "they look to need a little freshening up, please" should do it. I ask for sheet changes all the time now. I've heard it's the #1 thing house keeping doesn't do, regardless of the report above!! Hope you never have a gross-out like that again!
Amanda Jan 23rd 2009 10:47PM
Now that is just gross...
D Jan 24th 2009 7:09AM
Ok.... that definitely is worse than the broken crack pipe that I felt at my feet one night. Wicked! I was with some friends in Florida, we were exhausted and tried a hotel we'd heard of. I'm very particular and checked the sheets first by a quick pull down. I know pull them ALL the way down. I was sunburned and exhausted... stretched my feet down and thought..."what's that scratchy thing?". Broken crack pipe!!!!!
I agree with overuse of antimicrobial everything.... knock it off people. I'll lick a raw chicken just to freak the antimicrobe people out!!!
christina Jan 27th 2009 11:16PM
okay thats just dumb thats like saying all people are the same and there not just cause its a hotel doesnt mean its dirty both of my parents work at hotels and they work damn good and hard to makesure everything is alright my mother is a manager of housekeeping and ive gone to work with her quite a few times and the girls that work for her clean those rooms top to bottom and my father is a manager of matinence and if somthing isnt working he will work on it for hours just to fix it. and its madatory for All hotels to change their sheets so cut the bull. i know ive read the rules. both of my parents hotels are in the top five of their catagories my fathers being hilton and my mothers being marriot hmm shocker there. you get what you pay for i think you just got a cheap hotel. dont assume there all dirty because you got one bad one.
Copythis Jan 28th 2009 8:55AM
Hello Christie
I see that you responded to my post about the incident at the Marriott hotel. Things do happen and this is one of those times. It was a long time ago, and by the way the hotel we stayed at was brand new and a Marriott resort, so we were expecting not to find a used condom at the bottom of the sheets.. I commend your parents for their hard work, but things do happen.
Bambie Jan 23rd 2009 8:21PM
That's just totally disgusting! kinda makes you wanna think twice about staying anywhere outside your own home. :(
Angie Jan 24th 2009 12:09AM
I work at a resort on Ky Lake in Grand Rivers KY and have done so for almost 4 years now. I do clean cottages, 1-3 bedrooms, and we are a "green" resort. We clean with all natural and biodegradeable products. I ALWAYS clean each cottage as if it was my home and take pride in my work. I can assure you that the management expects no less. I believe you get what you pay for! We do a very thourugh job and we also do a lenghty inspection. The owners supply us with plenty of inventory so we can use fresh blankets, sheets, pillowcases, drapes, comforters, linens, etc. You can check us out at www.lighthouselanding.com
amx Jan 23rd 2009 9:02PM
this is no surprise to me...we once found mouse shit in a hotel room bed...inanother hotel the carpets were so dirty we left without checking in...
emperessofmine Jan 23rd 2009 9:02PM
So ... how did the other trips go?
ann Jan 23rd 2009 9:08PM
that is why i always carry antibacterial wipes since they came out, i wipe things down myself because you just never know, and the last thing you want when on vacation is to come in contact with bacteria or viruses left over by another guest. even on the plane, i wipe down the arm rests and the seat belts. i swear i am about to start wearing latex gloves too, there are so many disgusting things out there and we are all in danger of contracting one thing or another.
Sophie Jan 23rd 2009 9:35PM
The overuse (read: MISuse) of antibacterial products is why certain 'bugs' are now stronger than any antibiotic we can throw at them. Everyone, no matter how many times you wash or how many times you apply Purell to your body, carries bacteria. These are called the 'natural flora' and they can actually help us from becoming infected by pathogenic (i.e. disease-causing) bacteria. Overuse/misuse of antibacterial products such as wipes, soaps, gels, etc., leads to decreased numbers of these 'good bugs' which, in the end, actually leaves you more vulnerable. If you can't wash your hand with soap and water for some reason, then, yes, use some Purell. If a surface within your house has been soiled by bodily fluids (either human or non-human, like the chicken that you're preparing for dinner), then a quick swipe with a disinfectant wipe is OK. But don't overuse these products and wipe everything all the time. You're putting yourself and everyone else in danger of exposure to bacteria that have 'learned' to survive in spite of antibacterial use.
Bill Jan 23rd 2009 10:08PM
This is why we have all crazy strains of MRSA and other resistant germs is because everyone uses antibacterial everything, they want a antibiotic from the Dr. for the smallest cold or bug they may have and all this is doing is making all of us more prone to germs and disease because our bodies have no natural defense left from using and taking all this crap!
Linda Jan 24th 2009 10:54AM
And I thought I was the only nut who does this type of stuff.. Thank you Ann for letting me know that Im sane.. I also bring antibacteral wipes on the plane and clean all the seats down and the armrest also.. They are disgusting and I dont care who thinks im cookoo Im not putting my head back on someones dirty seat.. Then there is the hotels.. yuk.. we stay at some really beautiful places but when I get into a room first I strip the beds and if the sheets looks not ironed and tight and oh yes I smell them and if there is an oder right away I call to have them removed.. Then I bring cleaning stuff to clean the sink and the handles of everything and the bed headrest and the phone ect..ect.. ect.. its disgusting how some people leave stuff all over and the maids dont clean it .. They think that the vacume is cleaning the room.. NOT.. so before we start any vacation we disinfect first and people can laugh if they want but at least I have a carefree .. germ free vacation .. These places should start putting their foot down with these maids.. enough is enough..
Jack Jan 24th 2009 11:26AM
Going to all the trouble using the germs we come in contact with. I have lived a long life and when we were little no one ran around wipeing everything off because they were afraid they would catch some thing. To many are getting carried away and cause the bad germ to get stronger.
gomarsmom Jan 23rd 2009 9:21PM
I am a small motel operator and I run the entire operation from desk to maintenance to the cleaning of the rooms. I can tell you first hand that the majority of motel guests are filthier than most of the rooms they stay in. I have seen the worst of worst skeezy people come in and they are impeccable and the rich ones in the fancy cars and dressed to the nines are filthy and disgusting. I clean my rooms to ensure they are just that clean and I am the one accountable should anything go wrong.
At a local four star resort where I once worked we were told do not change the sheets unless they are "visibly" soiled. Vac any hairs off the pillows etc. Dont want to scrub anything? just wipe it with a damp rag. and buff it with a dry one. I refuse to do that here. I have a checklist that is floor to ceiling wall to wall.
When you leave a motel room look around and look at how YOU have left the room. Look at the condition it is in.
peggy Jan 23rd 2009 10:16PM
I was a housekeeper in training at a very NICE hotel. I was trained to use the same sponge for sink, toilet, and tub for each room on my list all day long. YUCK!
Courtney Jan 23rd 2009 9:32PM
Funny...it must be a Marriott thing. When my husband and I were in Chicago staying on Michigan Ave., our hotel room had a weird odor that we just couldn't place. After a little searching, we found used condoms under the bed. Granted, Marriott comped out breakfast, had the room cleaned and reimbursed some of the travel reward points we used to pay for the room, but that is just disgusting. I am not sure what I would have done if I was like PAM in her post and found one in the bed...TOUCHING MY FEET. I would still be in a decon shower.
Barb Jan 23rd 2009 9:41PM
I was always suspicious of the cleanliness of hotel rooms. Housekeeping carts never seemed to be stocked with clean glasses, only the paper covers that are usually replaced on "clean glasses." My fears were realized one day when passing by the open doorway of another guest's room. I was totally grossed out when I observed a housekeeper moping the bathroom floor and rinsing her mop in the toilet.
moms63nova Jan 23rd 2009 9:51PM
i couldnt imagine being the one to see those things and cleaning them up on a daily basis, gross! the maids for those hotels dont get paid enough! they deserve bonuses!