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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 5 of 9)
DAD Jan 24th 2009 12:39AM
We carry Lysol with us and our own bed sheets if Possible.
Gary Jan 24th 2009 12:45AM
If your going to go on vacation and stay in a hotel, just assume that things are not as they seem 100%. Maids are lazy and many (not all) guests are disgusting. We wash our hands often, and ALWAYS before eating. I am smart enough to know the bed sheets haven't been changed in, who knows how long? Try to block it out of your mind, wash your hands often, and use common sense, & you probably won't have to worry about getting sick. I have worked with the public for years and am still amazed at how many people don't wash their hands...EVER. Gross!!!
PS- Hey maids. Don't bother leaving tip envelopes in my room if your not willing to earn it!!!
sarah Jan 24th 2009 12:42AM
I have taken to completely unmaking the bed and throwing all of the linens in the corner before I leave, that way, they at least have to change the sheets. I found sand on my sheets at one hotel once. I unmade the bed, and carried the whole lot of linens to the check in/concierge counter. I set them down on the counter, and complained. Needless to say, we got a complimentary stay in a much nicer room after that.
ZAK Jan 24th 2009 12:42AM
You might want to take along some slippers the next time you stay in a hotel. My neighbor spent two nights in one, not long ago, and went barefoot. It took a visit to the doctor, prescription ointment and a painful month to get over the foot fungus.
Peggy Jan 24th 2009 12:59AM
I ALWAYS inspect the room before we check in. This alone has saved some grief. IF I accept the room, the first thing i do is remove the bedspread and put it in the closet.....then I pull down the blankets to inspect the sheets. I all is well...I remove the blankets and call for housekeeping for fresh blankets. Then i spray everything else down with lysol spray. Including the coffee maker and cups...rinse em out. Wear something on your feet always....
Think of your hotel room as a rest area in an airport or a highway.
I am not a clean freak....i can deal with my germs...but not others....
Heather Jan 24th 2009 12:53AM
My children and I travel frequently since I am not a "stay-at-home" Mom. I cautiously bring outlet plug covers and childproof door knob covers to pop onto bathroom door to prevent hot water burns or toilet drownings while I try to rest BUT I was not expecting to have to inspect our clean and inexpensive Swiss Chalet turned Marriot for cleanliness when I heard I would be paying three times what the Chalet had charged for the same room. Good thing they "updated" the two year old grey carpet to a forest green or I may not have noticed what lie waiting. My one year old squated down and started raising his hand to his mouth..I grabbed his hand and opened his fingers to find a very large, hard, and sharp toe nail clipping he thought he might taste. The other nine were by our feet! Not hidden, burried, or blending in with the decor...just ignored. I think I was more shocked to find management was not as surprised or sorry as they should have been. Miss the clean and cheap Swiss Chalet and their staff!
GAIL Jan 24th 2009 12:55AM
I TRAVEL WITH MY WORK. I ALWAYS TAKE LYSOL WIPES AND SPRAY. I ALSO WASH OUT THE COFFEE POT AND USE ONLY PAPER CUPS. I TAKE SHEETS, MY OWN PILLOW AND BLANKETS. I SPRAY THE SHOWER, SINK, DOOR KNOBS, LIGHTS SWITHCHES, LAMP SWITCHES AND WIPE DOWN THE TV REMOTE. I MIGHT BE TO CAUTIOUS, BUT IM NOT GONNA TOUCH SOME NASTY PERSONS MESS. I WAS IN A TX MOTEL, AND WHEN I PULLED MY TOWEL OFF THE RACK, A MAKE SHIFT CRACK PIPE FLEW ONTO THE FLOOR. NEEDLESS TO SAY I DONT STAY IN THAT MOTEL ANYMORE. SO, I SAY, EVERYONE TAKE YOUR OWN STUFF. IF I HAD TO BE A MOTEL MAID, I WOULD HAVE TO STARVE TO DEATH BEFORE I DID THAT KIND OF WORK.
Deb Jan 24th 2009 12:58AM
Okay I fixed the Dr's writing, non the less he has made excellent points here, so lets leave the school work out and focus on the lesson.
Don't get too bent out of shape. We should all know that any hotel room should be treated like a public place. A few obvious precautions should suffice. Our bodies are quite capable of taking care of the minor amounts of microbes generally present in even a moderately clean room. Most public places you encounter in everyday life is much worse - food stores, airports, malls, movie theatres, restaurants, and gas stations don't even mention. You can't go around w/ wipes trying to lead a sterile life which doesn't exist. In fact, our bodies need exposure to many microbes to build a resistance to them - too sterile a lifestyle can leave you vulnerable. Now, that said, do use your head & realize that the bathroom glasses & coffee cups/pot may just have been wiped to look clean. I usually grab a few disposible cups from the lobby & use them. Bacteria are all around us. There are millions on your finger right now. The vast majority is non-pathogenic (can't get sick from them) and the rest our defence mechanisms generally handle with ease. On rare occasions a pathogenic strain overcomes our defences we get an infection - thank goodness for antibiotics. Even MERSA has 2 new antibiotics that are highly effective against - the newest is 100% effective. If you want to worry, you can think about a pandemic of an oriental avian flu virus - that's scary. So, bag the wipes, enjoy your stay, and do wash your hands after being in any public place (especially with handrails).
Azy Jan 24th 2009 1:51AM
You missed out the Mersa bit. It's MRSA. Doh! Now I'm picking nits!
Take care.
Azy!
DEBRA Jan 24th 2009 1:05AM
I am the housekeeping manager at the Courtyard in Rocky Mount NC (Marriott) let me tell you... My housekeepers change the sheets upon EVERY departure and we change sheets every 3rd day for stayovers, unless you request... These girls use a different rag for everything, and WE all at our HOTEL try to be the best at everything, I have mainly older ladys working in housekeeping, and they have been there for years and love and need their jobs. We are not perfect in no way, but if something is missed it surely is not due to being done on purpose. I am very proud to say that I feel I work for the greatest company who we value our employees, and they are like family to us all.. And our guest are #1.. We talk in our daily huddles of this each day and to make our guest have an experience they expect and will return.
John O'Leary Jan 24th 2009 11:56AM
Debra,
Tell me your best hotel maid story of wlaking in on a couple having sex. Please.
John
DEBRA Jan 24th 2009 9:43PM
HAVE NOT HEARD OF A STORY LIKE THAT!
TERRI Jan 24th 2009 1:06AM
GARY: I DON'T KNOW IF YOU READ MY COMMENT ABOVE, BUT I WOULD LIKE TO CORRECT YOU ON SOME OF YOUR ELITIST COMMENTS. ALL MAIDS ARE NOT LAZY. I CANNOT BEGIN TO TELL YOU HOW HARD I WORKED, AND EVERYTHING IN MY BODY WOULD ACHE WHEN I WOULD LEAVE TO GO HOME. IT IS A THANKLESS JOB, AND NOT A JOB TO BRAG ABOUT. I WANTED TO MENTION ALSO THAT THE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT TIP MAY NOT BE HURTING THE MAID THAT CLEANED BEFORE. THEY ARE HURTING USUALLY THE MAID THAT COMES AFTER. WE ALL HAD DIFFERENT ROOMS EVERYDAY. (BUT WHERE I WORKED, I FORGOT TO ADD, WE WERE NOT ALLOWED TIPS. IT IS THE LAST KICK IN THE @ SS FROM MANAGEMENT I THINK.) I WOULD LIMP HOME (FROM DIFFERENT BUSES) FOR A WHOLE $ 110.00 A WEEK.
NO TIPS. FROM ALL THE MAIDS YOU EVER STIFFED, THANKS GAR!! (MAY THE BED BUGS BITE)
John O'Leary Jan 24th 2009 12:16PM
Terri,
I'd love to hear your best story as a hotel maid of walking in on people in the middle of having sex!!!
John / Tampa
sallie Jan 24th 2009 1:31AM
anytime i stay in a motel or hotel I keep my toothbrush in my purse.And anything else that goes in my mouth.
my friend workes in an upscale hotel in Tampa and a man stays every few weeks. When he leaves he takes a large green trash bag to the dumpster. After examining the bag the contents were adult sex toys. Chains and whip a lot of unmentional things and she never heard of.And lots of batterie operated things. I know i don't want to stay in that room
lkjlk Jan 24th 2009 1:39AM
YUCK!!! I rented an SUV one time and found condoms, KY jelly and some pills in the back seat where my kids were riding! I was IRATE!!!
cassandra Jan 24th 2009 1:53AM
I am a housekeeper at a nice 62 room quality inn in washington state. at our motel we use glasses wrapped in plastic all disposable. sheets are changed daily in check outs and stay overs are changed every 3rd day with full service unless asked. our beds are vaccumed under monthly tubs are scrubbed every day with comet. and we do use seperate towels/sponges for tubs sinks and toilets we have small dustung rags. not all housekeepers suck maybe if we got paid more than min wage and people left tips we would prob be doing better jobs not like we really enjoy sticking our hands in ice cold nasty toilet water yeah fun!!
JD Jan 24th 2009 2:31AM
Whenever we go on the road with the band, our drumer always makes sure to dip the Phone into the dirty toilet. and he also does it to the remote control for the TV. And we stay in some pretty swanky places.
John O"Leary Jan 24th 2009 12:02PM
Yes all very well - but your drummer doesn't realize is that his drug infested brain can't fugure out all the other things that his fellow low lifes have done to the room before he got there. And as far as that goes, you probably can't afford the hotels I would stay in so your druggie friend's antics don't scare me.
un happer camper Jan 24th 2009 2:31AM
I stayed at a hotel 'suite' that looked immaculate..When I pulled down the bedding I noticed little tiny black specks no larger then pepper..I was so tired that I thought perhaps it was mascara..I finally used my hand to make a fist (which all us blinded people use to see close up) when I noticed it moving? what moving? well, I thought my tiredness was causing me to move; however, dressed in only my nighty, I went down the elevator and told the manager that I needed to show her something. She came up and looked thru her own eye glasses and stated simply: "yep, their moving." I was so disgusted and tired that I began to cry..She asked if I would like a different room? When she left I packed my bags (4:00 a.m.) and followed the little black specks near the pillow..I opened the clean/pressed/folded pillow case and found 'to my horror' a cluster of these black (almost invisable to the average person) specks moving. I left and went to another room and checked that suite and packed my bags for good..I've never been back...This was a suite comped for high-roller gamblers..You would never suspect such a thing. When I came home I looked at everything and now am obsessed with little pepper specks on everyone's floors even sitting on a toilet I search..lol..It's not funny...it's a terrible dilemma that I haven't gotten over and probably never will...Don't ever own a bed skirt they are NOT vacummed at hotels..