Filed under: Travel News
![Revealed! How hotel workers exact revenge on rude guests]()
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Rude hotel guests beware: one travel industry worker as revealed the great lengths some staff members will go to exact their revenge on you.
Former hotel employee Jacob Tomsky has written a book, called
Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotel, Hustlers and So-Called Hospitality, which details all the dirty tricks hotel staff use to give rude guests their "just desserts".
Tomsky worked in luxury hotels for more than a decade, from valet parking to manning the front desk, and has now decided to spill the industry's revenge secrets, which include "soiling" toothbrushes and minibar mayhem.
He revealed that wealthier guests are nearly always the rudest and, according to the
Daily Mail, said: "A lot of people are watching Downton Abbey now, and they think, 'Oh, I've got servants, too!'.
"Especially the affluent, they treat people as they never would otherwise. Meanwhile, hardworking people - who might be getting screwed - won't say anything.
"It's the people who have way more money who want everything now, and they want it for free."
Find out five top hotel staff revenge acts below:
No room for an upgrade: If you arrive at front desk with an attitude, you could well find yourself in the worst room in the hotel. According to
news.com.au, Tomsky says: "You probably could have had a really nice suite. And you'll never know it. I became the master of instant karma."
Toothbrush tainting: You might want to keep your toothbrush hidden if you've been rude to staff at a hotel, says Tomsky. Your pegs-polisher could find itself "fouled".
Glass half full: Of furniture polish, rather than soap and water... Apparently, it makes them sparkle.
Keybombing: According to the
New York Post, Tomsky says if you've been having trouble accessing your room with your key card, it means you've annoyed someone at the desk, and they'll re-activate your key card when they see fit, in a move that's known as "keybombing".
Minibar misdemeanours: Remember to check your bill, as put-out hotel staff steal from minibars and deliberately up your costs.
According to the
New York Post, Tomsky's book offers an "often hilarious exposé of unethical practices combined with sympathetic tips for you, the poor, hapless consumer."
The site says hotel guests also provide "comic relief" for hotel workers, who, as soon as you go out, may rifle through your room, sniff your underwear, and read your notes and faxes.
Staff also use vacant rooms to have sex in, sometimes just an hour or so before you check in. And guess what? It probably happened on top of your bed, and housekeeping was probably never called.
So how can you try and ensure you don't suffer any of this treatment? The obvious one is, of course, don't be rude.
Tomsky says the power of a tip shouldn't be underestimated, but, most importantly, be nice: remember names, make eye contact, say please and thank you.
He says: "There's nothing better than giving someone a great stay just because you like them.
"Kindness really does go a long way."
Something to remember for your next trip...
- Charlie Sheen is in the room next door
<p>
Worse still, a hell-raiser like Charlie Sheen on the same floor could cause you a sleepless night. At a 2010 visit to the Plaza Hotel, he hit the headlines for going on a drink-and-drug fuelled rampage involving a porn star and a trashed hotel room... Nice.</p>
![Charlie Sheen is in the room next door]()
- There's screaming in the corridors
<p>
For some of us (especially those of us escaping from our children), a night in a hotel is the only chance we get for a good night's sleep, so it's annoying enough to be disturbed by any noise, but when you're being kept awake by sounds of screaming and/or gunshots, it's definitely time for an early check-out. One hapless traveller staying in a US hotel was woken by the sound of voices screaming 'Open that exit! Open that exit!'. She gathered her things and fled, only to find a class of flight attendants practising emergency drills in the corridor.</p>
![There's screaming in the corridors]()
- The other guests are Not of This World
<p>
Organised murder mystery weekends at country house hotels are one thing, but when you turn up at a remote hotel and the manager proudly tells you about the famous ghost that haunts the premises, you might want to pack your bags. Although, according to <a href="http://www.paranormaldatabase.com/" target="_blank">paranormal </a><a href="http://www.paranormaldatabase.com/" target="_blank"><span class="s1">database.com</span></a> (and we'll leave it to you to decide how reliable a source of information that is), there's a hotel in Amersham in Buckinghamshire where the ghost of an old maid will actually pack your bags for you...</p>
![The other guests are Not of This World]()
- The brand new hotel you've booked is so new that it's still being built
<p>
Ah, the wonders of Photoshop... Many an innocent traveller has been lured into booking in to a stunning new hotel based on pictures that have conveniently erased all traces of the cranes and diggers which still surround it. One such guest recently stayed at the Ganjeli Plaza Hotel in Baku, Azerbaijan (of recent Eurovision fame) to find it 'still being built, complete with drilling at odd hours' and 'terrifying electrics'. Our top tip? Check out Google Earth to see how it <i>really</i> looks.</p>
![The brand new hotel you've booked is so new that it's still being built]()
- There are other people's body parts in your room
<p>
Obviously, we don't mean actual limbs (although this would, without doubt, be an indicator of a bad hotel), but when you can tell the previous guest's hair colour, nail length and type of contact lens from physical clues left in the room, leave. And don't get us started on hair. There are things that are meant to be hairy: cute dogs, Tom Jones' chest, Highland cows... and then there are things that just shouldn't. The bar of soap in your hotel bathroom is one of them.</p>
![There are other people's body parts in your room]()
- You're not the only living things in the room
<p>
I once stayed in a five star hotel in India to find a massive (small dog-sized) rat crouching behind my pillow. The fact that the complimentary fruit and chocolates had been nibbled by someone other than me should have been a warning. Eventually, housekeeping caught the gigantic rodent, but it didn't make for a great night's sleep.</p>
![You're not the only living things in the room]()
- The kettle/TV is nailed to the table so you can't nick it
<p>
</p>
<p>
It tells you a lot about a hotel's clientele when the establishment has obviously learnt by experience that anything not nailed down will be nicked. Like that they're probably more used to the environs of a prison cell than a hotel room. But even the best hotels are susceptible to the klepto customers - The Scotsman in Edinburgh reports clocks off the wall and coffee makers going walkabout...</p>
![The kettle/TV is nailed to the table so you can't nick it]()
- There's a large group of women in pink cowboy hats in reception
<p>
Hen and stag dos are great when you're actually on them, but for innocent bystanders caught in the vortex, they can be a living nightmare. A guest at the Andalucia Plaza hotel in Marbella described on TripAdvisor 'drunk men, shouting, swearing and shameful behaviour. The security guard dragged one male away after he was waving his little friend around at the pool side cafe.' It's enough to put you off your chorizo boccadillo. Avoid.</p>
![There's a large group of women in pink cowboy hats in reception]()
- A celebrity checks in
<p>
Staying in the same hotel as both Rihanna and Justin Beiber (who recently stayed in the same hotel in Sydney) may sound like a pretty thrilling prospect if you're a teenage girl or boy, but for the average guest sharing a roof with a huge celebrity, it just means manic security, hassled staff, crowds of screaming press and pre-pubescents - and the certain knowledge that someone else has bagged the best rooms.</p>
![A celebrity checks in]()
- They charge by the hour
<p>
When you arrive and the leering receptionist asks you how many hours you'd like the room for, you can be pretty sure it's not the classiest hotel in the area.</p>
![They charge by the hour]()
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Anyone in search of eco-friendly hotels in the city would do well to choose it, as it saves a bundle on washing. There aren't any towels; instead, guests are advised to use the curtains to dry off. And the fact that the lift is permanently broken means that lots of energy is saved there, too.
Livrario Lello, Portugal. Rex
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