14 Hidden Luxury Hotel Secrets I Swearrrrrr Will Redefine Your Idea Of A "Normal" Vacay
Reddit user Reasonable_Rush1196 asked the community, "What are some behind-the-scenes occurrences at luxury hotels that management might prefer to keep under wraps?"
Current and former employees didn't hold anything back, and revealed what really goes on behind closed doors. Like...it's truly baffling. I'm not exaggerating here, folks.
So, here are some hidden luxury hotel secrets management preferred to keep quiet:
Note: Some secrets were pulled from our BuzzFeed Community and this Reddit thread by user akumamatata8080.
Note: Some submissions include topics of suicide. Please proceed with caution.
1."The amount of fraud that goes on in luxury hotels, I think, would really surprise people. I handled all of those fraud claims, and it was especially rampant during the holiday season. It’s funny that people will know to use the cardholder name on the reservation but then actually put in their home address. Oftentimes, a quick Google search will bring up the cardholder's LinkedIn and can easily give you a location for that person. Then, you Google the provided home address, and suddenly, it’s definitely not showing the CEO of a financial group type of house. It was more frustrating when it was the front desk that wasn’t catching this, and it would land on my plate once multiple chargebacks came in. Another big giveaway of fraud is when they book one night for the most expensive room, don’t confirm their booking, and go through a third party like Booking Com or Expedia."
2."I worked in a super fancy hotel in Canada. The hotel was mostly a businessmen clientele. They flirted with me and asked me where to find the best sex workers. Some of them were well-known actors and politicians — they came with sex workers and dates (when they were married), and you would be shocked at how many of them called me for a service in their room. They did the, 'Sorry, I was in the shower,' and, 'Oops, I dropped my towel.' It happened at least once a week that I saw someone's dick 'by accident.'"
—Anonymous
3."My brother’s ex and my cousin’s girlfriend worked as cleaners at the Charlotte Hotel in Rosewood, London, and the one in Mayfair (I forget the name). They and others often found the stuff some patrons left behind. Shopping bags, perfumes, random luggage, clothes, laptops, cameras, phones, and chargers. The hotel usually held them in the lost property storage for at least one month. The more expensive an item, the longer they kept it in storage (capping at six months). They destroyed unclaimed laptops, phones, and passports after six months. But they got to keep some of the other stuff they found (that’s how my cousin got a Leica Q2 camera from his girlfriend as a birthday present)."
"One of the weirdest things they found was a wooden box of long hair bound in a ribbon. The patron called to get this box back (apparently it was his late granddaughter’s hair)."
4."A well-known luxury hotel and resort chain keeps a database of you. They get pictures from the internet and basically 'stalk you' to create a profile. They put what you ordered to eat, how many towels you needed, what drink you liked, your kids' names and birthdays, addresses, and phone numbers. Everyone working in the hotel has access to this database and can see your information. It's not all good stuff, either. We know 'you were an asshole to Jen' while you were staying in London. The one I was at had to remove cameras in the lobby because big wig guys would bring their mistresses, and no evidence was allowed to be recorded."
5."I was the night manager at a luxury hotel in the eighties. There were three suicides, two different DEA busts, and a German guy who was an international fugitive who got really drunk at the bar and announced he was wanted in four countries. There were plenty of times we had bed bug infestations (we closed the room for two days, threw a bug bomb in, and we were back open for business). The 'gourmet restaurant' would advertise made-from-stock soups that were actually cans of Campbell soup. There were several klepto employees who got pass keys and tossed guest rooms for valuables. There was also a steady stream of local cops and detectives who snagged free rooms for themselves and their mistresses. It was an eye-opener."
6."Always clean your cups and glasses in your room before you drink out of them (no matter how posh your hotel is). Housekeepers are paid minimum wage and are cleaning over 15 rooms and bathrooms a day. They are cutting corners. The same towel that was wiping the toilet and bath may have also wiped your cup and glasses. And you should remove that bedspread — most hotels hardly ever have them cleaned."
7."I worked at one of the most famous hotel franchises. We would sometimes have people who were homeless sneak in to use the restrooms in the lobby. Usually, we noticed them hustling out of the hotel, so we always checked the restrooms afterward. One time someone decided to take a dump and smear it all over the walls, mirrors, toilets...you name it! Housekeeping already checked out for the night, so the front desk geared up and had to wipe it clean."
—Anonymous
8."My mom worked in Salt Lake City at a resort in the eighties. International tourists would buy full bottles of high-end shampoo and other products, only to use maybe a squirt if they even opened it. All of the housekeepers would take it home when the guests left. She also found some OLD movie reels with the cartoons floating because walking animation was not a thing yet."
9."I used to work at a high-end lodge that hosted holiday parties/fancy dinners for software giants, and one exec peed ALL OVER a room. It was $13,000 in damage. We regularly had rich guys pull up in their Lamborghinis with a sex worker. My favorite was the couple we had to essentially evict from their room due to smell and noise complaints. When we got in, there were dozens of designer shoe boxes and coke residue everywhere. The woman left with her foot hanging out the window as they drove away — wealthy people are weird."
10."My cousin worked in Vegas at a few major resorts from 2008 to 2015. He said that for most of them, the staff was the best people to ask where to get drugs from as they were the ones around the most. He said not to ask directly, but if you have a bellboy bring up something, ask them or ask room service. They usually can sell directly or know who's holding in the hotel."
11."One thing management definitely wouldn't want guests to know is sometimes housekeeping cuts corners if they are running behind. If you're staying just one night and your sheets look and smell clean enough, they might not actually get washed. That's right — management sometimes instructs housekeeping to skip the wash if it seems unnecessary. So, that 'fresh' bedding you're snuggling into? It might have been slept in by the previous guest — sweet dreams!"
12."Convention attendees get so out of control that the hotel will only host the convention if they have a private security force. Since private security isn't law enforcement or licensed, they do pretty much whatever it takes to keep trouble out of the public eye. Mostly, it's locking people up in rooms or escorting them out of town, but they can get rough at times. But none of the convention attendees know they are there and the hotel staff pretends they don't see them. Even those who run afoul of them don't know exactly who it was who grabbed them."
13."When a housekeeper loses a key while cleaning someone's room, the key has to be canceled because we don't know if some random person picked up the key and now has access to all guest rooms. Honestly, if you're staying at a hotel, ALWAYS deadbolt the door and use a night latch for this reason (or else the front desk issues a key to the wrong room because both are a common issue)."
14.And finally, "Having worked in the casino industry, one of my fellow slot managers used to be a hotel manager at a high class hotel in Las Vegas. He had a couple try to book a room but the hotel was completely sold out. Shortly after he got a call from housekeeping that an older couple was found unresponsive and most likely deceased in their room. They called the police, and the authorities removed the bodies. Not long after, housekeeping cleaned the room. Seeing that the earlier couple was nearby, the manager called them over and offered them the room. They were ecstatic and took it not knowing what had just occurred. The manager gave them a discount on the bill."
Note: Some submissions have been edited for length and/or clarity.
