10 Hotel Secrets Most People Don’t Know About, Revealed By A Former Employee

The hotel industry is full of tiny little secrets that they don’t want you to know about when you come to stay overnight while traveling. They might not have literal skeletons in their closets, but the metaphorical ones can barely fit! We’re talking about insider knowledge about how often the duvets and covers on the beds get cleaned, but that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

Of course, there are some positive secrets as well, and ex-hotel employee Janessa Richard spilled the beans in a series of fun and candid TikTok videos. Keep in mind, though, Janessa noted that this is her personal experience working at just one hotel and we really shouldn’t assume that all hotels function this way. (Though most are sure to have their own shady secrets that nobody should know about.)

Check out some of Janessa’s best insights below, upvote the ones that you found useful and entertaining, and let us know what hotel secrets you’ve uncovered if you’ve ever worked in the industry, dear Pandas.

More info: TikTok | Instagram

@janessarichard
Spilling some 🍵 as an ex hotel employee! ##fyp ##pregnant ##pregnancy ##canadianmamas ##momlife ##toddlermom ##hotelsecrets
♬ Stuck in the Middle - Tai Verdes

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10 Hotel Secrets Most People Don't Know About, Revealed By A Former Employee We are legally not allowed to say your room number out loud, which is why we will usually write it on an envelope, pass it to you and tell you "this is your room number".

janessarichard , Helloahappysa Report

Final score:

204points

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Iggy 3 years ago

It's a good law.

90points

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10 Hotel Secrets Most People Don't Know About, Revealed By A Former Employee If you are very nice and we like you, we can upgrade you to a better room or a suite at no extra cost, if there's any available.

Different hotel brands have different policies when it comes to upgrading their guests. The hotel I worked at didn't really care, as long as we had the availability we were allowed to.

I did have some guests who asked for free upgrades, if they were nice I'd give it to them, if they weren't I'd lie and tell them we didn't have any suites available.

janessarichard , AA Ireland Report

Final score:

169points

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Billy The Kid 3 years ago

That is good but what if a new guest comes in and would like to pay for that upgrade room?

39points

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California mom Janessa focuses on videos about hotels, as well as her motherhood journey. She has over 53k followers on TikTok and appears to highly value honesty both in her content and in how she engages with her fandom.

Running a hotel well isn’t as easy as washing the sheets between every customer and smiling at everybody all day long. In a previous interview, Dr. Gabor Forgacs from Ryerson University told Bored Panda about some other aspects of maintaining quality at hotels and how hoteliers can ensure that their businesses prosper.

Dr. Forgacs noted that the main reason why guests return to hotels is simple: they had good memories of staying there. “Not necessarily a gold plated doorknob or the extra skirt hangers in the closet; best memories are created through interaction with people. If service excellence exceeds expectations, guests always remember that,” he told Bored Panda earlier.

10 Hotel Secrets Most People Don't Know About, Revealed By A Former Employee If your breakfast is included in your stay but you're leaving before breakfast start time, you can always ask the staff if they can make a little "to-go" bag with a few items in it.

janessarichard , denverjeffrey Report

Final score:

162points

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.gas. 3 years ago

That's essential! So many people don't realize this, and think that because they're leaving before breakfast "opens" that they're out of luck. Hotel staff that I've interacted with are happy to put in an apple, granola bar, etc. You're paying for it, anyway!

58points

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10 Hotel Secrets Most People Don't Know About, Revealed By A Former Employee Most hotels do not wash their duvets/comforters in between guests. They wash them maybe once a year which is really freaking gross.
So, the first thing you wanna do when you walk into your room - don't go lay down on your bed, take the duvet off!

janessarichard , Prem Sichanugrist Report

Final score:

157points

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.gas. 3 years ago

I'm surprised people don't know this. That's the very first thing I do when I visit a hotel. I also sanitize "high touch" surfaces like the TV remote, light switches, etc.

51points

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Meanwhile, struggling businesses need to reinvent themselves and up their standards. But none of that can happen without some honest appraisal of where the hotel stands at the moment. “Languishing hotels need to take an honest look at themselves to understand the reasons why they can't create special memories,” he explained.

10 Hotel Secrets Most People Don't Know About, Revealed By A Former Employee Almost every standard room that you book comes with a water bottle and drinking glasses. I would not recommend drinking from those glasses as most of the time they're not changed in between guests as long as they look "clean".

janessarichard , Fitsimz Gucoartem Report

Final score:

134points

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Zena Marsh 3 years ago

When I stayed in hotels, I always washed the glasses and cups before I used them.

71points

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10 Hotel Secrets Most People Don't Know About, Revealed By A Former Employee We ALWAYS recommend booking through the hotel directly. If you book through a 3rd party, your room and room type are not actually guaranteed.

janessarichard Report

Final score:

128points

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Daria B 3 years ago (edited)

Here in Korea, there's many respectable 3rd party apps and sites for booking hotels at cheaper prices, and we've never had problems with it. You check-in, they confirm your identity, find you in their database and give you the keys. You may make extensions and pay extra for additional services you decided for on the spot.

19points

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“Service culture is not built overnight; the way you hire, you train, and conduct yourself is crucial. Mistakes are made all the time; how you recover and show genuine care would make a difference,” Dr. Forgacs said.

10 Hotel Secrets Most People Don't Know About, Revealed By A Former Employee Never EVER walk barefoot on the carpets. They are unbelievingly gross. They get vacuumed between guests but are rarely ever washed and deep cleaned.

janessarichard , Emily May Report

Final score:

121points

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MiriPanda 3 years ago

I would not expect a hotel to wash or deep clean carpets in between every guest. That's what slippers are for.

121points

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10 Hotel Secrets Most People Don't Know About, Revealed By A Former Employee There are a lot of shady things that happen in hotels. We once had an "escort company" rent out a room and bring men in. We had to call the cops, things got crazy.

janessarichard , Pixabay Report

Final score:

117points

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E Menendez 3 years ago

When I worked at a hotel (major chain) cleaning rooms we were told to mind our own business, even if we witnessed something illegal or drugs, etc. We were told the only exception is anything involving children or if someone asked for help.

55points

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An extra ounce of care for your customers goes a long way. The more you genuinely care about them, the more likely they are to return. “Following up is a secret weapon. Comping, offering a discount or an upgrade for a mishap is what a typical hotel would do. The better ones will always follow up with the guest and on top of a remedy, tell their plan how the mistake will be prevented from happening again,” he said.

10 Hotel Secrets Most People Don't Know About, Revealed By A Former Employee Some hotels have a "100% satisfaction guarantee" policy, which means if you find even one little thing that you're not satisfied with, and bring it up to the manager, they might be able to compensate your entire stay.

janessarichard , Rodrigo_SalomonHC Report

Final score:

102points

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.gas. 3 years ago

This irks me. It's great for the angry guest, but such a policy keeps rates high, to "compensate" for people who do this. If you have a real issue, but all means, but if you couldn't find your favourite snack in the vending machine, that's not a refundable 'offense.'

142points

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#10

10 Hotel Secrets Most People Don't Know About, Revealed By A Former Employee They do not change the toilet paper rolls in between guests. If there's paper left on the roll, they'll leave it and fold the end to make it look pretty.