Dirty Secrets From a Former Hotel Room Attendant
“The comforter on your bed is heavy, and we aren’t going to wash it unless its visibly stained.”
First of all, it doesn’t get much more disgusting than this. These beds are slept on by many, many people. Not to mention the fact that many people also have sex on these beds. Many hotel chains will only change these large comforters if they are visibly dirty. So bodily fluids such as spit, semen, and sweat most often goes undetected. How do the supervisors of the housekeep departments excuse this disgusting behavior? Simply by saying that it isn’t within the budget to wash every comforter, every single day. That they do not have the workforce, the equipment, and the time to complete all of that washing. What is even more unacceptable is the fact that these practices are accepted by the owners of the hotel chains.
There are, however, a few hotel chains that have recently made changes to correct this nasty problem. For example, there are some hotel chains now have duvet covers on all of their beds. A duvet cover is a case that goes over the comforter, and the duvet covers are washed every single day. While this doesn’t fully correct the problem, because the comforters still aren’t being washed every day, it does keep the outer layer of the comforter germ free. So, if you are going to stay in a hotel, make sure that they have duvet covers over their comforters. If they do not, you can also bring one for yourself. Investing in a duvet cover is a small price to pay to make sure that you and your family aren’t sleeping with the last occupants filth.
“They don’t pay me enough to do this job.”
Lets face it, even in the swankiest hotels, the room attendants are typically still working for beans. The work is very difficult and the room attendants slave all day toting around a heavy cart, sometimes cleaning up to twenty rooms. So, it is not uncommon, at all, for your room attendant to skimp on their job because they feel under valued. Another problem is that a lot of these room attendants are new employees, and are often left to do their jobs without proper training.
“We only run disinfectant through your hot tub jets when we absolutely have to.”
Most major hotels have hot tub rooms available. While these hot tubs are supposed be disinfected after each use, typically, disinfectant is only run through the jets before an inspection, and at the most once a month. The everyday cleaning of these hot tubs is limited to spraying disinfectant into the tub, and wiping it out. This does not clean the jets. So, I would recommend steering clear of these hot tubs, as you could easily contract some sort of urinary tract infection from the bacteria spewing out of the jets. If you do decide to rent a hot tub room, you can ask for it to be disinfected when you check in, so that you can watch the housekeeping staff do it, and you will know that your hot tub is germ free.
“There are many things that we are supposed to clean that we forget about.”
It is very unlikely that your telephone receiver has been disinfected. The same is the story with your remote control and door handles. Many times, room attendants forget to clean these items. Since other occupant’s hands and mouths have been all over these items, you should pack your own disinfectant wipes and clean these items yourself. This is a measure you can take to make sure that your family doesn’t contract someone else’s cold or flu while you are on vacation.
Staying in hotels is almost inevitable while you are traveling, so being aware of your hotels sanitary short comings is one way that you can keep yourself and your family protected. Following the simple precautions mentioned above is one way to ensure that your family stays well.
