Hotels

Category Archives for Hotels.

Hilton Upgrading Housekeeping, Towels, Bedside Power Outlets And Night Lights

by Gary Leff on August 8, 2023

Aug 08 2023

Hilton has communicated upcoming changes to housekeeping, bathroom towels, bedside power outlets and night lights to hotel owners in the Americas, which they say are changes that “will have the biggest impact on guest satisfaction” while at the same time “being mindful” of property owner margins.

According to an internal communication reviewed by View From The Wing, Hilton hotels must be “clean everywhere and offer a hot breakfast, a great shower experience and a few reliable and friendly touches.”

Why Do Hotel Buffets Make You Touch The Same Tongs As Everyone Else, And Call It Sanitary?

by Gary Leff on August 5, 2023

Aug 05 2023

A buffet actually interested in preventing spread of germs would make single-use tongs available to each guest. Use the tongs, deposit them for disinfecting once you’ve served yourself. But the goal isn’t preventing spread of germs, it’s conforming to (1) health codes, and (2) social convention.

How Old Is Your Hotel’s Mattress?

by Gary Leff on August 5, 2023

Aug 05 2023

You’re simply not going to get a quality night sleep on a mattress that’s been used every night, by different people, for over ten years. They’ll develop bumps and pockets, and guests will complain – no matter how many times mattresses are flipped and rotated (and cleaned, though this often happens just a couple of times per year). Some hotels even keep using ripped and soiled mattresses, but an upper upscale property should not.

Hotel GM Warns Don’t Leave Your Toothbrush Out In The Bathroom (What Will Housekeeping Do?)

by Gary Leff on August 2, 2023

Aug 02 2023

An ex-hotel manager tells guests they should put away their toothbrushes – don’t leave them out in the bathroom – because housekeepers may mess with them.

Maybe the housekeeper is in a bad mood, thinks the guest is rude, or isn’t tipping. The manager says that housekeepers may “clean certain areas in bathrooms with a guest’s toothbrush that you don’t want to have near your mouth.”

Hotel Manager Explains Why Bulk Toiletries In Your Room Aren’t Safe

by Gary Leff on August 2, 2023

Aug 02 2023

Many hotel chains have moved from single use plastic toiletries to bulk wall-mounted toiletries. They say it’s for the environment, but it isn’t. If they just cared about reducing plastic, they’d move to single use biodegradable packaging. Instead these refillable bottles are cheaper.

There are (3) basic problems with this for the guest.

Holiday Inn Guest Checks In To Find An Undisclosed, Active Construction Site

by Gary Leff on August 1, 2023

Aug 01 2023

He’d made a nonrefundable booking using Chase points to attend a wedding at what seemed like “the cheapest hotel from a reliable..brand” and found “an active construction site” with rooms covered “in plastic wrap,” constant drilling and a closed restaurant – none of which was disclosed on the property’s website. And oh that toilet.

Watch: Angry Marriott Lifetime Elite Sneaks Into Ritz-Carlton, Won’t Get Out Of Hot Tub

by Gary Leff on July 31, 2023

Jul 31 2023

Last month a man that wasn’t a guest entered the Ritz-Carlton Sarasota and planted himself in the hot tub. He wouldn’t leave. When police responded to a trespassing complaint from management, the man ranted about what had become of his beloved Starwood Preferred Guest program and his lifetime elite status, as captured on body cam video.

After My Worst Hyatt Stay In 15 Years, Am I Due Compensation?

by Gary Leff on July 29, 2023

Jul 29 2023

I checked into the hotel and found it overrun with teenage sports teams. There were adults out front tailgating, and downing alcohol from full sized bottles.

There was one person working the desk and a line of people. When it was my turn I learned that they’d screwed up.

Hotel General Manager Explains Why He Won’t Upgrade You To A Suite

by Gary Leff on July 29, 2023

Jul 29 2023

The general manager of a premium Los Angeles-area chain hotel writes to me, explaining why his hotel will not offer top tier elites to suites even though the chain requires them to do so.

Guest Turns To Guerrilla Tactics When Hotel Denies Him A Refund

by Gary Leff on July 27, 2023

Jul 27 2023

A reader from Montana got a new drivers license. They were given a paper printout as a temporary license, and the state takes a couple of weeks to send out plastic ones. His passport is out of his hands, getting renewed in the long priority queue at the State Department. Fortunately you can fly domestically without ID and without too much difficulty.

Away from home, he turned up at the hotel he’d booked using the American Airlines Rocketmiles site on a prepaid rate for the Loyalty Points. But they would not check him in.