The seven secrets that hotel owners don't want you to know | The Independent
Description: Most people go to hotels for the pleasure of sleeping in a giant bed with clean white sheets and waking up to fresh towels in the morning. But those towels and sheets might not be as clean as they look, according to the hotel bosses that responded to an online thread about the things hotel owners don’t want you to know.
Keywords: Hotels, Hygiene, Business News, Business, News
Date: 2015-09-17T16:57:43+01:00

We use cookies to enhance your visit to our site and to bring you advertisements that might interest you. Read our Privacy and Cookie Policies to find out more.

# The seven secrets that hotel owners don't want you to know

Hotel bosses spill the beans on cost cutting and horrible hygiene

- Hazel Sheffield
- Friday 25 December 2015
- 0 comments

Click here to receive live updates on the US election
Even luxury hotels aren’t always cleaned as often as they should be Getty Images

Most people go to hotels for the pleasure of sleeping in a giant bed with clean white sheets and waking up to fresh towels in the morning.

But those towels and sheets might not be as clean as they look, according to the hotel bosses that responded to an online thread about the things hotel owners don’t want you to know.

Zeev Sharon and Michael Forrest Jones both run hotel start-ups in the US. Forrest Jones runs the start-up Beechmont Hotels Corporation, a hotel operating company that consults with hotel owners on how they can improve their business. Sharon is the CEO of Hotelied, a start-up that allows people to sign up for discounts at luxury hotels.

But even luxury hotels aren’t always cleaned as often as they should be.

Here are some of the secrets that the receptionist will never tell you when you check in, according to answers posted on Quora.

###

Even posh hotels might not wash a blanket in between stays

1. Take any blankets or duvets off the bed

Forrest Jones said that anything that comes into contact with any of the previous guest’s skin should be taken out and washed every time the room is made, but that even the fanciest hotels don’t always do so. "Hotels are getting away from comforters. Blankets are here to stay, however. But some hotels are still hesitant about washing them every day if they think they can get out of it," he said.

Play Video
Play
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration Time 0:00
Loaded: 0%
Progress: 0%
Stream TypeLIVE
Remaining Time -0:00
Share
Fullscreen

This is a modal window.

Foreground
Background
Window
Font Size
Text Edge Style
Font Family
Close

This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

Video shows bed bug infestation at New York hotel

###

Forrest Jones advised stuffing the peep hole with a strip of rolled up notepaper when not in use.

2. Check the peep hole has not been tampered with

This is not common, but can happen, Forrest Jones said. He advised stuffing the peep hole with a strip of rolled up notepaper when not in use. When someone knocks on the door, the paper can be removed to check who is there. If no one is visible, he recommends calling the front desk immediately. “I look forward to the day when I can tell you to choose only hotels where every employee who has access to guestroom keys is subjected to a complete public records background check, prior to hire, and every year or two thereafter. But for now, I can't,” he said.

###

Put luggage on the floor

3. Don’t use a wooden luggage rack

Bedbugs love wood. Even though a wooden luggage rack might look nicer and more expensive than a metal one, it’s a breeding ground for bugs. Forrest Jones says guests should put the items they plan to take from bags on other pieces of furniture and leave the bag on the floor.

###

The old rule of thumb is that for every 00 invested in a room, the hotel should charge in average daily rate

4. Hotel rooms are priced according to how expensive they were to build

Zeev Sharon said that the old rule of thumb is that for every $1000 invested in a room, the hotel should charge $1 in average daily rate. So a room that cost $300,000 to build, should sell on average for $300/night.

# Read more

- Man rents out flatmate's room on Airbnb - without telling him
- Upmarket holiday company goes bust on eve of bank holiday
- It’s possible for a city to have too many tourists

### 5. Beware the wall-mounted hairdryer

It contains the most germs of anything in the room. Other studies have said the TV remote and bedside lamp switches are the most unhygienic. “Perhaps because it's something that's easy for the housekeepers to forget to check or to squirt down with disinfectant,” Forrest Jones said.

###

## Business news in pictures

- 50 show all

## Business news in pictures

- ## 1/50 United goin down

  Manchester United's absence from the Champions League hurt more than the fans' pride last year - it also dented the bottom line. Revenues at the New Uork listed club dipped 8.8 per cent to £395.2m in the year to June, triggering a £1.2 million loss after broadcasting and sponsorship deals dried up. The club said it was now looking to raise $400m from a share issue.

  GETTY IMAGES

- ## 2/50 Star Wars boosts economy

  Production of the next Star Wars movie has brought an economic impact of some £150 million to Britain, according to company accounts. The seventh movie in the series, The Force Awakens, will be released in December.

- ## 3/50 Natalie Massenet Leaves Net-a-Porter

  The Net-a-Porter founder Natalie Massenet decided to quit the online fashion retailer during "a summer of reflection" that included a spectacular 50th birthday party on the Almalfi coast.

  Rex

- ## 4/50 I'll keep working, says Mayer

  The chief executive of Yahoo, Marissa Mayer, said that she was expecting twin girls in December. She said she would "approach the pregnancy and delivery the same way as I did with my son three years ago, taking limited time away and working throughout". In 2012, she took two weeks off when her first child was born.

  GETTY IMAGES

- ## 5/50 World's richest lose $182b

  Warren Buffett, the world’s third richest person, lost $3.6bn in last week’s market slump. Fears that China's economy is slowing took many indices into correction territory. The turmoil has wiped $182 billion off the wealth of the 400 richest billionaires, according to research by Bloomberg.

  Getty

- ## 6/50 City for sale

  London City Airport was put up for sale by the American hedge fund Global Infrastructure Partners, which also owns Gatwick and Edinburgh airports. It is expected to fetch around £2 billion

  Getty

- ## 7/50 Kicking up a skink Down Under

  An Australian court has overturned approval for Adani’s Carmichael coal mine in north Queensland, based on concerns over the impact of the project on the endangered yakka skink (pictured). Standard Chartered is under renewed pressure to stop financing the deal

- ## 8/50 Scope to do more in the City?

  Damien Hirst's 7m statue, Charity, has been installed in the shadow of the Gherkin in London. It is based on an old Scope collection from the 1960s and has provoked a debate about the City and disability. The Lord Mayor of London says the City does not employ enough disabled people.

  Reuters/Corbis

- ## 9/50 Thousands more take a look at Sky

  Drama and football are a winning formula for Sky, which has recorded its best growth for 11 years, gaining 124,000 UK customers in the past quarter. Sky paid £4.2bn for Premier League rights, but also has 35 dramas planned, following successes such as the ‘The Enfield Haunting’ (pictured) with Timothy Spall.

- ## 10/50 FirstGroup suffers over lost lines

  FirstGroup, the bus and rail operator, is paying the price for losing a string of rail franchises last year. Rail revenue will be “substantially lower” in 2015 after some big franchise losses, including ScotRail. The division lost out on tenders for the East Coast and West Coast (pictured) mainlines, which went to Virgin Trains.

  GETTY

- ## 11/50 US retail rush hour slows down again

  US retail sales unexpectedly fell in June as households cut purchases of cars and a range of other goods. Sales fell 0.3 per cent, while economists had forecast a small rise.

  AFP

- ## 12/50 Blockbusters aid Pinewood expansion

  Pinewood Studios revealed it is having to turn away major films until the five new stages it is building come on stream next summer. The group still saw operating profits rise from £4.9m to £5.8m in the past year, which saw it host the new Star Wars and Avengers films (Scarlett Johansson, pictured, stars in ‘Avengers: Age Of Ultron’) as well as the latest Bond release, ‘Spectre’

  Marvel 2015

- ## 13/50 Rogue trader freed

  Kweku Adoboli, the former UBS trader who was convicted of the UK’s biggest banking fraud, has been released from jail after serving half of his seven-year sentence. He was imprisoned in 2012 on two counts of fraud that resulted in losses of £1.4bn, the largest trading loss in British banking history

  Getty

- ## 14/50 Burberry’s autumn ad campaign

  Burberry is launching its autumn ad campaign today with a cast of models including the singer Tom Odell and the actress Holliday Grainger

  Burberry/Testino

- ## 15/50 Sneak peak at console battlefield

  Videogame titans Microsoft and Sony vied for attention ahead of the industry’s annual E3 conference yesterday, giving fans sneak peaks of the latest games for their Xbox and PlayStation consoles, including Sony’s new ‘Assassin’s Creed Syndicate’

  Getty Images

- ## 16/50 High street shops hit by exodus

  The number of Britons out shopping has fallen for the second month in a row. High streets saw 1.5 per cent fewer shoppers and shopping centres 2 per cent fewer in May compared with a year ago. Only out-of-town retail parks saw a rise, with 1.4 per cent more visitors, the British Retail Consortium said. Overall shopper numbers fell by 1 per cent.

  Getty

- ## 17/50 Argentina hit by strikes

  Daily life ground to a halt in Buenos Aires yesterday amid a 24-hour general strike protesting against moves to limit pay rises and increase taxes.

  AFP/Getty Images

- ## 18/50 Duty rises blamed for beer woes

  Beer sales are still “fragile” after a decade of “devastating” duty hikes, according to the British Beer and Pub Association. The industry lobbyists said sales in pubs and shops were up 1.5 per cent in the past year, but fell by 0.8 per cent in the first quarter. Sales have fallen 24 per cent in the past decade.

- ## 19/50 New Look in push for men

  New Look is planning a menswear push after poaching Christopher Englinde, H&M’s menswear chief. Like-for-like sales at the fashion chain rose 5 per cent

  Victoria Middleton

- ## 20/50 Court halts Airbus insider trading trial

  A French court has quashed an insider trading case against seven current and former Airbus executives as well as Lagardère and Daimler, who were investors in the plane maker. Judges said the trial was dropped as they had all been cleared by France’s market regulator AMF, and it would have breached safeguards against double prosecutions

- ## 21/50 Alibaba hits back over ‘fake’ claims

  Alibaba has hit out at Gucci’s owner, Kering, for “wasteful litigation instead of the path of constructive co-operation”, after the French luxury giant filed a lawsuit in New York alleging the Chinese online retailer allows sales of fake goods on its websites. Gucci unveiled its Fall-Winter 2015-2016 women’s range at this year’s Milan Fashion Week

  Getty Images

- ## 22/50 Hats off to Ralph Lauren

  The upmarket US clothing company Ralph Lauren saw sales climb 1 per cent to $1.9bn (£1.2bn) in the quarter to 28 March. The company said it opened several stores across key markets around the world, fuelling momentum for its luxury accessories business. However, net income decreased to $124m, compared with $153m in the same quarter last year, partly as a result of exchange-rate impacts.

  EPA

- ## 23/50 With this ring… arts sales jump

  Sotheby’s raised $380m (£241m) in its New York contemporary art sale, a day after rival Christie’s sold a Picasso for a record $179m, with the auction house describing bidding as a “rush for art”. The top lots included Roy Lichtenstein’s ‘The Ring (Engagement)’ Estate of Roy Lichtenstein

  AP

- ## 24/50 Brewdog’s dead cat bounce

  Brewdog parachuted taxidermy “fats cats” holding its latest prospectus out of a helicopter over the City of London as the Scottish brewer looks to drum up publicity for its latest “punk” fundraising. The craft beer group has already raised £5m of the £25m it is seeking from investors to fund a new brewhouse and set up a US operation

- ## 25/50 Change at the top for Alibaba

  Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba replaced its chief executive yesterday. Daniel Zhang, chief operating officer, will replace Jonathan Lu. The move follows the share price briefly dipping below $80 this week, its lowest since its New York flotation in September.

  ChinaFotoPress/ChinaFotoPress via Getty Images

- ## 26/50 Put that light out

  New York City officials have been informed by the American Government that the Big Apple’s dazzling neon billboards violate a 2012 highways ruling and must be taken down. The city could forfeit up to $90m (£59m) in federal highway money if it fails to comply. New York is debating getting an exemption from the rule.

  AP

- ## 27/50 Lionsgate wants the lion’s share

  Lionsgate yesterday announced plans to finance and co-invest in up to 25 British independent films over the next four years. The Canadian-US entertainment company has previously invested in such UK films as A Little Chaos, starring Kate Winslet

- ## 28/50 Tillman planning a ‘new Jaeger’

  The fashion entrepreneur Harold Tillman (centre) has spoken out against the way Jon Moulton’s Better Capital has run Jaeger since taking it over from him and declared he would start a rival business to serve disappointed Jaeger customers. Mr Tillman said turnover at the group had fallen and losses widened since the private equity firm took over.

  2011 Getty Images

- ## 29/50 Aer Lingus: end in sight to Irish talks with IAG

  Aer Lingus, the Irish carrier being bid for by British Airways’ owner IAG, yesterday said it is hopeful talks between its suitor and the Irish government will conclude soon. Ireland owns a 25 per cent stake in the airline, which posted a €48m (£35m) first-quarter loss yesterday but said its long-haul business had performed well

- ## 30/50 Weir sheds more jobs in oil slump

  Slumping orders for oil and gas projects in the wake of the oil price collapse have forced the engineer Weir to cut another 125 jobs. Since the start of the year, the US oil-rig count has more than halved, sending orders in Weir’s oil and gas division down 23 per cent in the first quarter. Weir has already shed 1,300 staff in the past year

- ## 31/50 Williams F1 team drives into the red

  Formula 1 team Williams drove £34m into the red for 2014 after the worst season in its history. A fall in prize money for 2013 – paid a year in arrears – meant the Frankfurt-listed group went into reverse after a £12m profit the year before. But Williams said this year’s figures would be better after it finished third in the 2014 Constructors’ Championship. Its driver Felipe Massa, pictured in Bahrain, is 5th in this year’s driver’s contest

- ## 32/50 Rivals roar as Harley stalls

  A strong dollar allowed US motorcycle-maker Harley-Davidson’s foreign competitors to undercut its prices in the first quarter, hurting its sales and market share and prompting it to lower 2015 shipment forecasts. The news sent its shares down 10 per cent in early trading

- ## 33/50 Climate changes for BP

  BP will be more accountable for its role in climate change after 98 per cent of investors backed a resolution to make it more transparent on the issue. BP’s annual shareholders’ meeting was held in London yesterday and attracted a protest against offshore oil drilling.

- ## 34/50 Car sales lift in Europe

  Demand for new cars in Europe soared last month, particularly in Spain and Portugal where sales increased by more than 40 per cent on March last year. Meanwhile UK sales were up 6.1 per cent on March 2014, according to the European Automobile Manufacturer Association.

- ## 35/50 Ricci heir guilt of tax fraud

  Arlette Ricci, the heir to the Nina Ricci perfume and fashion fortune, has been convicted of tax fraud by a Paris court, after hiding millions in an offshore HSBC account. Ms Ricci, 73, was sentenced to a year in prison and ordered to pay a €1m (£72,000) fine.

  Rex

- ## 36/50 Camden set for a makeover

  Teddy Sagi, Camden Market’s new Israeli billionaire owner, has appointed Mace as project manager to oversee the redevelopment of Camden Lock Village, with 170 homes as well as shops and offices in the north London district.

  Getty

- ## 37/50 All aboard the iron ore train

  Australia is reportedly examining how BHP Billiton and Rio Tinto shift billions of dollars in iron ore profits through low tax hubs in Singapore.

  AFP/Getty Images

- ## 38/50 Shell’s Arctic plans under fire

  Greenpeace activists have climbed aboard a Shell oil rig in the Pacific Ocean bound for the Arctic. They plan to camp under the rig’s main deck in protest against the oil giant’s plans to restart drilling off the coast of Alaska. The group said the six protesters would occupy the underside of the Polar Pioneer’s main deck but would not interfere with the vessel.

  Vincenzo Floramo / Greenpeace

- ## 39/50 GoDaddy off to flying start in New York

  GoDaddy shares jumped 34 per cent as they started trading on the NYSE Wednesday, valuing the website group at more than $5bn (£3bn). The firm, which manages 59 million web domains – a fifth of the world’s total – raised $460m. It sponsors race car driver Danica Patrick (pictured with chief executive Blake Irving) and is backed by private equity firms KKR and Silver Lake

  EPA/ANDREW GOMBERT

- ## 40/50 The first lady of high street banks

  Shriti Vadera, a former adviser to Gordon Brown, has become the first female chairman of a UK high street bank, succeeding Sir Terry Burns at the helm of Santander UK. Baroness Vadera will be paid £650,000 and work alongside Santander’s new CEO, Nathan Bostock

  Paul Morigi/Getty Images

- ## 41/50 Sterling returns for Compass

  Compass could see £30m added to its annual profits, thanks to the strength of the pound. The catering giant, which serves up strawberries and cream at Wimbledon each year, said underlying revenues are up 5.5 per cent in the first half, while gains from sterling against the euro, yen and Brazil’s real are set to offset any weakness of the pound against the dollar

  Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images

- ## 42/50 Serco sells Australian rail unit

  Serco has sold its Great Southern Rail to the Australian private equity firm Allegro Funds in a £2.5m deal. The disposal of the luxury business, which runs tourist trains such as The Ghan (pictured) across Australia, is part of the outsourcing group’s move to focus on core businesses under its new chief executive, Rupert Soames

  Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

- ## 43/50 Italian Retailer Yoox eyes Net-a-Porter

  The Italian internet retailer Yoox in the latest contender to swoop in with an offer for the luxury fashion business Net-a-Porter that could value the London-based firm at £1.3 billion

  Splash News/Corbis

- ## 44/50 Li Ka-shing buys O2 for £10bn

  Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison Whampoa has finalised a £10.25bn deal to buy the UK mobile business O2 from Spain’s Telefonica. Hutchison, the Hong Kong conglomerate that already owns Three in the UK, entered exclusive talks with Telefonica in January.

  AP

- ## 45/50 Jaguar climbs high in the City

  A Hollywood stuntman in a Jaguar XF crosses the River Thames by highwire to promote the latest model. The stunt was supported by 34mm-wide carbon wires.

  PA

- ## 46/50 Pubs get protected

  New rules have been announced to mark Community Pubs Day today which protect local pubs and give communities a greater say in planning processes.

  Oli Scarff | Getty Images

- ## 47/50 Tesco jet still left on shelf

  Tesco has been forced to cut the price of its Gulfstream G550 jet by £3.5m in an attempt to shift it. The retailer has already sold three of its fleet of five jets since October but has cut the price of the 14-seater jet from $35m (£23.5m) to $30m. It also still has a Hawker 800XP.

  Getty

- ## 48/50 Uber called to account in Paris

  Uber’s Paris offices have been raided by French police as part of an investigation into its UberPOP service that lets anyone offer taxi rides. The French headquarters of the US taxi-booking app have been targeted by authorities as part of investigations into the feature, which is not available in the UK, that allows non-professional drivers to sign up

  Reuters

- ## 49/50 P&G on the scent of a sale?

  Procter & Gamble is believed to be looking at a sale or IPO of some of its beauty brands, which range from Herbal Essence shampoos to Olay creams and Boss perfumes (as advertised by Sienna Miller, pictured). Shares in the US consumer products giant rose 2 per cent on the prospect of a sale yesterday, even though P&G said the report, on Bloomberg, was “speculation”

- ## 50/50 Blackpool pier is on sale for £12.6m

  Blackpool’s central pier has been put up for sale by its owner Cuerden as the attractions organiser looks to restructure its operations. The group is asking for offers of about £12.6m for a package of three piers – including Blackpool’s 19th-century central and southern piers and a third in Landudno in Wales

  Getty

### 6. Mini bars almost always lose money

Despite the snacks in the minibar seeming like the most overpriced food you have ever seen, hotel owners are still struggling to make a profit from those snacks. "Minibars almost always lose money, even when they charge $10 for a Diet Coke,” Sharon said.

###

Towels should always be cleaned between stays

7. Always made sure the hand towels are clean when you arrive

Forrest Jones made a discovery when he was helping out with the housekeepers. “You know where you almost always find a hand towel in any recently-vacated hotel room that was occupied by a guy? On the floor, next to the bed, about halfway down, maybe a little toward the foot of the bed. Same spot in the floor, next to almost every bed occupied by a man, in every room. I'll leave the rest to your imagination,” he said.

- More about:
- Hotels
- Hygiene

Reuse content
by Taboola by Taboola
Sponsored Links Sponsored Links
Promoted Links Promoted Links
Babbel
1,000,000 are using this app to learn a new languageBabbel
Undo
Soldiers: Free Online Game
This Is The Most Addicting Game Of The YearSoldiers: Free Online Game
Undo
Everykey
You Don't Need to Remember You Passwords Anymore T…Everykey
Undo
Xtra-PC
Tiny Device Turns Old Computer into New Fast PCXtra-PC
Undo
Sparta Free Online Game
Are you a strategic thinker? Test your skills with millions of addict…Sparta Free Online Game
Undo
InsideGov — By Graphiq
Here Are the 15 Presidents with the Lowest IQ ScoresInsideGov — By Graphiq
Undo
Save70
That's How You Find Super Cheap Hotels! Save70
Undo
Rapid Reflux Relief eBook
The Silent Killer: Can Acid Reflux Become A Life Threatening Condi…Rapid Reflux Relief eBook
Undo
Financial Times for CapGemini
What will cognitive computing change? Financial Times for CapGemini
Undo
HealthGrove — By Graphiq
Here's Why These Are the Most Dangerous Countries for TravelHealthGrove — By Graphiq
Undo
PrettyFamous — By Graphiq
Ranking Every Tom Hanks Film from Worst to FirstPrettyFamous — By Graphiq
Undo
Reuters TV
Taliban Names Its New LeaderReuters TV
Undo

## Comments

Login
Login
Or
Guest
(Logout)

0 Comments

- Sort
- Subscribe
- RSS

##

We've noticed that you are using an ad blocker.

Advertising helps fund our journalism and keep it truly independent. It helps to build our international editorial team, from war correspondents to investigative reporters, commentators to critics.

Click here to view instructions on how to disable your ad blocker, and help us to keep providing you with free-thinking journalism - for free.

Thank you for your support.

How to disable your ad blocker for independent.co.uk

### Adblock / Adblock Plus

- Click the Adblock/Adblock Plus icon, which is to the right of your address bar.
- On Adblock click "Don't run on pages on this domain".
- On Adblock Plus click "Enabled on this site" to disable ad blocking for the current website you are on. If you are in Firefox click "disable on independent.co.uk".

### Firefox Tracking Protection

- If you are Private Browsing in Firefox, "Tracking Protection" may cause the adblock notice to show. It can be temporarily disabled by clicking the "shield" icon in the address bar.

### Ghostery

- Click the Ghostery icon.
- In versions before 6.0 click "whitelist site".
- In version 6.0 click "trust site" or add independent.co.uk to your Trusted Site list.
- In versions before 6.0 you will see the message "Site is whitelisted".
- Click "reload the page to see your changes".

### uBlock

- Click the uBlock icon.
- Then click the big power button to whitelist the current web site, and its state will be remembered next time you visit the web site.
- Then reload the page.

##

Thank you for supporting independent.co.uk