Never, ever, ever use a hotel phone to call anywhere outside the hotel (and the hotel management people will eventually probably find some way to charge you outrageous fees for callling the front desk!) You may think that by calling a toll-free phone service number or using a phone card from the room phone you can avoid being robbed by the hotel's outrageous phone charges, but as this post shows, hotels are very clever and utterly shameless about finding ways to pick your pocket every time you pick up the room phone. Use your cell phone instead. If you are traveling to a country where your cell phone doesn't work, then buy or rent one that does to take with you. However much it costs, it will be cheaper than submitting to these hotel phone scams that you'll find everywhere in the world. (Though come to think of it I wouldn't be surprised if hotel managements figured out some way for charging you outrageous fees to use your cell phone in the hotel!)