What Are Your Top Hotel Pet Peeves, 2013 Edition
Mar 7, 2013, 7:28 pm
#1
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Original Poster
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: Marietta, Georgia, United States
Posts: 24,997
What Are Your Top Hotel Pet Peeves, 2013 Edition
Please click here for the article and poll results.
_______________________________
Are you in a hotel room right now where you are not yet able to read this because the Internet service provided to you by the hotel is excruciatingly slow — or perhaps the reason is because you have not yet found that elusive electrical outlet in which to plug in your electronic device? Perhaps you finally see the light — primarily because too much of it is coming through the drapes from outside? What is that toilet paper — with only two squares left on the entire roll — doing behind the toilet tank?
FlyerTalk — the largest Internet travel community in the world with a rich base of travel knowledge — has collaborated with Frequent Business Traveler magazine on the first of what is hoped to be a long partnership conducting a series of polls pertaining to “pet peeves” of air travel, restaurants, hotels and technology. Frequent Business Traveler will provide the poll; FlyerTalk members — yes, you in particular — will provide the opinions.
This poll — the first in this series for 2013 — is the 2013 Hotel Pet Peeves Poll, which will be active through April 30, 2013. Many FlyerTalk members spend quite a bit of time in hotel rooms — and any hotel property can potentially foster issues and situations which can drive you absolutely insane.
The primary purpose of this particular discussion is for you to opine, elaborate on your thoughts and relate your experiences as a guest in hotel rooms.
Results of this poll will be announced both online in the magazine and here on FlyerTalk.
So — what are your “pet peeves”? Please vote today and let everyone know!
My “pet peeves” did not change from last year, so here is a quote of what I posted with the purpose of getting this discussion started:
I have others, but enough about me — what about you?
_______________________________
Are you in a hotel room right now where you are not yet able to read this because the Internet service provided to you by the hotel is excruciatingly slow — or perhaps the reason is because you have not yet found that elusive electrical outlet in which to plug in your electronic device? Perhaps you finally see the light — primarily because too much of it is coming through the drapes from outside? What is that toilet paper — with only two squares left on the entire roll — doing behind the toilet tank?
FlyerTalk — the largest Internet travel community in the world with a rich base of travel knowledge — has collaborated with Frequent Business Traveler magazine on the first of what is hoped to be a long partnership conducting a series of polls pertaining to “pet peeves” of air travel, restaurants, hotels and technology. Frequent Business Traveler will provide the poll; FlyerTalk members — yes, you in particular — will provide the opinions.
This poll — the first in this series for 2013 — is the 2013 Hotel Pet Peeves Poll, which will be active through April 30, 2013. Many FlyerTalk members spend quite a bit of time in hotel rooms — and any hotel property can potentially foster issues and situations which can drive you absolutely insane.
The primary purpose of this particular discussion is for you to opine, elaborate on your thoughts and relate your experiences as a guest in hotel rooms.
Results of this poll will be announced both online in the magazine and here on FlyerTalk.
So — what are your “pet peeves”? Please vote today and let everyone know!
My “pet peeves” did not change from last year, so here is a quote of what I posted with the purpose of getting this discussion started:
I am not a smoker, and my biggest complaint is when I enter what is purported to be a non-smoking room and the air is thick with the repulsive odor of cigarette smoke, causing me to cough and not sleep well. No amount of air freshener or air circulation can clear it completely. More than once have I encountered this problem where the hotel property was sold out, and yet somehow when I complained loud enough, management suddenly was able to find a perfectly good and unoccupied hotel room which matched my original preferences in the first place.
On a related note, I cannot stand when the hotel room is not reasonably clean at a minimum. I do not like finding the trash — or dried blood — of someone else in a hotel room which was supposed to be cleaned before I became a guest.
I have been in hotel rooms where the pillows were either too flat or too big — there was no “middle ground”, so to speak. Two flat pillows still did not add up to one neck-craning pillow. I have also had pillows that were too soft where my hair was an absolute uncontrollable mess when I woke up the next morning.
When I can find the climate controls for the room — is it on the wall or on the unit under the window, or somewhere else entirely? — I do not like it when I crank up the climate control to full blast and yet the room still does not cool off sufficiently in the middle of summer or heat up sufficiently in the winter, as was the case of a Sheraton property in Markham, Ontario in January where the climate control did not work at all.
On a related note, I cannot stand when the hotel room is not reasonably clean at a minimum. I do not like finding the trash — or dried blood — of someone else in a hotel room which was supposed to be cleaned before I became a guest.
I have been in hotel rooms where the pillows were either too flat or too big — there was no “middle ground”, so to speak. Two flat pillows still did not add up to one neck-craning pillow. I have also had pillows that were too soft where my hair was an absolute uncontrollable mess when I woke up the next morning.
When I can find the climate controls for the room — is it on the wall or on the unit under the window, or somewhere else entirely? — I do not like it when I crank up the climate control to full blast and yet the room still does not cool off sufficiently in the middle of summer or heat up sufficiently in the winter, as was the case of a Sheraton property in Markham, Ontario in January where the climate control did not work at all.
Last edited by Canarsie; May 9, 2013 at 1:50 pm
Mar 7, 2013, 9:33 pm
#2
Join Date: Aug 2012
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What Are Your Top Hotel Pet Peeves, 2013 Edition
Hearing person one room over snoring
Mar 7, 2013, 9:47 pm
#3
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: May 2002
Location: Pittsburgh
Programs: MR/SPG LT Titanium, AA LT PLT, UA SLV, Avis PreferredPlus
Posts: 31,008
Noise
Light - too much from outside and/or not enough inside.
Those both disrupt my sleep. I can put up with most of the others,
Light - too much from outside and/or not enough inside.
Those both disrupt my sleep. I can put up with most of the others,
Mar 7, 2013, 9:55 pm
#4
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: YVR
Programs: Erstwhile Accidental AC E35K
Posts: 2,916
I boil over when I look at my bill and see $3.45 for something called "DMF".
What's DMF, I once asked. Seems it is a "Destination Marketing Fee". Hmm...let's think about that. The government taxes the hotel industry and uses the money to promote tourism, which attracts people to your hotel, and now your charge them for it? Er, um, yes, I guess so.
What's DMF, I once asked. Seems it is a "Destination Marketing Fee". Hmm...let's think about that. The government taxes the hotel industry and uses the money to promote tourism, which attracts people to your hotel, and now your charge them for it? Er, um, yes, I guess so.
Mar 7, 2013, 10:36 pm
#5
Join Date: Sep 2010
Programs: HHonors Diamond; My Mom's Favorite Kid
Posts: 3,929
I hate the snorer next door. The guy'll fall asleep like 10 minutes before you. You can feel his snores vibrating my bed. He won't shut up. Every once in a while he will snore so loudly he wakes himself up. But it's only temporary. :-(
Then there is the 5:30 AM alarm guy. He sets his cell phone for 5:30 AND 5:45 (just in case, you know?). But the guy has never slept past the first alarm ... ever. So he gets up at 5:31 and gets in the shower. But he's forgotten to turn off his other alarm. The alarm starts going off but he can't hear it over the water. It gets louder and louder. So loud the guy on the other side of you can protagonist it. You call the front desk to complain but it's 5:49 and they don't want to wake the wrong room.
But the worst is the smoked in room. You can smell it down the hall. You know it's your room because you have to go to the bathroom desperately. You open the door and are hit by this wall of stench. Seriously how could housekeeping not have noticed? It's so awful you can almost still see the smoke.
Then there is the 5:30 AM alarm guy. He sets his cell phone for 5:30 AND 5:45 (just in case, you know?). But the guy has never slept past the first alarm ... ever. So he gets up at 5:31 and gets in the shower. But he's forgotten to turn off his other alarm. The alarm starts going off but he can't hear it over the water. It gets louder and louder. So loud the guy on the other side of you can protagonist it. You call the front desk to complain but it's 5:49 and they don't want to wake the wrong room.
But the worst is the smoked in room. You can smell it down the hall. You know it's your room because you have to go to the bathroom desperately. You open the door and are hit by this wall of stench. Seriously how could housekeeping not have noticed? It's so awful you can almost still see the smoke.
Mar 8, 2013, 3:01 am
#6
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: Paris
Posts: 577
Controls for the lights on one side of the bed only.
Bedside table on one side of the bed only.
Windows that don't open.
Climate control linked to a motion sensor.
Flat, hard pillows.
Windows from the bathroom into the room/"open plan" bathrooms.
Not enough counter space around the sink to place toiletries.
Lack of hooks/racks to hang towels on.
Bedside table on one side of the bed only.
Windows that don't open.
Climate control linked to a motion sensor.
Flat, hard pillows.
Windows from the bathroom into the room/"open plan" bathrooms.
Not enough counter space around the sink to place toiletries.
Lack of hooks/racks to hang towels on.
Mar 8, 2013, 3:42 am
#7
Join Date: Sep 2004
Posts: 2,443
Here are some of mine:
- Curtains that don't close completely and so let in light. How hard can it be to have properly closing curtains, not least in a hotel room costing hundreds a night?
- Shower and bath taps that require a degree in aquatic engineering to operate.
- The same hotels often have light switches for which a degree in electrical engineering would be useful. And switches that are on only one side of the bed are very irritating.
- A meagre collection of radio stations, or sometimes none at all - this when there are usually dozens or even hundreds of television channels.
- Room maids that insist on putting everything back the way it was even when you have quite obviously moved it for a reason - for example, the time that the telephone kept re-appearing on the bedside table and my clock, glasses case etc were moved to make room for it, when I had very clearly moved the phone to a lower shelf.
- Graphic advertisements (or reasonably graphic) for pay-TV pornographic films on the desk, particularly when these re-appear in their prominent position after each room service (see above). I'm no more prudish than the next person (probably less, in fact) but I find this bordering on the offensive - and certainly it is thoughtless.
- Excessive charges for internet access, especially if it doesn't work properly.
- Being rung by the "housekeeper" to ask if everything is all right - while this may be a nice touch in theory, they always manage to ring when I'm eitehr asleep or just about to fall asleep.
- Room service that ignores the "do not disturb" sign and knocks on the door to ask if I really don't want my room serviced now.
Mar 8, 2013, 3:54 am
#8
Join Date: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,638
my problems with hotels remain:
1. down pillows that offer no head support.
2. hotel guides and info books that fail to offer necessary info. what are the fitness room hours? when does the restaurant close? where are the fitness room and restaurant? i have been in too many hotels that merely indicate that these facilities exist somewhere.
3. the stubborn refusal to ever put an alarm clock in any hotel, ever. i cannot think of a time i have ever seen a hotel with an alarm clock. no, stupid clock radios don't count.
1. down pillows that offer no head support.
2. hotel guides and info books that fail to offer necessary info. what are the fitness room hours? when does the restaurant close? where are the fitness room and restaurant? i have been in too many hotels that merely indicate that these facilities exist somewhere.
3. the stubborn refusal to ever put an alarm clock in any hotel, ever. i cannot think of a time i have ever seen a hotel with an alarm clock. no, stupid clock radios don't count.
Mar 8, 2013, 4:34 am
#9
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: ARN
Programs: Miles&More, Hemköp kundkort
Posts: 275
Crappy wifi.
Too big and too firm pillows.
Blinds that won't close properly - usually in combination with having a street light right outside the window.
Too big and too firm pillows.
Blinds that won't close properly - usually in combination with having a street light right outside the window.
Mar 8, 2013, 8:46 am
#10
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: YUL
Programs: UA 1K, MR Bonvoy Bonzaiiiii, National EE
Posts: 622
- Housekeeping calling the room when you have a DnD sign up asking whether you want your room cleaned today. I often have to work overnights during maintenance windows, and this is very annoying.
- Bad internet connections - WIFI and hardwire.
- Small/slow/crowded elevators.
- Charging a fee if you check out before your original check out date.
- Rates changing wildly every day ($50+ USD fluctuations).
- TVs with no HDMI hookup or where they have disabled to option to change the input.
- Artsy fartsy crappy work desks/chairs.
- Pillows that are entirely too soft - e.g. two are not enough, but three is too many (first world problem).
- Spurious charges on your hotel bill such as an internet access charge when your room rate includes internet. Also, this happening multiple times over and over each time you settle your bill when you are staying somewhere for months on end (I'm looking at you India).
- Hotels making it difficult to book extra rooms for your colleagues using the company discount rate your travel agent automatically applied - making you book through the travel agent again instead of just booking another room.
- Not enough water pressure in the shower.
Mar 8, 2013, 8:56 am
#11
Join Date: Jun 2004
Location: STL
Programs: WN, DL, AA; Hyatt or Wyndham
Posts: 1,079
Both electricity-related, #1 used to be more of a problem, #2 becoming more of a problem.
1. No electrical outlets.....like anywhere. I finally trace a lamp to behind the almost-immovable dresser, and both the TV and the lamp are taking the 2 slots. New construction doesn't have this problem.
2. Having to play "20 Questions" just to figure out how all the lights turn on and off. Wall switch...nope....is there a switch on the lamp?....nope....oh here is a random metallic switch on the bed headboard....but that is like a 5-way switch with 30 different permutations to control 4 different lights....good thing I was good at the Rubik's Cube.
1. No electrical outlets.....like anywhere. I finally trace a lamp to behind the almost-immovable dresser, and both the TV and the lamp are taking the 2 slots. New construction doesn't have this problem.
2. Having to play "20 Questions" just to figure out how all the lights turn on and off. Wall switch...nope....is there a switch on the lamp?....nope....oh here is a random metallic switch on the bed headboard....but that is like a 5-way switch with 30 different permutations to control 4 different lights....good thing I was good at the Rubik's Cube.
Mar 8, 2013, 11:16 am
#13
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: gggrrrovvveee (ORD)
Programs: UA Pt, Marriott Ti, Hertz PC
Posts: 6,091
Or showering at a ridiculous hour. Or having sex. Well, I guess some people might like that last one...
Too many lights when it's dark. The other night in my hotel, the hallway light shone right through the peephole of the door onto the bed. Ridiculous aim. I had to cover the peephole. And the gap at the bottom of the door. And the ridiculously bright cable box display. And the bright red light from the phone. And the alarm clock I couldnt figure out how to dim. Next time, I'm packing my eye mask.
Too many noises: Ok, so in addition to those listed above, I was in a hotel room in which the vent in the bathroom constantly made a droning noise, even though the fan was off. Easily solved by shutting the bathroom door, but still annoying.
Dearth of electrical outlets already mentioned. At least most hotels now have the sense to have a few outlets by the desk, and I always carry around an multi-outlet adapter thingy, but you'd think in 2013 they could at least throw a $5 power strip into every room, right?
Low water pressure: I was just in a hotel last week in which the water was little more than a trickle. The next night was a different city, different hotel, same brand. GREAT water pressure. And a nice massage head, to boot.
Green initiatives they don't follow: Why do they tell us to hang up our towels we don't want replaced because they're trying to be green, but replace them anyway?
In-room HVACs that sound like jet engines: Seriously, it's amazing how loud some of these things are. TV will be at a nice comfortable volume, then the HVAC turns on and it's like someone muted the TV. So you crank it up and, when the HVAC shuts off, the TV volume blows your eardrums.
Too many lights when it's dark. The other night in my hotel, the hallway light shone right through the peephole of the door onto the bed. Ridiculous aim. I had to cover the peephole. And the gap at the bottom of the door. And the ridiculously bright cable box display. And the bright red light from the phone. And the alarm clock I couldnt figure out how to dim. Next time, I'm packing my eye mask.
Too many noises: Ok, so in addition to those listed above, I was in a hotel room in which the vent in the bathroom constantly made a droning noise, even though the fan was off. Easily solved by shutting the bathroom door, but still annoying.
Dearth of electrical outlets already mentioned. At least most hotels now have the sense to have a few outlets by the desk, and I always carry around an multi-outlet adapter thingy, but you'd think in 2013 they could at least throw a $5 power strip into every room, right?
Low water pressure: I was just in a hotel last week in which the water was little more than a trickle. The next night was a different city, different hotel, same brand. GREAT water pressure. And a nice massage head, to boot.
Green initiatives they don't follow: Why do they tell us to hang up our towels we don't want replaced because they're trying to be green, but replace them anyway?
In-room HVACs that sound like jet engines: Seriously, it's amazing how loud some of these things are. TV will be at a nice comfortable volume, then the HVAC turns on and it's like someone muted the TV. So you crank it up and, when the HVAC shuts off, the TV volume blows your eardrums.
Mar 8, 2013, 11:27 am
#14
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: HH Diamond, Marriott Gold, IHG Gold, Hyatt something
Posts: 33,539
Nonsmoking rooms or floors that reek of smoke. China is the worst for this. Also, at beach locations, trying to enjoy yourself, being on the balcony and smelling the stench from the smokers nearby.
Room safes that are not bolted down at all. Asia is the worst, for this. Most recently in RGN.
No plugs near the bed.
DND signs that are ignored. Especially when they call to say there is DND sign, but we didn't want to disturb you. REALLY?
Hard beds/pillows.
Noise, parties, stomping feet.
Room safes that are not bolted down at all. Asia is the worst, for this. Most recently in RGN.
No plugs near the bed.
DND signs that are ignored. Especially when they call to say there is DND sign, but we didn't want to disturb you. REALLY?
Hard beds/pillows.
Noise, parties, stomping feet.
Mar 8, 2013, 12:02 pm
#15
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: California
Posts: 2,731
Not enough towel racks (the room can sleep up to four people, but there's rack space for one bath towel--really?)
Door slammers.
HVAC systems that resist any attempts at controlling them--extra bonus points if they are incredibly loud
And my biggest pet peeve: mushy pillows! I use pillows to support my head and rest my neck when I sleep, and for back support when I'm awake.
Door slammers.
HVAC systems that resist any attempts at controlling them--extra bonus points if they are incredibly loud
And my biggest pet peeve: mushy pillows! I use pillows to support my head and rest my neck when I sleep, and for back support when I'm awake.