Hotel hygiene

[whateveryousay]

I’m currently on holiday in a 5* hotel. Will
state now that I am fully aware that I am very privileged, and that yes, this is a first world problem.

So I came back to our room after breakfast today, and housekeeping was making up the room. Lovely, smiley woman, signalled that I could come in as she was nearly done.

She then picked up our coffee cups which were draining on the counter next to the coffee machine, gave them, and the counter, a wipe with what looked like one of our used hand towels, and left. She did seem to be in a big hurry, I assume because she has to get through a certain number of rooms within a time-frame.

I was a bit non-plussed, and said nothing at the time (I realise now that that would have been better). But I’m now wondering how long those coffee cups have been ‘on the go’, and does she just rinse them in the sink and give them a dry with a dirty hand towel between guests too….ugh. I feel a bit grim thinking she just used my/DH’s towel, never mind a stranger’s.

I really want to complain and ask for new cups every day, but I’m not a massive dick, and realise that cleaning up after relatively rich people for little pay is not a great job, and I certainly wouldn’t want her to lose it.

What would you do?

If you are asking me specifically I can't tell you.

I once read a website, may have been something specially for hotel workers, and some of the stuff that they had to deal with or clean up has put me off for life.

I used to work in a hotel. I always take my own cups!

I watched a documentary about cleaning in hotels some years ago.
There was a five star hotel where the housekeeper cleaned the mugs with the same cloth she used to clean the toilet seat and sink. She was secretly filmed.
I always take my own mugs , plastic cups and teaspoons when I visit any hotel( irrespective or star rating).
I always make sure that I bring a couple of packs of antiseptic wipe and ensure that I wear bedroom slippers in the hotel room

I mentioned on another thread a while back, that l once stayed in a quite upmarket hotel and found a pair of knickers in the bed; they were not mine 🤮.

I don’t use the kettle after I heard a story about a drunk man urinating in a hotel kettle.
I bring my own travel kettle.

It's normal for the cups and bathroom glasses to be rarely washed. A quick rinse under the bathroom sink tap and a dry with a potentially used bathroom towel is all that happens. Some hotels only allocate 15 minutes to a housekeeper to clean a room, that includes the bathroom. It's terrible. I've worked in hospitality and it really is shocking. I don't blame the staff at all, they're working hard on a minimum wage, it's the unacceptable targets set on them by management that is the problem.

I worked at a very lovely country hotel years ago - stately home type place, very expensive. We were told to rinse the cups and glasses under the cold tap and dry them on a hand towel. I don’t think they ever saw soap. Disgusting. I’ve always assumed that it’s the same everywhere ever since so I always wash the cups properly myself before using them.

Never found a wee in the kettle but someone once pissed in one of those refillable soap bottles you get in the shower. I don’t use those anymore either.

Well these days, I also check under the mattress for bed bugs before washing the cups and rinsing out the kettle.

Just to cheer you all up a bit more!

If you have a kettle in the room maybe clean the cups with boiling water??? 🤔🤔

How will you cope OP.
Please don’t be a Karen and complain and get a minimum wage worker doing a crap job in trouble

This is the norm! Or worse. I always wash them myself.

I tend to check what's in kettle, rinse out a couple of times, boil at least once before using, then boil when we are using. Cups/glasses can be cleaned with boiling water easily enough. TBH I think if any one of us consider how many bodies have slept in the bed, walked on the floor, drank from the cup, sat on the loo and so on in our hotel rooms we'd probably decide not to go, thus I do a few things which make me feel a bit better about it all, but also don't overthink it!

And please don't use the term 'Karen'

When I studied hospitality back in the year blob (1983), this is what we were taught to do officially. That sparkling bath ,cups, sink etc. is cause it's been wiped round with your used towel🤢, always wipe round them yourself.( With something clean)

I stayed in a hotel in Chichester. Each time we went back to our room after housekeeping has been in, I had to go and ask for cups, as they took the used ones each day to put in the dishwasher, and were supposed to replace them, but never seemed to remember 😂

I normally wash them before I use them.

I knew about this a while ago and since then take my reusable coffee cup with me on holiday. It’s a fully leak proof one so its useful at the airport/I can use it on days out whilst I’m away but also use it at the hotel. I don’t mind just giving it a quick rinse in the bathroom sink/using hand soap if it’s just me using it.

Other stuff like light switches etc being not clean doesn’t bother me - that applies to any switches, handles etc you’re touching when out and about every day.

I trained in a posh country hotel circa 2017. We were taught to buff the bathroom surfaces and cups with the used guest towels and dust and glass clean with the used pillow cases. It looks clean and sparkly, in reality it's covered in germs.
The bed linen and towels were clean and always replaced between guests. We had a mqmouth 1 hour for a full clean, but this had to include drains, down sofas ans refreshing all toiletries and notepaper/pens etc.
I would be more worried that the little bottles of toiletries are decanted back into the massive ones and reused.......some people are grim.

I’ve read this on MN before so I wash the cups in hotels before using. Or if it’s a posh hotel I ring down and ask for clean cups to be sent up.

This happens in every hotel unless you are very lucky and pick one with a housekeeper who cares. They just want an easy quick turnaround. Noone knows that's how they do it but do you ever see washing up liquid and fresh tea towels in cleaning trolley? I will always pre wash anything in a hotel and then rinse it myself rather than leaving dirty. And that includes 5 star hotels.

Worked in a 10 bed hotel over a pub. All linen changed on changeover and our first job was to fill the sink with soapy water and put the used crockery/ cutlery in. We did polish the bathroom with the used hand towel though.
I once went down to the kitchen to find washing up liquid and ended up watching the sausage, eggs and bacon while the chef went for a ciggie. I'm no chef.
And I was a swine for turning the mixer tap up on the Pepsi.

I used to work in a hotel and I would NEVER use the mugs without washing them first. I also take my own kettle with me because people do the most disgusting things with hotel kettles. If I were you, I'd give the cups a good wash x

Oh my god- how do any of you ever manage to leave the house? 🤣 Do you obsess about who sat in a plane seat before you or who touched your luggage once you checked it in? How do you manage to eat out at restaurants when you don't know how the cutlery and crockery has been cleaned?
I can't believe a PP said they take a J-cloth on holiday to clean the cups 😳 my OH would think I'd gone mad if I suddenly produced a j-cloth from the suitcase 🤣

I saw an expose on hotels once with hidden cameras. It was grim. They were caught using the cloth they cleaned the toilet with to wipe out the mugs 🤢

It’s a bit different though, isn’t it! Sitting on a seat fully clothed, touching luggage etc. And there are dish washers in restaurants, whereas there aren’t on hotel floors - that’s the whole point.. But I do think you could drive yourself mad if you went down this rabbit hole and started thinking about hotel rooms too deeply!

I was cabin crew for two decades. I’ve seen alsorts , and wouldn’t use the cups or glasses either. The worst thing I saw when I checked into a 5* hotel in Thailand and the toilet overflowed sewerage water all over the bathroom floor the first time I flushed it. The chamber maid mopped up the brown water with the new towels off the rack, then walked out saying “I’ll get you fresh towels”. No cleaning products had been used, and she clearly thought I was being awkward when I asked her to!