Behind the Front Desk: 9 Curious Facts About Hotels

Hotels have been an integral part of our lives, particularly for those who travel frequently. However, the intriguing stories and quirky facts behind these establishments often remain hidden. Let’s delve into nine engaging facts about hotels that might surprise you. 1. The Recycled Soap Saga: Many hotels, including industry giants like Hilton and Marriott, have … Continue reading Behind the Front Desk: 9 Curious Facts About Hotels

Hotels and Foster Dogs Are a Match Made in Heaven

As fun as it can be to travel, being away from home can be hard, as well.

So hotels try to do things to make you feel as comfortable as you would be at home:
Free wine in the lobby, hot popcorn. Cookies.

But one hotel in Mississippi is going the extra mile to make its guests feel welcome–and to help out the local canine population too.

The Home2 Suites by Hilton located in D’Iberville, Mississippi, just north of Biloxi, has been piloting a program called “Fostering Hope” since 2018.

Together with the Humane Society of South Mississippi, the hotel helps dogs find their forever home.

One at a time, each lucky doggo gets to visit the hotel.

 

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Dog friendly guests are invited and encouraged to interact with the dogs.

According to Mental Floss:

They can take the dog for a walk and feed them during their stay. They’re even allowed to bring the pet into their hotel room overnight.

So far, more than 60 dogs have been adopted since Home2 Suites began fostering them in October 2018.

 

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It’s a brilliant plan! People don’t even know they want a dog, until they fall in love with a specific dog.

They don’t even know they have room for a dog, until it’s too late because the dog has already taken up residence in their hearts.

These people know what they’re doing.

Who can say “no” to these faces?

 

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Since 2018, the program has been a huge success.

In their first year, they found homes for about 30 dogs.

And things may have slowed a little due to the pandemic, but Home2 Suites aren’t deterred.

They’re looking to roll out this program in more locations across the US soon.

 

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If you’re not planning on visiting Biloxi any time soon, you can still check out some of the eligible fur-babies on the Humane Society’s Instagram @HumaneSocietyOfSouthMS.

And if doggos aren’t really your thing, they have gorgeous kitties available for adoption too!

 

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What do you think about this program? Would it make you book a room at Home2 Suites on your next trip?

Tell us in the comments!

The post Hotels and Foster Dogs Are a Match Made in Heaven appeared first on UberFacts.

5-Star Hotel Workers, What Goes On That Most People Don’t Know About? Check Out the Responses.

I don’t believe I’ve ever stayed at a super fancy hotel before, but I still have some time, right?

And when I finally do get to that pinnacle, I’m gonna find out about some of the secrets below first-hand. I can’t wait!

People who have worked in fancy hotels, what goes on behind the scenes that most people don’t know about?

Here’s how AskReddit users responded.

1. Pampered.

“Middle Eastern royalty books an entire floor for a month.

Staff spends weeks preparing for every detail of the visit. Entire floor rearranged to accommodate children, nannies, private dining quarters for men and women, etc. Private chef is brought in.

They left after one week (on private 747) because it was too cold. In Chicago. In November.”

2. All a ruse.

“Our concierge was Les Clefs D’or, had all the connections, this dude could get you into the French Laundry same day.

He would often greet guests with sangria and sprigs of mint from his garden. Sometimes he had lemon slices from his tree too! He loved to tell guests all about his garden and they ate it up.

Yeah that’s all bulls**t. Mint, lemon, and any other garnish we got from the local grocery store. The sangria? Cheapest boxed stuff we could find. But he sold the story like no other. At the end of the day, it worked.”

3. Seen it all.

“I worked at one of the premier hotels at a ski resort in the country; top 10. Met celebrities, royalty, politicians, athletes.

Hockey players are the nicest athletes by a wide margin. Royalty is great or more likely, awful. A list celebrities want to be left alone or treated as just another person. Politicians are bigger a**holes when they’re with their families. Saw lots of s**, drugs, underaged drinking, escorts, the usual.

I was most amazed by how nice staff were to guests when management continually made our lives harder and s**ttier. We’d just let it roll off our backs and keep smiling until we just quit. We were paid so little and respected so little by management. If you weren’t thick skinned then you quit by week’s end.

Best thing I saw was the hotel dog (think alpine dog that people can pet, kids can get woken up by him in the morning, plays on the ski slopes, etc)…well he escaped his pen, made straight for the high end restaurant and went hog wild. Jumped on a few tables and scarfed $100 steaks like they were M&Ms.

Me and another guy saw it (we worked during the ski day and cleaned up into the evening so it was just him and I finishing up in our department at the time which was by the dog’s kennel)…we both saw he was going to escape and we could have stopped it but we just wanted to watch the world burn. Greatest day of work there by far.”

4. At the Ritz.

“I worked at a Ritz Carlton a few years back, its literally the same as anywhere else. The hotel staff is amazing at their job, but on their personal time they’re just as f**ked as everyone else.

The kitchen staff had a few folks with drug issues and had to be sent home a couple times because of it. In my time there I saw 2 waiters get fired due to embezzlement. The turnover rate for management was very high because they didn’t pay enough for the area. The staff parties were WILD to say the least.

We weren’t allowed to greet celebrities by name since they wanted to be anonymous, so we would use their alias that day. Some were greeted by pr**titutes or “escorts” who were always super nice to everyone.

A regular would rent out a room for a day, once a month, and make 30-40k that day from clients. Celebrities, business guys, you name it. Crazy.”

5. They all have ’em.

“Bedbugs.

Every single hotel from run down motels to 5-star resorts has dealt with bedbugs.”

6. Terrible.

“A lot of lonely people going on vacation to end their lives.

Happens a lot but is never mentioned on the news.”

7. Sketchy.

“The pr**titution thing was something the desk saw a lot.

The best one was when the gentlemen got robbed by two young ladies and immediately demanded the front desk call the cops.

When the desk asked if he wanted to call the cops and tell them he hired two hookers (illegal)… he suddenly just grunted and marched up to his room.”

8. FYI.

“NEVER USE A CHOCOLATE FOUNTAIN!

Little Timmy just double fisted strawberries directly into that chocolate, bit into them and then triple dipped into the chocolate AGAIN!

And some old rich lady just sneezed on it. And somebody else just dropped their snack into it. The best part: that chocolate gets strained and saved for the next weeks brunch. Chocolate is waaay too expensive to throw away.

Chocolate also does this thing where it’ll seize if it has the wrong moisture content (from people dipping fruit, and the juices going into the chocolate.) So it’ll get so thick it won’t run through the machine. Wanna know how they fix that? They add canola oil until it’s smooth again.

So, yeah, next time you’re at a wedding and they have a chocolate fountain, think of this post. Think of this post when you dip into that dirty watered down with oil chocolate.”

9. Scandalous!

“Watching for signs of s** trafficking, lots of cheating spouses there under fake names (and you can’t confirm if they’re there when the spouse calls pi**ed).

Jacuzzi and swimming pool d**ths (usually from al**hol), guests expose themselves to female staff frequently especially housekeepers and room service, people will legit give you keys to their rooms, sometimes dealing with really s**tty organizations for their banquets income, etc.”

10. The perks.

“At a certain Beverly Hills hotel, where I valet’d for a short amount of time, many stars cars are just left there. They come and get them whenever.

There was also a code name for Justin Bieber who visited often (I can’t remember it). He picked it himself. His G-Wagon and a Bentley were just kept down there free of charge.

Usher also left his bike there a few years back and has just never collected it.”

11. Check in late!

“Checking in late at night sometimes means free upgrades or discounted upgrade rates.

We would try to sell every last suite at night for almost 80% off. We just wanted something, so they don’t go unoccupied.

Sometime if we were over sold on rooms, the late late arrivals (midnight) would get a free suite upgrade because we had no choice. Of course this could also backfire if the hotel is sold out. You may get downgraded for being a late late arrival.”

12. All kinds of stories.

“Worked in five star hotels in Beverly Hills.. boy do I have stories:

Sheikh picks up a hooker in the bar, takes her to his room. She roofies him and steals tens of thousands of dollars of cash, watches and valuables

Husbands who will say hello to staff with their mistress on their arm on Thursday night and their wife on Friday night

Famous teen celebrity left a room full of needles and various drug paraphernalia behind for housekeeping to clean up

Middle eastern royalty ships in multiple Ferraris and Lamborghinis to the hotel from their home country to drive for the week; caught drag racing later that night by the cops in the neighborhoods of Beverly Hills

Largest checkout bill I’ve ever seen was roughly $2 million for guest who rented out an entire floor of suites for three weeks, promptly paid via wire transfer

Had to procure $100k cash for a guest whose wife wanted to shop on Rodeo Drive the next morning, the local bank doesn’t even have that much. Had to get an armored car from the central LA bank branch to deliver

The list goes on.”

We want to hear from more hotel workers!

In the comments, tell us about what goes on behind the scenes.

We look forward to it!

The post 5-Star Hotel Workers, What Goes On That Most People Don’t Know About? Check Out the Responses. appeared first on UberFacts.

Every Hotel and Airbnb is Not Created Equal. Here’s the Proof.

You can look at as many pictures as you want on different websites, but the fact is that you never really know what kind of hotel or Airbnb you’re booking until you step foot into the place.

And, as you already know, sometimes the photos just don’t tell the whole story…or maybe they’re not even from the same place that you just booked!

You’re always rolling the dice when you reserve a place to stay, it’s just a fact…and here are some photos from people who ended up in some strange places.

1. Something terrible happened here.

I can just feel it…

It looks like the hotel cart ran someone over and is tracking their blood through the halls. from CrappyDesign

2. Is there a body under the bed?

I’d be afraid to look underneath there…

Beijing hotel carpet pattern (/murder scene?) from CrappyDesign

3. Well, technically, they weren’t lying…

But still…not cool…

I raise you my hotel pool in Jeju circa 2017 from funny

4. How many times did you stub your toe on that thing?

That thing looks dangerous.

The door stop at my hotel. I present the "Toe Buster 5000" from CrappyDesign

5. This place is obviously very classy.

I like what I’m seeing here!

This hotel bathroom "tile" wall is actually just numerous pictures of denim-clad asses from ATBGE

6. Was this the romantic getaway that you dreamed of?

The spark is still there after all these years…

Girlfriends view from the bed of our hotel room…. from CrappyDesign

7. That doesn’t look safe.

Be careful in there, folks…

Hair dryer and shower combo in Cairo hotel from CrappyDesign

8. Totally worth the money.

Lemme, lemme UPGRADE!

Went to a hotel, payed extra for a room with bigger TV. from assholedesign

9. Did you ever actually find your room?

I have a feeling that you didn’t…

So you guys like crappy hotel room number signs? from CrappyDesign

10. I think this might be false advertising.

I’m gonna need to speak to the manager.

Airbnb said I’d have a balcony but seriously from funny

11. The view is absolutely stunning.

You’ll see once you get up into the room…

My hotel room with an ocean view. from Wellthatsucks

12. A lot of room to stretch out.

Time to work up a sweat!

The fitness room at the hotel I stayed at from WTF

Have you ever stayed at a really bad or just plain weird hotel or Airbnb?

If so, tell us about your experience in the comments.

And share some photos with us too, if you have them.

Let’s get weird!

The post Every Hotel and Airbnb is Not Created Equal. Here’s the Proof. appeared first on UberFacts.

Check out These Great Hotel Room Tricks Recommended by People on Twitter

I love staying in hotels. The beds are big and the sheets are crisp and cool. You can watch TV guilt-free because you’ve paid a bunch of money not to have to cook your own dinner or clean.

Sometimes, though, it’s not quite heaven. And that one little thing can bug you until you’re not sleeping as well or feeling as comfortable as when you are at home.

When that happens, you need a hack.

Twitter’s got you.

Recently, venture capitalist Rick Klau reposted a hack he said he originally found on Twitter.

His smart and handy re-tip inspired others to post their favorite hotel room hacks. Like this great thread about the lack of convenient electric outlets in rooms.

Others had hacks you didn’t know you needed until now.

Hotel rooms can be dirty so these hacks are great.

Do you know anyone who uses a shower cap to cover their hair in the shower?

Even Elon Musk took some notes.

Some of these hacks deserve five stars.

This hack will have you crawling on the floor. Really.

The list of brilliant hacks is long, but worth taking a look at for next time you’re planning a trip. They will keep you comfy and clean while you finally get that great night’s sleep away from home.

The post Check out These Great Hotel Room Tricks Recommended by People on Twitter appeared first on UberFacts.