Pretty arbitrary
2
Several more suggestions: Put a box of tissues in the bathroom or elsewhere in the room. Make sure the sink can be plugged to retain water. It is impossible to wash clothes in a sink that doesn’t hold water and far too manyhotels and B&Bs had sink stoppers that don’t do their job. And enough of these tiny, designer sinks—travelers need a conventional sink! Do not try to cover up room odors with air freshener or those horrible bamboo sticks in scented oil. Give the room a proper airing. Do not use scented laundry products. I do not want bed sheets and towels that reek of artificial scents. As for luggage racks, many people have suitcases that open like butterflies. Standard folding metal racks do not accommodate these suitcases. Don’t take up valuable counter space with tchotchkes or brochures.
13
Great article. Add one item. Hangars. I like to unpack, but with hotels moving in the direction of not providing drawer space, lots of hangars should be provided. Also, towel racks and hooks in the bathroom. I do not mind reusing towels, but they must be allowed to dry between use.
12
How about the thermostats controlled by the guest instead of room movement? Great for the hotel's energy bills that the AC (or heat) turns on when it senses movement, but not so great when one is sleeping and therefore, there is no movement so the system stays off as if no one were in the room. It makes for an unrestful night when waking up sweating wondering why the AC is not kicking on.
6
@Lisa of NYC
Thank you Lisa for speaking for me in every point you made!
I especially agree with you on the Fresh Air issue! Not only for fresh air in a hotel room we need and love, but also the connection with the place we visit, a real view and the surrounding environment.
You are the first person in major English newspaper I read in bringing this issue. Thank you for being so outspoken and to the point!
6
Showers that have force to wash hair--floor drains that drain--a feel of cleanliness as opposed to odors and dust--lots of bathroom counter--hairdryers--lots of hot water--toilets that need only one flush-thermostat with easy instructions--heat lamps in bathrooms as well as fans that take away moisture etc.
3
How about a minimum height for a shower head so that no one has to limbo to wash their hair?
7
Other tips for hotel owners :
1.) phone charger connected to the lamp (phone charging lamp) is convenient.
2.) air-conditioning system that does not make noise , as if needing to "recharge itself" every now and then.
3.) additional amenities that make a difference( items are cheap but does make the guess feel special :
-dental floss
-shower cap ( sometimes I forget to bring one)
-nail cutter
-toothbrush with toothpaste, mouthwash
4.) guarranteed clean remote controller( as labelled)
5.) eliminate the coffee maker ( no one uses it)--a waste of space
6.) healthy options for the food vendo machine
4
Amen to this list!!! I hope the hospitality industry is reading!!
4
A key card is required to operate the elevators is one the most important measures to make sure the hotel is a safe place for guests.
13
Fantastic list. Well done
7
Great list. Also add:
Make sure that darkness is dark. Between smoke detectors with LEDs that let you know that they are active, bedside alarm clocks, USB power outlets, you can almost read a book by the ambient light at night. I'll wear a sleep mask on the plane, because I'm sharing that space, but I shouldn't have to in the privacy of my own room.
18
A suggestion for hotels: have the drapes *fully* close, blocking out all light at sleepytime. A solution for travelers: using one of the hotel's garment hangers - the ones with the two metal clips on them, typically for pants/skirts - clip it *vertically* along the drapes. No more annoying light seeping through!
26
@Mildred Pierce
Thank you so much!
3
Why is it that the "budget" places offer plenty of cheap amenities and include a continental breakfast. It's the "luxury" hotels that charge you for Wi-Fi, parking,an "amenity usage fee" etc. Oh BTW - Europeans consider facecloths ("washing flannels") a personal hygiene essential and travel with their own, which is why the hotels don't have them.
10
At last! A place to air my extreme annoyance at stupid hotel rooms! My biggest beef is with the architects. When they design the rooms, it never occurs to them that these are NOT owner-occupied rooms, where you want switches to be as invisible as possible: white on white. Owners of course will always know where they are. Please: in a hotel room, in contrast, you want switches (and such) to be as highly visible as possible, so each new guest can spot them easily!
22
Under "first world problems" in the dictionary it should say "see this article "
6
@Miguel Valadez
I had a similar comment 4 days ago. "First world problem" and "stay home if you can't adapt".
7
@J Darby Yeah, I got that vibe too, but I think the author erred on an economy of words and came off slightly petulant; most of these are legitimately annoying and he didn't even say anything about the ordeal that is ironing in a hotel room.
This is a terrific list and I have wished for these same things many, many times while traveling. Now, let's hope that hoteliers are listening!!!
10
@AR
It may be a first-world problem, but not necessarily an over-indulgence problem. Asking for hooks to dry wet towels for resuse or a hang-line to dry out clothing or visible light switches for safety are common-sense and practical requests. Please note that people do not travel just for fun but also for work. I’m thankful that I’m employed but traveling is not always a “vacation”.
17
Many slightly older hotels (doesn't matter the class) can be very skimpy on power outlets. Not uncommon to find every outlet already taken by lights and digital clock. There should be two open outlets and a USB charger on both sides of the bed.
Hotels please bring your power outlets into the 21st century
20
No crusty towels, tissues near bed, self controlled climate control, softer doors, shelves in shower, empty refrigerator, TV channel guide, Did I say no crusty towels?
3
Outlets. So many devices to charge.
7
How about actually following through on the 'reuse your towels' cards? Virtually every hotel I stay in replaces my towels daily, no matter where I put them, or how obvious I make my intent to reuse them>.
16
WiFi - I am sick and tired of the convoluted process for getting connected to many hotels WiFi. You must log into their site. Provide your reservation confirmation number. Sometimes there is a daily fee for WiFi (say what? I paid $200/300+ for this room, and you want to charge extra for WiFi, and when any homeless person can walk into Starbucks and get WiFi?) Anyone in the hotel should be able to automatically connect. Period.
TV. All hotels guests should be easily able to watch movies...no extra fees. And can someone please improve the TV/remote interface? I have to spend 20 minutes with a remote, pressing up/down buttons to 'enter my user name/password' to get into my own Netflix or Amazon Prime/video account? What century is this?
Fresh air. Enough with lawyers and our litigious society. If a hotel guest wants to jump, let 'em. Why are we forced to endure artificial air during the warm months, and not have the option for fresh air or a natural breeze? There are window frames that exist, whereby one can get fresh air without there being enough space to get your body through to jump to one's death.
Pillow options. There should be a mix of polyfill, down-filled, temper-pedic and buckwheat on the bed and extras in the closet.
Mini fridges are appreciated. Many times on the road, we have leftovers after dinner out. It's wasteful that we have no option to store them.
19
@Lisa
My biggest pet peeve re: fridges is in Europe and other places where you need to stick your key card in a slot to turn the room power on. Why even bother with minifridges if they don't keep things cold while you are out and about?
5
@Lisa
“Sometimes there is a daily fee for WiFi (say what? I paid $200/300+ for this room, and you want to charge extra for WiFi, and when any homeless person can walk into Starbucks and get WiFi?)”
It will take me a bit to wrap my brain around the entitlement embodied in that statement. Won’t parse the others that I found equally offensive in your comment. I am flummoxed.
5
@Lisa
Thank you Lisa for speaking for me in every point you made!
I especially agree with you on the Fresh Air issue! Not only for fresh air in a hotel room we need and love, but also the connection with the place we visit, a real view and the surrounding environment.
You are the first person I read in major English newspaper I read in bringing this issue. Thank you for being so outspoken and to the point!
5
One suggestion I haven’t seen after a quick scroll through the comments is regarding bed pillows. It would be nice to have sturdier, firmer, bed pillows, rather than small, square pillows that go completely flat when one puts one’s head on them, encasing the ears in a tunnel of feathers.
5
Amen to the dearth of hooks. And not only hotels, same thing in most apartments or boarding houses run by the owners. Don't they ever use their own rooms?
9
Great list. One more thing is better lighting in the bathroom and an outlet for curling irons etc. W hotels are great at beautiful design and have bathrooms that seem lit by candlelight. Impossible to apply makeup in that light. I’m constantly in hotels with poor bathroom lighting or bathrooms that have one blasting light above your head, blinding you from seeing your face.
And in Europe, I just bring my own washcloths bc so many hotels there do not supply them.
8
My TV request would be: Please, no TV.
13
As the owner of a small 11 room lodging establishment it is our guests who have made us aware of the little comforts that we have needed to add. After 15 years we still get good and constructive suggestions and we act upon them wherever space, budget, and practically allow. I’d like to use this forum to make a suggestion to all travelers and especially the ones who stay in smaller privately owned establishments. That suggestion is to PLEASE stop asking for discounts. The owner of a small establishment cannot ask the utility for a discount on rates nor can they ask the help to work for less. They are also unable to ask the local market for a discount on supplies or the bank to discount their mortgage payment. With that they are left with no other option other than giving a guest money out of the business profit that they live on and afford themselves some simple pleasures after tireless hours.
35
As someone in the hospitality industry, I can tell you that depending on the type and level of hotel (3,4,5 star), many hotels do indeed have the amenities you mention in your article.
1
Agree with every single suggestion!
2
This is the nicest set of comments I've ever read on NYT. Thank you, fellow travelers, for the civil discourse.
5
You can buy travel clothes lines to use in your hotel room for about $10.
You can also try traveling with a metal carabiner clip - they cost about a $1 on Amazon - that you can use to hang up lots of things in a hotel room. Clip a couple on something inside your suitcase and keep them ready for your next trip. These are useful when your hotel doesn't give you enough hangers. You can clip the carabiners to the bottom of the hangers and use them to hang up things like ties, umbrellas and other items.
7
I travel for work around 100 nights a year: 70 or so in Europe, the rest in the US. I work at a small nonprofit and we operate mostly in countries like Romania, Bulgaria, N. Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Ukraine, Poland.So And we need reasonable rates. Back in the 1980s staying in such places was always an adventure. Not necessarily a pleasant one. Now they are chock full of Ibis, Motel One, Courtyard, Holiday Inn etc and I just love the fact I will always find an iron in the closet of my room, USB ports on both sides of the bed, a desk with office swivel chair, and if I just ball up a piece of paper and throw it under the desk I know I will hit the conveniently placed trash can. Prices are reasonable. AC works. Very clean. And, unlike American hotels, I can open the window and let in fresh air. What's with that in the US? Unclean and unpleasant. And please: no adjoining door. Ever.
As for your Hotel Esplanade: there's a comic novel to be written about all the once-grand hotels in Eastern Europe whose owners, after 1989/91, flew to Vienna, visited the Sachar and Imperial, and tried to replicate that at home. Some really fine hotels have been turned into the equivalent of Dollyland--the Esplanade in Zagreb and the Moskva in Belgrade top the list. May the Hotel George in Lviv/Lemberg live on untouched.
13
I like having soap/body wash, shampoo etc. But I can't tell you the number of times I've found myself out of toothpaste, or found both my partner and I thought the other person was bringing it. I can do without hand lotion, but toothpaste is a must!!
10
@A. Cleary
Yes, complimentary toothpaste is a good idea. Sometimes you can get it at the reception.
I am fine with shampoo and hand wash soap out of a dispenser, but I still think real soap tops any body wash.
10
How about room doors that don't slam with an earth shattering crash waking up everyone nearby?
23
@Van Those are 'fire doors", often required by law.
3
@Patrick : Some hotels -- but too few -- have the automatic-shut spring ease the door more (blessedly) smoothly closed.
4
Here's a tip for Hotel, from a Hotel Professional of 8 years:
- The one thing I would like guests to be more informed about, is how you book your hotel stay. If you use what we in the industry call a "third party website" (Expedia, TripAdvisor, etc.) please note that you will not have any say in room type. What you are placing is your room *preference*, which isn't *guaranteed*- and, often, there is nothing the hapless Hotel Agent at the Front Desk can do, as we cannot change or alter reservations booked through these separate companies. It's frustrating for us, though obviously not as frustrating for the guest.
- Secondly, please remember the Hotel Agent is low on the totem pole and yelling at them for how the hotel's website appears or how the parking lot is designed is wasted and ridiculous. It's akin to yelling at the kid who makes french fries at McDonald's if McDonald's decided to take the Big Mac off the Menu.
- Third, please tip your housekeepers. They work hardest in the entire hotel industry and are not properly compensated in most franchises.
22
@William Byron
Not sure about the first item. I can usually choose the room category in those third party apps. If I pay extra for a king size bed or a park view, I'd better get it.
And frankly, booking sites by the hotel itself or their parent organization (e.g. best western) also only give you a chance to ask for certain extras, if you can find them at all.
As a small hotel owner who offers rooms through third party sites I concur. Tip to travelers who stay in smaller privately owned places; call them and book direct or on their own booking site. In the case of my place you will get more options and lower rates.
10
@William Byron
Appreciate the suggestions. Mine: How about hotels pay housekeepers a proper wage, so that it's not guests' responsibility to make up the shortfall with tips (instead of a higher rate)?
23
How about a handicap rail in shower for folks who do not need a handicap room, but would like a little extra safety around wet tile...should be standard. And newer hotels do not offer tubs...a total disappointment! A nice tub bath is part of a great hotel experience.
14
Please have English speaking Receptionists ! The hotel owners and management has to recognize that English is now universally spoken and understood, even in remote parts of the world. All the cultures and nations love their language, but for communication English beats them all. Arab countries in particular need to employ at least a few personnel who can understand and communicate in English irrespective of their accent .
3
Deal with it. You need to adapt when traveling abroad.
17
@Syed Abdulhaq At first I assumed you were referring to hotels in the US, and where some workers' first language may not be English (and so maybe they have strong accents). And then I see that you are asking that all over the world, even where English is not a second official language, that they accommodate English-speakers?
What about Americans learning something other than English??
14
@Lisa I speak three languages but since English is the most common around the world I expect hotels that serve English speakers to have on staff someone who also speaks English.
5
How about wi fi that actually gets a good signal, fresh batteries in the TV remote... and a bathroom mirror that makes you look skinny.
7
I have to chuckle about the mirror comment. We have a small 11 room hotel and when adding mirrors we made them all ever so slightly convex.
12
Reading lights! One for each guest please,not just one total. We are ALL literate.
10
Outlet near a large mirror not in the bathroom, so that one person can dry hair, while other person is filling bathroom with steam.
12
Doors that do not slam. Ultimately, hotels are for sleeping.
14
@Brian Parks
I can't agree more!
Thank you!
1
Unlike the author, I travel very seldom and have been to far fewer foreign lands. My concern, wherever I stay, -and it's pretty much the overriding one, is that it be a safe and secure place and that I get a good night's sleep. I've stayed in expensive hotels where there were plenty of amenities but sorely deficient in providing peace and quiet. What did the hotel think I was paying for? The view and the tv?
As for staying in Iran, I be happy with a guarantee of being able to check out anytime and just be allowed to go home.
5
Night tables by the bed with a drawer to put things you might need during the night. Many more easily accessible electric outlets so you don't have to decide to unplug a light to charge your phone. Yes, more hooks everywhere! And it would be nice to have real hangers - do that many people really steal hangers? A magnifying glass in the bathroom would be nice for making up and shaving. More drawers.
12
@getGar Agree on the outlets. Most seem to be buried in the wall behind a large/heavy piece of furniture. So we are usually left to charge our devices on the ledge of the bathroom sink (not very smart from a safety perspective...)
5
Many hotels of every category I have stayed,seem to have poor ventilation especially in the bathrooms. The bathroom become foggy after short shower,and takes minutes,seem like infinity to clear. Is it because poor ventilation system or bad planning? Please,you all good hoteliers,get the exhaust systems work efficiently.
8
Power beside the bed. That’s all it takes. I spend 150 nights/year in hotels and it’s astounding to me that this isn’t standard. It’s such an insanely simple concept. Just run an extension cord.
On the bright side, when I do find power beside the bed it allows me to feel a sense of happiness and celebration that is otherwise all too rare.
Power to the people, please.
11
The most important item was moving away from single use plastic bottles - it's very wasteful - much product thrown away and lots of plastic in a landfill. The one thing that seems to bother me when I travel is that hotels all use comforters - no matter what the season. I get it - they are encased so you can take the case off and clean it, which is appreciated. Unfortunately I am usually so hot that I find myself turning the AC on much higher than really needed - which is a real waste. When it's 90 degrees outside, I do not need a winter comforter on the bed -
8
Also what about lighted/ magnified, adjustable mirrors for applying makeup or shaving for men ? Learning in to a bathroom counter to get a closer look is awkward.
Also, how about a throw blanket or two?
11
Hook! Hooks, yes, hooks! Drives me crazy not have hooks to hang a robes or trousers you plan to wear after bathing!
Ed Phillips
23
@L. Edward Phillips Unfortunately at some point hooks are pulled out of the walls by irate guests or by hanging things that are too heavy for the hook to withstand so out comes the hook with some of the wall with it.
4
I’d get a bit more basic... How about some electrical outlets and enough light in the room to read by? I’ve been in hotels where when you turn on one of there miserable little desk lamps the room seems to get darker! Complaining to management doesn’t help, there’s no place to plug in additional lamps even if they had them.
19
@Jay Tunkel I agree, especially about the light. But I think hotels provide dimmer light in order to get you to spend less time there. We're not spending money in their bar, restaurant or gift shop hanging around our room.
4
I love the electrical systems that force the AC to turn off when leaving the room. Better for the environment. And nothing worse than the maid that turns the AC on for hours before you return to your room, leaving it like a cool room in a meat packing plant. (Mexican hotels please take note).
7
Great article. Just back from Central Europe, where we would have appreciated:
— 2 luggage racks
— a place to string a clothesline
— non-slip flooring in the shower and
— washcloths
3
@Paul. Brissett
When I travel outside the US I always bring washcloths. It is a mystery to me how Europeans scrub stuff (If I was more specific this probably would get censored by the puritanical thought police) from crevices in their bodies.
One of the pilots on an airline I worked with refused to adapt and brought scissors to cut a washcloth out of the hotel towels, a typical "Ugly American" response, rather than adapting to the foreign practice.
4
Bidet toilet seats would be a very nice addition to a room.
3
@The Babylonians : Well, to the bathroom rather than the room....
Wow, talk about your first world problems! Adapt to your surroundings, the burgers aren't going to be the same as they are back home. Or stay home and get everything just the way you like it.
15
@J Darby
I will add that in many smaller hotels in Germany, even expensive ones in highly-traveled areas like the Bodensee (aka Lake Constance) you are expected to bring your own bar of bath soap.
5
I think it's in poor taste to point out Esplanade like this. I've stayed at that hotel a lot, and it has always been a really great experience.
Everyone make mistakes now and then, and you could have made your point without specifying which hotel it was. A negative mention in the NYT is obviously a big deal for anyone.
11
Hooks, hooks, hooks! Everywhere in the room (not just in the bathroom). Inexpensive for the hotel owner and always appreciated by the guests.
8
Yes! Somewhere to hang used towels.
For those asking about night lights, I found on a very recent trip that my Kindle worked just great. Opened, it was sufficient light to guide me to the bathroom, then I propped it open on the bathroom counter.
Also on the recent trip, I discovered the trend of perfuming the lobby and room. First on a river cruise ship. I have mild allergies and upon entering the ship I began to cough and wheeze. Got them to agree NOT to spray it in our room, although they started up with it again after a few days and I had to ask again. Also there was unappealing perfume in the lobbies of 2 of the hotels we were assigned. Please, just fresh air. And if you need to cover up bad smells get some sort of unscented Febreze type stuff, ok?
One hotel was pretty wonderful except that the shower pan was shallow flat, nd did not readily drain. I was constantly swooshing water toward the drain with my feet, to keep it from flowing into the room. And the next person to use the shower was treated to ice cold water in the pan, left over from the previous shower. Sigh.
5
This list just seems petty. When I had an AirBnB this is exactly the type of customer I would loathe and usually turn down. They will find something wrong no matter what and be more than happy to let you know while usually being the worst guest. You can see them coming a mile away.
7
@Pam He's not addressing a person using AirBnB to make some money off one room. He's addressing full-size hotels whose primary business is to provide a comfortable room to paying customers.
15
@TJ Singleton That said, Pam's comment is an example of why I avoid B&Bs. I don't care for the enforced socialization (which you usually get in an Air B&B if it is in someone's house), demanding what you want for breakfast the night before (why do they need to know in advance?) and being treated to some of Mary's (or maybe Pam's) wonderful cranberry muffins that "everyone raves about" when they will probably make you want to gag.
6
Hotels only have to read their reviews on TripAdvisor to get all this + more.
8
Oh my goodness. Have you been in my room? My husband is so tired of my complaints about the hooks for towels. And let me add to the list, the new trend of all white bedding. I can't even sit on the bed to put on my shoes. Ooh wait, I get it. Don't sit on the bed, use the one chair that's being used for something other than seating because the designer has never slept in a hotel room!
9
“...We now know to ask if we’re getting the best possible room in our price category...”
This only works to your satisfaction is you know what the hotel’s definition of “best” is. Example: we went to Paris for a few days this past spring with the in-laws and we found and booked the hotel. It was a small, inexpensive, but well-rated clean Parisian hotel. This meant that there were some really oddly shaped, and tiny, rooms. We’d asked for best possible in the price category when we checked in.
Well, we and the in-laws got the exact same room layout but on different floors. A little weird, a lot cramped. Next morning at breakfast we find out that the in-laws got themselves moved to a room they liked better because they couldn’t tolerate their original room (identical to ours; we did not change). On night two, the in-laws were kept awake all night by the street noise. Turns out that the weird rooms faced the super quiet courtyard, and the larger more “american” rooms faced the street and were extremely noisy. Thank you, old Parisian architects.
So when the hotel gave us the “best rooms available”, they were giving us the quiet rooms. To the hotel, quiet was way more important than space and places to put your stuff. Definitions are important.
30
@Ann Good point with a great illustrative anecdote!
8
A lot of old people complaints (I'm 66). Get over it.
6
@Rick The phrase “get over it” should be banned from the current lexicon. It is rude and patronizing. I’m sure you wouldn’t want to be spoken to this way. A little civility would raise the level of discourse.
12
YES to all of these!!!
3
I would add mirrors that have been thought about in trams of functionality. Some need to be good for shaving, others for fixing hair etc.
3
Inadequate lighting is surprisingly common. That's my number one pet peeve. Why is it so harm to make a room bright enough that I can see and put on makeup?
15
How about the smoke detector over the bed! Sometimes I feel like I'm sleeping on the runway at an airport. Does it really need to flash like a strobe light all night long to tell me it's working?
Then there's the light on the TV, microwave, the clock next to the bed, drapes that don't quite close, mega gap under the door to a bright hallway, light coming through the peep hole, etc.
You give me a pile of pillows, but they are all the same firmness? How about some firm and some not.
17
travel w a small roll of electrical tape to spot-cover just the lights. Bathroom tissue twisted into tootsie roll shape plugs every bright door peephole. bathroom mat or a towel along the door sill blocks that light. finally using the weight of clothes, small bags or towels work for the gaping between curtains. I also have a small USB fan for white noise & to keep the air moving.
I use eyeshades too. However, during the night, they tend to slide. I don't sleep well at the best of times, worse on the road, even at the nicest places, so I've adapted.
4
@sera I’m short, how am I supposed to reach the ceiling even standing on the bed??!!
3
@Sutter
Interestingly, what I want is a dimmable nightlight that provides just a bit of light (however much I want) at night. I don't like sleeping in a completely dark "blackout" room - esp. a strange one. I often end up leaving the bathroom light on and leaving the door ajar in an attempt to accomplish (rather wastefully) the lighting level I want.
I guess the answer is block the stray light and provide a guest controlled nightlight - then we'd both be happy!
(The gap under the door bothers me too - sometimes it lets in too much light and it always lets in noise. Also, in case of fire, I'd rather not have it there. I suppose back in the day of sliding USA Today and, on the last night, the "checkout receipt" under the door it made that easier.)
1
Every room has a clock, and now all clocks are electronic, and have different specific procedures to set the time. All the clocks in a single hotel are the same, though.
Of course, housekeeping should set the time to correct local time, and any pre-set alarm turned off, before a new guest moves in. The housekeepers see the same clocks every day, and once trained on how to set the time can do it easily, whereas the guest has to learn a new procedure for every new hotel.
2
I always demand a bottle of champagne and caviar chilled and waiting.
19
@Zaldid Sorn Can I travel with you?
6
How about that alarm clock , set by the previous guest to 5 am only to wake you up on Saturday morning just as you were hoping to sleep in ?
Either skip it all together or add to the maid check list to turn it off after the guest leave.
16
First thing I do is unplug that unnecessary alarm clock. I have a watch and a phone. No need.
5
@Ohad Barnea This has happened to more more than a few times.
2
I would advise this experienced traveler to add “3M removable hooks” and a mini nightlight to their small travel bags. They don’t take up a lot of room, are damage free, and if you feel strongly about having hooks wherever you go....
15
I don't understand why there isn't a "night light" for the bathroom; when, if the door is open, it is easy to make ones way from the bed. Then, once in the bathroom, there is sufficient light without having to turn on the blazing overhead. We've traveled with our own plug in night lights, but unfortunately, it is too easy for them to be forgotten and left behind.
20
@Ann Heymann and bring a small nightlight!
I travel a lot with my husband and we have many of the same complaints. I hope that hotels will take this advice. Most are simple inexpensive changes that will make a huge difference.
12
Let's add corner-cut key cards, something that would cost hotels nothing. Metro fare cards in many cities have one corner of the card snipped away so that blind patrons know which way to put the card into the device that reads the card. This orientation problem is also something that visually impaired guests must contend with when using a room key card. Some large hotel chains have already started corner-cutting their cards. The practice should be universal.
25
@stripesrus Now that is great
4
A magnified mirror in the bathroom is my number-one request. Also, in hotels that have pools or a beach, please provide a good place from which we can hang our wet swimsuits.
12
I always go for a bed and breakfast. I get a nice room and decent food. No elevators. No $25 per night to park. But then again, I'm retired. I'm not a self-important mover and shaker who goes ballistic if I don't have charging outlets all over the place, tv's that return to the mindless station I was watching, etc.
I was in the Holiday Inn in downtown Sarajevo during the Balkan wars. Lots of boarded up windows and bullet holes. Enough said.
11
@george eliot If I'm traveling on business, I need, at a minimum, outlets to charge my computer and phone. It has nothing to do with being self important, it has to do with not wanting to get fired. And personally, I normally don't even turn on the TV when I travel.
15
@george eliot Def pompous. I'm retired, I travel I don't go nutzoid if there aren't a lot of charging units, altho I love it when there are some. I would like a list of channels and I would like it in English, and I'm not self important or important, but I do pay for good hotels, and why were you even IN Sarajevo during the Balkan war? you sound jaded.
1
In June we arrived at the Soundview in Greenport, NY. a place on the water. It was pet friendly, dog was happy, however there was no closet and no chest of drawers to put our clothes in. We called the front desk, and were told that was how it was now. No way we said. We were then given a suite, with a tiny closet and a couple of drawers below the coffee pot. This is not a good thing,
5
It would also be nice to have a plug at bed level that could accommodate chargers. As a business traveller, I have four devices that need nightly charging. I prefer to have my apple watch by the bed so I can check the time and use the alarm. There is rarely anything but a single plug and it is often behind the bed. If the hotel simply had an attached power bar (place them between the bed and the night, vertically, stand with the top at mattress level) it would be easy to plug in and charge. This would not require any renovation and would increase the utility of the room.
19
I've learned to simply travel with a compact 4-outlet power strip.
11
I often travel with my wife and two kids, four to a room. The hotel knows from our reservation that there will be four in the room. Yet, inevitably, there are always only three bath towels. This necessitates a call to housekeeping and a towel delivery from someone expecting a tip.
14
Nightlights, more than 3 hangers, magnifying mirror in the bathroom and light which can actually be used when applying makeup. Definitely more easily accessible electric outlets.
11
I stay at "B" and "C" grade motels and can confirm that these modest places have lamps with outlets inbedded in their bases and are usually on a nightstand between the two beds. These obviously inexpensive lamps even have usb ports, where I charge my Tracfone. Free parking, no resort fees. That's the beautiful life of a traveler in Route 81, USA. Exotic international travel? It's an adventure and I don't have the same expectations. We Americans seem to always be surprised when the parts of the rest of the world has fewer amenities, ranging from a/c to mini fridges. Turn off that hotel tv and take a walk outside!
11
Almost universally, when we first go to our room at a "name" hotel, we find most of the lights on and the air conditioner set for something like 62 degrees. Anyone ever tell management or housekeeping about energy conservation? Or guest comfort in freezing rooms?
We follow the instructions to hang our towels up if we want to use them the following day - as we do at home - but housekeeping changes them anyway. How does this help the hotel's proclaimed goal to save energy and protect our environment? Or are those little signs just for feel-good purposes?
Finally, European hotels need to discover shower curtains. Or put drains in the middle of their bathroom floors to deal with the overspray from the shower head and splashes from my body.
15
@Abby a facecloth would be nice for the shower too, rare as hen's teeth in Europe.
3
Stop getting rid of bathroom fans, please! We need them both for pulling moisture out, and as a "white noise" source to mask sometimes embarrassing noises for some people who are self-conscious of the small space allowed for private matter.
10
All of these are constant problems that could be simply solved. The most important being a place to hang wet towels. Why give me the option of not wasting water by reusing my towels only to make it difficult to do so?
Guests do this to be green, hotels suggest it to make green but it's a point where our interests align. Help make it happen- give us hooks!
13
An outlet where reasonable people would set up the ironing board...ALONG THAT WALL. We don't want to hurt ourselves or our children, and we don't want to burn the place down either.
6
Environmental costs aside, isn't a bit unsanitary to have shared soap pumps in the showers?
4
@Nicolas Benjamin How is that unsanitary? If you are skittish carry disinfecting wipes. And use them on the remote.
5
@Nicolas Benjamin No, they are wall mounted and sealed. They are common in gym showers. I suppose they could keep some small single-use plastic bottles on hand for people who prefer them, but the goal is to reduce plastic waste which is admirable.
7
Take many 3M hooks wherever you travel!
Best tip ever.
6
If we are redesigning hotels then consider bathrooms where the door does not block the toilet when open. Middle of the night visits are difficult enough in a strange place. Also, don't have bathroom doors shut automatically, same reason, access in the middle of the night. Guests are considerate enough to shut the bathroom door when they have a roommate but should have an open door option when traveling alone.
2
To me, WiFi is critical - it is unbelievable that in this day and age many supposedly high-end hotels haven't figured out their servers and/or allocated sufficient bandwidth for uninterrupted access. If I don't have this none of the "amenities" mean much and I will rate the place one star.
I also appreciate high-quality toiletries, preferably ethically sourced. You can tell a lot from the little attentions to quality & detail.
11
These are the EXACT same things my spouse and I say to each other whenever we travel. Thank you for the succinct advice. I hope hotels take it!
8
Exactly on point! I could have written this.
5
Please put the TV channel list in alphabetical order. It makes no sense to list the channels in numerical order, forcing us to scan down the list line by line each time we want to find a specific channel.
8
@Rick Vogt Better yet, include both lists. One on the front of a tent card by alpha and one on the reverse by number. So simple!
4
A real bathroom door that closes and stays closed. Not one of those barn doors or pocket doors that slide and don’t fully close or that bounce back so ajar is the best you get.
And a cheap plastic shower cap wouldn’t kill them. Looking at you, Marriott.
Agree especially with hooks and outlets in plentiful well-placed supply.
14
Thank you for writing this. Now let's see how many years it will take for any hotels to act on your recommendations. Many will probably have to review all these ideas in endless committee meetings.
5
Totally disagree with the reader who wants hotel rooms to have only showers. I take baths not showers and am getting increasingly distressed at hotels which, upon "upgrading" their rooms, eliminate tubs. I used to be able to count on hotels (as opposed to motels) having a tub. Especially at my age (70+) a long day of touring can leave me with aches and pains. A nice hot soak is welcome. People who want to shower can do it in a tub. People who want a bath cannot take one in a shower.
Totally agree about the need for hooks/towel racks; plenty of plugs in easy to reach places (USB ports especially welcome); night lights (although I now always carry a very small one that I plug into the socket in bathrooms). Lighting by which one can read a book in bed (and TWO switches, so that if I want to keep reading the person in the other bed can turn off his light).
How about windows that open?
17
Just spent a few days both at two different main-line hotels, so it was a chance to compare and contrast:
One had slow-closing toilet lids, so no slamming sounds jarring me awake. Also, HVAC was a steady fan with temperature variance, instead of a wall box that kicks-on and -off. The soft white-noise was also useful.
The other hotel had a bed a nice firm mattress that did not have that extra plush layer which guarantees a back-ache in the morning.
Both rooms could also use automatic soft-closing doors - - I don't have to rely on my neighbors being courteous when they come and go.
6
A sign on the inside of the door that says, "Please be considerate of your fellow guests and close this door gently," also would be appreciated.
11
I'd add: more than one electrical socket in the room... It's not middle ages anymore, we carry a lot of devices.
18
The best thing any hotelier could do is to stay a night in his/her hotel—with spouse/partner—and see firsthand what makes them crazy.
We recently stayed one night in a four-star chain hotel in Paris near the Gare de Lyon—to sleep off the jet lag from the flight over before continuing our travels by train. The bathroom mirror was smoke glass (!)—making it almost impossible for my husband to shave. (He could position himself where he could get direct light on the mirror for one side of his face, but said he was reduced to a “zen” shave on the other.). The only other mirror was behind the bedroom door, virtually inaccessible given the position of the bed and directly opposite a window. So I was backlit and made my own shadow trying to use it to do my hair and make-up, and if I closed the curtain there wasn’t enough light to see anything at all.
The other crazy-maker was that although there a huge, wonderful standalone porcelain bathtub for soaking off a wearying overnight flight, there was no place for soap or shampoo except the floor. And the sides of the tub were so high, you couldn’t reach over without getting halfway out of the water. No soap dish or shelf in the walk-in shower either, so you had to put everything on the floor there as well.
I couldn’t help but think if any owner stayed there, those things would be fixed in a heartbeat. Though a smoke-glass mirror in the bathroom does beg the question: who ever thought that was a good idea to begin with?
24
Concerning hotel safes.....most are not "safe." Just search Youtube for one of the many videos on how to open hotel safes without a key. My favorite is one that uses a plastic lighter to tap a certain spot on the face of a very common safe, and Voila
the door opens. I travel with my own wire mesh reinforced pacsafe bag and my own lock and lock the cable around a water pipe; not perfect, but certainly more difficult to open quickly.
4
Great list I hope all hotels will read. I’d add:
—A second, well lighted mirror someplace other than the bathroom. That way nobody has to try to do her hair In the same room as a steaming shower.
—At least two hooks in the bathroom. One is not enough for two people, especially if it’s already full of two huge terry bathrobes.
—At least one hook in the closet for laundry bags.
—USB ports at table height next to the bed.
—Decent reading lights on both sides of the bed.
—Universal electrical sockets at bedside or desk.
21
“Grab” Bars in the shower, please! They can’ t be that expensive, and they help get in and out of the shower, especially when it is a combination bathtub/shower. Having to step over the bathtub to get in/out can sometimes be treacherous.
20
@Tired ,
Yes, and also a rubber mat or some other non-slip surface.
6
Next I would love to read a column about hotel housekeepers’ tips for good guests. I suspect it would be eye opening and also a little disgusting!
31
Towels! Why do hotels insist on supplying three towels for two guests? I have long hair; I need two towels. I travel frequently for work and often room with my boss (who is also a friend). She has long hair too. Four towels should be standard.
10
I very much agree with Simon. We just returned from a 3+ week touring a number of national parks out west and stayed in our preferred chain of 3* hotels (I don't know the NYT's policy of mentioning specific brands.) while not perfect, many have tried to address the complaints noted by Steve Bailey.
I can add: I once stayed at a very high-end historic hotel in Eze, France -- where the safe was bolted to the floor in the closet. I had to get on my knees to use the thing.
6
@Madame X
(I don't know the NYT's policy of mentioning specific brands.)
Oh, please. Just say it!
1
It was fun to read about the failings of high-end hotels that I'll never stay in. Many of the lower-end hotels actually have some of the things the high-end ones in the article don't have!
18
It would be great if hotel staff would refrain from making a fancy puff atop the tissue box. I want a CLEAN tissue when I reach for one, not one that's already been handled.
14
A ledge or stool in the shower for us ladies who shave in there, please! Nothing is more annoying than having to bend all the way over, usually while in the shower stream, to shave one’s legs!
9
Add another to the toiletries issue: I support the wall-mounted toiletries instead of the little plastic bottles, but PLEASE think of the person taking a bath (after a long day of touring) rather than someone on their feet in a shower. Many times, I need to get up and down in a wet tub to reach the toiletries (a litigator's dream." Still, I cheer on the hoteliers who still have bathtubs, and not refurbished to "shower only."
Some of the suggestions cost money, some not as much as you think: wall-mounted volume toiletries are less costly than the little bottles for each stay.
And yes, after a recent tour of many national parks staying in 3-star hotels (great value!), you start to appreciate the little things like a TV listing guide, not having to page through hundreds of channels to get to something beyond infomercials.
As Laura mentioned, I strongly recommend that every manager stay a night in each of their rooms - minor annoyances would become very evident. You quickly figure out when the bathroom vent, that you can't turn off, is roaring. A nightlight, please?
11
Here's a tip for waiters: Back off and don't interrupt when your guests are deep min conversation. Here's another tip: Don't say "No problem." Say "You're welcome" or "You're very welcome" when I say thank you..
'
38
@Sweetbetsy I have to heartily agree! A thumbs up wasn't sufficient for your excellent comment.
5
@Sweetbetsy
I agree! Saying 'no problem' infers that the service person was expecting a problem from you and is relieved that you didn't present one. 'My pleasure' is what I say to folks I help and prefer to hear when I am the customer. Also, let's ban 'guys' from the English vocabulary. As in: Are you guys ready to order? My wife is not a guy, and at my age, I am past the guy stage in life.
19
Almost every single suggestion here requires money. Obviously, most hotels don't want to spend more. Even the good ones are trying to trim down their investment as much as possible.
If they really care, they would require management to spend a few nights in their own hotel rooms to check them out. But it still requires addition investment. Just saying...
On the other side:
Hotel guests, Please please please, stop the noisy socializing in the hallways, and slamming doors. Hotel guests can be utterly thoughless and selfish.
29
You forgot one thing. As a business traveler that needs to charge external batteries or power up a laptop, nothing gets on my nerves more than inaccessible power ports. If I have to move a mattress, or unplug the alarm clock, it's an inconvenience. If that's the only power available, extend it out to a convenient spot via a power strip.
36
Having travelled to Bonaire, Silicon Valley, Central CA Wine Country and Manhattan in the last month I concur on every count.
I have experienced almost all of the listed frustrations especially the luggage rack and lousy room assignment after a prepaid reservation of 4 and 10 months. In each room assignment case, I had to politely but firmly complain and was reassigned a better room.
Additions to the authors list might include:
!) the "time and interest theft" of putting a charge on one's credit card when checking in for "incidentals" that the guest must then track in the succeeding month to make sure that it has been removed from the credit card account. If a property requires such a deposit, guest should be given the option at check in to provide a cash deposit reimbursable at checkout.
2) the dreadful removal of top sheets from hotel beds and instead, a thick coverlet covered by a removable case. Give those of us who sleep "hot" another option that an oppressive furnace blanket or sleeping chilled without a cover.
32
@Michele Jacquin I totally agree about the blankets! The thick coverlets are just too much and a sheet is often not enough.
1
We operate vacation rentals in Chicago and Athens, Greece... our guests list 7 of these 8 pet peeves as the reason they love our homes. I am known as the hook queen because our properties have so many hooks! (Rare is the traveler who hangs up clothes in the closet! But hooks get used.) The 8th was USB ports next to every bed. When I travel I frequently wish I could convince the hotel or vacation home owner or operator to fix these simple things. I hope they read this!
15
A note to any hotel that wants to have a good review. Recently I stayed in an Ayres Hotel near the venue for my granddaughters 15th birthday party. They sent me an e-mail in response to my reservation, asking me if there was anything I needed to request that would make my stay more comfortable. I emailed back and forth with them a few times and had everything set up the way I wanted it before I got there. And, when I got there they were incredibly helpful. The one thing I would have asked for if I thought of it though, was a night light. Handling a trip to the bathroom in the middle of the night in hotels has always been a dilemma for me, and in this case the bathroom door was self closing so leaving the bathroom light on was not an option. I agree USB ports need to be installed but I always bring an extension cord and several adapters for that purpose.
12
@Judy
I always travel with my own nightlights. Usually two and one is always for the bathroom. My night lights have chargers built in and the light itself is bright. Best move ever. I notices Hotels have grab bars in the shower and some have two. Good on them. I also travel with my own mat for the tub. I cut them and make them myself. I use a tub mat at home so I Must have one with me. I bring my own shower cap and soap and soap dish. I travel with a tri fold out toiletries bag. It hangs up and I don't have to clutter the counter. The pockets are mesh so everything dries and stores right there. I stayed at a Hampton Inn which was a bit pricey compared to the other overnighter motels. However, it was the very best stay ever. Hot drinks of all kinds to greet you. Five oclock out came the fresh baked choc chip cookies and salsa and chips. The breakfast was grand and hot. One day was eggs and ham bits with biscuits and gravy plus all the other usuals, bagels, danish. muffins, english muffins, smoothies, fresh pineapple, yogurts, etc. Grand, terrific hot breakfast. Also, they had brown lunch bags labeled to go. Inside was water, a packet of ice tea/lemonade, a breakfast mini danish, a nutrigrain bar and an apple. All included. The beds were extremely comfortable, the window opened, the bathroom could have used a few hooks, there were none but I will start to bring my own removable tape type hooks for the walls. Great idea.
3
Grab bars in the tub or shower! Please! Also a night light is a good safety measure.
Last time I was in Germany the bathtub / shower was very deep and very narrow and to me dangerous to get in and out of. As the sides sloped, it was also tricky to balance while standing.
As the hotel clientele was mainly older travelers I was surprised to find that.
I greatly dislike duvets finding them too hot. At least a top sheet should be provided so that the choice isn't only duvet or nothing.
14
@gf
I should have replied earlier that I very much agree with you. My husband got a bad shoulder injury in Brussels when he slipped in the tub/shower. A grab bar would have helped.
ALSO: very much agree that the trend to duvets sometimes results in a too warm blanket. My husband and I have often taken the duvet out of its slip cover to get a lighter night cover (if we didn't remember to ask housekeeping to brig a lighter blanket.) Too many hotels have a blanket fit for the Swiss Alps in January with the window open.
4
I agree with almost everything written. However, bulk dispensers in the shower are easily tampered with (one was reported to have semen put in it), are subject to being refilled with cheaper products than originally filled with, and are often not refilled by housekeeping. Single-use, biodegradable container products are available and much healthier and safer.
25
You have hit on all my pet peeves. Thank you.
1
@Mona agreed. And also, a motion sensored nightlight.
1
The most overlooked and necessary things:
A window that opens
A good directional bedside light (surprisingly rare)
A feather pillow
A temperature gauge that is easy to work (also rare)
More hangers
An electric socket next to the bed
Tea/coffee maker
Large print shampoo, conditioner, soap!
Bedside drawer for pills, plugs, hand cream etc.
Best hotel in the world, I think: Das Stue, Berlin.
10
@Joanna I wonder how much it would cost to have the conditioner bottle cap and the lotion bottle cap different colors? Conditioner on the legs rather than the lotion is an icky, sticky mistake.
6
@Joanna
All the budget type motels I recently stayed in had the windows, soft pillows. plenty of hangars, tea and coffee maker standard. Microwave and a big mini fridge. I was pleasantly surprised but realize this is a competitive industry and each place charges something different too.
All could use an additional bedside table. Whether one bed or two, the room could use a second bedside table.
How about a big letter C or S on L on products provided by small bottles. Universally understood.
The Hampton by Hilton was a phenomenal example of exemplary customer service. We felt expected, respected, thought about and cared for. All of our needs anticipated and then some. They had a sign that said if you forget anything like a toothbrush or comb it would be free at the front desk. Real thoughtful gestures and great pillows-4
4
Please, hotels, give women the opportunity to design the bathrooms! These dimly lit boxes are impossible to put makeup on. I am so thankful when I see a hand-held shower, or a head on a sliding bar. It is impossible for a very short person to take a shower without getting their hair wet when the average lawn sprinkler-type heads are installed.
24
@Carolyn Pryor I agree- also hard for tall folks to clean heads and shoulders when these are fixed in place.
3
Many hotels on my recent trip in Italy, Slovenia and Croatia had showers with glass panels that only partially prevented water from spraying all over the bathroom, and many had poor seals between the glass and the tub. Many flooded bathrooms was the result. Maybe Europeans take baths, but showers save water, an increasing criteria in this time of climate change.
10
Straightforward, to the point article suggesting solutions that are simple and effective. Right on the spot. Thank you for this.
18
Agree with all the points you point out. I would add:
- Ideally there should be some sort of night light to get to the bathroom at night.
- Some hotels have complicated lighting systems that you hardly have the time to master if you only stay a night or two.
- Enough electric outlets to charge laptops, tablets and phones for two people.
15
A douche with the toilet or a Japanese style one . This toilet paper business doesn’t always complete the hygienic procedures after using the toilet. Thank you very much.
8
@WZ
Yes! Bidet toilet seats are very nice.
Some of these issues are easily resolved. If you want a second luggage rack, call the front desk to request one. They will usually be happy to accomodate your request.
My bigger beef is why haven't more hotels installed USB ports in their rooms? I would much rather see that happen!
6
How about a bread spread that has been washed within the decade, or better yet, no bedspread.
16
I once stayed at a high-end hotel which billed me for a Snickers bar from the snacks in the frig. I had not taken the Snickers bar or any other thing from the frig. The same hotel also billed me for a phone call made from my room. I had not made that or any phone call. Throughout the process of contesting the bill, I was made to feel like a criminal, and even received a letter from a corporate vice president warning me that they would adjust my bill "partially," but that I risked becoming an unwelcome guest in the future. !!!
16
@Debnev Many years ago, upon checking out of a hotel, I noticed a charge for something from the mini-fridge. I contested this charge, and they took it off the bill. I think I had opened the fridge out of curiosity, because I had never seen one. I suspect that is how the hotel came up with this charge.
2
...and please, some way to make tea and coffee in the room...
3
@Susan M and offer hot chocolate as well as tea and/or coffee. Not everyone drinks tea or coffee. It's a small gesture, but I dock those 1 tick if they don't offer that choice. Why is it so hard for public establishments to look at their businesses as consumers/guests see them instead of having employees do it.
3
I agree with most of the suggestions here. Definitely a second luggage rack, and more towel bars and/or hooks.
I always travel with a small nightlight, travel clothesline, and a few wire hangers ( the kind you get from the cleaners...tho’ I’ve upgraded to the ones I got in a Rome hotel when I had my laundry done....a little smaller and sturdier). The hangers are a real life-saver..take up no room in my suitcase and come in handy when hotel closets are barren.
4
Hair dryers for people with actual hair, please.
I've always suspected that the person responsible for selecting and purchasing hotel hair dryers... is bald.
25
A small micro-wave oven would be a nice complement in any room with a small refrigerator to heat up leftovers from the nearby restaurants.
3
Bicycles! I actually quit traveling for work partially because of the difficulty of finding bicycles to ride after work. Hotels that have bikes for guests (for free or fee) get my highest ratings and many repeat business when i vacation.
4
More storage please...... I don't understand why hotels provide desk type tables which have a large empty space below them, and then only two or three shelves for storing clothes.
No everybody is staying for just one night (especially in popular cities and towns) so why not give us enough storage to unpack our suitcases?
When there is room for such furniture why not provide it?
13
Counter space: no shelves over the toilet, please! It’s a disaster waiting to happen... hotels with nice wide countertops get rave reviews from me.
Combination fan/light in the bath - no! I don’t want to wake up my roomy if I need to use the bath during the night. That said, I keep an inexpensive nightlight in each of my suitcases. Doesn’t help overseas, though.
Hooks - yes - why is that so hard? And I agree, the hangers need to be the kind you can actually take off the rod.
Extra blanket is a necessity.
Coffee making supplies - I can’t digest fake dry creamer. If they provide no-chill dairy creamer, big time kudos from me.
Recently stayed at a Delta by Marriott in Montreal. Checked off every one of my requirements. Including a small covered balcony in every room - fresh air! Great luggage racks too, and extra hooks outside of the closet. So nice. They were even able to provide a microwave to us one evening so we could polish off all the leftovers that had accumulated in our mini fridge. Never hurts to ask!
20
@Now What I recently stopped in a hardware store in France and bought a European plug nightlight. Best 5 Euro purchase I've made in a while. Just used it for two weeks in Italy...I keep it in my bag with converters.
6
@Heather Ward Most hotels in Europe have plugs available for use at the front desk. Whenever I have needed one, they hold a small amount on my credit card that drops off after I return the plug.
@Now What They wouldn't be using undetachable hangers in the closets if the regular ones didn't go walking away so often.
4
As someone who spends months in a hotel. I always say it’s the worse place to try and sleep. Noisy guests and maid services that throw the lock on the door and then let it bang and bang. Why they don’t carry a door stop and keep the door open, or toss a towel down on the floor to buffer the door slam? And continued housekeeping being broadcasted. I always travel with a night light and “s” hooks because I don’t want to wake up and have the glaring light and as many have stated over and over never enough hooks in the bathroom. Other needs that are overlooked. More hangers please. Earplugs are a good thing to offer. I so want to open a window. There should be a lounge quiet room away from the lobby. As someone who has woken up or can’t sleep but yet cant disturb my sleeping working spouse, I don’t want to get dress and hang out in a bright noisy lobby.
7
@Betty Excellent points!
@Betty
You can bring your own ear plugs, which you will hopefully use again rather than add to the landfill.
9
Similar suggestions to others
1. Color coded shampoo, conditioner, body wash in the showers. Some of us cannot read that well with glasses inside a shower.
2. Electrical outlets - conveniently placed on each side of the bed and in a good location in the corridor for ironing.
3. Iron with easy to read setting. Ironing board with a well-designed place to keep the iron where it does not keep falling down or have the cord brush against a sharp metal edge
4. If you have to have mini-bar in the fridge, have at least one empty shelf to keep food. Don't want to throw away leftovers when possible.
5. Simple mechanism to set hot water in the shower. Don't have us pull hard and twist something first thing in the morning. Is it that hard to have a simple knob to control hot water?
6. Uniformly implement power switch off without key card inserted. Saves so much power.
7. At least one or two bottles of water, or even better a green alternative of water dispensers/fountains in the hallway where you can fill your own water. Overall expense will be just $1/2 night max if managed well.
13
Adequate lighting. Especially in the area where you are getting dressed. I’m writing this right now in a lovely, high style, modern hotel in Sydney where the full length mirror and closet are in such a dark corner of the room that they are essentially unusable.
23
@Cyclist That wouldn't be the Four Seasons, by any chance? When I stayed there last year, I found the lighting by the closet to be inadequate although the hotel was otherwise fabulous.
1
What a pathetic whine. If you travel as much as you say you do, you are of privileged class and these things would be small irritations, not worthy of NYT ink. I've traveled a lot in the past, not so much recently because I can no longer afford it. Your situation is different, obviously, but to brag about all your travel while you whine about this incidental irritation is offensive. Additionally, at this time of the world, is it really mindful to travel that much, considering the carbon foot print each international traveler makes? If you haven't done the research on that, I encourage you to do it. Seriously. Is your Instagram that important for your sense of self worth? Do you realize that only 3% of people world wide took an international flight during the last year? Check your privilege, please.
16
@Linda Sheesh. I think you miss the point. This reporter was writing on behalf of all of us travelers, probably more so on behalf of those of us, like me, who travel perhaps once every other year or less. For me, I have to say these are good suggestions, especially the towel hook idea. I just returned from a great vaca at Disney in Florida, where many of these considerations are already implemented. But still, nowhere to hang the damp towels! Come on, not every article has to be earth-shatteringly important to be interesting.
52
@Linda how unpleasant you sound. I’m using these ideas to make my home more guest friendly in addition to creating better space for guests in rental property. I find it kind to use these suggestions...
43
All excellent points. Probably the most customer centric hotel we've stayed in is Das Central in Austria. It spoils it for everywhere else
1
I want to ask hotels and inns to stop using heavily scented products. You can’t find a place without strong scented perfumes and other smells that some people might enjoy but other guests have an allergic reaction to. In fact 30 percent of the populations has allergies to scents.
21
@Karen I think those are to cover up smells that might be less enjoyable.
Usually not a problem at the better hotels, but the very least ANY hotel should do is provide glass glasses and ceramic mugs for coffee - NOT styrofoam and flimsy plastic cups in plastic bags. Ughhh!
21
@JPM -Hearing that the housekeeping staff sometimes are responsible for washing the glasses, I'd rather keep the plastic cups, and prefer the coated cardboard ones for coffee.
21
Unfortunately those coated cardboard coffee cups are NOT recyclable.
2
Biscuits. Bourbon creams, possibly a chocolate cookie or some Scottish shortbread. Without at least one of these the stay is always started with disappointment. What kind of monster provides provisions for tea & coffee yet no biscuits? The kind of monster I’m unlikely to re-visit, that’s what.
9
One more thing: if there is only a shower stall, add a ledge so that when shaving my legs I can prop up my leg!
12
Free wifi.
18
Plenty of REAL hangers - not those awful "slide the tab into the holder" things. I have essential tremor and those hangers are just brutal.
17
Handheld shower heads with long cords and strong flow are how I try to pick hotel rooms. Often the cords end up too short or the flow anemic. Why can't hotels grasp that people, especially women, can't get clean otherwise? Pet peeve.
9
I would add to this list some sort of small shelf outside the individual hotel room door as a place for guests to put coffee cups, car keys, or breakfast plates from the dining room downstairs while they fumble with the hotel room key card. And speaking of the door, it seems to me that sliding doors rather than the incredibly cumbersome traditionally opening-and-closing doors would make getting in and out of the room at the beginning and end of a guest's stay far more simple and safe. The gyrations and gymnastics involved in keeping the door open while rolling out various pieces of luggage sometimes can risk physical injury.
11
Have a bottle-filling water filter on each floor, like the Elkay ones at airports, to cut down on single-use plastics and enable people to easily fill larger bottles. Trying to fill a 1-liter metal water bottle in a sink is tedious at best. Include reusable water bottles the way you include water glasses. (And if a customer leaves with it, just charge them a purchase fee the way hotels do for the robes.)
22
A shower with easy access to the hot, cold and shower functions without having to enter the shower to control the water temperature. Also, two luggage racks.
17
@Mom I have stayed in several hotels where the showers are impressively large, and the controls are inaccessible unless you are physically in the shower. This is a very poor design as you have to get wet to turn the shower on. If you are dressed you get wet, and if you are undressed you risk being scalded or frozen by the water if you have not been able to test it out first. And how do the housekeepers clean these showers without getting soaked?
11
Not only do hotels need to provide a place to hang towels for reuse, they should also have some kind of label on each towel, such as different colored tabs, so we know which towel belongs to which person. They should also advise what they will do with left towels. I'm always afraid they're going to fold them and put them up like fresh ones.
6
In addition to things already mentioned:
1. Do there really need to be 15 decorative pillows on the bed that I end up throwing on the floor because they’re in the way?
2. Why do the cleaning staff always leave the plug in the bathtub/shower in the closed position, so that when I try to take a shower the tub fills up?
3. Fussy, multi-headed showers with all kinds of knobs are a pain.
13
I really need a "desk" with a mirror over it. Most hotels have a desk, but some don't, and it is getting rarer to have a mirror. When my husband is in the bathroom, I need to be able to function elsewhere and I'll bet others do too.
13
@JML -Accompanied by a good light. When my husband is in the bathroom, I frequently have to use the window illumination plus a compact mirror to do my makeup. Most in-room hotel lighting is awful!
9
@JML Maybe two bathrooms per room?
2
No. 1 Never Seen amenity for me: nightlight in the bathroom.
19
Gotta have good lighting: reading lamps on both sides of the bed for starters.
7
Yes, and not so tiny that they are below the level of the book I’m trying to read.
5
I would add the following:
(1) A small triangular foot step mounted in the shower would be very welcomed by women, so they can put a foot up, and shave, a much more difficult task when they have to shave with both feet on the floor.
(2) Many people are not aware that economical, wall-mounted dispensers in the showers are excellent places for bacteria to breed. As a physician, I can tell you that bacteria will absolutely breed and flourish in a jar of hand soap. Yuck. Soap bars, and (sealed) small plastic bottles, please. I can be a good citizen and save on plastic use in other parts of my life, thank you.
(3) Certify that your rooms are bed-bug free. Put out a sign, in the room, in the lobby, wherever. You can at least show that you have consciousness of the problem by educating your gusts on how to inspect for same. This is also a recommendation for the second luggage rack that the author so ably requested.
(4) Clean ALL surfaces in bathrooms, and don't leave nasty hand-prints and smudge marks from previous guests and/or cleaning people behind.
27
More than one tiny trash can would be nice. I stay in the "residence suite" hotels often and always have to hunt for the trash receptacle, usually hidden under the kitchen sink. Need one by the bed, in the bathroom, next to the desk. I also now carry along my own extension cord, as older hotels have too few power outlets near the bed. Blessed are those with the multi-plug outlets in the bedside lamps and tables. And I wonder why hotel/motel designers insist on using the slipperiest flooring in bathrooms. Do they want slip-and-fall lawsuits?
12
My pet peeve is those fat comforters or duvets. Either crank down the air conditioning to 60 degrees, so you don’t sweat under them, or crank up the heat so you can use just the sheet. Our last trip involved mom and pop hotels in rural towns and every one had real blankets for which I gave thanks nightly.
14
@Sue Phoenux Amen! I always take it all apart and sleep with just the duvet "envelope." At the last hotel, I asked for regular sheets and blankets, as just the duvet envelope, having two layers of sheet, was too warm!
5
A nightlight in the bathroom so I don’t have to stumble around in the dark, or turn on the overhead light.
22
My husband is left handed, I am right-handed. His towels, toothbrushes and other bathroom items always go on the left, mine on the right. Easy to remember
2
I once called the Front Desk to ask for a wake-up call (for the next morning) even though I had my own alarm clock with me. Daylight Saving Time was ending overnight at 2 A.M. The staff member assured me that they would call me at the correct time. Wrong! The person or system called me one hour early. Even though I had tried to fall asleep at 7 p.m., I could not fall asleep for a while. Then I was awakened one hour early! I couldn't go back to sleep, so I packed the rest of my things, checked out around 3:15 a.m., and drove to the airport, about an hour away. I will never travel during time changes again!
2
How about an iron that doesn't scorch your garments? Most hotels still use irons from the 1900's. A night light in the bathroom and plastic liners that actually fit the ice bucket would also improve the accommodations.
2
We also travel extensively and have noted most of what you say. That's why we always carry some stainless steel "S" hooks (Amazon, cheap and light) and for some trips, one of the compact clotheslines for the bathroom to hang laundry on. (Also Amazon, Also cheap)
We pack a bit differently for cruises than we do for hotel stays. On a cruise ship, the luggage goes under the bed mostly and packing correctly can make it more accessible.
I use a toiletry bag/shaving kid that's easy to hang from a wall light fixture or with an "S" hook. We've also noted the one luggage rack but we usually manage to work around it without having to use a chair.
Yeah, the TV default screen mode is a pain; even when staying at a Four Seasons. (At Four Seasons, if you politely ask, they'll do their darnedest to fix things and will note it in your profile.)
We've found that the most important thing to bring is a positive attitude and a spirit of adventure. Many shortcomings can be fixed by courteously asking for assistance. This is especially true if you frequently patronize hotel firms or cruise lines. They have your file and they want your repeat business if you're not a jerk.
5
@cellodad I write down the channel numbers of the channels I like on a piece of paper, usually found in the desk or a drawer. Come on people.
4
There should be a light switch right by the bed that turns on a light that fully illuminates the room.
It's dark, it's an unfamiliar room, you shouldn't have to hunt for a light switch, nor find one only to turn on dim illumination.
10
@Roberto
Kudos on this. I locked myself out of my room, naked, when I mistook the main door for the bathroom at 0200. Thank God There was a house phone at the elevator.
10
@roberto BEST comment ever! I feel for you, but this gave a good laugh. I have had similar experience - locked outside by self closing door. In pjs with two large dogs. Thank goodness for kind neighbors.
6
U.S. hoteliers should visit moderately-priced hotels and pensions in Europe, to get ideas.
12
We travel 2-4 months a year. I agree with many of the suggestions, particularly better reading lights, more easily accessible outlets for charging and big-lettered labels on the shampoo/rinse/gel bottles.
In this age of climate change, there are often times I would much prefer to have a fan on over the bed rather than running the excessive energy consuming air conditioning. I think that the payback for that expense would be fast for the hotels.
13
@Joe And the PTAC units are noisy. Must constantly adjust sound levels.
1
Steve Bailey pretty much nailed it, but I would suggest additional tips: one, adequate (meaning very good) bathroom lighting; and, two, a night light in the bathroom.
9
@LouisaBH (I forgot to mention, we always carry a plug in LED emergency light to serve as a night light. If the power goes out, the light goes on. Also from Amazon, also cheap, plug adaptors are inexpensive too. (you just need to make sure that any appliance you plug in is dual-voltage.)
4
@cellodad Never use your hair dryer from the US in other countries, even with an adapter. It will burn up.
1
Thanks for the article! Very timely,since we are in Madrid, at the Plaza España Skyline apartment/hotel. Very clean, modern and nicely appointed. On a quiet street, but yes...like many hotels it’s missing a few small items that would help the guests have an even better stay!
Hooks! We have toiletry bags which can be hooked and used, in case there’s little or no bathroom counter.
A simple kind thing like bottled water in the room, for your guests would be kind! Traveling is often dehydrating.
They have laundry facilities, for which we are grateful, but no operating guide!
In nicer hotels, two luggage racks would be great.
In Europe, they seldom have facial tissues! Please, provide some!
3
This thread is full of incredibly valuable information. I left the hotel biz ages ago deeply frustrated after trying to get management to make the most basic of changes. I hope someone with the power to actually do something reads these suggestions and starts working to make them reality asap.
9
PS. Hope hotel companies READ these comments!
10
How about some color distinction between shampoo, conditioner, body lotion and shower gel. Just got back from a trip where all four were identical, except for the teeny-tiny print that was barely readable with my clothes on. Quite a challenge in the shower. Frustrating.
11
I once stayed in a residence-inn style hotel that, though very plain, had the most perfect bathroom arrangement: reasonable counter space, a sliding glass shower door (warm! no clammy curtain!), perfectly clean mounted dispensers, and best of all, a textured toe bar in the shower. (If you have to ask, you don’t shave your legs). These should be standard!
6
Power outlets in your nightstand are a must. I'm amazed at how many new hotels don't have extra ones. Some times you have to unplug a lamp in order to charge your phone
14
I like the bottles of toiletries. Sometimes the products are very nice and I enjoy the experience of trying nice products.
Get rid of the disgusting practice of placing towels right above the toilet or right next to the toilet.
18
I'd add - clean the top bed sheets between guests. Many hotels do not (just the under sheets) and it is disgusting and often obvious.
8
@S
Not true about all hotels. I have observed over decades of business travel that business hotels (mid price range) change their bed sheets bottom and top, pillow covers . bath towels every day, and comforter covers at every change of room guests. However, hotels also give room guests the option of not changing the "linens" every day to "save the planet" as a green option. I usually choose the green option.
5
First thing I do is remove the filthy bedspread, then look for a good reading light...personally I dislike staying in any hotel..prefer an airbnb where you can talk directly to an owner. Always take my own snacks, a sleep sack, and plenty of reading material...most hotels have nothing to read on the premise.
4
It is not a “luxury” to be able to see to put in contacts or apply eye makeup when you’re over 40. And please install these so that I don’t have to touch the toilet with my legs to use it.
9
Yes, please!
Yes from me, too! Plus add a hook for coats outside of the closet for convenience and in case it is wet.
3
All great comments, to which I would add:
1) Both nightstands have to have an adjacent outlet so that phones can be plugged in overnight. It should not be placed so that you need to pull out the nightstands to reach it.
2) Get rid of all the throw pillows and blankets that aren’t cleaned between guests. I don’t want to find my fresh pillows covered in throw pillows that have had dozens of people leaning on them. Use duvet covers if you aren’t going to launder blankets or comforters between every guest.
3) Every bathroom needs a fan.
52
@JA Yes, fan in the bathroom. Hardly any hotels have them.
6
All good suggestions. I would add: adequate lighting in the bathroom; nightlight in the bathroom; makeup mirror; effective blackout shades.
17
@Noa (One amenity that I found I didn't need at the Four Seasons on Lanai was the TV screen that appeared in the bathroom mirror. I asked the bellman why there was a remote in the bathroom. He turned it on and CNN was suddenly visible right where I look to shave. The power black-out shades though were first-class.)
Agree with so many of the comments. Pillows, pillows, pillows, what's with all the pillows. Do they breed and multiply like the tribbles on "Star Trek"? Incredibly heavy duvets, bedspreads AND blankets, all at the same time, even in summer, and nowhere to put all this stuff unless you count the floor. TVs that default to the "welcome" screen. Lamps that were apparently designed for 3-way bulbs but have a one-way bulb in them. Incredibly complicated alarms.
Maybe it's "logical" for housekeeping to unplug the coffee maker - although I bet those ALL have automatic shutoff nowadays - but I have a disability and sometimes the outlet is extremely difficult for me to reach.
11
@smozo there are also the beds drowning in pillows but the duvet is so thin you shiver. Whatever happened to the blanket in the closet?
9
I mainly want my hotel rooms to be aesthetically pleasing. Anything else missing, I take care of myself. A trip to the local grocery or drug store is always interesting to me when traveling anyway. I never think of hooks. Or of hanging my towel to dry anywhere but on the shower curtain. Or using the luggage rack for longer than the time it takes me to unpack, then tuck my suitcase away.
Here’s something a bit more radical that would make a big difference: flexibility about check in and out times. I’d really like to arrange to check in at 8am sometimes or check out at 5pm. Or even be able to rent a room for just four hours in the day for a nap, shower, private phone call, place to rest if I don’t feel good. As it stands now, I don’t know of any properties where doing this won’t cost me an extra full night’s stay.
I assume the inflexibility has to do with the way cleaning and other staff and supplies are arranged throughout a property and throughout the day, but I’d think at least the larger hotels could manage to switch things up, letting people pre-select from a range of check in and check out hours. Let people pay more if necessary for those extra hours or checking out at harder-to-staff times. Just don’t make them pay for an entire night to be there to sleep or work or have a meeting. I dislike having to occupy myself in restaurants, cars, or coffee shops with all my belongings tagging along when I have a morning arrival or an evening departure.
12
I travel for a living and I only know a few people who unpack, so you might be an outlier. The rest of us want a place to simply put our bags. I live out of the bag and hang the few things I need pressed. Hooks everywhere please. A/C plugs at both nightstands (that aren’t so beat up that plugs fall out of them). No stupid master switch operated by putting your hotel key in there! I detest those. Good way to lock yourself out. (I keep old hotel keys in my bag to put in those.)
I sometimes put a little mark on the corner of the sheet to tell if they really changed the sheets. They often don’t. I want bottles of water, please. Flying dehydrates and don’t trust the glasses are clean.
6
@A. D. Sanchez, even though hotels are often inflexible about check in and check out times, they will usually check your bags so you don't have to lug them around with you while waiting for check in time, or for your evening departure.
2
Spot on!
Am reading all your comments and agreeing with most of them, especially the need for hooks, accessible sockets for charging phones and space in the bathroom to put toiletries.
But yes - check-in and check-out rigid rules across most of Hotels and countries; or worse - the more popular hotel or place/city - the more extrem and rigid check-in-out times (2-4pm check-in, 10am Check-out)
Good suggestion is indeed to be presented with a choice, like with the air travel.
Earlier checkin or later checkout for an additional cost, why not?
3
All great suggestions. I'd add a few: a nightlight in the bathroom; could easily be a a dimmable LED. Bedside receptacles for phone chargers. Finally, get rid of carpeting...it's just gross after a while and saves housekeeping time; laminate wood floors don't harbor dust or bedbugs.
22
Agreed, carpets must go!
10
@Clifford They might also supply some cheap basic slippers, so my feet don't touch the cqrpet when I get up in the night.
1
@jrh0 98 cent flip flops from Walmart. Light and dont take a lot of room. Easy to wash off and reuse.
3
Towels: Please give me towels with different colors if you want me to save them for a second or third use. I don't want to use my spouse's towels and I don't know how to distinguish among them when they're all white.
Hooks, shelves: Please set them at a height that's accessible for those of us who are vertically challenged.
9
@Sandye
Hotel towels and bed linens are all white so they can be effectively sanitized using chlorine bleach.
8
@Sandye They could put color fast tiny colored tabs on the white towels.
1
Here’s another annoying trend: notes from hotel claiming “green” policies to “save water”, notifying you that your towels will be replaced every three days— without the any way to hang said towels to dry!
I always leave them a note— “when you install towel rods, I’ll reuse my towels. Until then, I need dry towels every day.”
Now many hotels don’t have drawers for us to store our clothes— so yes— luggage racks are necessary, for each guest!
And yes— shampoo, conditioner and soap and lotion dispensers are a great idea! Go “green” that way....
13
Seasonal bedclothes! Nobody needs a 3-inch thick duvet in July when a lightweight blanket would do.
16
How about bath mats? Those pretty granite, marble, or stone bath tubs or showers get mighty slick when wet. One more than one occasion I have found myself slipping when taking a shower. Lately, I'll pack one if I know I'm staying in one location for more than a couple of days and leave it when returning home.
I'll second the motion on night lights.
8
Also, get rid of the “rain shower” shower heads and give me a good, strong spray that thoroughly rinses shampoo and conditioner out of my hair. I’m tired of showing up at business meetings looking like I stepped out of a Seinfeld episode.
27
@LTBoston
Hand held showers.
8
Finally!! An article I can really get into!
Hotel rooms can be so varied!
I've stayed high; I've stayed low. But some things really get me, no matter the price.
Towel racks: how the heck do I get a towel to dry. You want me to use it more than once (I do!) then I need a rack or rod and NOT a hook, which is just a sure fire way to get mold to grow.
The bed: please not too hard, which seems to be the default. I need a little softness for these old bones - but not too soft!
Carpets in the room: listen, I like something soft to walk on but I am so creeped out by a carpet I know has been shampooed a million times (and still reeks of cleaner and mildew) and has God-only-knows what kind of bodily fluid. Please give me some rugs that look like you can wash them, or just a simple laminate floor. I really don't want to put my slippers in when I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night.
Insulation - in the walls! Listening to the neighbors' TV, chatter or love making is not how I want to unwind. Even in some of the best of places I've unintentionally "eavesdropped" on conversations that ranged from the mundane (boring!) to the criminal (riveting!) to the erotic (stimulating!). But, I don't want to hear them - and I definitely don't want them to hear me.
Ok, let's talk about the bedspread. Just a simple washable SOFT blanket is fine. And while we are here, can the sheets be soft. And the pillow case.
Lastly, a window that opens. Even just an inch. Fresh air, please!!!
33
@Aha!
"Please give me some rugs that look like you can wash them, or just a simple laminate floor. I really don't want to put my slippers in when I go to the bathroom in the middle of the night."
"Carpeting" should be outlawed! That said one night I put my bare foot on one of those laminate floors and my foot stuck to the floor so best to at least wear socks. ;>)
5
Agree, although I wanted to note that hooks are perfectly fine for hanging towels to dry, mold does not grow! I just spent 4 nights in the Amazon (extremely humid), with only hooks to towels my reused towels and none of them got moldy.
1
@JammieGirl Throw rugs could be a safety hazard for some guests (or anyone in a dark, unfamiliar room).
2
I'd be happy if the plumbing just worked properly and the toilet seat was secured to the bowl
7
I’m not sure why the housekeeping staff must fold the toilet paper edge into a point?!?!? I always tear off that section. I don’t want to use toilet paper that has been manipulated by fingers and hands that have just cleaned dirty areas!! Not sanitary!!!
17
It's done so they know it's been attended.
1
@Suzanne Henry
Even if the housekeepong staff do not fold the toilet paper edge into a point, you still need to touch the toilet paper left over from the previous guest. Unless of course, you bring you own every time, don't sit on the toilet seat, and don't touch the flush bar, don't use the tub or sink. I have seen maids who polish the tub with dirty used towels left by the guests. I would suggest that you bring your own santitizer to clean all bathroom equipments if you want the place to be sterilized before you use it. The way things are with hotel cleaning, it is not being treated as a hospital.
4
Ironing boards make good luggage racks and you can adjust the height. Hotels should also have a roll of paper towels in each room.
5
My recent discovery is that many "modern," "business traveler" hotels don't have drawers. Or if they do, they're all filled with the various might-need items like a hair dryer, blankets and pillows. I was in a full-service major brand US hotel for nine nights and apparently the expectation was that a week and a half worth of underwear is supposed to sit on the desk the whole time.
I'm a little annoyed that a luxury hotel in London didn't tell me that they still had those things where you had to put the room key in a slot by the door to get the electricity to work. My arrival was a bit chaotic.
I was very pleased in London that the three hotels I stayed in all had one US outlet in the row above the desk, and there were USB ports above the nightstands.
2
@M Trenteseau (If you're stopping over in London for a night or two before traveling on somewhere else, the new Hilton Garden Inn at Heathrow is incredibly convenient. It's new and clean, a very short walk across the parking lot, acceptable bar and restaurant, and close to the Heathrow Express which can take you to Paddington Station in 15 minutes.)
1
I am 5 feet 2 inches. Most of the upholstered chairs in hotels are too deep for me and therefore uncomfortable to sit on. Sometimes, I find small pillows that I can use to put behind me. Remember the Goldilocks story: we are different shapes and sizes and need furniture to accommodate us.
6
@Short lady What about those door peep holes to see who is knocking? I cannot reach them in most hotels.
4
Yes! And please add more outlets for hair tools (blow dryers/flatirons) in the bathrooms - often there are none at all and please provide nightlights or an option for low bathroom lighting which I have seen added in a few hotels recently and really appreciate.
5
I've stayed in over thirty hotels in the US and Britain about 40 nights this year, from Charlotte to Austin to Detroit and from Brighton to 100 miles north of Glasgow - retired and finally traveling.
Pillows - Many rooms have several pillows (10 was the max in a one-bed room). They were all the same size and thickness and NOT comfortable for me. How about 10 pillows in several sizes.
Towel bars - "hang your towel if you wish to reuse it; put it on the floor if you want new ones". Hang where besides the shower curtain rod?
Seats - a two-person room might have two chairs?? That are comfortable. The last room I stayed in in the US had a snazzy chaise longue that was amazingly uncomfortable.
Lighting - many people read in bed. A place to read is a treat and a light even better.
Desks - you might get a guest without a laptop occasionally, but most would like a desk and chair w/ reasonable choices of altitudes for typing and reading.
8
What makes a room satisfactory depends on location in world.
In third world warm climates, an overhead fan is a plus. And that fan will aid not only with sleep, but also drying of hand laundry. So plastic hangers and places to hang them which benefit from the fan’s air,
Showers in high-sided tubs absolutely need both a bath mat and a tub mat, both critical for preventing falls. When not available, I ask for an extra hand towel to substitute for tub mat, and extra towel for floor.
I always travel with a nifty travel clothes drying each. Mine opens like a travel umbrella and has two clips on each plastic spoke.
1
I left a beloved robe in a StaybridgeSuites but only discovered my lapse weeks later. I realized it was a long shot but I called the hotel, was transferred to housekeeping, got their voicemail and never received the courtesy of a return call. How hard would it be for hotels to send a guest an email to let them know something had been found in their room? It would pay many dividends in customer loyalty and the hotel could charge enough to ship the item home to make the gesture profitable.
19
Two things I haven't seen in previous comments:
Housekeeping should be trained to report slow-running or stopped drains, and to check clocks to insure that the alarm is not active.
I assume cleaning the sink and tub requires running the water. In the case of a stopped shower drain (which I have encountered too many times to count, even in expensive hotels), the guest can't discover and report the problem until it's already caused an inconvenience.
I have more than once been awakened earlier than planned by an unwanted alarm, even in hotels where turn down service turns the clock radio on to provide mood music). To prevent this, I now unplug the clock if I can't immediately verify that the alarm is off (some are very difficult to figure out). I suspect that most travelers, as I do, use their phones as alarm clocks. I would rather have the extra night stand space than a clock I don't need. Make alarm clocks available on request to guests who want them; I suspect most won't. If you think your guests want radios (I suspect most don't), provide a dedicated radios.
12
My pet peeve: noisy window air conditioners. Can't someone figure out how to dampen the sound from the compressors?
16
I agree with the room expectation. I stayed at a top name hotel last year and for $500/night they gave me a dud room with no city view even though I booked it with a “city view” and paid extra. Although it’s tempting to just stay where you are because you’re weary, I gathered my things and went back to the front desk and asked to another room that matched what I booked. Took about an hour but was worth it in the end.
7
Hooks, hooks and more hooks. Ditch the useless towel bars. We recently purchased a rental property and removed all towel bars and added hooks everywhere
4
@KG
If you are staying in a high humidity warm place, towel bars allow towels/washed cloths to dry, where as hooks allow towels to clump, harder to air dry.
7
Ditch the lamps that swallow bedside table surfaces and install wall-mounted scones. Definitely two luggage racks - nobody wants to put luggage on any textile surface due to concern for bedbugs, even in high-end places. Replace bulky TV cabinets and drawers with open counter space - better use of the limited floor space in most hotel rooms.
9
The thing I remember most from my stay in a hotel in Dún Laoghaire, Ireland, was the view into a dark interior courtyard with hundreds of pigeons roosting on large metal machinery. I kept the curtains closed for my entire stay. I had made my reservation months earlier.
Other rooms looked out onto a pleasant sunny green landscape. Not mine. Surely I was being punished for being an American, or some other grave insult.
6
@Andrew Porter
Similar experience at the otherwise wonderful "royal" hotel on Valencia Island on the Ring of Kerry. Our view was of a construction waste pit. I had exactly the same suspicion about being an American and having to take one for the team... : (
1
@Andrew Porter Upon check-in I was informed my room had a view of the pool. In Princeton, IL I didn't expect it to be scenic but did suspect it would at least have water in it... My sympathies to those guests that were in the lounge chairs anyway (Yes, in swimsuits).
I’m surprise the list doesn’t contain HVAC systems with thermostats that work properly and don’t make so much noise that you can’t sleep.
10
Don’t ask me if I want to make a « green choice » when checking in. Eliminating someone tidying a guest’s rooms during their entire stay is not about altruistically saving the environment, it is about reducing wages and increasing corporate profit. I’ll continue to hang up my towels for re-use for the good of the planet and save someone’s job by not trading housekeeping for points.
9
How about a comfortable chair that guests can actually sit in to read or watch TV? I am constantly amazed and disappointed by the ridiculous design of most “guest” chairs - backs too high, no arms, no way to comfortable arrange one’s feet - that make the bed the only real option for relaxing.
10
Oh yes! The absence of a second luggage rack! Two beds should include two luggage racks. And when there is only one chair that gets used for luggage there is no place to sit other than the bed, which is not comfortable seating. Thank you for pointing out the lack of luggage stands.
14
The problem is, you don't know exactly what you're getting until you check in. We recently stayed in a Marriott in the Detroit area that didn't have a safe in the room. They said we could deliver our valuables to the front desk for safe keeping - which means waiting in line every time we leave or return to the hotel. Even the low priced hotels in Southeast Asia have safes in the rooms!
Also, at this same Marriott, the room furniture was situated so the television was on the dresser to the side of the bed. Are the guests expected to turn their heads ninety degrees to watch television?
Lastly, at this same hotel, there was no ceiling fan in the bathroom. Consequently, the mirror steamed up.
I thought a Marriott would provide a better accomodation than this.
5
Get rid of the big germy house phone beside the bed and put in a bunch of USB outlets. Also, the conveyor-belt toaster takes forever and never actually produces toast.
4
I’d say thin walls is my biggest irritation about certain hotels, and the loud noises from guests, cleaning crews, hearing the elevator every time it goes up and down, or hearing every single hotel door slam shut! It’s just the worst. Soundproofing measures would really make a difference for me!
17
You missed my number one tip/pet peeve, which I would have hoped hotels would pick up on after I forgot my 100th night light: Please put some form of very dim lighting in the bathroom. When you wake up in the middle of the night in a strange dark room, it can be pretty useful to have some way to locate the toilet (without having to turn on a light and wake your spouse).
10
One of the reasons I don't travel much anymore is because I get the yukky creeps knowing how dirty most hotel rooms are, no matter how expensive they may be. Like tRump's hotels, being caught with bedbugs in the rooms, and cockroaches in the kitchens. Blech. (Also, I'd rather take a nice train, rather than drive, which is usually impossible, thanks to our backward, oil subsidizing government.)
7
Since switching to wall mounted beauty products, hotels, please provide ingredient lists according to product labeling laws.
Ingredient allergies *are a thing!*
I'm allergic to coconut/palm which is in every lotion, soap, and shampoo ever made. I MUST know if it's in yours!
1
In some hotel rooms, there is not enough light in the entry area. When I wanted to read the safety information and [fire] exit map posted on my door, I could not do so without using my flashlight (if I remembered to bring one with me). Please provide good lighting at the entrance of the room!
5
I completely agree with the bathroom suggestions, never a place to hang two towels! Also even five star US hotels use the same terrible , cheap toilet paper. And don't get me started on the "lounge" chairs.
9
Don’t use spray air fresheners that are highly perfumed....or at all. If the room stinks that bad then maybe it’s time for new carpet.
23
I second the request for decent reading lights. Also, a night light in the bathroom!!!! so you can see where you're going without waking up your roommate by having to turn on a bright light. Why have they never thought of this? Doesn't everybody have a night light at home?
13
@Cheryl I don't. I want it dark as possible when I sleep. No objection to your request -- but maybe keep a small flashlight by the bed?
5
@Cheryl -- Bring your own?
3
@LosRay
Lots of hotels have two switches in the bathroom now—one for the regular lights and one for a dim nightlight. Your choice whether you use it.
Most important - power outlets? We all need to charge 2-3 items these days. Many rooms have none available (all occupied by room lights, alarm clocks, and such), and/or they are buried behind the drawers or the bed and hard to access.
18
@Colinpny
Why do you not take with you a multi outlet?
It's a must when I plan to stay in a hotel, and I take with me every where when I travel.
2
This is not just for hotels, it should equally apply to the current interest in Airbnb locations.
We’re in an Airbnb Rental in Australia, for $450/day, you’d think they could have some facial tissues and give you more than one hand towel in the baths for the week we’re here.
This is the hospitality industry, hotels and homeowners should make that effort to go beyond the bare bones. Why would you want your guests to come away from their lodging experience with complaints and gripping, that’s just bad word of mouth which isn’t going to be helpful to your business…
9
Please also design your room lighting so I don't have to walk into a dark room and find light switches on table lamps that seem designed to be hidden. Where you have a dressing area with a mirror, make sure their is lighting for that area. Hotels seem to have no clue as to what constitutes a lighting system that works in a hotel room and I include the top hotels in this assessment.
15
I completely agree on room lighting. It is the opposite of hospitality to enter a dark room and have to feel around on the walls for switches. And then some of the switches are floor switches, which is even more awkward.
The comments on noisy air conditioners are also well-places.
Metal grab bars in the tub/shower and next to the toilet. We are an aging population and it really makes a difference. Not the suction cup model though; they have a tendency to release from the steam in the bathroom.
On a positive note, I stayed in an hotel in Madrid that had heated towel racks. I was able to wash some tops and underwear in the shower and hang them to dry. By the time I got back to the hotel, my clothes were dry and I had some backup clean clothes in case I needed them. And, I did.
17
Oh I LOOOOOVE heated towel rods!
The luxuries of European travel in Italy & Spain introduced me to this & I fell madly in love!
5
@lynn Most hotel rooms aren't bright enough to read in. A 100 watt equivalent LED only uses 11 watts. Could we have at least one?
Please install sufficient, convenient lighting in the room! One of my biggest pet peeves about hotel rooms is having to wander around the room turning on a bunch of different lamps each of which has a 4-watt light bulb only to find I'm still getting eye strain whenever I try to find anything. Heaven forbid I actually have to do some reading. Why I can I walk into the room, flip the light switch on like I do in my house, and have an overhead light source with a standard bulb come on? These dimply lit rooms are not only an irritant, but undermine my confidence in the cleanliness of the room because it feels like you are trying to hide something.
19
Tips for Hotels from a construction tortured Hilton Guest :
1. Don't advertise :" There will be work down on the COMMON areas of the hotel, which may cause 'light disturbances " when you're about to embark on 7 day a week ear- splitting construction , including INSIDE guests' rooms.
2. Don't enter guests' rooms without their knowledge and consent because you are ahead of schedule,& perform construction work inside their rooms Doing so is illegal as well as a personal violation .
3.. Don't blame guests for that to which you are subjecting them. Don't tell them that the construction is as stressful for you as it is for the guests.Don't hang up on guests who are calling due to construction related disturbances.
.
4. Don't allow construction workers to carry on until midnight after the ear splitting construction finally stops at 8 :30 p.m.
5. Don't tell guests that construction workers have the right to blast music in the HALLWAYS " because they are guests."
6. Have the decency to give a discount to the guests who are trapped in 12+ hour a day, 7 day a week construction zone. It's the least you could do. The guests wouldn't be trapped in this construction zone had you been forthright about the construction in your advertising, as required by law.
7. Try to remember that it is the GUESTS who keep you in business.
8. If you work in Corporate, set up a confidential way for current guests to contact corporate.
14
Great tips. Thanks. Let's hope the industry takes note. One caution, however, about wall-mounted dispensers in showers. Tragically in our time, ghouls put pins and razor blades in Halloween apples for children, and state-sponsored terrorists spray lethal toxins in public places, and acid is thrown in victim's faces. Eliminating single-use plastics is right and long overdue, but I'll be taking the tiny bit of extra trouble to carry my own refillable mini-bottles of shower toiletries, rather than trust that the shampoo in the dispenser is unadulterated. Overly cautious? No, I'll say. Better safe than sorry.
126
@R. Thyme I agree. I want to see some type of lock so I know its the staff refilling the containers, not some vagrant!
15
@R. Thyme -- When is the last time anybody heard of razor blades in apples at Halloween? When is the last time anybody ever gave kids apples for Halloween?
27
@R. Thyme my perspective on the mysterious tourist deaths in the Dominican Republic changed when I learned that the mini-bars at their all-inclusive resorts are full-size bottles in dispensers. How do you know if they've been tampered with, or even just dirty and germy from being in the room so long?
The plastic packaging is a significant part of the cost of these items; they could double the size for not much more money and reduce waste.
9
Jeepers! I just wish I could travel so much that I could complain about it.
25
yes yes yes, I totally agree. hotels, please take note.
another thing I love in international hotels is different plugs so I don't have to fish around for adaptors. some hotels do this, most do not
5
@Susan You'll find different plugs on cruise ships also but often not enough for two people. It's still a good idea to have a plug adaptor hub with multiple outlets and ports. Amazon has one that I just used for a month in 12 different countries. It was flawless.
2
Can't stand it when the sheets are not tucked in on the bottom and I have to remake the bed to fully cover the mattress...what is that about. And the desk people must never spend a night in the rooms to understand complaints like these...the blank looks are so revealing.
2
@scoops -- The bedspreads are filthy. Do not even want to put my bag on the bed. Don't want my bare feet on the filthy carpet. Yuk.
3
@scoops My first move is to UNTUCK the bed
4
decent reading lights!
19
@susan I've noticed many people citing this need. It really didn't occur to me since a carry a library worth of reading material on my tablet.
@cellodad
Some of us are sick of our electronic devices by the end of a long day so that a book can be a relief.
1
i'd like the protest increasingly shallow toilet bowls in hotels and motels. This is a most unfortunate design error, particularly for men whose genitals get a soaking every time they have a
bowel movement!
I don't know if the design is intended to save water. If so, it's a failure because I need to shower after using the toilet. It certainly did not used to be a problem for male travellers. But I have recently heard complaints about it from several male friends.
5
@John F. Hulcoop -- Sit down. Develop better aim. Put the entire seat down before flushing. Won't kill you.
This is because toilet bowls are now designed to use much less water than they used to, less than half the water that old toilets used. This is a conservation thing, so the shape, design, and depth of the water from your body is different. Also, the amount of water inside the bowl before you use it, and the amount of water that rushes down when you flush is substantially less, which drives me insane... toilets now don’t effectively flush down all the waste at times, forcing the need to scrub them daily in order to keep them clean! UGH
2
Talk about first world problems. Geez. I spent my first international trip in a room where you had to close the bathroom door in order to access the hallway. No heat, no air conditioning, no windows. Not even a fan. I shared this space with two other guests.
These were relatively classy accommodations compared to other trips. What are you complaining about? I once spent months at a place where the only flushing toilet flushed only once a week or not at all. You're complaining about where to secure a laptop. Face-palm. Don't bring it. You can think of more creative ways for establishing connectivity.
These days, I'll settle for any decently clean room with a flushing toilet and low noise. I'm mostly there to sleep. Hooks and wire racks? Who cares? Bring some paracord Steve. It's not hard to jury-rig a clothes line if the hotel doesn't have a drying wrack. You can make your own with a few knots and a clothes hanger.
6
@Andy Not everyone is going on mission trips and staying in hostels in developing countries. Sometimes people are going on vacation in, yes, the first world, and they stay in nice hotels. None of the requests seem out of line for such places.
39
@Andy
For an analogy, suppose that you are traveling. You give $50 to a money changer. You get $48 in local currency, the money changer keeps $2, and both of you are reasonably happy.
Alternatively, you give $400 to another money changer. You get $100 in local currency, while the money changer keeps $50 and shreds the remaining $250, because it is the custom. Are you happy? Perhaps yes, if your employer will reimburse you for the $400. Perhaps no, if you needed the remaining money or dislike stupidity.
In other words, many hoteliers are leaving money on the table. If they were to fix some simple problems, they could have more business or charge more.
When you ask for low noise, you are asking for one of the most expensive features to provide.
1
@Judith And some of us may be traveling for business and need to get decent sleep before an early breakfast. Reducing stressful experiences in our hotel room will improve our sleep. I am not a happy camper.
9
plugs! I have sleep apnea and a phone so two plugs would be ideal
also a night light for the midnight pee.
5
hangers! they can't be very expensive and how can one stay without hanging ones clothes!?
9
@Susan
I usually bring my own hangers with me. They are metal and fit in my luggage.
1. Towel rails to hang towels.
2. Hooks
3, Milk, Not that dreadful non-food, powdered non dairy creamer
4. Get rid of the over use of 1 time plastics:
- 2 mugs instead of non recyclable cups in individual plastic bags.
- teaspoon instead of little plastic straws
- sugar packets not in extra plastic bag
In the US I am constantly throwing out daily several 1 time use plastic coverings, nit used elsewhere in the world.
9
I agree with most of these - didn’t know the HOOKS peeve was so widespread but it’s on my list too. I would like to add: Washcloths. Many hotels in Europe don’t provide them. And an outlet NEAR A MIRROR where one can use a curling iron or the like. I understand they’re not allowed in the bathroom, but there’s often no outlet in the bedroom next to a mirror. And definitely another vote for outlets by the bed, extra luggage racks, and decent lighting. I once stayed in a very nice ski resort in Andorra where the room was spacious, beautifully decorated, with a gorgeous bathroom. And even with every light turned on, I had to use the flashlight on my phone just to find things in my suitcase. NO possibility of reading.
9
@Linda S. Electrical outlets are permitted near sinks if they are GFI outlets which is a code requirement in the US
4
@MainLaw Not in the UK!
Yes! All of these are excellent suggestions. I would add two of my hopefuls. A full length wall mirror so I know what I really look like before I go out and a waste basket in every room. I tend to have sinus issues when I travel and appreciate that nicety. But yes, more hooks in the bathroom please and more suitcase racks would be wonderful!
7
Best hotel safe I ever had was large enough for tablets, phones, etc., AND had an electric outlet to allow the devices to charge!
12
Wall mounted telescoping make-up mirrors. The fixed wall mirrors feel like they're a million miles away and if you're short, you have to contort over the counter to get close enough to pluck eyebrows and check those pores.
A single queen bed should never be an option. Choices should be a king or two queens (or two doubles).
Any why oh why do so few hotels lack exhaust vents in the bath? It just encourages mold and damage to the room.
Outlets with USB ports built in.
And night lights! They make double wall outlets with nightlights built in. It should be easy enough to retrofit bathrooms with these and guests would be so appreciative.
13
@BJ Thanks, nightlights are our biggest needs. We try to remember to pack little flashlights, but—if we forget—we have to leave a bathroom light on all night with the bathroom door almost closed. What a waste! But we need to be not disoriented in a new place at pitch dark.
Our other main wishes are for quiet, ventilation, and hygiene, including on bed coverings.
5
All excellent suggestions! Here's hoping that hoteliers are reading this. None of these sound particularly expensive. Just do it!
4
Two pet peeves:
(1) Often the towel rack is located directly over the toilet. More than once I've pulled off my towel only to send the other one into the bowl. In any case it should be within reach of the tub.
(2) We often travel with a friend, so I reserve and pay for a room for 3. Invariably, we arrive to find 2 of everything - cups, slippers, coffee pods, etc. If we pay for the extra guest, is it too much to ask that housekeeping set up the room as such, or even keep little "extra guest kits" at the check-in counter?
6
All so true, and thank you. One addition, or maybe two... good lighting in the bathroom. Dim light in the bedroom is fine as long as there is a lamp on either side of the bed. Too much to ask for, I don’t think so.
5
Most of my complaints of hotel rooms have to do with the bathrooms. I need to bring my reading glasses into the shower so I will not use conditioner instead of shampoo or vice versa? Also hate when there is not rug in the shower. And no matter how hard they try, hotels cannot seem to keep bathroom floors from being slippery. Why not have a rug to place on the floor before getting out of the shower? I also hate the lack of adequate power outlets in guestrooms especially when wanting to set up a clothes iron. Also, never understood why hotels don't install universal power outlets in their rooms for international guests? Ar they that expensive?
1
Why have any amenities like shampoo/conditioner/lotion in the room in the first place---yes, including wall-mounted dispensers. The vast majority of travelers bring their own; and for those who don't, the hotel can offer you a toiletry kit at check-in, perhaps for a fee, and you can decline for the sake of good old Mother Earth.
13
Heat and air conditioning that actually WORK and can be adjusted, not fake dials that have no effect. And that do not have fans which sound like a defective air plane landing in the room.
9
Amen, especially the luggage rack, the location of the safe. I also hope for decent bedside lighting and tables and my own personal wish: a shower head that is suitable for a short person. Many of them are much too high and don’t fit the smaller bodies.
10
decent bedside lighting means one should not have to hold the reading material UNDER a small lamp in order to read. A real lamp for ease of reading please!
7
Recently stayed in a boutique hotel in Amsterdam. Bathroom had 3 hooks, makeup mirror, pull out clothesline and a double sink with both lots of space around the sinks and a long shelf above the sinks. Bedroom had 7 light fixtures plus a chandelier so easy to read. Only negative was that the safe was on a high shelf in the armoire and I couldn't see into it. Had to feel around for my valuables that were in it. It was almost as bad as safes that are practically on the floor.
3
Each and every one of the suggestions are available at The Murieta Inn and Spa in Rancho Murieta, CA. (Northern Cal).
Well traveled owners (road warriors) thoughtfully provided all of what you mention in your article including a guest laundry, free unlimited ice for your cooler and many more amenities.
1
@John Sullivan, yes John, a nice hotel if you’re attending a horse show, nearby (I stay there about 10x a year). Not much else nearby to do. The hotel is lovely, the staff is wonderful. Alas, no room safe. But, I’m a very, very happy customer.
Please please please design hotels with windows that open, even if it's only a few inches. There is nothing worse than being trapped in an overly stuffy room with only the heater or air conditioner for ventilation.
19
I'ver moved to my iPhone for my alarm as well as "night light". When traveling on nosiness I also take a power strip so I can charge everything at one time.
I also have sleep apnea and will go for a decent brand of bottle water for the humidifier unless staying for a few days - then I get a gallon from a drug store or grocery store.
My wife and I have also moved to disposable underwear. They start off lighter than regular underwear and can be tossed after 2 or 3 days. Light pads keep them "fresh" and they are packed in the carry on in case the suit case is lost by the airline for a week.
1
How about skipping the carpet -fresh ( better yet, no carpet at all) and making sure that there isn't any mold or discolored grout in the shower
7
Better lighting.
Heating/AC that is more user-friendly.
4
1 Check mattress for firmness. 2 Place families with small children in separate areas. 3 Do not disturb signs should not fall off the door knob. 4 Mack sure alarm clocks are set to off. 5 Install air conditioning controls that are easy to understand
6
@keith Do Not Disturb signs should also not have "please make up my room" on the other side.
2
I bring a power strip for my electronics and my own toiletries. Hotel executives and their wives should spend two or three nights anonymously in their properties. Only fair.
8
Hotel executives are all male? If so, maybe that is part of the problem.
9
@MTF (Staff at Four Seasons hotels are allowed a certain number of comp. nights at other properties world-wide each year. All staff from pool attendants to managers. (It works out to about $100/night for a $1000-2000/night room and half off at restaurants and bars.) When they leave, they complete a questionnaire and comment sheet with criticisms and commendations. These comments are discussed at staff meetings and they brainstorm ways to make up deficiencies. It's one of the reasons that service is amazingly good at Four Seasons properties.)
2
Dublin is an expensive city to visit, but one of my hotel stays there was made terrible and cringe-worthy by the irritating glare and dim (somehow both at the same time, amazing) lighting. The other end of the spectrum was found in Edinburgh where my bargain hotel room offered some of the best lighting options of anywhere I've stayed.
4
My husband and I spent a night in a newly renovated well known hotel. Bad lighting in the huge bathroom with no shelving. No mirror outside of the poorly lit bathroom. Few outlets. Why?????
4
Here's a tip: Disney Hotels - all the same, no disappointments. No challenges to overcome. McDonald's for meals. Better yet, stay home. You've missed an important part: travel = growth, pas whining.
@Happy Traveler Actually, one time I checked in at the Swan Hotel at Disneyworld for a convention and went to my room. When I opened the door, I saw a cigarette burning in an ashtray and dirty clothes all over the floor. They had checked me into an allegedly non-smoking room that was already occupied—by a smoker! Very disappointing!
I do over 100 nights per year in hotels. Slamming doors drive me nuts. The worst is maids that let the door slam on the security hook. If hotel managers are reading this please train them to not let the door slam. Give them a door stop. Thanks.
15
YESSS!!!! I’m a very light sleeper & the heavy slamming doors are the worst! I also cannot believe that housekeeping will still come to your room & knock when the do not disturb sign is on the door.... and they still go so far as to open the door at some hotels only to fine people still sleeping. How is that still appropriate practice?
8
Another rack, lots of hooks, and the retractible clothes line, especially at beach locations, are great suggestions. Also a mirror with good lighting in the main room so more than one person can get dressed at the same time. And I have to say I hate anti -theft hangers.
5
This article covers too broad a spectrum of different price guests lodging, from top priced to motels.
My comment is about mid-range business hotels such as Marriott, Sheraton, Hilton, Westin, Hyatt.
Guests convenience: Some hotels have stopped providing amenities, e.g. tooth paste and brush, shaving cream and razor. Hair shampoo and conditioner. Items that business travelors expect. Please provide.
Safety of guests: night light under bedside table and bath room should be standard to prevent tripping and falling of guests. Non slip straps in bath tub should be replaced once they are warn down. Hand rail is a must. In the guest room, in case of power failure, a battery changed wall light should be provided near the bedside table when power failure or fire should happen. Electrical outlights should be available at the base of bedside lamps.
Noise abatement: better insulated walls for better sleep and privacy, rubber door jams to prevent slamming of doors. Water pipes should be insulated in the cavities of the wall to minimize noise when guests are showering.
Bed sheets and comforter covers should be of soft material, higher thread count. (Some bedings cause skin itching.) Pillows are made of too light a material, causing material to shift above the neck and head for support, causing stiff neck and restless sleep.
Room temperature should be kept at a mild 65F at all times for guests' preference alternative of a few degrees up or down.
7
Regardless of the container, having large, high contrast lettering on shampoos, conditioners, and gels would make the one place where I'm never wearing my glasses much easier to navigate. I've encountered this in an airbnb, but can't recall encountering legibility in any hotels.
22
@Johnnie Or distinctly different colored bottles and a proper shelf in the shower on which to put them.
I meticulously hang up the towels, clearly indicating that I plan to reuse the.
But without fail I find that the room service has taken them away and given me new ones.
Why make a big show of being climate change conscious then?
25
Thank you, Steve, for this article. To that, I would add this: Why do hotels now have a 4pm check-in time? Weary, tired travelers who've come long distances just want to get into their room and relax, unwind, unpack, freshen up, perhaps take a short nap. In recent years, checking into one's assigned room upon arrival has become later and later. Yet check OUT time has remained the same. Do you know why?
49
I agree! Not only that, if your room is ready and not going to be sold before you get in, why not let you check in a little earlier?
4
@GLORIA SCHRAMM If someone checks out of the room at noon, the hotel needs time to clean the room. Not all hotel rooms are empty and available early in the morning.
2
@GLORIA SCHRAMM yes, housekeeping needs time to clean all the rooms, especially the rooms from late-staying guests.
1
Real, strong, full size hair dryers! Many women have thick and/or long hair that cannot feasibly be dried by the tiny, often incredibly noisy hotel hair dryers that emit baby breaths of air. There is one hotel chain that I stay at when I travel for work solely because it provides professional hair dryers (with a tag that warns that you'll be charged $200 if it is taken). Not having to pack a hair dryer is golden.
10
@AM Amen!! And stop having hair dryers that are hard-plugged into the bathroom and can't be used elsewhere. I prefer to dry my hair in the bedroom because a) there's usually better lighting than in the bathroom and b) my husband can use the bathroom while I'm drying my hair. I hate dragging my hair dryer around on all my European trips but, like so many others, have learned the hard way that most hotel dryers are completely useless.
4
In an expensive [relatively] hotel in Havana, I opened the curtains after check in and was startled when an elevator slid by. the room looked into the shaft, which was topped by a skylight. Ten CUCs to the reception clerk and we were moved to a room facing the sea.
But then I found out that friends had a room in a different hotel which had no window at all. None.
I liked the list in this article, but the comments were just as wonderful: so many people fantasizing about terrible germs, and toilet bowl issues, skeevy-ness fears, and tampered-with toiletries! Hard to leave the house.
6
Havana is another world!
a COMFORTABLE CHAIR to sit in, read in , watch tv in. On an overnight stay it does not matter as much, but having the bed as the only place to sit wears thin after a few days.
COUNTER SPACE...just stayed at a Hilton boutique...enormous black marble bathroom with no place to put my toiletries to even brush my teeth.
For DRYING CLOTHES...get a twisted surgical tubing rope with hooks at each end...from REI and travel shops. pinch corners of clothes into twist in rope, stretch to fit strange areas and can be removed as one unit when you need to use the shower, then hang up by hooks with the clothes still attached.
7
Netflix should be the norm in hotel rooms.
6
@Kohl The Murieta Inn has smart TV's that you can launch any of your own subscriptions on. Netflix, HULU, Amazon etc. (no extra charge) oh yes and free calls in the USA.
@John Sullivan, most Marriotts do as well. It’s delightful.
all excellent suggestions.... especially the shelf and hooks in the bathroom... i recently stayed in a newly renovated hotel where the bathroom had not a single shelf to put a makeup bag, toothbrush or toiletries, and exactly one hook on the back of the door, which was 2 feet or more from the shower. the industry should be aware that a lot of women travel together these days, and that not every room where 2 people are checking in means that they are an intimate couple... or even a brother and sister could travelling together.... yet,if you are booking a hotel and ask for a room for two people (especially in europe) you get *one* double bed. i recently went to london, travelling with a woman friend, made my reservation on line weeks in advance, and in the special requests section asked for two single beds (unlike american hotel there are *never* 2 double beds in a room). when i got to the hotel and reiterated my request, i had to wait an extra hour for check in and got a room facing the roof top of victoria station. thank goodness we weren't in the room all that much. and again, hooks and places for personal items were minimal and far from the shower. it was 3.5 star hotel... sometimes motels are actually better.
3
@bronxbee, I agree about the assumption that two people traveling together are a couple. I have stayed in a few pricey hotels where the bathroom is not fully private. I like my privacy even from my husband!
7
So many italian hotels lack secure wifi!! I am using vpn and tor, or try to live without the internet for a change.
2
How about night tables where you can actually put your iPad and phone and a bottle of water? And outlets to charge your phone and outlets to plug your hair dryer in the bathroom not low on the floor!
6
@Carla All available at The Murieta Inn.
1
The refurbished rooms in the Holiday Inn in Cody WY a few years ago were terrific: lots of places to plug in, work surfaces, places to put suitcases, and best of all, a cut out in the glass shower wall near the faucet controls to so you could turn on the hot water before stepping in! So smart!! Tip to hotels — stay in your rooms yourselves to learn. Reward housekeeping to report problems.
21
@Margarita What a great idea! Yes, the executives should stay in a room in every one of their hotels--and not tell the staff who they are.
3
HOOKS!!!! Yes x1000. This drives me crazy. It seems like such a simple investment for hotels to add more (sometimes any) hooks to the bathroom and room itself.
13
Please add ‘service fees’ to the list. Hotels, especially in New York City, are now charging service fees anywhere from $20 - $60! Ummmm.... last I knew hotels were in the service industry! It’s like hair salons charging a scissor fee, or restaurants charging a cutlery fee! Ridiculous!
45
If you are lucky enough to get a room with an old fashioned coffee maker (many residence inns still have them), you can put your underpants and socks in the filter holder and run a few pots of water through the machine- viola, clean!
@Luke
No more hotel room coffee for me!
15
@Luke
Are you SERIOUS? I'll NEVER again use a hotel coffee maker.
9
@Luke ewww.
7
It' been many years since I lived in Europe and my family traveled a great deal there. I have a few suggestions...
1. Take light weight, quickly hand laundered undies and wash them daily..
2. Take fast dry items to wear daily, t-shirts, undies, socks, etc. No need to have several changes either, if you're traveling on your own. If you are on a tour, or cruise, wear beige, white, black, etc. No one cares or will remember what you wore two days ago...unless you wear bright orange or purple......
3. Pants aren't flattering for most women, but skirts are revealing for all women climbing....ladders....
4.It's best to wear very plain clothes, no really cares if you are a fashion plate..they just want you to keep moving. I spent 3 years in almost constant travel at one time. I wore light weight undies and did laundry nightly.....
4
100% agreed !
A magnifying mirror please!
6
Please please please get rid of the ubiquitous folding ironing boards that sound like a tortured pheasant when opening them. A shorter fold down built-in ironing board would be both convenient and quiet.
6
Please! a stopper (that works) for the bathroom sink so my contact lenses don't go down the drain.
And good lighting in the bathroom, not just one spotlight overhead that makes you look like you are in a horror film. (I mean you Raddison Blu Chicago).
Stop it with the rain-shower heads - you can't avoid getting your hair wet, even on the rare chance they provide a flimsy shower cap.
I have a carabiner hook on my toiletries kit and can usually hang it on a towel rod or curtain rod if there is insufficient counter space.
Kudos to Fours Seasons Hualalai (Big Island HI) for FREE washers and dryers with detergent provided, conveniently located throughout the resort. Sure beats washing clothes in the shower/tub with shampoo.
13
@Andorra you really think those washer/dryers are free?
2
@Andorra Hualalai is one of the very favorite Four Seasons properties. Even Four Seasons employees love to stay there.
Yes! And how about a shelf or somewhere next to the toilet for placing a package, purse, sanitary items, the book one is reading, the phone-call-on-hold-forever that one cannot terminate.
And gauze inner curtains - always! - so my choices aren't just "Fully Exposed" or "Cave Dark with the Lamps On".
7
yes! hooks!!!
4
Bathroom lights that proved enough illumination to put on makeup or put in contacts! If there is a lighted makeup mirror, one should not have to bend over and twist sideways to use it. I have stayed in five-star hotels that have totally inadequate lighting in the bathrooms.
11
Yes, all great ideas. To some commenters who disdain the hotel supplies, clothesline idea -- hey, use of those items is optional!
Best of all: nice, tight article, to the point. No blah, blah, blah. (Perhaps this writer is not paid by the word?).
4
Towel racks and hooks, hooks, hooks, please. In China, the hotel had a flashlight in a charger for emergencies, and I've seen the same foresight in Canada. It should be standard equipment to avoid negligence, but I've never encountered this in the U.S.
23
I agree 100% about the hooks for towels, robes, and bags.
Also helpful are wall mounted reading lights that can be adjusted by each bedside. I don't think the typical table lamps with the 40 watt bulbs are bright enough for reading unless you read on your phone. I prefer putting my cell phone away since their blue light increases alertness, not something I want before going to sleep.
15
Absolutely spot on, and these are little things that have applied to most hotels I've stayed in and would have added considerably to my comfort.
Also some European showers and tubs don't have a grab bar. Given that some tubs are rather slippery (I thought I'd spend the rest of my stay trying to crawl out of a Moscow bathtub), this would be a plus.
13
I wish there were a standard for shower fixtures, or at least an easily discernible method of setting the proper water temperature.
30
@Pointer we were once on a European cruise where the shower had no door ( only 1/2 of partition wall ). we had to lay our towers on the floor outside of shower to soak up bath water splashed out of the shower stall after each shower. WHAT was this custom ???
2
@BSY (Stockholm Hilton (Old Town) has the same problem. When they put in the new bathrooms, they made them so water runs all over the floor. We had to grab an armload of towels off the maid's cart.)
2
Thank you so much for mentioning the hooks! It is the comment I frequently leave when reviewing a hotel or other lodging. We need more hooks!
16
Night light in the bathroom, please! While I always take one in the US, I have forgotten to take them in the morning, also have not found any running on 220 v.
21
@Kora Dalager One of the many things we loved about the Mandarin Oriental was its soft under-the bathroom counter nighlight. Was just enough to guide you safely to the bathroom at night without being a glare that kept you from sleeping. And yes, the bathtub had the drying string above it, which we used every evening to dry out our bathing suits.
With the exception of the complaint about lack of a view that is exactly my list.
I almost always travel with my husband - not having two luggage racks is a constant annoyance. Not having two hooks in the bathroom to hang towels or ditty bags is an annoyance. Not having any counter or shelf space to set toiletry bags is an annoyance.
These are very small and inexpensively added details that would make such a large difference. It would add a lot of bang for not a lot of buck.
25
Well, you left out perhaps the most important amenity, and that is grab rails in the shower and tub, and non-skid mats in the shower. There is nothing more dangerous on a trip than the possibility of falling in the tub or shower and these amenities don't cost much either.
31
Thou protest too much.
Just go and enjoy the culture and arrangements you have.
If it's safe, comfortable and clean, it should suffice.
1
It’s not comfortable if you are missing some of the things he mentions!
6
@SBrown
I think the point is that it is not comfortable to have no place to put a second suitcase or set of toiletries in a room designed for a couple.
7
@SBrown, oh, please. And be sure to pack your hair shirt, and Instagram your “genuine, I am so cool that no one thinks I am a tourist” travel thrills.
You realize, don’t you, that many people travel for work? It’s not always about a beachfront hotel in Bali.
9
A night light for the bathroom. What are your choices when it is totally dark at 3 a.m.? I bring my own, but most people don't.
13
"Foreign horizons" has it right with this comment: Great suggestions, every one. I would also add: grab bars on all tubs, not just those in 'accessible' rooms. One to hold onto while stepping out of the tub and ideally one (on a slant) to hold while getting up from a seated position in the tub. And non-skid surfaces or mats in the tub/shower. One good slip-and-fall lawsuit will demonstrate how false an economy it is to omit these. THERE ARE NO GRAB BARS IN MOST HOTEL/MOTEL BATHROOMS.
24
The TV's in 4 and 5 star hotels should have at minimum 50" screens. Who has a 32" TV at home and stays in high end hotels?
3
@Kohl uh, we do. We spend our money on travel.
7
@Kohl
Me. I do. I have a 32” tv at home and stay in high-end hotels. I’m not staying in a hotel to watch TV, I’m staying there to have a nice place to refresh and sleep in between doing things outside the hotel.
11
@Eirroc I rarely watch TV when traveling. I've stayed at get away from it all hotels in the Caribbean that had no TVs. Some had no phones. It was actually delightful. Who cares about the size of the TV.
3
Another minor suggestion: When staff prepare the room, have them check that the TV remote works. It’s irksome to find that the remote doesn’t work because of dead batteries.
15
Hooks! It's my number one complaint at every hotel. They want us to re-use towels, but there is never anywhere to hang them. Drives me bananas and undermines the entire idea of re-using the towels. I suppose this goes hand in hand with my eye-rolling every time I read the eco message left on the sheets and in the bathroom as I gaze out on the multiple water features which populate most hotels. Maybe hotels should shut down the water features and re-purpose so that water, potable or not, is not wasted.
16
@Gail O’Connor The problem with hooks and other add -ons people have mentioned that involve drilling holes or otherwise attaching things to other things is that they can frequently break off. Hotels hate it when the need to shut a room down for a day or so to make such minor repairs.
1
@Kevin Callaghan
Command hooks by 3M.
I agree with all of these especially hooks! Also I would love to have a ceiling fan. Some AC's don't work well and a fans would collectively save tons of energy. My husband and I have been bringing a fan when we travel by car. A bad nights sleep can ruin any occasion. Too many AC units are unreliable. At night I plug my phone in the bathroom and use an App called nite lite and that way I don't kill myself in an unfamiliar space.
14
@ann Well, besides being potential hazard, ceiling fans require maintenance, repair and staff guidance as to their use. Hotels don't want to spend a lot of money on something AFTER its been installed.
1
I bring suction cup hooks with me. They are great for drying stockings and such. I have one that has 6 hooks, which is great for bigger items. They don't weight much and are cheap.
17
I'm with you on the plastic bottles, but NOT the cord-for-drying thing.
I don't care if it's $60 or $600 a night. The waste with those bottles is awful, and I don't always trust that they aren't reused/refilled anyway.
But those cords! They're usually frayed or the retractor doesn't work...and the nasty mold on them!!! NO. THANK. YOU!
8
Ok, how about just the hooks on each end -- one can easily pack a length of thin cord to be tied onto the hooks.
1
Can’t understand why people prefer soap and shampoo dispensers in the shower. They are gross and breeding grounds for all kinds of bacteria. I routinely carry my own toiletries and will use the soap only if it’s individually wrapped. As for hotel shampoo, no thanks.
27
@T. Diaz
What hotel has unwrapped or previously used (???) soap bars? Even entry level chains have individually wrapped soap slivers....
There’s some great shampoo out there, BTW.
2
Overhead lighting!! And obvious & accessible light switches including those for table and floor lamps. I write this in a hotel room where the floor lamp, with a floor switch is trapped behind a heavy armchair such that the switch is inaccessible. Honestly, it is silly to have a large, comfortably appointed room that is largely unlit.
20
The Compact Fluoresct use for saving electricity is overdone, here! I'm in a hotel in Seville, Spain. I measured 5 Lux in the middle of the bed, with all lights on.
It's darker by the desk!
1
Yes, better lighting overall (not just bedside or desk lighting). The area by the luggage rack is always dim, makes it hard to discern which clothes you're pulling out of your suitcase: the navy shirt? the black shirt? Are those stockings the plain ones or the ones with the little pattern?
Yes to all. But I’ll add another. There should be a nightstand or table in BOTH sides of a double bed or larger. I hate having to put my water and charging phone (if there is a plug nearby) on the floor next to the bed.
27
If you're staying more than two nights, it helps to take an over the door shoe bag, one of those clear plastic ones (Walmart for $5) for hanging on bathroom door. It takes up almost no room in luggage and adds a huge amount of storage for toiletries, underwear, pens, and, of course, shoes. It's a lifesaver in tiny cruise ship cabins.
Also, retractable clothes lines often break. I always carry a couple short lengths of paracord for clothesline (handy for many other purposes too).
10
The motel where one queen was pushed against the a/c unit and the other against the wall. If the room is only big enough for one bed, please have only one bed!
10
I read the joke here, but after living in Chicago for 10 years I can tell you there are actually MANY suicides from upper stories of buildings, usually high-rise apartments but also hotels, especially if there’s access to a balcony, roof, or yes... an open window. But you will rarely hear news stories about these suicides, they always seem to keep hushed-up about jumpers. Also, people will throw things out of windows or try to hang laundry, etc out the window for drying. Not to mention the safety issues regarding children being near open windows/balconies in a building many stories high. And of course, with open windows will come the sneaky cigarette smokers hanging half way out of them!
1
Please, Hotels: Allow us to open the windows. I promise not to suicide or to sue you if I do.
58
@Risa M Mandell yes, yes, a thousand times yes.
6
@Risa M Mandell PLESE turn off a/c. when you open windows. many people don,t
@Risa M Mandell I left a comment solely on this topic!!
We travel as extensively as the author does.
We agree with most of the items except for the three products in wall-mounted dispensers in the shower. Hate them. They leak, don’t work properly, and generally feel unsanitary.
I definitely like the individual bottles, however, my wife travels with her own products.
12
How about A/C units that have the option to leave the fan mode on for consistent white noise while you sleep? If you’re a light sleeper, there’s nothing worse than a unit that powers on and off all night. Talk about a miserable night of (no) sleep!
57
Every single one of these...hotels please read! Often it’s so apparent that no one involved in the room design has actually stayed a night in the room.
33
Sound, lack of hooks, counter space and bathroom cabinet drawers or shelves in the bathroom's are my biggest beef. Hotels should offer (especially in high congregating areas, like elevators) white nose machines and something like those draft stoppers you put in the gaps of the doors to keep the hallway noise out. Better than having to waste a towel to do that regularly. Hooks should by by the shower, by the sinks and on various walls for additional items. Don't ask us to save the planet by reusing our towels, which I have no issue with, but then offer no place to dry said used towels. Lastly, counter space and either drawers or shelves in the bathroom are key. Since hotel's don't offer a variety of potions and cosmetics to make me look better, I obviously have to bring my own stash, so I want to be able to have enough space so that I can somewhat mimic my own bathroom. My husband also just throws his large "ditty" bag on the counter, which could easily be placed in a drawer if one was offered. I could also stash my plastic bags that carried all my potions and lotions in there as well so that it's out of sight until my trip is over.
15
Counter/shelf space & hooks are always my peeve too. The worst is staying at a resort and having no place to hang a wet bathing suit!
2
A clock that’s just a clock would be great. Hotel clocks have gotten so ridiculously complicated that I now take my small travel clock with me. Also, reading lamps above the bed and bright lightbulbs in the lamps.
16
I once stayed in a hotel with 40 watt bulbs and black shades. It was like living in a cave.
12
@T. Diaz We bring those plug-in night lights to prevent total wake up during the nightly bathroom visit.
@T. Diaz Reading lights yes! I usually bring a headlamp when I travel as often there is nothing to read by.
A complimentary bottle of water, especially in warm climates, is an inexpensive cost for the hotel but much appreciated by the guest. It’s annoying to check into a hotel after a long journey and learn that the bottle of water in the room costs the equivalent of five dollars in local currency.
18
Some hotels are luxury properties that anticipate guest needs because they are in the service business, hire the best staff, including the designers who created their properties. Some hotels charge luxury rates but only pretend to be luxury properties. I will never forget a stay in the Four Seasons Vancouver BC (Canada) where upon checking in and entering my room for the first time, I passed a maid in the hallway right outside my room who welcomed me to the hotel, addressing me by my last name. It is a small courtesy but that little bit of coordination tells you something about a hotel's attitude toward its guests. (And yes, I do tip maids daily.) I also recall staying at small, independent, far less expensive properties in Lyon and Paris, France where the same guest-forward philosophy was evident in every encounter with staff, and in the way the rooms were laid out and cared for. And I've stayed in Five-star hotel properties in major cities where the furnishings were worn and the service (especially from management-level) more so. Some hotels are in the guest-service business and some are just there to pick your pocket.
25
@G. James I still recall fondly, more than 30 years later, having checked into a hotel in southern England late at night, without benefit of a reservation. My wife and I went downstairs for breakfast the next day, said nothing but 'good morning' to the person seating guests, and were lead to a table with a card on it that had our names.
4
Great suggestions, every one. (I'm glad I'm not the only one who loves those clothes lines inside tubs. And extra shelves and hooks.) I would also add: grab bars on all tubs, not just those in 'accessible' rooms. One to hold onto while stepping out of the tub and ideally one (on a slant) to hold while getting up from a seated position in the tub. And non-skid surfaces or mats in the tub/shower. One good slip-and-fall lawsuit will demonstrate how false an economy it is to omit these. Good lighting in rooms and bathrooms is very important but some hotels are economizing so much on lighting that rooms and hallways are downright eerie.
10
At the lovely 41 No in Newport RI, our room had FULL bottles of liquor on a wet bar, which detracted from the ambiance of the room and usable counter space. Kind of offensive- assumes that everyone drinks. The scammy pricing of the typical hotel mini bar/stocked fridge should be replaced with self service mini convenience counters or vending machines elsewhere on the premises. We generally buy our own drinks and nibbles outside of the hotels and would rather have the room in the fridge for our chosen items.
7
@Siseman You can always ask management to empty the mini-fridge; we often do if we are planning on staying more than two days at any location.
1
As a frequent traveler who has obstructive sleep apnea, I have two suggestions:
1) Please make sure there are easily accessible plugs on both sides of the bed. This makes it easier to use a CPAP machine for either/both bed partners.
2) Provide or sell small containers of Distilled Water for use in CPAP machines. The water is necessary for the proper use of the machines. For those who travel by air, water can’t be brought through TSA security, and distilled water is not, as yet, sold in airports.
18
Remember to regularly upgrade pillows. Flat, lumpy, ( and kind of smelly) old ones are gross.
48
And then there was the high-water toilet on Sanibel Island. My husband likes to sit when he does his business and the water in the bowl was so high he needed a towel to dry off afterwards. Fortunately the manager located a riser seat
7
It's all about lighting. Most of the time, in order to get enough light, I have to run around the room figuring out how to turn on half a dozen separate lamps. What I'd really like is one adequate ceiling fixture, just like the one in my bedroom at home. If they think lots of dim lamps are more aesthetically pleasing, or something, fine, but run them all on a single circuit that can be turned on and off both from the door and from the bed. I want to get into bed, pull up the covers, and /then/ switch off the lights! Instead, in most rooms, I have to run around turning off individual lamps and then stagger into bed in the dark. This is really all I care about in a hotel room, other than, of course, the quality of the bed itself.
Oh, and non-scratchy towels would be nice. It's my impression that hotels buy good towels to begin with, but then launder them a bazillion times instead of throwing them away when they reach the point of scratchiness.
And why is it that Motel 6 has free wifi, but the fancy hotels make you pay extra?
26
@Brian Harvey Fancy hotels make you pay for EVERYTHING! Parking, breakfast, wifi, laundry (never any self-service).
1
So beautiful was one view that I delayed my flight to stay snd work in my hotel room an extra day just to enjoy it. So sad was the view from another room booked by an airline after a flight cancelation that both that airline and that hotel chain are forever non grata. The sole window, tinted for some reason, looked out into a hallway where cleaning carts and vending machines were parked.
8
Scents infused in the hotel air systems cause migraine headaches and nausea in many people. These scents are extremely strong, toxic and completely unnecessary. Fresh air is the healthiest air!!
84
@Arnold Carter If you want the top, gag me one, go to one of the hotels that I actually like, just because it's the only good one in Indianapolis, it's the Ironworks Hotel. On their guest survey I go to the trouble to fill it in and I mention it every time (we have children living in Indy), I ask them to call me - no response. On a scale of 1-10, it's easily a noxious 10.
1
@Arnold Carter
I usually ask to speak to, or write to, the hotel manager about removing these obnoxious perfumes. If we all complain, maybe they'll get the message.
7
Little things that matter.
Love that you mentioned Esplanade in Croatia. By far the most entitled hotel and staff in Croatia. Had a bad experience there and zero customer service. They charged ur $50 for a bowl of oatmeal which by Croatian standards is outrageous and frankly living in NYC itks outrageous as well. Zagreb has many better hotels now. Rest of Croatia I never had a problem.
7
Let us not rule out Airbnb. How about the stove that does not work, because no instructions to turn on gas valve located 5 feet away from the gas stove. Showers with no way to hold a boar of soap or shampoo. Cryptic instructions on how to use a satellite TV, but do not work with dead batteries. I wonder how locals take a shower. I travel with an led night light, and 02 mini travel fan that works with any USB power supply.
8
Plugs.. yes. Electrical plugs. Dont hide them
USB plugs. Its 2019. Not 1978.
Wipes to clean the remote
Wash the top bed spread once in a while !
Drapes that keep light out
A decent alarm clock
Dont make me wait 50 rings before the front desk pics up
43
How about rooms that are actually dark when you turn out the lights? Light from the hallway coming under and to the side of the door, light coming from outside through the window (either at the edges of the drapes, or right through them if they're not black-out drapes), light coming from floodlights pointing at the facade, illuminated light switches, "pilot" lights from TV sets, phones, power strips, etc., all conspire against sleep.
But the worst offender of all is the flashing light on the smoke detector. Don't hoteliers realize that someone under that smoke detector might want to fall asleep? Why is the flashing smoke detectors such a universal constant, from budget to luxury hotels? Aren't there models that don't flash?
47
@Alan
I think they flash when the battery is weak.
3
@Alan
I travel with a small roll of gaffer’s tape and have left tiny black squares of it on LEDs across America.
A couple of clothespins are handy for holding curtains together.
But then the bathroom is pitch black, so for that I carry a small nightlight.
13
@Dottie Beck Unlikely. Hotel smoke detectors are hard-wired and do not have batteries. They blink to show they are working. Might I suggest you carry eye coverings (like the ones Jet Blue gives every passenger so they don't need to close the window shades on their aircraft).
3
These are practical suggestions that would be obvious if hotel executives and their spouses actually stayed in rooms. They might notice the lack of outlets, hooks, luggage racks, coat hangers, and so on. Further, I am sure housekeepers could come up with useful suggestions.
37
I would add a request to always have a fan in the bathroom. It's not nice to steam the whole hotel room because someone had a moderately hot shower.
Mini refrigerators are great too. I travel with medication that needs to be refrigerated and it's extra wonderful to have a working freezer part (that actually works) so I can refreeze my ice pack.
66
Yes! Absolutely.
7
All of these. And handheld steamers! To Replace the irons that few people use.
13
@Hilary I used a hotel iron for the first time this summer. I gave my husband a good laugh, but I was glad it was there.
1
I bring a mini extension cord for the outlet issue, a multi tool with allen wrenches for opening windows and doors that have stops installed and binder clips for curtains that don't close all the way.
17
@Peter B you can use the clips from hangers to keep the curtains closed.
2
@Peter B Brilliant! Windows that can only be opened 5 cm annoy the heck out of me!
2
@lynne It's to keep you from jumping out!
2
As a hotelier, I would like to say that a large percentage of the issues raised here are a matter of communication breakdown. Yes, there are some very physical issues, but a lot of the frustrations expressed here come from hotel teams not being mind readers. If you're there for a special occasion and want a nice room, ask for it. Want more than one luggage rack? Ask for it when you make your reservation. Want something to hold your curtains closed? Ask for it. Additionally, the more advance notice a hotel has, the more likely it is to get done. If you ask for 10 things during checkin when I have a line of 12 people to check-in, it'll probably take awhile. If you tell us when you make your reservation, we can make it happen before you get to your room.
I understand your frustration and it's good to talk about these things, but you also have to remember that those tiny changes you mentioned add up when you have to make them 5,000 times. No one is not doing their best, we just have limited resources. It's not you against the hotel, we're on the same team. And the goal is a wonderful time for you.
27
Thanks. Good to know. Appreciate your comments.
9
... I need to ask for a nice room?
48
@MEF All of the rooms perform the basic function of giving you a place to sleep. Most people going somewhere interesting will spend minimal time in their hotel room and most of that time with their eyes closed, rendering "a view" completely irrelevant.
Also, the hotel wants to sell all their rooms, not just the ones with "a view." So, yeah, if you care about something you're going to see for a few minutes if at all, you should ask.
That said, there are some rooms that should not be sold. I was stuck in one that was U-shaped because it was wrapped around the elevator shaft. I was in it for ten minutes when I called the front desk and said, I'm so sorry, but no, no way am I going to be able to sleep with the motor and the echoing dings from 25 floors. They _already had_ my new room prepared because "everyone complains about that one"! No kidding? Maybe...use it for storage instead?
26
Hooks hooks hooks. So simple! If they're constantly breaking and a pain to replace, then install titanium kryptonite hooks.
How about having the hotel manager check into one of their own rooms a few times a year? All of these issues are so obvious.
29
HVAC systems need to be much quieter. It seems that even after renovations, every hotel retains noisy AC and heating systems
24
@Jim
IMO it's less about the noise than the inconsistency. The worst offenders are the fans that cycle on and off with no way to turn the fan off unless the HVAC is also turned off. If there's no source of fresh air this isn't an option.
24
@Jim I found the HVAC unicorn during a recent stay at a Best Western in Montreal. The room had an old-school rotary dial thermostat that triggered a whisper-quiet heating/cooling fan unit on the outer wall. Bliss!
Followed by one night at an airport Hilton that boasted a LEED certification but had the same old rackety fan noises cycling on and off all night long.
It can be done, but for some reason even the new builds can't figure it out. Sigh...
1
On the laundry issue, most hotels these days, I find, are hostile to the idea of a guest hand washing their own clothes. One I stayed in had a lavatory sink so shallow, I think intentionally, as to make it infeasible. Take one look at their laundry price list and you will see why, charging ten to fifteen euro per article. I always try to be discreet about it and leave a daily tip for housekeeping so they won’t rat me out. (Never hang underwear over the balcony railing, if it is visible to other rooms or the street.)
19
Magnifying mirror for old(er) eyes.
19
Thank you! These are my pet peeves, as well. And make sure the showers and sinks drain well. And how about a bottle of water per day?
17
Well, depending on tap water quality where you’re traveling, I’d suggest always traveling with a favorite reusable water bottle of your own. Much better for our Earth!!
7
my three main complaints - soundproofing, soundproofing and soundproofing. How is it that all hotel rooms in Japan are blessedly silent but those in the US are like trying to sleep in a drum? Build interiors with a bit more than sheets of cardboard.
106
I would echo the complaint about lack of hooks. In our recent vacation my wife and I found only one hook in the entire room which was on the bathroom door. There were insufficient clothes hangers for our jackets, shirts, tops, pants, etc. and a rack of hooks would have made a huge and welcome difference.
52
This article (thanks!) prompted me to (a) read many comments and (b) leave my own. Usually I don’t bother adding to the venom one often finds, but the article was so on the nose, and many comments supported and added to the conversation. Hoteliers please take note! How can they not have heard these requests /complaints - from the world!? As long as we still stay or don’t speak up it’s not affecting their bottom line. This is our only leverage as consumers.
24
Must be nice to worry about these kind of things.
I am just happy if I get a room that whose last occupant was obviously a chain smoker, and with a comfortable bed and a working coffee service.
4
@OzarkOrc
Grr, "the last occupant was NOT a chain smoker."
4
What?! Nothing about available outlets next to the bed? And the noise of the heater and A/C? Who cares about the view unless there's a balcony?
13
I love the rare hotel that offers two pillow thickness options. I have started bringing my own pillow because the ones in hotels are often so fat they strain my neck.
19
I like having a separate fan or white noise machine to block out hallway and room-to-room noise for sleeping.
5
@Amy There are some good white noise apps for phones, though of course a power source near the bed is needed to run them all night. But I agree a fan is great, especially for air circulation. I can't sleep otherwise.
4
When I get in the shower I don't want appreciate the beauty and creativity of the fixtures. I don't want to solve the mystery of how to turn on the shower, divert the water, or change the temperature when my skin is on the line. I want to take a shower.
166
@Chet Harrison Thank you! I would just add: Hotels, please consider that not all your guests are tall. As a quite short (5'1") woman, I have encountered more than one "adjustable" showerhead that I was unable to adjust because I couldn't reach it! Interestingly, this is far more likely to happen at the high-end hotels with excessively "modern" bathrooms than at the more middle-range hostelries.
13
@Chet Harrison I stayed at two different hotels in the same small town. The fixtures in the shower+tub did not make sense to me. After five days, I still did not understand how to adjust the water temperature and flow, so I wasted a LOT of water while making illogical adjustments. I have a Masters degree, but it is not in PLUMBING.
18
@Melissa - I've noticed the opposite problem. My wife is 5'8" and often has to bend over to wash her hair.
3
OK, I like all the comments but I have an issue. I am sensitive to overly sprayed, perfume smelling rooms. Hotels spray their lobbies, one was so bad I couldnt walk through it. Stop spraying please, its overkill.
56
Scents seem to be a new thing in Italy Airbnb’s. Sticks coming from strategically placed bottles of oil make it feel like a potpourri that wants to overwhelm. When removed, the room had no scent or odor.
5
Wow you missed the most important of all. The best luggage rack is the ironing board. it’s even at a much more convenient height.
9
@Bob Carlson Ironing board? What ironing board? Those seem to have disappeared in many hotels.
3
Products from minibars that you don't need to take out a separate loan to pay for that snack or drink.
9
Windows that open. Windows that open! Please.
37
Hotel windows do not open for safety reasons.
4
@Moriah
they could be made to open a couple of inches. In the USA there is such fear (legitimate, I suppose) of lawsuits, etc and some people are perhaps careless), however, in other parts of the world, windows open
13
@Moriah ok, if the window won't open then let me turn down the heat somehow so I don't just broil in the room.
2
A hanger with metal clips (found in hotel closets and used for hanging skirts and slacks) can keep those curtains closed tight.
7
@Marsha White I always bring a few clothespins with me, because I need that hanger (with metal clips) to hang my clothes. The hotels I've stayed in rarely supplied enough hangers. On a few occasions, I've even packed a few of my own hangers before I left home.
1
I always have a few clothes pins or binder clips in my suitcase and they can be used to hold the curtains closed.
2
Would be nice if the hotels got these suggestions; otherwise we're all preaching to the choir. A safety suggestion: bath grab bars!!! Incredible how many facilities do not have that. Lawsuits waiting to happen!
32
Irons that leak.
6
Great suggestions. May I add ceiling fans to provide circulating air in an otherwise stuffy room and I practically swoon when I see one in my room as I know I will sleep cooler and better.
16
Many good suggestions in the article and comments. As a frequent traveler, I’m interested to understand how the economics of hotels keeps them from making do many basic and low cost improvements.
6
Clips to keep the draperies fully closed.
Two luggage racks at least.
Non-slip surface in the bathtub/shower.
Working heater/air conditioner/thermostat. In so many hotel rooms, the unit is noisy and the temperature impossible to control.
17
@Georgina
On a recent trip to Ireland, it seems that no hotels offer a/c. This is a big problem in a warm spell, as was the fact that their hotel windows for some reason universally are louver type that only swing in at the top a very inadequate six inches.
2
I saw travel hack for the drapes, find a hanger with clips for trousers and clip on to the drape. Looks strange, but works well.
4
I’d like to add some requests from fellow guests:
1. Please don’t treat the hallway as a social area. Keeps voices down and remember there are people in the rooms you are passing.
2. Please don’t let your door slam every time you leave your room. So many times we have stayed around groups traveling together and hopping from one room to the next, letting the door slam each time.
186
Re: noisy door closing, install magnetic locks so it doesnt sound like an institutional cell each time guests access their rooms.
1
suggestions:
1. there should be a clip for keeping the curtains closed.
2. there should be no non-red lights (such as a green clock on a microwave) facing towards the bed
3. the window should open at least a few inches.
4. instructions for complex or weird shower knobs
5. you should be able to start the shower without getting soaked with cold water
6. there should be a few unused outlets for charging a phone or laptop
32
‘ no non red lights”.
B-
1
I understand that the subject of this article is not earth-shaking but I was happy to see the reference to luggage racks for two. In every hotel I have ever been in, big/small, expensive/inexpensive, US/out of US, my first call to the desk after getting to the room (and recently my first request to the bellman after checking the closet before he leaves) has been, "may we have another luggage rack?". They invariably act as if I am the first person who has ever made such an unusual request. I'm just glad to see I'm not the only one.
64
My suggestion would be to ask for however many luggage racks you need before you checkin, when you make your reservation for instance. This ensures that you get the desired amount of luggage racks and this also allows the hotel team to put them in the room during a less hectic/busy time of the day. Hotel teams love making guests' stays fantastic, so if you know what your perfect stay looks like then tell them and they can help manifest that vision.
9
Agree with these points and add I want a wastebasket in both the bathroom and the bedroom. And a box of tissues. please. Also, many stylish hotels have poor functional design: a bathroom door that forces you to step into the shower stall to close it. railings too low to use walking down stairs, and purpose built buildings that require a guide to find the room. Clearly designers and management have not lived in these rooms.
14
A suggestion that might solve many of these problems simultaneously and soon: have the quality control "secret stayers" be a couple with two of everything.
Alternatively, dissatisfied customers should make descriptive videos and post them on social media.
11
As of late, number one complaint at hotels across the US is the sensor attached to the air-conditioning or heating device. It’s miserable to wake up in the middle of the night to find out the AC shut off because one doesn’t move around much when one is sleeping - or the sensor is behind a wall and unable to truly detect movement - and the room temperature goes up to 78 or higher. I frequently have to call the front desk and ask for the courtesy override.
14
I'm fortunate to travel a lot (and often well) for my work but that doesn't always translate into comfort.
I check with hotels ahead of time and, if at all possible, won't stay in a hotel with inoperable windows.
There's always an alpaca throw in my carry on with multiple uses including over a sheet as a lighter blanket.
A handful of soft grip plastic clothes pins come in handy in so many ways from keeping curtains shut to holding laundry on a hanger to dry.
Traveling with a small magnifying mirror with a suction cup on the back works wonders.
I find taking responsibility for my own comfort is necessary. Unfortunately making assumptions seldom works.
16
Alpaca throw.
Um.. ok. Mr. howard hughs
7
In Room Safe - agree with safe not being too low but often times the safe is mounted so high you need to be 7'5" to see what's inside. I am tired of climbing on chairs to see if I have left something in the safe prior to departing.
10
This is a great list! I use a CPAP and would add that hotels should have lamps with outlets (normal and USB) on the nightstands. Some hotels don't even have plugs within range of the bed...I travel with extension cord!
25
When traveling, I also bring various cleansers to clean the toilet, it’s handle as well as the door handles and TV remote.
A little germ killing spray goes a long way.
Also check the top sheets. Hotels often only change the under sheets leaving the top ones to accumulate dirt across multiple guests.
I always ask for a clean set of top sheets.
16
@S wow, that’s terrible about the top sheets. I had no idea.
6
Door slammers. Most hotels use a door-closer on the room doors that slam the door. This is often so loud that when the occupants of other rooms close to mine return late at night, it wakes me up. It seems that few other hotel guests think to close the door gently so as to not make a loud noise.
I did not see this mentioned in another comment. Are other hotel-users OK with this? I think that it is ludicrous.
39
@TRM
Agreed. The amount of noise that comes through standard North American hotel doors is crazy.
The Thompson Hotel in Toronto has large heavy doors that are on closers, and all night long the bridal party down the hall slammed doors, every night for all the days we stayed there.
But in Berlin, the Arcotel Velvet had such a well insulated door that I couldn't hear a friend knocking on it. Absolutely no sound came through, even though the elevator was right across the hall.
The codes and the culture dictate the problem [or solution].
6
Disagree on the miniature soap and shampoos- very handy for travel. Maybe on offer at the front desk along with other common items: razor, power adapter, etc. I want better locks on doors, windows that open, ice machines, a minifridge and hot water kettle, and a washcloth as well as bathtowel.
9
I don't have any of these problems because I pay for quality hotel rooms with ample amenities.
2
@Nat Even quality hotels can be deficient. I just went to NY and spent 2 weeks at the Grand Hyatt - a lovely hotel - but the bathroom was tiny, the room was either too cold or too hot, and half of the room was so dark I couldn't even see what was in my suitcase when it was in that part of the room.
13
@Nat - "Quality" hotels are the most annoying because they DO have these problems (constantly) and you paid $400 a night for the privilege. (Also the privilege of paying $40 for parking, $20 for wifi, and $30 for god-knows-what-resort fee, and someone with a hand out for dollar bills at every corner.
31
@Nat When you say you don't have any of these problems because you pay for quality hotel rooms, it makes me wonder if you really stay in hotels at all. In plenty of quality hotels the staff doesn't check to see that all outlets and lamps are working, that the remote has fresh batteries, that there are enough hangers, etc.
12
What I'd really like is for more hotels to install quiet-close doors.
It seems travelers with early departures want to make sure everyone is awake when they leave because so many of them allow their doors to slam. So rude and so unnecessary.
42
We occasionally get booked into a handicap room, which is fine, but. The bathrooms have no shelves, so there's little-to-no room for toiletries, blow drying my hair is a contortionist's folly, and for some weird reason, there's no toilet seat lid. So there's even less room for your stuff but plenty of room for unintended consequences. My wish would be that management personally field-test these rooms to see how inhospitable they are.
11
@Sally L There's no toilet seat lid because a wheelchair user and/or someone with very limited mobility doesn't need the added frustration of the lid slamming down just as they're doing the final maneuvering. (My grandparents lived in a facility where the lids were removed as a matter of course.)
There may have been shelves, but only truly accessible to someone who is sitting in a wheelchair.
Etc.
2
I applaud the writer for putting out all this information, and hope that hotel owners will take heed. One of my wishes is that hotels would offer firm pillows, or a choice between soft and firm. I'm sick of having my head sink into a pillow, so that my head is unsupported.
6
TRUE blackout shades are a must (it's surprising how many hotels don't have proper ones) and if I owned a hotel I'd include a white noise machine in each room. Nothing more annoying than hearing every word, cough, and sneeze from the neighbors next door...
Also, decent pillows please! Sheesh. Not rocket science.
13
Please, a supply of disinfecting wipes in every room (so I can wipe tv flicker, phone, doorknobs, faucets, etc.)
Thank you!!
15
I bring my own. Also need for the plane.
13
@Susan I've traveled for 40 years without hand sanitizer or disinfecting wipes and have never gotten sick. Washing ones hands in warm water with soap should protect you just fine if you're an otherwise healthy adult. (If you are someone with a compromised immune system you probably wouldn't travel without your own precautions.)
8
My tip: Use the hangers with clips to "pin" drapes closed if you are sensitive to light like I am. (or just throw binder clips in your bag)
2
@Garlic Yum! A simple solution, but then in addition I'm carrying all the other stuff the hotels should provide: travel clotheseline, nightlight, my own soaps and shampoos, power strip, sanitizing wipes, flip flops in lieu of a bathmat...ugh - I think I'm going to stay home where I've already got all of my stuff
14
@Garlic Yum! Or clothespins.
1
@Garlic Yum!
Or just wear an eye mask.
The duvets on most hotel beds are so thick I wake in the night in a pool of sweat even if I’ve turned the a/c way down. But if I take it off I’m soon freezing under the lone top sheet. How about an intermediate layer? I’ve only encountered that once and it was perfect.
101
I second this complaint above all the others. Hotel beds used to have a sheet, a blanket, and a bedspread, with an extra blanket in the closet if needed. Duvets are too warm and too heavy. Have mercy!
40
@Cathie Fields and we all know those duvets are not being washed/cleaned after each guest!
20
@Cathie Fields Hotel has only duvet? Low rating on TripAdvisor!
1
"I hate it when every time the TV is turned off, it returns to a default setting"
Oh the horror. If you are so intent on returning to the same channel write down the # on the pad next to the bed.
21
I second commenters’ pushback about the communal soap dispensers. A small bar of soap in a paper box could be a plastic-free alternative to consider. Hotels— be they one-star or five— should have some degree of luxury about them; these wall-mounted dispensers convey all the luxury of a public restroom.
53
@Lena | When they leave the hotel , guests should take the partially used bars of soap with them and use them up at home. Keep the small paper box for transport.
20
@Lena And now they are combining body wash and shampoo as if they were the same thing.
9
@Lena It's still most of a bar of soap wasted. If it's that important to you, just put a bar in a ziplock bag and bring it along.
7
My suggestion to hotel companies is to try to show even a semblance of cultural awareness. Has anyone else been disappointed that Marriott has rebranded in a way that shines a spotlight on Americans’ total failure at learning, using, or even respecting other languages? Their brazen insistence on appropriating “bon voyage” yet proudly mispronouncing/Americanizing “bon” to rhyme with “con” in their ridiculous Bonvoy brand is a linguistic thumbing of the nose at the French language. Marriott had the chance to create a new brand that reflected their even larger BIGFOOT print yet they failed miserably. I can picture their execs and their branding experts waving big foam We’re #1 fingers around the conference table as they approved this selfish and jingoistic name.
11
@Capital idea how gauche of them
4
good recommendations, but how is this news? or warrent a spot on the front page. I work with hotels, calling upon owners of hotels around the US. They don't care about these little things, they care about their bottom line
10
@Matt
And this is the problem: the bottom line is sacred; guests not so much.
4
How about an effort to soundproof the ice machine in the alcove in the hallway? Maybe some padding material underneath the legs so the motor vibrations don’t sound like an earthquake at three in the morning when I’ve got the room next door.
8
I would add to this some kind of shelf or seat in the shower so when a person tries to shave their legs, they have a place to put their foot up.
10
@Julie Benay And hold bars, please, especially when shower floors are slippery
10
@Julie Benay Yes! I meant to put this on my suggestion list, too.
3
@Julie Benay shave them at home; does your hair grow that fact?
6
About bathroom storage for toiletries...I thought that’s what bidets were for.
7
@Sheila Warner And all this time I thought they were for doing laundry.
1
@Bob Hicks As a college student visiting Rome 50 years ago, we had to share a shower down the hall. After a hot and dusty walk around the Forum we washed our dirty feet in the bidet.
The lack of hanging hardware in the bathroom seems to be universal and inexplicable. Anybody have an explanation.
41
@HT I would bet it's because people so frequently leave personal items behind on those hooks.
3
My wish: shower curtains, please.
1
Interesting. I hate nightlights I’m the bathroom (or anywhere else) and often go around plopping washcloths and pillows on unwanted lights around the room. I have trouble sleeping if it’s not dark, and bathroom doors usually let light escape around the edges. It never occurred to me that other guests might actually want them.
4
@SM A blackout sleep mask works wonders to keep out light and enhance sleep. Try one; cheap, lightweight, and a travel necessity.
8
@SM Having just returned from vacation, our hotel experience was a room where the drapes on the windows did not seal out the light leaking around the edges and an external light on the balcony adjacent to the window led to the expedient of unscrewing the lamp to switch off the glow. Finally, the digital clock next to the bed had to be covered.
3
@Doug A simple trick i just learned is to use those hangers with the clips to hold the drapes shut.
2
For what it's worth, the Esplanade in Zagreb, Croatia is five-stars in name only. I think management has turned over in recent history and it's no longer being run to its same standard.
Also had a similar issue - booked a room and they didn't tell us that they were having a raucous wedding celebration all night long. Literally, until 3:00am, we could hear music and cheering happening from the central courtyard.
8
There's an interesting article in last week's Irish Times that was prompted by Georgina Campbell (Ireland's #1 travel guru) and her comments that high end hotels in Ireland are falling off in their hospitality. Those interested in this NYT article might find that of interest, too.
I appreciated this article - as someone with an AirBnB I now know I should put a shelf in my very nice-but-shelfless shower!
Susan
Expat in Ireland
9
These are all great suggestions.
5
By coincidence, California passed a law this week that will ban plastic shampoo/conditioner/soap/lotion bottles in hotels by 2024. Hotel chains such as Marriott have already begun introducing large wall-mounted bulk dispensers in several of their properties, even those not in California.
So, we can expect that bulk dispensers will be the thing most everywhere within 20 years. In an earlier comment to this story, I advocated for continued use of the tiny bottles, and offered my reasons why.
But no matter what, I am going to miss taking those cute little bottles home and putting them out for guests, along with the classy wrapped bars of soap.
Alas, another of life's gentilities soon will fall by the wayside.
7
@David Bartlett The entire earth is falling by the wayside. You'll survive without tiny plastic bottles of shampoo.
26
@David Bartlett It's not "classy" to give your guests soaps you took home from a Sheraton. Just sayin'.
17
Leave it to New York Times readers to be humorless scolds.
Molly, I stand reproved.
Randy, it was a joke.
8
Best article on hotel issues I've read in years.
5
I travel a lot for business and vacation, and most of these concerns are easily mitigated by learning a few small, empowering skills... I carry a magic hangar - usually don't need more than one. I used to carry a fancy retractable clothesline, but I taught myself how to tie a slip knot and a taught-line hitch and now I just carry a length of nylon cord, which can be used for many things. I pack my suitcase so that even if I'm only staying one night I can empty my stuff into the dresser drawers in about 60 seconds and put my empty suitcase into a corner, and re-pack just as fast in the morning. My toiletry bag is a re-purposed school pencil bag with a zipper, that usually fits behind the spigot if there isn't counter space (I sympathize with people who need more toiletries - self-hanging bags are nice for that). I use a personal bar shampoo (try it at home!) and bar soap in travel containers (and then in a zip-lock). Agree the TV setup in hotels is super annoying, but who watches TV when you have a laptop? I bring an HDMI cable in case I want the big screen experience for my streaming. The safe thing seems like a reasonable request but I've never felt like I needed to use the hotel safe. My passport etc. are always on me, laptop usually is, and if it isn't I have a Kensington lock for it.
10
@JB the whole point of staying at a nice hotel is not having to worry about all that.
2
1. Stop using fragrance--in products used to clean the rooms, including spraying fragrance around the room; in products used to launder the linens; stop pumping it into the rooms and public areas via the HVAC system. It stinks and is toxic.
2. Windows that open should be standard.
3. Stop using carpets. They're filthy, harbor mildew and are hard to clean.
76
@JG I suspect they're used for quiet.
4
@JG YAS on the carpet ban. We have stayed at some hotels in Manhattan that have composite hardwood floors--love them, and then hotels in Mexico with tile floors. Much cleaner!
16
@Garlic Yum! Also much colder and more slippery...no thanks!
1
Excellent suggestions!
5
Outlets in the bathroom - not ones just for razors!
6
My #1 tip for hotels: bathroom vents! Very few bathrooms have vents! Why? In a tiny bathroom, it's impossible to look in the mirror after a shower because there is so much steam in the bathroom. I end up using the hair dryer to clear the mirror, but still.... My #2 tip: bathroom nightlight. Hotels are getting better with this cheap amenity, but a tiny light helps one to navigate to the bathroom without shocking the eyes with the bathroom light in the middle of the night!
24
This article and all the comments deserve the subtitle 'how old, cranky americans want to travel'. What a bunch of whiners!
26
Would you care for some cheese with that whine?
The writer raises many good points but is combining many experiences into one or two. I’ve spent 40 to 60 nights a year in hotels for the past 25 years. None of them are perfect and a few truly sucked. But as any frequent traveler knows, adaption and preparation makes for a good trip.
Carry the toiletries you prefer in small containers.
Have an extension cord (or 2) with multiple outlets so you can plug stuff in.
When out for several days, plan for a night or two in a hotel with a washer and dryer for guest use.
Safes at floor level are annoying. Get over it.
Complain politely without a sense of entitlement. Being nice gets one a long way. If a room won’t work, get another one. I once went to my assigned room in Miami Beach to find hotel staff having sex. I got another room in minutes. In Tel Aviv I got an ocean view room in a hotel being renovated by saying I didn’t care if the room wasn’t perfect.
Construction issues are generally noted on a hotel’s website months in advance. So pick a different hotel.
As for hooks, bring a couple of the removable ones that are readily available.
There are ways to avoid or resolve most of what you are whining about. And in any event, it’s a trip, not a life sentence. And you can avoid a lot of issues by careful selection in advance or appropriate complaining at a hotel. A room will not be like home. If you can’t adapt, don’t travel.
20
@Noley
You're right, Noley. But I think the author of the article also is. We pay mightily for hotel rooms and the least the owners can do it make them convenient and comfortable. We're not looking for the ultimate in luxury for $200/night, but for that price we are looking.
10
@Noley Given what many hotels charge I don't think the author is out of line regarding hotel short comings. I would not call it whining. I'm sure many of us treat our house guests better than some hotels.
7
@Noley Hotels in Europe do not have self-service laundry rooms. And what removable hooks are you talking about? Suction ones? To hold a full-size robe without falling down? Unlikely.
3
Is there a price point where the mini-bar is free? I always imagine Bill Gates and Warren Buffet staying in the same hotel (wherever) and still having to pay.
3
@RonRich
Actually I miss the mini bar as many hotels have now removed them.
I get super excited when there is one in my room.
I actually get most annoyed when the room is huge and the bathroom is tiny.
Also do people ever sit on that extra furniture, I use it to put my bags etc but would not dream of actually sitting on it.
I use the desk chair which I can wipe down and the bed as the sheets are changed.
Also could do without the staging pillows on the bed as I take them off immediately, not knowing how often they are cleaned if ever.
7
Ach! Staging pillows! There’s nowhere to put them! And that silly strip of cloth across the bed!
36
@RonRich Maybe Gates and Buffet travel with their own snacks or call room service.
Thanks for this great article. I totally agree about getting the best room in your price category. I often find four star and five star hotels with inadequate counter space in the bathroom, only one luggage rack (always ask for a second), not enough towels, coffee or plugs by the bed. I could go on. I always inspect the room on arrival and call for what is missing. I also take pictures and post with my reviews. Happy travels!
8
Business traveling to any hotel, or on a weekend with my husband, we book at decent hotels and cite the usual requests - not near the elevator or ice machine, etc. But our biggest lament is no lighted expanding mirror for shaving and close makeup applications. I have to move to a window to see clearly. That is such a small fix for hotels to make and we do not understand why hotels don’t get it!
10
If the hotel continues to use the small body wash, shampoo and conditioner bottles in the shower,
label them in a font that the average 45 year old (about the age that most people need reading glasses) can actually read them. My observation is that in high-end hotels the age is of 50, so most guest would benefit from the change.
11
So true! Is this shampoo or shower gel???
2
I use Marriott / Bonvoy (Starwood SPG). I literally have to email this request EVERY TIME I make a reservation: "Please also check to make sure that the room I am provided is not adjacent to, across from, above or below another room that has scheduled maintenance. This includes moving furniture or any other maintenance that would be loud." There are so many times I came to a hotel at 2-3 AM, exhausted, and the people at the desk put me in a room with scheduled maintenance at 6-7 AM right next door that uses loud power tools. It wakes me up out of a deep sleep and sets me in a real bad mood for the day and guarantees a complaint. I make sure the desk agent reads that before assigning me a room. It's saved my sleep now countless times.
11
I am completely for having wall mounted dispensers instead of tiny single-use bottles, but I hate that there is no more body lotion provided after the transition. I can't fit enough lotion into my carry-on for 2 weeks along with all my other liquids, and so I have become very dependent on being able to use some provided by the hotel.
5
Totally agree about the books. It makes no sense to encourage me not to launder my towel but give me no place to hang it to dry. And I’d go a step further. The hooks should be distinguishable in some way. I travel with my husband and two kids. I am fine to reuse my towel. MY towel. But who knows which one was mine once it hangs to dry. Maybe each hook has a different shape or saying or anything that I can say - that’s MY towel. Don’t touch.
13
I echo the request for hooks, but beyond the bathroom. Put hooks near the door for coats, backpacks,etc. I love the convenience when they are there. Another pet peeve is glassware in the bathroom. Hard plastic reusable cups work well and are safer than glass, especially when kids are present. And while some guests like the shower dispensers, I have had soap run out in one, and I question whether the squeeze point is sanitized between guests. Finally, STOP making a decorative flower out of the first tissue. I am never going to put your hand crafted flower on my nose, so it goes to waste unless I set it aside for reuse when you make up the room.
14
My husband and I just had a lovely stay at the Viceroy in Santa Monica. It is almost perfect except our devices were hacked at 0328 in the morning. They have a warning about the unsecured internet risk whey you sign into the wifi.
I think hotels could do 2 things better. The first is to provide more plugs for all the devices {The Viceroy had generous plugs}, and the second is to do MORE to advise guests that the wifi is not secure.
We were lucky, because the only thing that happened is 25 of my husband's contacts received bogus emails at 0328 in the morning, but we THINK that is all.
10
@Kathy Zamsky You should use a VPN on your devices to secure the Internet connection.
Add: enough cabinet space in the bathroom so we ladies can store our makeup, hair products, toiletries, etc.
Otherwise the countertop gets covered with stuff.
6
Please install a nightlight in the bathroom. Also provide enough flat surfaces for a couple of two-sided suitcases to open flat (they don't fit on a luggage rack).
11
We travel all the time; this is a smart list, thank you! Now it's time for me to share this list!
10
I agree with all of the suggestions and would like to emphasize the need for grab bars and non slip floors in bathtubs / showers as well as a properly functioning night light. My wife is sight impaired so with limited sight it can be extremely difficult and dangerous when trying to use the shower.
30
Dear upscale hotel: please stop instructing your housekeepers to rearrange all of my toiletries I’ve set on the bathroom counter. I’ve arranged them in a way that is orderly and convenient for me. It’s frustrating to return every afternoon to find my toothpaste and face cream neatly lined up on a face towel in the middle of the counter. Thank you.
8
You're OK with having the same hands that just cleaned multiple toilets touching your personal items? I put mine away in my kit bag when finished, get them out for the next use, and arrange 'em the way I like.
10
@DBT Whew. What a terrible experience that must be!
2
My bugbear is the size of the letters on the shampoo, conditioner and bath gel bottles as I do not normally wear my glasses in the shower
7
Seriously? I have very poor vision but I simply hold the bottle close enough to my face to read the label. It’s not like you’re reading War and Peace in the shower.
8
@Capital idea: Good for you, but some of us are far-sighted. I can't for the life of me read 18 point fonts in the shower without my glasses.
My solution is to carefully line up the bottles in order before taking off my glasses. I'd much prefer gigantic letters
2
I have never and probably never will stay in a five star hotel but some of this is applicable even to the lowly roadside motels. What I want most of all is clean and comfortable at a reasonable price. Over this past year I have had the misfortune of staying in some miserable, dirty and overpriced places in the US. Last night I came back from three weeks overseas where I spent a number of nights in modestly priced places. All were clean with impeccably clean sheets, bathrooms and towels. All had comfortable beds. Our last night we stayed at a Premier Inn at Heathrow. Family members had sneered at Premier Inns when talking about hotels in Britain. This one was as good as any airport hotel could be. Walkable via a covered walkway to the terminal. Clean and fresh with an actual deep bathtub and a good shower. Free wifi. Quiet. The price was 51 pounds. Breakfast was optional but also reasonable. It wasn't exciting but there were many options from traditional to healthy. Compare that to a typical American motel that costs more than twice as much and offers the lowest level of processed garbage as a "free" breakfast. Then there is the hotel at our destination where the cheapest rooms go for over $200 or the hotels twenty or thirty minutes away that still charge well over $100 a night.
15
Could hotels please install/retrofit doors so they close quietly? How can one get a good night's sleep when neighbors thoughtlessly allow their doors to slam shut - at 10p, 11p, 12a, 1a, 2a, 4a, 5a, ...? A simple fix that would bring in my business - just advertise it.
33
How about checking that basic things in the room work before guests arrive and discover disconnected phones, lousy TV reception, burned out light bulbs, bathroom sink plugs that don't seal, and noisy or inoperative AC units? Relying on your customers to do your quality control is not good business.
I am not talking about budget motels. I fixed non-sealing sink drains in two 3-star hotels in Paris and Lisbon on the same trip a few years ago. The only thing more frequent than non-sealing sinks is bathroom lights that play shadows on your face so that you can't see to shave. And restaurant chairs and tables that rock.
12
@danarlington
Yes! I shouldn't have to notify the front desk about things that didn't work when I checked in. The slow draining sink is super common.
To the bathroom recommendations, add decent lighting. I recently stayed in a Manhattan hotel where not only was there barely enough counter space for a toothbrush, the lighting was so dim I could barely see my face in the mirror. During a weeklong stay at a Toronto hotel, the light was so poor that I could not read by it, I had to replace the ridiculously low wattage lightbulb myself.
8
Think of the needs of women under 5' 4". This means a mirror for putting on makeup that you don't have to bend across the sink counter to get close to. A makeup mirror can be mounted on a swing arm--or any mirror on a wall that you get up close to, as long as the light is good, will do. Also, more outlets, more USB ports.
12
@eastbay Agree, and could our super tall family have higher showerheads so we are not crouching! Even a handheld would be better.
4
One thing that always bothers me is if I leave something of value like shoes, iPad or shaving kit in the room; why don’t they call me to tell me I left it there? Why does it go into lost in found? They have my info and maybe I can stop in and pick it up if I don’t realize it’s missing.
99
@BRian WAtson I was told by someone in the business that they never call about left-behind items because it can quickly escalate to someone else finding out their partner/spouse/etc was in a hotel room without their knowledge. Too messy to bother with what would otherwise be a common courtesy attempt to return lost items.
39
@BRian WAtson
I find this puzzling, too. I found something once in a hotel, and the front desk told me that the policy is that they don't call because they don't know if the person who answers the phone is the person who left it there. I guess they think the hotel guest might have been having an affair or a secret rendezvous or something.
I kind of understand the rationale, but it seems kind of weak to me. In this particular hotel, they don't label items with the room number or the date they were found (it all just gets thrown into a drawer), so it could be very frustrating if you're calling later and trying to figure out if someone found your glasses or something else that's hard to describe uniquely.
12
@BRian WAtson
Housekeepers are poorly paid, poorly treated, and endure harassment, rudeness, and pigs for guests. Hotel housekeepers are not your mom. Do a room check before you leave.
Housekeepers are trained to put guests' belongings in a central place. Period. The mega-corporations that own hotel chains will never add to their overhead by providing post-its to identify travelers' forgotten articles.
Do you leave a tip?
31
I completely agree about the shampoo and soap dispensers but PLEASE think about the travelers who are under 5’4” when you install them: in a hotel in Dublin this past summer I had to stand on tip toe (I’m 5’1”) to reach the soap dispenser at the sink. Certainly no child would be able to reach it.
20
Yes to more bathroom hooks and an extra luggage rack! I'd also like to add a nightlight to the list. Usually the choices for sleeping are: 1) no lights on at all and you have to bump your way to the bathroom in the middle of the night; or 2) leave one of the regular lights on, which is usually a bit too bright for sleeping well.
29
@Lisa RE: nightlights, when there are none, leave the bathroom light on all night and if it's too bright, just leave the door open a crack. (Yes, environmentally wasteful, but safer than roaming in the dark, unfamiliar room!)
How about a proper table where two adults can share a cup of coffee or a meal? Even rooms with two queen beds wave just one chair and desk. I'd like to be able to sit down with my husband to have a cup of coffee, and eat a meal at a proper table that can hold those enormous room-service trays. Even family-friendly suites with kitchenettes seem to expect guests to eat their meals in bed o on the sofa.
Table and chairs would be much more useful than the usual hulking hotel furniture, such as an enormous armoire or clothes dresser (my rollerboard suitcase and I can only fill one drawer!)
14
@SH
I've rarely known anyone to even use the hotel's dresser or armoire...most folks I know hang a few things in the closet and then just keep other clothes folded in their suitcase....with the suitcase unzipped on the luggage rack.
I'd much rather a table...for dining, having coffee, spreading out my gear/maps, using a laptop/tablet. And please, more than one desk/table chair
8
At this point, with many hotels newly constructed, this is a pointless request, but I will nonetheless make it: I would love windows that open. Temperature control is often impossible in a room with sealed windows, and the HVAC systems are generally noisy to boot. There are, of course, serious security issues to be considered (I am a woman who travels solo), but if I am satisfied that an open window isn’t a risk I would trade some street noise for outside air almost any day.
43
@Olenska
Hotels are just office buildings with sleeping areas. There hasn't been a newly-constructed office building with windows that open for decades.
HVAC systems not only are noisy and tricky to regulate, they recycle the crud of the entire structure. Unless one is in an older or boutique facility, expectations of normal human accommodation, along with your credit info, should be left at the front desk.
7
@Olenska In some older hotels they have installed stops on the window frames. Carry a multi tool with allen keys and you can loosen the stops and open the windows.
13
At a chain motel in New Hampshire I was delighted to find the desk lamp had two power outlets and two usb sockets on it’s base. It was really convenient! I hope it becomes standard.
22
There are never enough outlets near the bed. It doesn't matter where my husband's phone and laptop, and the hotspot, are plugged in, but I have to have my phone and tablet plugged in on my side of the bed or I start twitching, well, almost. I asked for an extension cord, which I almost always carry, and they were kind enough to bring me a 50-footer in bright orange, lol.
6
I agree with everything (especially concerning hooks and shelf space in bathrooms) and would like to add:
1) doors that close quietly. Between the last guest coming in at 2 and slamming the door and the first getting up at 5 and doing the same it leaves little time for good quality sleep. And once housekeeping starts the problem multiplies - slamming doors, vacuum cleaners, staff yelling to each other in the hallways, thus
2) sound insulation in general. I do not need to hear my neighbor's conversation or TV.
3) please use unscented detergent and cleaning products, those artificial scents are unbearable.
124
@S.
YES! YES! YES! Why don't hotels -- and Mr Bailey -- realize that this bothers some quests and is an area for improvement? I dread staying in a hotel because of this problem. My number one priority? Quiet. I would be loyal to a hotel that provides quiet doors.
11
@S. Totally agree with your sound requests. Many hotel doors can NOT be closed quietly and certainly more sound insulation everywhere (plumbing?) would make for happy guests. I rarely find a review calling out or praising the sound level in a hotel.
10
Or the couple in the room next door banging away at 3 am
5
I travel all the time—here are my three biggest tips for the hotel.
1. Have a working outlet next to the bed side table for charging a phone
2. Ditch the clock radio and install Echo Show from Amazon (or similar technology)
3. Ensure that lamps in the room are easy to turn on and off and make sure that the controls are the same whether the lamp is on the floor, by the desk, or on a bedside table.
11
@Kevin
A clock radio can't spy on you. I would be very displeased if I found any kind of "smart listening" gadget in my hotel room.
32
@Kevin Brilliant on the clock radio--my first action is always to turn it on its face because I can't stand the light.
9
Better lighting in bathrooms and around the mirror in the room so guests can actually see to put on makeup or shave. Bathtubs and bathroom floors that aren’t dangerously slick when wet, causing a guest to slip.
16
I've now stayed in a hotel and more than one AirBnB that had streaming TV only--no networks, no local news. This trend needs to be stopped in its infancy, it's far worse than not having the TV turn on to the last channel viewed.
11
@Outdoors Guy Maybe at places that cater mainly to older guests. The 30s and under demographic doesn't have much use for network TV and local channels anymore, which makes getting rid of them the direction of the future.
5
I realized that as soon as I ran into it. Their loss on not watching local news. I suspect a lot of them in northern California were surprised this morning to discover they had no power.
9
We recently chose an expensive suite because of the beautiful deep bathtub. I planned to soak in that tub every night.
I used it once and was grateful that my husband was there to help me climb out - the sides were straight and deep and there was nothing to hold on to.
I guess that grab bars just aren't photogentic.
23
I see it all the time: hotel renovations yield stylish rooms with poor lighting in the room and the bathroom. Style might be important but function is essential. The new mirrors with the hidden lights look great but they don't work well.
24
While the idea of a wall mounted soap dispenser is clever, keep in mind that these dispensers are notorious for bacterial growth! MRSA can be deadly!
37
My husband and I hate those little bars and bottles, too, so we carry our own. Half way through our month in Italy this summer, the hotel sent me Lush to replenish my supplies and I feel in love with my clerk and their products.
8
@Laura Uebelhoer exactly right. They are gross and breed pseudomonas bacteria.
3
I have been railing about the lack of a second luggage rack this whole year. We traveled extensively this year, and this drives me crazy.
16
@Maggie holder After emptying the suitcases. we request that they are taken by the staff and stock somewhere else.
I never even thought of this which is another reason I think this is a smart list.
1
Bed side lights on both sides of the beds. Hotels seem to have forgotten that some people still read. Also outlets! Even new hotels often don't have enough outlets by the bed.
I always hang up my towels for resuse but more often then not the maids still take them.
11
@Raina Kattelson
Yes! Of all the pet peeves shared here, you are the first to call out mine. So many hotel rooms provide just one lamp shared between two beds. We are both readers, and would rather not have to choose between being able to read or sharing a bed.
3
My pet peeve is the placement of toilet paper dispensers. They almost always require the skills of a contortionist to use. A portable rod dispenser would allow a guest to move it to a spot where it's easy to use.
My other is an AC unit that sounds like the D-Day naval bombardment. Just fix the broken fan or whatever. A noisy AC guarantees I'll never be back.
Always bring a multiple socket outlet. Otherwise you may have to choose between charging your phone or watching TV.
Never ever forget to tip your maid daily. Otherwise the last maid gets it all.
69
@MJG We always leave a tip and a treat daily for the housecleaner. I always leave a note thanking them for doing a great job. The last hotel that we stayed in the cleaner did not take the tip the first day because we did not leave a note and they are not authorized to take the money if there is not indication that the tip is for them.
17
@Kathy Zamsky what kind of treat?
1
Hooks, Hooks, Hooks, Hooks, Hooks, Hooks, Hooks, Hooks
And a few more towel racks would be nice too
73
While we're at it, please use unscented laundry detergent and cleaning supplies. The scents used in most hotels are so noxious and strong that everything in my suitcase reeks when I get home.
41
Jeez. I'm thrilled to find a truly clean room at any price point. Without mildew in the bathroom, filth in the HVAC vents, or something on the floor.
I take the bed spread off the bed immediately. I know it hasn't been washed in maybe a year, if at all.
19
Hooks seem so obvious but are in so few hotel bathrooms. Need at least two please! We travel with hanging toiletries bags. Also very hard to find a place to hang a towel for re-use.
16
If the hotel room has a hair dryer, you can use it on low to get your socks, underwear, and some other clothes halfway to dry. Then air dry easily the rest of way. Use hangers, and hangers on doorknobsif need be.
And always pack one or two plastic hangers.
11
@Jean
There are plenty of places that have high humidity either seasonally or all year (tropical locations). It can take at least 2 days to dry socks and other clothes. Hair dryers are useless.
1
@m.pipik
Actually I have successfully used the hair dryer trick on archaeology trips deep in some of the largest, most humid jungles of world.
1
Re all the dispenser comments, I’m amazed so many people travel without bringing their own favorite soap and shampoo. Wouldn’t dream of traveling like that.
9
@Mary
Just depends - if I have a checked bag, yes, but just a carry on, no. The whole TSA thing is such a pain.
7
@Mary Like a lot of people, I don't have favorite soaps and shampoos and I travel with just my 32 liter carryon backpack, so I don't bring those items.
Besides, if I'm staying in good hotels odds are their products are comparable to what I have at home.
1
Thank you for writing this:
I completely agree with the “reuse the towels incentive hooks”. I have often wondered how the hotel can expect me to reuse my towel if I have no where to hang it to dry.(?)
And counter space in bathrooms is disappearing with large, modern sinks taking over.
Another trend that I detest: glass bathroom doors, or worse, a glass bathroom wall, or 10 times worse, a bathroom with no door and no privacy. The water closet might be private but the shower or tub is not. That is a dealbreaker for me.
What I find most instructive is the idea that whiners get the better hotel rooms. You checked in and got the room viewing the airshaft. Then you were forced to complain to get the better room.
I know people who check into a hotel, are shown their room and no matter how they feel about the room, they insist on seeing the other rooms. In other words, the picky rude customers get the better rooms. Why not reward the polite customers with the better rooms?
For the ladies, a hand-held shower is very nice. Most women detest rain showers.
Outlets that are not hidden. If no outlet is available, then put in something like an iClever or a surge protector.
And good black out shades.
40
Expecting the best hotel room available for what you are paying is NOT rude. It is your right as a paying customer. In buying anything, if you’re not satisfied with what you‘be paid for you have the right to complain and give the provider/seller/hotel the opportunity to resolve the situation.
Standing up for yourself and asking for the best is not rude!
9
@Lyd Jose
Thank you for the rain shower comment. I have long hair and am not tall. It takes forever for a rain shower to rinse my hair.
3
How about a hallway door that actually shuts out noise? Better yet, a second door, easily retrofitted into many rooms where the first door enters into a small corridor formed by the wall of the bathroom.
13
Totally agree with the bathroom hooks recommendation. Years of traveling in the US and Europe convinces me that hotel designers have a fetish for making bathrooms as elegantly streamlined and impractical as possible, with perhaps one hook and with lots of useless open space under the sink, and narrow counters. For heaven's sake, a bathroom needs enough hooks to hang your towel within reach of the shower/tub and hang a bathrobe. Put in shelves and storage areas for toiletries especially if the counter space around the sink is (as it was in a nice hotel in Prague) only 6 inches deep and your cosmetic case keeps falling to the floor.
And who decided that bathroom tub mats are unsafe, compared to having to step onto a slick, wet tub floor? I was told this when traveling with my elderly mother who was afraid of slipping and falling.
And ditto on the advise about luggage racks, outlets, and laundry cords.
21
I am an extended stay guest in a Hilton hotel ;
I have been at the hotel for nearly 10 months.
Tips for Hotels :
1. General Managers are not supposed to order guests to leave their tables when they are at the start of a meal..
2. G M.s are not supposed to threaten. to through guest out of hotels.
3. Do not treat guests badly. Guests are PAYING to stay at your hotel.
4. Do not stand by when a construction worker hired by the hotel curses out a guest.
6, If one is planning on doing construction IN guest rooms, post this on the website.
6.Do not post on the website :"There may be mild inconveniences to guests, when there will be ear splitting construction starting at 8 a.m -seven days a week.
7,. Do not begin construction on Rosh Hashana ) out of respect for your many Jewish guests.
8. Do not force guests to spent the Holiest day of the year cleaning out their rooms, because you have decided to do construction IN their rooms the day after, 5 days ahead of schedule.
Hilton Corporate : Provide a confidential phone number so that guests can contact you without fear of retaliation by the General Manager.
I'd write more, but the construction crew is coming into my room tomorrow.
These hotel tips seem trivial compared to that which I and other guests at a Hilton hotel are being subjected.
17
You need to share these concerns with Hilton corporate ASAP - twitter is wonderful for getting I mediate results and making sure the issues aren’t swept under the rug.
16
@DJS Sounds like you need to move out of there!
14
Have later check-out times. In Latin America they are more civilized: check out time is 1 or 2 PM. Actually I think it should be like renting a car: if you rent a car the first day you get 24 hours and that should be the same when renting a room. I would like the room for one day not a part of it.
I know they need time to clean up the room but car companies need time to clean up the car and it works for them, giving you a full day. Brian in Brooklyn
58
Excellent suggestions except for the little bottles of shampoo. Ever thought about what a previous guest may have poured into those wall-mounted dispensers in the shower?
17
How about allowing a family of four to share a room? It seems in the last few years Asian and European hotels have started limiting occupancy to two adults plus child... this seems unreasonable, wasteful, and financially onerous to Americans who are used to be able to sleep four to a room.
13
@June ??? 4 in a room? what do you plan to do?
@queen mom , when my kids were young, we had 4 in a room every time we traveled. Different arrangements at different arrangements at different places- but worst case scenario was 2 queens, which accommodates 2 adults and 2 children just fine.
5
@queen mom Sleep? Is there anything wrong with having your children sleep in the same room with you?
8
Stairwells should have labels for every floor, including floors with conference rooms, etc., in case of fire. There should be maps and complete labeling of directions in each elevator lobby and by each stairwell door. I want a locking bar on my room door, and I want it to be installed correctly.
I want HVAC units to cycle within narrower temperature ranges; I don't want to freeze, sweat, repeat, all night long. I want a blanket in the closet. I want quieter HVAC. Curtains should allow blocking all outside light, maybe via tracks overlapping at the middle of the window.
Individual little shampoo and conditioner bottles probably are refilled and reused unless the customer takes them, so they too could be contaminated.
Towel racks may be missing from expensive modern hotels because customers are expected to throw towels onto the floor after one use. Am I right? In any case, a poor idea.
Completely-flat counters around sinks lead to puddles. The area around a sink basin should slope gently toward the sink. Big classic-style porcelain sinks with wide sides work better than flat counters with puddles (especially if there are no towel racks).
I want racks for hanging hand-washed clothing, as well as hooks, showers, no tubs, slip-resistant flooring in bathrooms and showers, and handholds in showers.
17
Nailed it. I’ve thought the same thing about rooms I’ve stayed in a hundred times.
9
After 50 years of travel to 68 countries and many hundreds of hotels, I notice that Mr. Bailey mentions the real problem with most hotel rooms only parenthetically: " (and it is likely there’s only one chair)." A hotel should be a home away from home. Most hotel rooms, indeed, have only one chair, and usually an uncomfortable one at that. Whoever heard of a home with no comfortable place to sit? This should have been his first and principal complaint!
12
Agree with everything except:
I intensely dislike those wall-mounted units, that are inevitably messy, unsanitary, ugly, and filled with poor product. I am not at all convinced that those containers, which encourage overuse of product, plus the giant jugs used to fill them, are more environmentally sound than small bottles that limit portion size and can be taken home with you and recycled.
As additional easy pluses in the room, I would add: small flexible reading lights by bedside (many European hotels have these, to read while your partner sleeps); multiple prong outlets (many European hotels have these, and they obviate the need for a converter); and flexible louvered AC vent covers (I cannot tell you how many times the AC vent blows freezing cold air aimed directly at my head while sleeping).
22
Just returned from a trip to Italy and spent our last night at the Moxy Malpensa Milan airport hotel before flying home.
Great place and the bed was equipped with motion-sensor nightlights underneath. As soon as your foot hit the floor the light went on. Ingenious. Easy to find our way to bathroom. Wish I could install at home but we have cats ;)
24
Hotel room safes?
Maybe it is just a myth, but it has often been said that hotel employees may sometimes obtain a "master combination" which can open all room safes.
3
@Howard Fischer try 0000
1
I hate it when the hotel room does not have overhead lights (only lamps on night-stands). I am developing cataracts and need lots of light to see things, read maps, etc. Sometimes I can find lots of light in the bathroom. Also, the closet should have a light, so that I can see my clothes. On the other hand, the curtains should close completely so that the sunlight does not wake me up too early.
21
I agree wholeheartedly with the writer’s recommendations.
Another common issue is no maintenance on electric outlets. With frequent use, wall plugs become loose and won’t hold a charger.
Dim bedside reading lights are another pet peeve.
8
@Gina Lobaco i used to always travel with a 100-watt bulb. Now I read on my iPad.
2
This is a fabulous column. If only there was some site on the web where MBAs could go to be instructed how to serve the consuming public -- info they weren't taught in school. I don't wear my glasses in the shower, and thus can't read the small print on the bottles to learn whether it's shampoo or conditioner. I do wear glasses when searching for instructions on how to prepare canned soup -- but have to search all over the label to find what should be prominent. I really would like to know, in time to get in the proper lane, what the street name of the next intersection is, before coming to it and reading the street sign only then. &c., &c., &c.
These tiny issues are what determine the levels of quality of our lives. Were there some central place to register suggestions, life would be better.
10
For me, the issue is accessible power outlets. With all the devices that I travel with (phone, tablet, camera), I need a place to plug in a power strip so I can recharge everything. It's amazing that so many modern hotel rooms have no outlets except for the bathroom (for hair dryers and shavers I assume). I often end up unplugging a light so I can recharge my devices at night. It's rather maddening that this still isn't a big consideration.
17
Most of these seem pretty trivial. For me the quirks of different accommodations are part of the travel experience.
10
@Jason Alexander To my mind “quirks” are enjoyable when they are about design and location and sometimes staff but not when they are about the basics of good management-which I think this article addresses.
20
@Jason Alexander
Same planet, different worlds
For me, these suggestion seem reasonable and desirable (especially the hooks). I see these as fixing hassles not enjoying quirkss
16
@Jason Alexander
So, to you and all the others who criticize those of us who make suggestions for improving our hotel stays, why did you even bother to read the article? If you feel that there is no possible room for improvement on this front, then your need to find something for which to criticize the writer/commenters seems petty, not helpful. Belittling our very constructive observations is what strikes me as trivial.
15
Just got back from a 24 night European trip staying in nine different hotels, so I speak from recent experience.
Two outlets next to each side of the bed, regular and/or USB.
Get rid of overpriced minibars and just give me an empty cold refrigerator.
Bathroom nightlight so I don’t need to leave the bathroom light on with the door ajar all night.
I hate the European card key slot to make the electricity work in the room. I find that almost any similar sized card will solve the problem. Otherwise, nothing charges when I’m out of the room because the outlets are cut off, as is the air conditioner.
Agree with the two luggage rack suggestion, or at least floor space for a second suitcase that I won’t trip on.
119
@Kayemtee
We were just in Berlin with the key system you describe. Turns out the outlets that weren't turned off without the key were the bedside clock and the TV. We charged with these.
2
Please no wall mounted community use dispensers. How do you know who put what in there when ? Terrible idea. I stayed in a nice room in Iceland a while back. A beautiful view of the harbor and a lovely breakfast. It was July. I had to beg for a top sheet as the only cover at all was a very lovely, very heavy down comforter enclosed in a very nice duvet. When I went downstairs to request just a sheet they acted as if it was a strange request. Believe me women of a certain age are not shivering on summer nights and needing a heavy cover. Hooks, please some hooks. My main complaint about American hotels: I guess no one reads in bed because most of the time the reading light does not function.
We are all enjoying our chance to sound off here but I must say the author and his wife sound a bit nit picky. The hotel TV, cruise ship TV, is always going to revert to its menu. For one thing you might leave it on a channel that the next guest's children or elderly mother should not be exposed to. Happened to me once when I took my son on a college visit. We walked in, turned it on and oh dear ...
44
Re the wall mounted shower gels - I recently spent a few weeks at the Hyatt Regency Seattle and the shower dispensers were all locked and could only be opened by hotel staff. I felt comfortable using them because of this security.
11
Can we add this one to the list?: If there is a breakfast buffet included in the room rate, can it open a little earlier please? I stayed at a mid-priced hotel in Taipei recently catering to a diverse clientele (i.e., not a high-end tourist hotel). There was a mix of business people, students, and tourists, mostly from Asia. The breakfast buffet opened at 7:30 in the morning. That seems a tad late, especially for business people with an early meeting. Opening even a half-hour earlier would have been nice. I realize that a lot of it had to do with not requiring the kitchen staff to arrive at some ungodly early hour, but for early risers it's nice not to have to wait for the dining room to open.
17
@Metaphor : I stayed at a hipster hotel in Providence, RI (The Dean) that had no provision for making coffee or tea in the room, and a coffee bar that didn’t open until (nominally) 7:30 a.m. - it was later - and then you had to contend with a huge line of people debating annoyingly with the baristas about single-origin coffee vs. blends, and almond milk vs. oat milk. Coffee and tea-making facilities should be standard in any decent hotel, as they are in Europe (I should note that Wyndham’’s New Yorker hotel now charges an extortionate rate for what used to be standard-equipment coffeemakers in the rooms. It’s cheaper to buy one at TJ Maxx for the duration of your stay. It’s shameful.)
15
@Olenska The irony is that the more expensive the hotel, the more expensive the amenities Low grade motels tend to all have microwaves and mini fridges and coffee makers as well as free wifi--all things that you get charged for in some of the more expensive places.
14
@Ceilidth : I should note that the above-mentioned Dean Hotel gives you free condoms in the rooms. How precious is that?!?!?
4
Great article! I’d also add “give us the option of a walk-in shower in lieu of a shower-tub combo which does neither well.
30
A few years ago I was a consultant working at Marriott headquarters. Serendipitously I was invited to visit their basement to see, try out, and be interviewed on, their prototype rooms for their hotel lines. One room for Residence Inns, another for Courtyards. I came away with the following. (1) Marriott tests out their new room designed with full mock-ups. They pay attention to EVERY detail. (2) Most of the suggestions in this article were NOT present in the rooms. (And.. (3) I almost was rejected for the survey because I was 55 years old. That's the cutoff. Sad.)
173
@Liam Ryan
At age 55 I finally became flush enough to afford Marriot! A little demographic research goes a long way....
38
@Liam Ryan That age limit is strange. When I stay at either a Courtyard or Residence Inn the breakfast area is always full of two demographics: mid-30s parents with small children, and retired couples. I know what Residence Inn thinks its brand is, but the reality is quite else.
11
@Liam Ryan That age limit is strange. When I stay at either a Courtyard or Residence Inn the breakfast area is always full of two demographics: mid-30s parents with small children, and retired couples. I know what Residence Inn thinks its brand is, but the reality is quite else.
1
Agreed with every one of these. Here are two more:
1. Adequate lighting. so many rooms are so dark, you can't work or read. I'm fine with energy efficient, but give me enough wattage to not get eye strain.
2. Easily accessible outlets near the bed. We all use our phones as alarm clocks and reading devices and so they need power near the bed. I hate having to dig behind furniture or even worse, there is simply no option.
142
Right on about the need for hooks and towel bars.
It seems pretty obvious - so why do so many hotels ( even new/chains) lack?
28
A little tray marked "Tips Appreciated" for the cleaning staff would make it clear where to leave some cash. You don't tip the cleaners? Shame. Shame.
66
@Glenda
You can always put the tip in an envelope and leave it at the front desk.
put the tip under the pillow,
3
@Glenda I put the tip under a glass and leave it on the desk.
2
Here's a recommendation: instead of adorning your walls with corporate non-art, or mass produced prints of banal landscapes, or B&W photos of the obvious tourist scenes, patronize your local art school's annual BFA show. You'll get eclectic, original work at a modest price. It will surprise and delight your guests, and give the grads a little career boost!
390
Such a great idea!!
10
For those of you wanting a clothesline - most travel stores sell a simple, inexpensive braided clothesline with suction cups. You pull the braid apart and slip in your clothing, braid goes back together and your clothes are "pinned". I've used mine all over Europe.
40
Agreed on a place to hang wet towels! I appreciate having drawers for clothes, too.
8
You do realize that European countries are not obliged to cater to us right? There are other cultures that aren't so picky about what the view is like outside your window. Fine if you are in America (I guess?), but it doesn't surprise me one bit how the rooms were assigned in Europe. Not everyone has such entitled attitudes.
8
Uh - it’s the hospitality industry. I believe catering to guests is the idea.
30
room keys that don't match the decor of the hotel/room - takes too long to find those blend-in buggers!
2
All Hotels should have a night light in the bathroom. Avoids stumbling in the dark when one has to do one’s business.
27
I’ve learned to bring my own — which I tend to forget when I leave.
9
With respect to wall-mounted soap/shampoo/conditioner dispensers, I think I'd rather still have individual bottles. One never knows how a mischievous guest or employee might have "tampered" with the contents. And while we're on the subject of those little bottles, could manufacturers please make the caps FATTER? Even if my middle-aged fingers weren't semi-arthritic and clumsy, getting the top off and on without dropping it onto the shower or bathtub floor requires the dexterity of a brain surgeon. Hey, how about flip-caps...?
In-room coffee. Full disclosure: I love coffee; any time of day. So why are there two measly packets, and only enough sugar and cream to placate a child's dollhouse tea service-sized cup of coffee? Please! More coffee packets. And alot more creams and sugars!
Toilet paper. As a former hotel and resort manager, I'm well aware that the very profits of the place rest on the suspicion that guests just may sneak off with that extra roll of toilet paper from the john, but could you please leave a 2nd roll? I don't recall how many times there has been only a few sheets remaining in the wall dispenser, so up goes the spare roll early in the stay. And then, depending upon number of people in the room and/or the alertness of the housekeeper and/or my failure to remind them, soon you find yourself out of toilet paper.
Extra pillows. Please. Personally, I sleep with three pillows (don't ask). I have my reasons. Please. Please. Extra pillows!
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@David Bartlett
Not sure about other hosts, but the Marriott app allows you to pre-set your preferences for all your stays (extra pillows, lower floor, away from elevator, etc.)
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@An ESQ
Thanks for your kind recommendation.
Lights in the bathroom. What good is a mirror above a sink if the light is behind you. You won't see anything.
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I think this article would be better placed on a review section of Yelp. The writer offers nothing except a list of grievances on specific past stays. Way to use their position to distastefully review hotels for which we have no idea what other factors were at play.
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Agree totally on the bathroom! The lack of shelf space is unbelievably annoying!
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Moral of the story: Read reviews before booking.
10
Here is my tip: ALWAYS have more hangers than throw pillows.
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Hear, hear for hooks!
11
Totally nailed my pet peeves.
In a hotel in Portugal right now - wet clothes that I hand washed with nowhere to hang - no hooks in BR - 2 hangers total.
Long I’ve wondered about
Hooks
Clothesline
Shelf for toiletries! So obvious!!
The air shaft view when I booked ahead (I thought this was because I wasn’t important enough)
Suitcase rack! For crying out loud! Though I was in a LOVELY hotel in Quebec City (Marie-Rollet) this summer that had 3! Hallelujah!
14
You could just stay at home. It’s always how you like it there.
10
All good ideas! I’ve been to Europe several times and most hotel bathrooms there strike me as a lawyer’s slip and fall fantasy waiting to happen!! Tall slick bathtubs, with no handgrips, that you have to leap in and out of are not my idea of safe!! Next time, I’ll ask for a walk in shower or “disabled access” bathroom. Better safe than having a ruined vacation!
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@Cynthia McDonoughhi
They would be a lawyer’s slip and fall fantasy except that tort law, as we practice it here, is almost unheard of in Europe. It’s a legitimate argument, that the existence of pro-plaintiff tort law in the United States makes our public accommodations safer.
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@Cynthia McDonoughhi
Spent "Constitution Day" 100 year anniversary 2015 in Copenhagen with spasmed back muscles, while avoiding cracking my skull on marble sink edge on the way down to floor. Bottom of bathtubs a good 9 inches higher than the floor? This was a 5-star American chain hotel, BTW.
Best part, Danish health care up close---really---and they refused to even look at my insurance cards!
11
Hooks, for sure.
If it's a double room, why provide only one robe?
Don't force me to get dressed and go downstairs to get a cup of coffee.
Provide the internet credentials at check-in.
Hair dryer should not be attached to the wall.
Full length mirror please.
40
My biggest complaint is the beds. I sleep on a rock hard mattress at home. I sleep like a baby all night. When I get to a hotel and the bed folds in a V shape, I have to sleep on the couch. I once stayed in a place that had extra blankets, pillows and towels in the entry way closet which was real nice of the hotel to provide. But, they did not tell me they were there! Sometimes communications is lacking. As far as toiletries, I invested in a not expensive fold out and hang up bag that will hang itself on a hook in the bathroom and you can keep and contain all of your bathroom items. You barely have to unpack them from this wall stall you have hung and you can just fold it up and go. Most of the pockets inside have netting that helps items to dry. Great for the little bottles you bring yourself of your own items.I label my plane bottles so I know which is the conditioner and which is the lotion. Since I bring my own bottles of shampoo and lotion and I am not too fussy on brands, I fill them with the Hotel's offerings if I know what they are. Score one for me! If hotels are slow to put shower seats in,the least they can do for safety is to have grab bars in the shower. Grab bars are lifesavers getting in and getting out. I travel with a tub mat too. I make them myself, small enough to carry and use but dries quickly. Tubs can be very slippery and I always bring my own tub mat. Hotels do not always provide them and I do not want to stand on a gritty floor.
17
I have two of those hanging bags. One for my toiletries. And one for kitchen ingredients when I stay in a self catered cottage. It makes a huge difference to have good olive oil, vinegar, seasoning, my favorite paring knife etc. I just hang the bag on a cupboard knob and start cooking
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@Anita Larson Great idea about the kitchen ingredients/gadgets. I always take them, but not as organized. Thanks for the tip!
2
Teabags in the coffee-maker area.
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Locate the towel shelf where it can be reached from the shower/tub, so you don't have to walk, dripping wet, across the bathroom to get your towel.
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A working radio.
An alternative to the heavy duvets on some hotel beds. A lightweight blanket would be nice.
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@Been there so funny... I have trouble getting enough weight on me so that I can relax and sleep. I have to ask for extra blankets (for the weight... not the warmth).
Pay your housekeepers and maintenance staff a living wage with benefits and make that disclosure so we can more easily find the decent hotels.
Multiple electrical outlets on BOTH sides of the bed. Two people should each be able to charge phone, laptop and battery pack without having to unplug the clock or the light or strangling your lover with cords crossing the bed.
Motion nightlights including first entry into the room so you can orient and find the light switch.
Clear directions for climate control.
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@Chuck Lacy
How about climate controls that actually control the climate? Many are decorative only. The allowed temperature range is quite narrow, though you can’t tell that from the display. The temperature goes up and down when the hotel feels like it. Are you listening, Hilton Hotels? I’m a Diamond member and cannot tell you how annoying this is!
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@Chuck Lacy Agree with the need for readily accessible outlets on both sides of the bed. My husband and I travel with two CPAP machines. Sometimes we have to go into gyrations to find enough outlets to use them.
4
Great ideas, all of them. But how about HVAC units that don’t rattle or sound like you’re sleeping outside of Runway 22L at Newark Liberty International Airport.
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@Paul Yes, thank you! I stay at one particular Hyatt on business travel and this hotel seems to have this issue. Super annoying. I end up turning off the HVAC at night which means my room gets stuffy. Time to find a new hotel close to my business location.
Agree with most of these, esp impossible to use or figure out remotes. I've started carrying extra batteries for those dying or dead remotes!
4
Towels.
Please Mr/Ms Hotel Owner, DO NOT stack clean towels on a rack mounted directly above the toilet.
Housekeeping staff rarely replace items that don't appear to have been used or disturbed. So several of those towels in the above-toilet rack may actually be unused leftovers from the room's previous occupant.
And if that previous occupant was too lazy to lower the lid before he or she flushed?
(I'll leave it to your imagination)
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@Dan
I'm in a hotel now.I don't use the towels that are stacked right above the toilet.
(shudder )
2
Totally agree
Common sense suggestions that hotels should consider. Grab bars in showers, especially those still using tubs as shower stalls.
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@Dale Filhaber Grab bars in all bathtubs and showers is probably the most important item listed here.
Rubber bat mats or something like that.
In other words, bathroom safety.
20
i agree with everything here
especially hooks, hooks, hooks. so simple and useful
23
It’s far down on the comment list, but I agree with nightlights in the bathroom.
It’s high up on the list but mini-bottles of shampoo, etc. should not require reading glasses. (Good job, Marriott!) PB
26
Too picky, folks! Half the fun of travel is seeing how others live. I am at the end of a three-week, nine-B&B train journey through Scotland, on which we have encountered all of these “problems” and then some. I suggest you be grateful you can afford to travel, and if you really dislike it that much, you could just stay at home.
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Aren’t you special! Hotels should want people to be happy with their “purchase”. These are merely common sense suggestions, not distopian nightmares.
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@Nina I take your point, but two things you might consider: Many of us have to travel for work, not to a charming cultural destination, and it would be less tiring and stressful if hotels considered these suggestions. Also, many hotels are quite expensive and should be able to accommodate these commonsense requests.
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@Nina
I get that when I am vacation. But I easily spend time in 6 different hotels over a period of 2 weeks. I really don't care how people live in their own apartments, I want certain amenities. Space to open my suitcase is one of them. (I literally once had to keep the hotel in conference room I was working in and take some clothes to the hotel room every day, because it was either me or the suitcase, bot not both in that room).
22
Spent the last three weeks in a variety of modern Spanish hotels. A few more issues:
Rooms where switching off the room lights means also shutting the electric sockets. Hello....modern people charge their phone, pads and laptops at night. One particular brand of hotel consistently shuts ALL the sockets with the lights...You know who you are.
Showers without any shelf or cubby to put the soap or razor....should I have to stand on them?
The wife adds: make sure there is enough light near both the bathroom mirror and the room’s full length mirror to make them useful.
30
What I would like to see: USB chargers. Bathroom floors and showers that are not slippery. Showers only (who wants to bathe in a tub anymore, especially one that others have bathed in?) .
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@TravelingProfessor
Don't use built in USB chargers. They're a cyber issue. Carry your own and plug it into the wall.
11
@Glenda a cyber issue? Please elaborate.
1
@annulla a built-in USB socket can easily be hacked to steal data from your phone when you think it's just charging. Your own power supply guarantees it's just delivering power, not a virus or a trojan horse.
8
Please, front desk, ASK before assigning me a handicapped room. Some folks prefer these rooms, but I do not.
6
After a recent stay, I would suggest not to put the shower controls in a place where you have to be in the shower when that first blast of cold water hits due to a solid glass partition over that half of the shower.
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@Nicole
Ha ha, just happened to me.
5
Walk-in showers for people with handicaps should please, please not drain into the rest of the bathroom!
Once I've folded all the towels and placed them judiciously on the floor to act as dams, there's usually only one towel left for drying my body and my hair.
20
How about high quality toilet paper. It is honestly the most intimate way you will ever touch your guests. If you make it twice as thin I will probably use 3 times as much.
92
Yes!! Why on earth do hotels use the most thin and flimsy TP available ?!?! Especially at some high end hotels. Please just spend a little bit more for some thicker softer TP - it’s either as rough as sandpaper or a minor disaster waiting to happen.
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@Chet Harrison
I remember a few years back there was an article in the WSJ that looked at how corporate executives manage bathroom supplies in their companies, with particular focus on toilet paper. There were executives and supply chain management folks going on and on about sourcing and cost and how to discourage theft or overuse, all sounding very MBAish.
But then the final quote in the article was from the wisest of them all:
"At the end of the day, we want people to be able to use as much toilet paper as they need to do the job right."
So many of the choices business managers make around bathroom supplies for employees or guests are pretty short sighted...whether it's making TP super thin (so you have to use more), or having the rolls/dispensers only give out one sheet at a time (so you have to struggle to get enough...and probably rip, tear, drop more than you actually need), or having the dispenser designed with a flap that clangs every time you access it....looks great, but what guest wants to announce to the whole suite that they need to go back for more and more sheets?
10
@lh Amen. Get the job done!
4
First, include an extra pillow and an extra blanket! So easy! So obvious!! Do hotels really think we read in bed with only one stupid measly scrunched pillow, and then what? stay warm all night under basically a sheet and a polyester bedspread? Dear Heavens! And as a second, please, a plug by each side of the bed--I need to plug in my heating pad! And if you're in certain hotels in European countries where some of the plug holes are strange, retro, non-European-standard (yes, just this week, in a 4 star hotel!), then please include the specific required retro-adaptor so that one is not left cursing, chilled, and unable to charge even one's European appliances.
7
My number one request is for three or four easily accessible outlets (i.e., not on the floor behind furniture) for charging digital devices. No one needs to rewire rooms -- just buy inexpensive power strips that can be connected to one of the otherwise-inaccessible outlets.
50
In Morocco recently I noticed that many room safes also had electrical outlets to charge devices when I was touring or in business meetings. Clear instructions on the use of the HVAC system should be standard.
6
All great points that lead to a general recommendation to hotel management: have each staff member, including management, spend at least 2 nights in your hotel, and use the services, to get the guest's perspective. Many staff (understandably) have never or rarely stayed in any hotel.
42
Yes, definitely, on the one luggage rack thing. Makes no sense at all not to have two.
My pet peeve not listed here is hotels that do not put any water glasses in the bathroom, which is usually the only place in the room where there is running water. This is usually something I realize when I am ravenously thirsty upon check-in, and I go to where some running water is and then find I have to search the room to find a drinking glass.
7
@FJP Most hotels moved the glasses from the bathroom to the bedroom after the staff was filmed washing the glasses with the same rags they used to clean the bathroom. People also complained about the potential for germs on glasses stored in the bathroom, even when they were plastic & wrapped. Generally hotels now put the glasses on the desk or chest of drawers with the ice bucket.
12
@FJP
Do you really want glass in the bathroom. Glasses brake and you'll never know if housekeeping cleaned the bathroom well.
I don't allow glasses in my bathroom or bed room at home (and I always wear slippers outside of the tub).
3
Agreed on all, although I prefer the little bottles people can tamper with the others.
Don’t charge $12 for a bottle of water specially when I’m already paying $900/night, it’s offensive also costs the hotel 30cents.
Most European/ Asian hotels specially the high end ones have a Nespresso machine and pods. American hotels should do the same.
Resort fees - just include it on the price, same thing as the $12 bottle of water.
64
@DS I prefer the standard coffee machine. The fancy pod ones are frustrating to use, especially for those of us who don't have them at home.
2
Not mentioned, but these would certainly be in my top 8. (Almost all of my trips since 2002 have been international)
1. Adequate lighting, especially over the mirrors and next to the bed and in the hallways. Some European hotels have motion sensor controlled lighting. If you’re room happens to be at the far end of the hallway, you’re sunk.
2. Accessible electrical outlets. I cannot count the number of times I’ve had to sit on the floor and heave a bed out of the way of the ONLY unused outlet.
3. Directions (preferably gathered together in a multi-lingual notebook) for every imaginable appliance, including the thermostat! These things are generally marked with really tiny icons that even I can’t translate. Especially important in apartment hotels, where whoever’s doing the cooking (typically me) has to figure out how to use a completely alien cooktop, an oven, a dishwasher, a washing machine (usually they are a washer dryer combo that NEVER seems to get the clothes dry, but that might be the result of my not understanding how to set it) and even a coffeemaker.
20