The drinking cup wasn’t washed, and the coffee maker was cleaned with a mold remover—7 things hotels won’t tell you

By Rita

Unless it’s really bad, few people pay close attention to how clean their hotel room actually is when traveling abroad. These days, hotels at least look “clean” on the surface. Many people, upon arriving at a hotel, can’t wait to use the mini-bar equipment to make coffee or tea, or head straight to the bathroom to see what’s inside. You need to understand that not everything in the room is that clean, and not everything is free. The UK’s Daily Mail Travel section revealed the “secrets hotels won’t tell you”. Next time you enter your room, even if you’re excited, be careful of these details.

▲ Housekeeping staff (Photo / http://www.nyhc.com/homemaker)

1. Be cautious with the remote control
Remote controls and lamp switches are often the least cleaned items. Statistics show that these areas can harbor almost as much bacteria as toilets and sinks. You might want to carry alcohol wipes to clean them yourself.

2. Don’t use the bathroom drinking cup
Remember, don’t drink from the bathroom water cup, as many hotel cleaning staff don’t actually wash them with detergent—they just wipe them with a dry cloth, and that same cloth might have just been used to clean other surfaces. If you’re really thirsty, stick to bottled water or ask the front desk if they have plastic cups.

3. Think twice before using the blanket
Many hotels don’t have many chairs, so the bed is often the only place to sit. Some moms even change their baby’s diaper on the blanket. While some items truly don’t need daily replacement, those small blankets usually aren’t changed every day. It’s a good idea to check online reviews.

4. Don’t assume everything in the room is free
Many guests like to take the shampoo, shower gel, or cookies provided by the hotel, but consumers shouldn’t assume everything in the room is free. Pens and brochures are fine, but things like bathrobes and slippers are not.

5. Watch out for the mini-bar
Mini-bar items are usually quite expensive. According to the 2014 TripIndex Survey conducted in Switzerland, France, New York, Canada, Singapore, and Sweden, prices were over 300 TWD, with the most expensive case being in Toronto, where a snack pack cost 540 TWD.

6. Don’t just randomly put things in the fridge
Those who know about these hidden hotel rules might think, well, if it’s that expensive, I’ll just bring my own stuff from outside—that should be fine, right? It is, but be careful that some hotels charge a“refrigeratorusage fee”. British hotels earned 1.4 billion pounds last year from such extra charges, a 6% increase compared to 2013.

7. Be careful when using the coffee machine
Coffee machines are often not cleaned thoroughly and can harbor plenty of bacteria. In an Ohio hotel, a housekeeper was caught using a mold remover to clean the coffee machine, while another case involved a housekeeper wiping the coffee machine with a rag used to clean the toilet. If you really want to use it, it’s best to clean it yourself first.