How to Be a Great Hotel Guest
Hotel etiquette is a lost art form. Here's how to bring it back.
Since 2020, we’ve learned a lot about the art of living in hotels or resorts. Overall the experience has been great and we’ve been able to stay in some incredible places, getting spoiled while traveling around the world.
Of course there are downsides to this type of lifestyle too!
It’s not always like a beautiful Instagram moment and there have been many nights we had to hole up in a dump, not to mention deal with other unpleasant circumstances like cockroaches, barking dogs, or blaring fire alarms.
But the worst part of it all has been the hotel guests.
So many people these days seem to any lack common sense or respect for others, choosing to disregard any ounce of decency for the other humans around them. I guess when they aren’t home it gives them some sort of a license to be extremely rude and complete assholes.
I don’t understand why hotel guests have to be this way and I’ve told many hospitality workers I could never do what they do for that reason.
This is why I want to talk about hotel etiquette.
How to Be A Great Hotel Guest
Most of my advice is common sense and based on treating others as you want to be treated. It might all sound so simple but it’s amazing how these things are easily forgotten.
Treat Hospitality Staff Better
Working in the hospitality industry is a tough and demanding job.
Staff members often work long hours for very little pay, all the while dealing with unruly guests, clogged toilets, wifi problems, and transients stealing from the hotel. Many workers are covering more responsibilities than they were hired for.
While not every hotel worker is a great person, most of them are and they’re doing their best for you!
You have an opportunity to make their lives better simply by being kind, patient, and understanding. Thank them for doing a good job or even better - give them a bottle of wine, a gift card, or even a tip if they’ve been awesome. I know they’d appreciate it.
Respect Your Neighbors
It can be easy to forget we’re not the only hotel guests on the property. Sometimes we just don’t think about how our actions affect others around us and it’s important to remember the people on the other sides of the walls
Here are some amazing tips to make a difference.
Don’t let your room door slam. Hotel guests sleep at different hours and the constant barrage of slamming doors is horrible.
Stop the loud noise by 10 pm. Many hotels implement quiet hours but it’s not always adhered to. Save security a trip to your room and let others rest.
Control your children. Kids are excited creatures wanting to jump and play, but it can be a hellish nightmare for others, especially when you’re on the top floor!
Use inside voices. Hotel rooms don’t usually have great sound proofing and you would be shocked at the conversations and fights we’ve heard.
Smoke your weed or cigarettes outside. No one really wants to smell your guilty pleasure. Take it outside to the smoking section or your vehicle please.
And by all means, if you want to have some kinky sex, go for it! Just remember to shove a pillow between the headboard and wall if you prefer to be discreet.
Clean Up After Yourself
You’d be amazed at how many people trash the breakfast area, destroy rooms, or leave the swimming pool soaking wet and then walk through the halls.
Not long ago a housekeeper showed me video of a room where cake, pizza, soap, and other crap was mashed on literally everything!!! Apparently the parents gave their room to kids and didn’t care what happened.
I’ve also seen where people have shit — yes, literally shit — in trash buckets in their room right next to where the toilet was.
Staying at a hotel doesn’t give anyone the right to live like a troll or trash a place that doesn’t belong to them.
Please clean up after yourself or your kids. It’s the right thing to do.
Be Respectful of Others
The first three hotel etiquette tips above fall within this scope but I want to take it a step further by encouraging hotel guests to respect the values, ethnicity, or lifestyles of other people.
Or let me say it more bluntly.
If you happen to be racist, misogynist, crude, homophobic, or generally say hateful stuff to people not like you, please do us all a favor and sleep in your car. Better yet, just stay in the hole you crawled out of.
No one wants to put up with those things. Have the decency to act appropriately around others in public.
Make it a great experience for everyone.
Hotel etiquette doesn’t have to be a lost art form. It’s something we should strive to practice every time we travel whether it’s for business or pleasure. And we can all work harder to treat others with respect, making life a better experience for everyone around us or those on the other side of the wall.
Together we can make it happen.
Happy hoteling!