More bad habits of ineffective hotels

Last week we looked at the bad habits of ineffective hotels, but it seems like there is more to the list that was previously discussed. Cheap hotels shouldn’t get a free ride just because they are considered to be budget accommodation, so here are more habits of ineffective hotels – the budget version.

#1 Mini-bar – Having a fridge in your room is great, but having a mini-bar – not so much! Although some people sneak a snack or two and then put it back before anyone notices, some hotels actually charge you for the item even if you put it back.

#2 Hygiene – Who ever said that a small bathroom doesn’t matter obviously hasn’t seen some hotels where the toilet is literally inside the shower! Yes, it’s great not to share a bathroom, but if you can’t even manage to fit through the bathroom door then the benefit doesn’t really count.

#3 Outlets – Perhaps the only thing that is possibly worse than a lack of electrical outlets in the room, is electrical outlets that look like they could kill you if you touch them.

#4 Plastic – Plastic wrap on the head board of the bed? Plastic wrap on the couches or chairs? Well, that’s one way to make you feel cheap when you book in at a hotel that costs barely anything.

#5 Mattresses – It would be nice to know how many hoteliers have actually slept in their own beds. Many are completely worn out or damaged. The worst thing is arriving in your room and having to flip your own mattress because budget hotels rarely do it.

#6 WiFi – A lot of budget hotels advertise free WiFi, which is great compared to the luxurious hotels that make you pay extra. The thing they don’t tell you is that you will probably have to stick your laptop out of the window just to get a connection.

#7 Storage – Some hotels aim to make you pay extra for every little thing. And this includes storage. Charging extra for leaving your bags with them for those few hours before your flight seems to be the trend with budget hotels these days.

It seems like with budget hotels these days, simply having a roll of toilet paper and free WiFi is a luxury. What other bad hotel habits have you noticed in your travels? 

For an affordable, self-catering apartment with none of these bad habits - book in at 808 Cartwight Corner!

The bad habits of ineffective hotels

If you travel a lot you have obviously noticed that there are many exceptional hotels, self-catering apartments, B&B’s etc. BUT you have probably also noticed that some are just plain weird, and their bad habits are odd as well.

Here are the worst hotel habits that you may have encountered as a traveler…

#1 Telephones – You would be shocked at the amount of hotels that can’t get their own phone systems right. There’s nothing worse than pressing the “Wake Up Call” button and then getting directed to the reservations call centre instead. And then still getting charged for the call! Let’s not forget about when you wait on the line listening to the busy signal for 20 minutes, maybe next time it would be better to rather send out a carrier pigeon!

#2 Internet – Everyone enjoys lying in bed, watching TV and surfing the net. But, all this is pretty hard to do if there is no wireless connection. Having to run a LAN connection to the other side of the room is just not cool at all.

#3 Hidden Charges – Hotel tax, convenience charge, gratuity, local tax, room service, mini-bar, hospitality fee, tourist tax, internet access fees, charges for phone calls – it all adds up, and its super annoying! It’s not great when you find a decent hotel or accommodation and then all the extras kill the vibe.

#4 Temperature – The water is too hot, and the room is too cold, or the water is too cold and the room is too hot! There are always issues with temperatures in the shower; the goal here is that you just want to wash your body – it doesn’t have to be as complicated as sterilizing medical equipment!

#5 Laundry – When you stay in a hotel, guest house or self-catering apartment you need to do laundry! It’s just one of those things and hotel laundry prices are out of control. Imagine having to pay more to get your socks cleaned then you did to buy them.

#6 Photos – Choosing your hotel is a lot like internet dating. It’s extremely rare that what you get in real life actually looks like what was on the internet. Sometimes, on a rare occasion you may be pleasantly surprised, but that doesn’t happen often. Trip Advisor is a great place to find real photos from real photos.

#7 Signs – Isn’t it the worst when you have to work overnight to mirror business hours, or you just simply do not want to be disturbed and then the staff members insist on bothering you. Surely Do Not Disturb means what it says; you’d think it was a no brainer.

Have you ever experienced any of these truly annoying hotel habits? What are you hotel pet peeves?

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