Are any of these really that surprising? My first trip to Europe I stayed in free rooms booked on points and in hostels. Boy have times changed thanks to a continued accumulation of points! I don’t think I could every go back…especially after reading some of these from “John” an American hostel worker in Paris:
1. They don’t wash the sheets. John admits that his boss would tell him to just shake the sheets out the window, spray some disinfectant on the mattress and make up the bed like everything had been freshly washed and dried. “Turn-around time was sometimes too fast for us to get linens into the laundry. There have been plenty of times I was told to ‘quick-change’ a room.” John says the comforters were never washed. Ever.
2. It’s cheap for a reason. Guests complain to John about everything, like scratchy towels the size of washcloths, instant coffee, and lack of water pressure in the shower. John says his favorite story is when he overheard one girl complaining she couldn’t get the conditioner out of her hair because the water pressure was too low. “You’re paying 10 bucks a night. You’re getting 10 bucks a night … of plumbing,” John says.
3. Most hostels double-book. Think you and your friends are about to settle into a quaint, private room where you can walk around in your undies and relax in peace and quiet after a long day of sightseeing? Think again. “We welcomed drop-ins and we pack them in, so you should be prepared to share a room with strangers,” says John. Sometimes they even welcome travelers to “just crash on the floor” for a discounted price. “Watch your step!”
4. Most tours are scams. “It’s an easy way for the hostel to make more money,” says John. “You stick a local with a bunch of kids and take them on a walk around the city.” John says that when travelers check in they are often wheeled and dealed into signing on to at least one tour before they get the keys to their rooms.
5. You’re not special. The bartender gives all the girls free wine. “We had a guy working the bar that always wooed the girls with stories of himself making his way through Paris with a little change in his pocket and a big dream of becoming a screenwriter in his head,” says John. “He was full of it, and the staff made bets on whether or not he’d get the girl to actually make out with him.
As always, thanks to Mark from Yahoo! for passing this on and check out the complete list of confessions here.
Confession Related –
- 30 Pilots and Flight Attendants Confess their “Best Kept Flying Secrets”
- Flight Attendant “True Confessions”…what we hate about passengers and our jobs
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant: #1 – Attack of the Ambien Zombies
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant: #2 – More Nudity & Sleeping Pills
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant: #3 – The 15 Most Ridiculous Things People Say on a Plane
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #4 –11 Strangest Things People Ask for on a Plane
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #5 – What Happens in the Bathroom Doesn’t Stay in the Bathroom!
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #6 – 15 Flying Tips That’ll Keep You Sane this Summer
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #7 – Fecal Matter & Maxi Pads
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #8 – Wheelchair Gaming the System
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #9 – Peeing in Cups & Breastfeeding Cats
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #10 – Drunks on a Plane
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #11 – Tales From the Mile High Club
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #12 – Smells on a Plane
- Confessions of a Fed-Up Flight Attendant #13 – The Worst People on the Plane
- Confessions of a Pilot #1: Debunking the Biggest Air Travel Myths
- Confessions of a Pilot #2: We Fly Blind!
- Confessions of a Pilot #3: Weirdo Pilots Edition – Smelly, Paranoid, and Narcoleptic…
- Confessions of a Concierge – Hotel Guests’ Craziest Requests
- Don’t Ask Flight Attendants these 10 Questions
- What Your Flight Attendant Really Thinks of You
- 10 Things You Should Never Say to a Flight Attendant
- 10 Signs You’re the Worst Person on Your Flight
- 16 Alarming Airline Secrets
- Nine Dirty Little Secrets of the Travel Industry
- 29 Things Your Pilot Won’t Tell You
- 7 Things Your Flight Attendant Wants You to Know
- What Do Flight Attendants Think of You…and your requests?
- The Unsurprising & Scary Confessions of a Regional Jet Pilot…sleeping in trailers at the airport
- How Much Do Singapore Airlines Flight Attendants Get Paid for Providing Great Service?
- Say What? Overheard on the Plane Edition 28 – Crazy Things Passengers Say to Flight Attendants
The responses below are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Responses have not been reviewed, approved or otherwise endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the bank advertiser's responsibility to ensure all posts and/or questions are answered.
2 comments
[…] We Don’t Wash the Sheets and Other Confessions of a Hostel Worker […]
[…] We Don’t Wash the Sheets and Other Confessions of a Hostel Worker […]