Every travel has pet peeves, some are airline related, but a number of them are hotel related. When a hotel property gets it right—a customer will choose to stay repeatedly. Get it wrong and your first visit will be your last. Here are a few things that annoy me when it comes to hotels.

Pillow Talk

Nothing turns my smile into a frown faster than bad pillows. Waltzing into a room and seeing a flat lump of nothing to rest my head upon gets my eyes rolling faster than wheels on a drag racer.

An array of overly plump pillows gets the same reaction. Clearly I’m particular about my pillow, which is not too outrageous considering it makes the difference between a decent sleep and a night tossing and turning.

Hotel Loyalty Programs

You join up and become a Green Cow member, with promises of better benefits when you reach the lofty heights of Black Molasses. However for the infrequent traveller, what does it really mean?

All you end up with are endless promotional e-mails telling you about this or that discount. A programme that offers me a tangible benefit upon joining, such as free Wi-Fi, is far better than chasing hotel status in my book.

Do Not Disturb Means Do Not Disturb

That cute little sign that you put on the outside door handle usually says Do Not Disturb. Now to me, that would mean what it says quite literally, but apparently not.

Several times I’ve had a knock at the door asking if I’d like the room made up. No, I’m either still asleep or I just don’t need you to be coming into my room.

Paper Peeves

Our increasingly electronic world seems to have been missed at hotels. Another one of my pet peeves is having to fill in some kind of paperwork and sign when I check in to a hotel. You have my details, so why not just check my ID to see if it matches?

It’s the same at check-out. Business people do often require a printed invoice for their expenses, so I get it, and some hotels ask if you want the bill printed or not. However, I don’t really need it printed off just to make sure it’s correct. Just show me on a screen and e-mail me a receipt!

Housekeeping Trolley Dodge-Ems

My curtains are drawn, the room is dark and I am blissfully asleep in a hotel with good pillows. Morning comes and I plan on sleeping in, however housekeeping has other ideas.

Whether it’s calling to each other in the corridor, or bumping their trolleys around, it’s really not great for sleep. Please, keep the noise down!

Overall Thoughts

In the main, hotels get it right. You’re there to sleep and to have a ‘home’ in a new city, which is just fine. However, there are various things that influence how good a stay you actually have.

Noise from other guests can’t really be helped, though a snarky half asleep call to reception usually sorts that out. Don’t get me started on things like the TV remote, crappy irons or strangely placed power sockets!

Now you know what I’m about, now tell me about your hotel pet peeves? Name names. Name properties. Name the fact that the main light switch is not near the entrance door.

Credits:
Pillows image by Maddi Bazzocco on Unsplash.
Housekeeping trolley via Indiamart