The secret lives of Australian hotel employees
FROM removing bodies to building a fake wall to hide a VIP guest, it’s safe to say Australian hotel employees have seen, done and heard it all.
And now, some of the juiciest stories of life behind the front desk have emerged due to a survey of 1344 graduates from the Hotel School in Sydney, shining light on their typically secretive lives as hotel managers and employees.
So from strange requests to the best upgrade lines, this is what really goes on behind the scenes at some of the world’s best hotels and resorts.
The strangest guest requests:
• One guest asked for packing tape. After they checked out, housekeeping found every single gap, joint, window, door seal and hole covered in tape. To top it off, the mattress was on the floor and TV in the bathroom.
• Another guest asked to buy the exact bed from his hotel room. Not a bed like it, but the same bed they had just slept on.
• $1600 worth of fairy floss for a very wealthy guest’s son.
• A three-ply toilet roll.
• Upon finding out that Mel Gibson was staying at the same hotel, a guest requested the pillowcases from his room when he checked out.
• A baby elephant to be transported to the beach for a ride.
• A man handed over a weekly shopping list and requested hotel staff to fetch a grocery list for the week.
• A prominent NFL player asked that photos of his dog be framed and strategically placed in the hotel room prior to arrival.
Unusual and disturbing objects left behind in hotel rooms:
• $500 left next to a bible.
• Drugs left in the room safe.
• False teeth also in the room safe.
• A Fender guitar and amplifier.
Standout moments from their jobs:
• Assisting in the removal of deceased hotel guests from hotel rooms.
• Building a fake wall in a lift lobby for a US president.
• Carrying out CPR on guests.
• Visiting a person to post bail for a ‘misbehaving’ fellow guest.
• Driving an elderly guest and a translator to the doctor for heart medication.
Maximising your chance of scoring an upgrade:
• Mention any special occasions upon arrival, and the rarer they are the better.
• Remember there’s no harm in asking — if you don’t ask, usually you won’t get.
• Manners go a long way, so be polite and friendly.
• Where possible try to liaise with top management like the general manager.
• Sign up to loyalty reward programs to make the most of benefits and potential upgrades.
The Hotel School is an educational partnership between Southern Cross University and Mulpha Australia, a major player in the hospitality industry, which delivers a Bachelor of Business in Hotel Management and a Masters of International Tourism and Hotel Management.
Source: News Limited, Kate Schneider, 23rd September 2015
Originally published as: The secret lives of Australian hotel employees
