The Best Ways To Get On The Good Side Of Hotel Staff

Like most public-facing careers, service and hospitality industry jobs can be incredibly taxing. Hotel employees often see the worst of it, from the back-breaking work of housekeeping to front-desk encounters ranging from hostile to downright bizarre. One front desk employee revealed in r/askhotels, "I've been cussed out, threatened, [and] had objects thrown at me." They added that while they earned nearly twice the minimum wage, it still felt relatively low for how grueling the job can be almost daily.

Like anyone else, hotel employees value the good customers who go out of their way to show appreciation for the hard work that goes into quality service. If you're a returning customer who made a strong impression, you might even receive a few perks during your hotel stay. However, the best reason to get on the good side of hotel staff is because they're among the hardest-working folks in the travel business, and it's good practice to express gratitude.

When a significant situation compromises the quality of your hotel stay, you might be reluctant to pay for the experience. However, hotel employees report that far too many guests use minor inconveniences as an excuse to demand perks as reimbursement. Some guests want unreasonable compensation like a complimentary hotel stay or the equivalent reward points for things that most other guests are willing to overlook. Here are the hotel freebies you can actually get.

We can probably blame influencers for this, as hotel employees say there's a trend of guests requesting free upgrades because they've heard stories of this tactic working. Expressing their frustration at this phenomenon, one employee lamented that many people don't know hotels don't always have ready-to-move-in rooms on standby. Therefore, your request might be denied because it's wasteful to divert housekeeping resources to prepare a larger room, which means more cleaning when a perfectly good one is already available.

On the other hand, requesting an upgrade might work as long as you're polite and the reason for your requests is solid. After all, if a room is unoccupied and ready to use, why wouldn't the hotel consider giving someone a free upgrade? A Reddit user admitted in r/askhotels, "I ask if an upgrade is available every time (I have top status at one of the major chains) but don't expect to get one." They advised that making the request is fine; just don't act entitled about it.

Speaking of influencers ruining the travel industry, hotel employees say trying to get free accommodations in exchange for a couple of Instagram posts is almost invariably a hard no. To many of them, the only thing worse than trying to weasel freebies out of the front desk is using your influencer status to do it. Influencer culture has resulted in the number of social media "stars" using their status to beg for freebies to skyrocket to the point of absurdity.

As one Redditor wrote in r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk, "Every third person is now an influencer. There soon won't be anyone left to pay for anything." Many hotel workers report constant requests for free accommodations in exchange for a few social media shout-outs. This situation led Paul Stenson, the frustrated owner of Dublin's White Moose Cafe and Charleville Lodge, to produce the satirical, scathing video "House of Influencers." This video was a response to YouTuber Elle Darby's 2017 request for a free room. "Lucky for us, we too have a significant social media following," Stenson wrote on Facebook.

While some admit legitimate travel bloggers can help bring business to a hotel, they typically don't bring a sense of entitlement to the gig. As small business owners themselves, they understand when hotel owners can't comp their stay. And if they're really interested in covering the establishment, they're usually willing to pay for it, just like everyone else.

Life can be unpredictable, and it's not always possible to arrive at the hotel at the best check-in time. If you know you'll need a room much later than the check-in time, you might need to book an extra day. But sometimes, life is much less expected, and it's not hard to end up at your hotel several hours before check-in through no fault of your own.

Even if you didn't plan to arrive early, there's a fair chance you had your suspicions somewhere between the ride to the hotel and your arrival. One front desk supervisor suggests calling as soon as you realize you might need it. "The longer ahead we know you want to check in early, the more likely we can arrange things to make it happen," they wrote on r/askhotels on Reddit. 

They added that calling to request an early check-in doesn't necessarily mean you'll get one. But if your room won't be available, at least they can let you know before you show up ready to keel over from tarmac-hopping. That's also not to say you should request an early check-in weeks in advance.  Some hotels won't block out a room unless you've already paid something for it.

Travel can be chaotic, and understandably, you might be a little disorganized after hours on the road or transferring from flight to flight to Uber. But if you're hoping to earn a little goodwill with the hotel staff, take a moment in the lobby to gather everything you need to check in before approaching the front desk. It's always frustrating when guests have to empty their wallets for identification. Even though this situation is avoidable, it can hold up the line when others are behind you.

"[P]eople know we need these, but still wait for us to ask ... before taking [them] out their wallets," one Redditor in the hotel industry observed in r/askhotels. They compared such folks to those who hold up fast food lines by ordering before taking out their money. To help things along, they advised, "streamlining your check in is really the best way to make our lives easier." That means taking the time to pull out the credit card you plan to keep on file, your ID card, and anything else you might need during the check-in process.

A good impression starts with the first encounter. One way to make a great first impression on front desk employees is to actually pay attention when they're speaking to you at check-in. Most front desk workers are required to share certain information at check-in, but tired guests looking for a little pillow action aren't always eager to hear them out. "We have a check-in spiel that we have to give you. Please listen to us as we give it," wrote one Redditor in r/askhotels. "We're just doing our job when we do."

Conversely, try not to unload your day on them or talk their ears off. It's the job of front desk employees to be polite, which means they're not likely to cut you off no matter how much you may or may not be asking for it. Detailing such an encounter with one such hotel guest on Reddit, a front desk worker recalled getting talked at for a solid 25 minutes in r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk. "I'm not the most social person, but I do enjoy a good conversation with guests," they wrote. But when guests take advantage of their captive audience, they emphasize, "It kind of just becomes an unrelenting noise I can't stop."

One travel tip that can completely transform your vacation is simply asking a local for the inside scoop. Fortunately, the front desk employee at your hotel will almost certainly be a local. Anytime you find yourself in an unfamiliar location, you can just about bet your hotel employee will have the skinny on the best places to grab a quick bite to eat in the area. 

There's also a fair chance they'll know which tourist traps to skip in the U.S., which spendy restaurants live up to the hype, and the best way to get around. And if nothing else, it's a good way to avoid ending up at a corporate restaurant you could have at home. Some hotel workers enjoy this part of the job. 

One Redditor in r/askhotels wrote, "[W]e love telling you where our favorite restaurant is," noting that some restaurants will even offer incentives for hotels that send them business. But even when they don't get anything for their trouble, this hotel staffer says it's worth the effort. "[H]earing that they really enjoyed the food puts a smile on my face. Plus, I love sending business to local restaurants instead of the chains."

It's one thing to complain needlessly for freebies, but failing to address problems as they arise can be catastrophic. Not only can this end up ruining or, at the very least, putting a damper on your trip, but it can also leave you with a bad impression of a hotel without giving employees a chance to make things right. Even when they're good at their jobs, these folks aren't mind readers.

If you aren't acting unreasonably, there's no reason to be hesitant about complaining. Hotel employees understand that they're human and can make mistakes, and they also get that in a large hotel with many rooms, sometimes things can simply go wrong. "If you have a complaint, let us know before you check out so we can fix it," one hotel employee shared in r/askhotels on Reddit. "Don't just suffer in silence then mention it at check out, by then it is too late to really do much to fix the problem."

For best results, simply share what happened in a calm, straightforward manner. If the front desk can't help you, it's fine to ask for a manager. Just do it without losing your temper or lobbing any threats. If they can do something to improve your experience and you're polite about it, they probably will. 

After you've tidied up your hotel room, taking the time to gather your linens before you check out can be a godsend for housekeeping staff. According to some hotel workers, dealing with linens is one of the most time-consuming aspects of room cleaning, and taking a few moments to do it for them is the mark of a thoughtful hotel guest.

To clear your hotel room linens like a pro traveler, hotel staff advise starting with your bedding. While there are some differing opinions on whether stripping the bedding is preferred, most tend to appreciate the effort. One former housekeeper claiming to have stripped thousands of beds wrote in r/marriott on Reddit, "It goes a long way. From personal experience, walking in a room like this after cleaning 6-7 ... allows you [breathe] for half a second and gives your back a break even if for just one room."

Strip the bedding from the beds and gather them in a pile near the hotel room door. When stripping your bedding, shake out the sheets since it's easy enough to lose an earbud or a sock in them. It's also best to pile up your towels, but not in the same stack as your bed linens, since this can dampen the carpet. Instead, pile them inside the shower where hotel staff can grab them when they pop in to clean the restroom.

It's unfortunate that some guests think a hotel stay is a chance to forgo every law of polite society and inside manners once they've checked in. This is especially true for noisy guests. Most of us don't want to risk waking our neighbors up after bedtime and strive to avoid getting the police called for a noise complaint. And yet, it's surprising how many hotel guests simply don't care about keeping everyone else up.

Hotel workers also advise that room service doesn't mean a free-for-all. Treat the hotel just as you would your own home (or better in some cases). "It seems like at least once a week, I or another front-desk clerk gets screamed at by some girl with caked-on makeup because they have to pay for their stained towels," lamented one front desk employee in the subreddit r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk. 

Another Redditor in r/AskReddit cited a poorly-behaved family reunion party in their hotel's presidential suite, where the kids were given unsupervised access to "a fully stocked ice cream bar" while the adults proceeded to get drunk. "M&Ms crushed into the carpet, chocolate footprints on the walls, whipped cream ... everywhere. Fruit punch spilled on the bed." The hangover would end up costing them around $7,000 and a trip to court. Don't be like those guys.

Even if you're not completely trashing your room, dealing with your hotel room's garbage can go a long way in making sure the workers appreciate your business. "[Y]ou don't need to clean your room, but don't leave your trash all over the place," one assistant general manager advised on r/askhotels. This isn't just about helping the housekeeping staff do their job. Picking up your trash can make it easier to find your belongings and prevent you from leaving something behind accidentally.

One former hotel employee recommends placing organized trash outside the room's door, especially at night when it's easy for late-shift housekeepers to pick them up. This also helps keep the air in your hotel room fresh since trash can get out of control quickly in such a tight space, especially since more hotels are starting to cut back on daily room service. And if you feel like your hotel trash load has gotten seriously out of control, you can always call the front desk and ask for pickup or even run it out to the dumpster yourself.

Making the effort to straighten up your room is a gift to housekeeping, but money is even better. In the United States, it is customary to tip housekeeping staff. If you're leaving a tip for room service during your stay, make sure your tip envelope is unambiguously marked since staff steer clear of money they're unsure about. And if you're not taking advantage of housekeeping service, it's all right just to tip when you're checking out. Some hotels also offer a digital tipping option, so speak to the front desk about this.

The appropriate tip depends on the hotel in which you're staying. However, several hotel workers agreed that $5 is generous, but even $1 is appreciated. If you've forgotten to grab cash, hotel workers say don't sweat it — as long you make an effort to leave things halfway tidy. "If you don't feel like tipping, please just keep your room clean because that's such a treat for us!" one housekeeping employee advised in r/travel on Reddit. "If you can't tip that's okay because life is expensive." You can also earn goodwill by not putting out your "do not disturb" sign since hotel housekeepers say less work can mean fewer hours. 

Hotel workers want more guests to know they don't have to do anything special at checkout time other than informing the front desk they're heading out. Since the front desk already has your credit card on file, they don't need anything from you other than ensuring the room is vacant, which hotel employees say can be done by phone call or in person. While it is a good idea to review your charges before checkout to avoid making a pricey hotel room billing mistake, you're usually under no obligation to formally check out or sign anything. 

"At checkout time, housekeeping will knock on the doors," one Redditor shared in the subreddit r/askhotels. Once they've confirmed you're no longer occupying the room, they'll check you out and prepare for the next guest. If you need a little more time, don't hesitate to ask. Unless there's a reason for it, like an early check-in scheduled in your room, hotels are pretty good about offering late checkout for guests who ask politely (although, in some cases, they may need to charge for it). Either way, it can't hurt to ask.