Camilla Jessen
Behind the neatly made beds and spotless bathrooms, hotel workers say a very different reality often awaits.
Hotel workers have lifted the lid on some of the most disturbing things they’ve encountered while cleaning rooms.
According to posts shared on Reddit, hotel employees have encountered a wide range of abandoned items, from harmless belongings to situations requiring serious intervention.
While leaving behind clothes like socks or T-shirts is common, staff say some guests leave rooms in conditions that are difficult to comprehend.
Sticky chaos unfolds
One hotel worker described being called to inspect a room after cleaners were unable to deal with what they found.
At first glance, the space appeared covered in an unidentified white substance.
“One day I get called up to a room because the housekeepers and houseman had no idea what to do with a room. I walk in and see splotches of white schmutz all over the walls, the flat screen TV, the upholstery, the carpet, the glass in the picture frames, the ceiling, the headboards… I’m just as flummoxed as my coworkers, staring with my mouth open as my brain tried to calculate what the heck I was looking at and how the heck we were going to clean it.”
The mess was later linked to teenagers using marshmallow guns during a birthday stay. The user added: “Some rich parents had let their teenage daughter and her bffs stay the night in the room for her birthday. The girl and her friends had brought marshmallow guns with them and shot sugary gelatin all over the room.”
Staff reportedly spent an entire day cleaning, and the guests were billed for the damage.
Hygiene nightmares
Other accounts described more disturbing scenes.
One worker said: “Every piece of bedding and every towel soaked in urine in a hotel room. Everything had to be thrown away. The room had to be taken off availability for days to get it clean again.”
Another recalled finding human waste left behind in an unexpected place.
“I found a CUP full of s***. like real poop, back when I was housekeeping. I feel like until you’ve had to dispose of someone’s boyfriend like that, you haven’t seen one of the worst parts of the job,” the post read.
Unexpected emergency
In another incident, a hotel worker reportedly required medical help after consuming food left in a room. According to a Reddit user, a cleaner ate leftover brownies, unaware they contained cannabis.
“One of my wife’s co-workers found a plate of home-made brownies and ate a couple of them,” the post said.
“They turned out to be edibles! She had never had marijuana in any capacity and ended up on the bed, slowly talking about how she thought she was dead and they had to call 911!”
