Hotel Madness: Second round of pet peeves

by Mike Barish on

After an exciting first round, Hotel Madness moves ahead with some intriguing second round contests. We’re thrilled with the feedback and voter response to our tournament of hotel pet peeves and can’t thank you enough for participating. Apparently, you all really hate some of the things that hotels throw at us! Hopefully, you’ve been comforted by the fact that you’re not alone. If you need a refresher or just want to see how we got here, take a look at the first round.

All of the second round match-ups are listed below. Vote for the hotel problems that bother you the most and the winners will advance to the Final Four! We’re well on our way to crowning the most annoying hotel nuisance. Choose wisely (and be sure to vote in all four polls).


#1 No free Wi-Fi vs. #9 Early checkout times

No free Wi-Fi, our overwhelming #1 seed, enters the second round thanks to a dominating victory last week. People really hate paying for internet access. Meanwhile, #9 Early checkout times squeaked out a minor upset in the closest race of the first round. Is it worse to pay to connect or get kicked out while you’re still in your pajamas?
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#12 One-ply toilet paper vs. #4 Resort fees

The first round’s biggest upset was #12 One-ply toilet paper wiping the floor with #5 No airport shuttle. Thin toilet paper really rubs people the wrong way. It ran out to such an early lead that it left skid marks. Meanwhile, #4 Resort fees enters the second round with little momentum. Unlike the other peeves that involve money, few commentators seemed overly perturbed by resort fees. So, which is more abrasive: thin toilet paper or an ambiguous extra room charge?
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#6 No free breakfast vs. #3 Expensive parking

This match-up pits our stomachs against our wallets. #6 No free breakfast juiced the competition in the first round while #3 Expensive parking put its opponent in its place. Something’s got to give. Which do you resent more?
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#7 Bad water pressure vs. #2 Bad front desk service

Our final second round batter features two nuisances that put us all it crummy moods on the road. Clearly no one enjoys being treated poorly, which explains #2 seeded Bad front desk service easily advances to this round. Meanwhile, #7 Bad water pressure left people soapy and surly. Would you rather be treated poorly or left with shampoo in your hair?
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Second round voting ends at 11:59EDT on Friday, March 25.

Catch up on all of the Hotel Madness first round action:
#1 No free Wi-Fi vs. #16 Annoying hotel TV channel
#2 Bad front desk service vs. #15 Everything about TV remotes
#4 Resort fees vs. #13 Early housekeeping visits
#5 No airport shuttle vs. #12 One-ply toilet paper
#6 No free breakfast vs. #11 Expensive minibars
#7 Bad water pressure vs. #10 Small towels
#8 Room not ready on time vs. #9 Early checkout times

Follow along with the Hotel Madness tournament here.

Hotel Madness: Vote for your biggest hotel pet peeves

by Mike Barish on

We launched our Hotel Madness tournament on Monday and the entire first round is now live. If you don’t know what Hotel Madness is or you just need a refresher, check out our introductory post. First round voting is open until 11:59pm EDT this Sunday, March 20. Be sure to vote in each and every match-up listed below. Simply choose the hotel pet peeves that bother you the most. The winners will advance to the second round, which you’ll be able to vote on next week.

Make your voices heard. Vote, leave comments and let us know what you hate most about hotels.


First round voting ends at 11:59EDT on Sunday, March 20.

Follow along with the Hotel Madness tournament here.

Hotel Madness: Room not ready on time vs. Early checkout times

by Mike Barish on
Our final Hotel Madness first round match-up is about coming and going. It’s a battle of two evenly-matched peeves as #8 seed Room not ready on time takes on #9 seed Early checkout times. Hotels make a point of telling you that check-in is at 3pm, yet we often find ourselves killing time in the later afternoon after a day of travel waiting for housekeeping to have our room ready for us. Why can’t we just shower, lay down and relax? Meanwhile, for all the money that we paid for the room, you’d think that we could checkout later than 10am. We gave you money, why are you shooing us away like an unwanted houseguest?

Read more about this two sides of the same coin below. Then vote for the one that you just can’t stand. The winner moves on to the second round.

(8) Room Not Ready On Time
You’ve been on a combination of planes, trains, buses and camels for the last 32 hours. You’re tired, long overdue for a shower and haven’t eaten since you departed because you don’t pay for airline food on principle. It’s 4pm local time and you just want to check into your hotel room, clean off and get this trip started in earnest. Your room, however, is still filthy from the last weary traveler who made themselves at home there. Check-in time is 3pm but no one seems to care. The hotel will be happy to hold your bags for you, though. Isn’t that sweet?

(9) Early Checkout Times
Thanks for staying with us, now get the hell out. It’s 10am and even though we told the next guest that check-in time is 3pm and we will most likely not have the room ready for them by then, we need you to get out of our hotel so that we can, well, we’re not sure what we’ll do with it for the next few hours. We just need you out of it.

Are you ticked off by having to wait for your room to be ready or incensed by being kicked out early? Vote now!

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First round voting ends at 11:59EDT on Sunday, March 20.

More Hotel Madness action:
#1 No free Wi-Fi vs. #16 Annoying hotel TV channel
#2 Bad front desk service vs. #15 Everything about TV remotes
#3 Expensive parking vs. #14 Tightly tucked-in sheets
#4 Resort fees vs. #13 Early housekeeping visits
#5 No airport shuttle vs. #12 One-ply toilet paper
#6 No free breakfast vs. #11 Expensive minibars
#7 Bad water pressure vs. #10 Small towels

Follow along with the Hotel Madness tournament here.