Top ten reasons Gadling readers would change hotel rooms


Though we try to be flexible, sometimes, there’s something so wrong with a hotel room that you just can’t stay. You may remember our article on A seasoned traveler’s top ten hotel peeves, as well as An even more seasoned traveler’s top ten hotel peeves. Those things are all irritating, but sometimes, there are issues with a room you couldn’t even have anticipated.

We wanted to know what would make you change rooms, so we asked our fans on Facebook their thoughts. The most common answer? Cigarette smoke. Read below to see the other reasons people change hotel rooms — and maybe you won’t feel quite so bad next time you have to.

Top ten reasons Gadling readers would change hotel rooms

1. “Cigarette smoke.” — Cherie, Jackie, Jennifer, Martha, Mark, Bill and Jessica

2. “Excessive noise and foot traffic if I’m right next to the elevator.” — Jennifer

3. “A mess, construction, broken furniture, smell, wrong bed configuration, noisy neighbors.” — Karen

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4. “Bathroom plumbing issues, TV doesn’t work.” — Carol

5. “Broken air-conditioner.” — Mark

6. “Anything living in the room besides humans — gross.” — Tara

7. “Dead hooker under the bed is always a no go.” — Anita

8. “Dirty/stained sheets, bad odors.” — Rebecca

9. “I‘ve heard a MILLION excuses like color, lighting, proximity to bar/restaurant/ice/etc, superstitious, religious, proximity to other guests (or far away from them), don’t like odd/even numbers (floor or room), etc … you get the picture.” — Despina

10. “The only time I have requested a new room was because the cups in the bathroom were dirty (lipstick stains), the bedcovers had some suspicious stains on them, and the desk was covered in food stains. Sadly, I have stayed in budget hotels that were much better, and this was a Hilton.” — Carrie

Marc had a particularly harrowing experience: “Walked into a hotel room ‘freshly cleaned’ and there were pubic hairs in the sheets, soap tray and likely other places. We got a new room, at a hotel down the street.”

<shudder>

Got more reasons to switch rooms? Want to join in the conversation? Visit Gadling on Facebook.

[Photo by Annie Scott.]

Earn elite qualifying miles on Delta with Hilton stays

It’s pretty common in the travel world to see alliances between airlines and hotels when it comes to earning miles and points; a few points exchanged here and there among giants is an easy way to keep brand loyalty and momentum among the masses.

Normal earnings, however, are almost always limited to redeemable miles — that is, mileage earned won’t count towards elite status or any tiered thresholds that the airline or hotel measures you against over the course of the year.

With this new promotion between Delta and Hilton, however, that’s different. Now, any stay at a Hilton property will earn the traveler upwards of 1000 Elite Qualifying Miles (EQM), which means that you can earn part of your elite status on Delta without even flying. While these miles are only limited to 10k over the promotion period, this could be a good way to top up a few extra miles to reach 25k or 50k miles before year’s end — and you can do it without suffering the loss of leg room.

Sign up for the promo over at Hilton and don’t forget to make Delta your earnings partner.

[via Gary at View from the Wing]

Hilton workers OK strikes at four Chicago hotels

It’s going to get a little crazy in Chicago, at least as far as the Hilton is concerned. According to Chicago Breaking News service, Hilton Hotels workers in Chicago voted Thursday night in favor of a strike at the Chicago Hilton, Hilton O’Hare, the Palmer House Hilton and the Drake, a downtown Chicago hotel legend.

The unions – Unite Here Local 1 and Local 450 – told the Chicago news service that 96 percent of its members voted in favor of a strike. If this strike takes place, this would make the third group of hotel workers in nine months to rally against ‘unfair’ contract negotiations between Chicago hotels and the union.

Union contracts covering 6,500 workers at 31 hotels in downtown Chicago expired Aug. 31.

Paris Hilton hopes to open her own hotels

Seems the partying ways of Miss Paris Hilton might be coming to an end (or just a new destination). The Hilton heiress announced she is ready to try her hand at being a hotelier.

The reality-star-turned-singer-turned-actress-turned-designer celebrity told Pop Tarts that since she’s already hand her hand in most of the entertainment industry, she is ready to test out the hotel industry.

“I’ve pretty much done all you can do, but my next project that I’d like to do is get more involved in real estate – just from being in the business and growing up in it my whole life, it’s always something I’ve been interested in,” Hilton said. “And right now that I’ve done everything I’ve wanted to do, that would definitely be the next step, to open my own hotels.”

Would they be Hilton hotels? Could she use the Hilton name? The facts aren’t all there, but this will be one hotel we’ll keep an eye on.

[via FoxNews.com]

Hilton gives free internet access by status

The elites get free internet access at Hiltons, and the rest can eat cake … which is how it should be. The hotel company has decided to reward its best customers with this perk, which translates to between $10 and $15 a night in value. To qualify, you need to be gold-level or above. Internet access is one of the more unpopular extra charges, especially for business travelers who have no choice but to incur it. For Hilton, tying the waived fee to status provides an easy way to experiment with easing up on the fee while keeping it contained.

Jeff Diskin, a Hilton senior executive for customer marketing, “Business travelers rank quality, high-speed internet access as one of the most important guest room attributes.” He adds, “By giving complimentary internet access to our Hilton HHonors Gold and Diamond members globally, we will meet our guests’ evolving demands.”