Hotel Madness: Second round of pet peeves

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


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

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.

Hotel Madness: Bad water pressure vs. Small towels

This intriguing Hotel Madness contest is a battle of bathroom bothers. The #7 seed Bad water pressure tries to drown #10 seed Small towels. Whether you’ve spent your day at the beach or need to clean up before a full day of business meetings, bad water pressure can make your shower useless and leave you a smelly mess. On the flip side, getting out of the shower only to discover that your towels are smaller than a handkerchief is a problem that leaves you wet and shivering.

Read the full bios for each of this peeves below. Then be sure to vote for the one that makes you the maddest! The winner advances to the second round.

(7) Bad Water Pressure
Waking up in hotel rooms can be confusing. You’re not 100% sure of where you are and the comfort of your morning routine has been disrupted. Surely a shower will help you shake the cobwebs out of your head. Not so fast. Your hotel comes equipped with a moderate trickle of water with which to wash off the memories of last night’s corporate team building karaoke or the smell of livestock that has permeated every pour of your body since you hitched a ride in that horse trailer. Hope you don’t get any soap in your eyes.

(10) Small Towels
You’ve stepped out of your quasi-refreshing shower and need to towel off quickly because the default setting on all hotel thermostats is “Arctic.” Before your skin freezes solid, you wrap a towel around your…thigh. You’d like to get it around your entire torso, but, quite frankly, you have napkins larger than this back home. You double-check to make sure that you didn’t grab one of the hand towels or washcloths. Nope, this is the bath towel. You sneak a peak of yourself in the mirror. Sure, you ate a lot at the dinner last night but you’re no fatter than you were when you left home. It’s just a small towel that kind of feels like sandpaper.

So, which bathroom bother gets your blood boiling? 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
#8 Room not ready on time vs. #9 Early checkout times

Follow along with the Hotel Madness tournament here.

Hotel Madness: No free breakfast vs. Expensive minibars

This first round Hotel Madness match-up is all about food. Our #6 seed is No free breakfast, a killer when you just need some fuel to power you through a day of conferences, meetings or sightseeing. It’s battling #11 seed Expensive minibars. All too often, we find ourselves with late-night cravings for snacks. We’d satisfy it by raiding the minibar but it always seem to cost more than our hotel room did!

Take a closer look at this battle of hotel peeves below. Then cast your vote for the one that bothers you the most. The winner will advance to the second round of action.

(6) No Free Breakfast
Not everyone is a foodie. Sure, some people require that every meal, snack and crumb that they savor on a trip be culturally poignant. Other people, however, just need fuel. Or coffee. Easy enough to just stop in the lobby before the big conference/hike/day at the beach and fix yourself a simple breakfast. Sadly, your hotel offers nothing more than some instant coffee in your room. No continental breakfast. No omelet station. Certainly no buffet. Just a few teabags and non-dairy creamer. There’s a Starbucks across the street, though. $8 should get you some burnt coffee and a satisfactory to adequate muffin.

(11) Expensive Minibars
After a long day of meetings/sightseeing/tolerating your wife’s family at her nephew’s bris, you just want a nightcap and some M&Ms. You’re exhausted and everything in town is closed anyway. Of course, you can always snack in your room thanks to the ever-convenient minibar. Just grab a mini-bottle of rum, a can of cola and a bag of M&Ms and invite them all to that party in your mouth. Oh, just a heads up: those 50 milliliters of rum, 12 fluid ounces of cola and 3.27 ounces of chocolate with a hard candy shell will run you about $30. You’re also not going to feel well in the morning.

Which food foul bothers you more? Do you resent having to forage for your own breakfast or get ticked off by $10 Tic Tacs? 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
#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.