Something nasty lurking on the bedside table…

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There's trouble afoot

A large toenail clipping on a bedside table was one of the grim discoveries inspectors made when examining potential hotels for the Small Luxury Hotels consortium. Each year, mystery customers check half the consortium's 284 hotels in 50 countries. Hotels that apply to join are also inspected. Some are rejected because they do not meet the required standards. Other reasons have included: a rat wandering around a hotel bar; having to pay extra for vegetables when the set menu was £38; a romantic package in which two single beds had to be pushed together, but always drifted apart, and being served a £5 cup of tea in a mug with a tea bag. The disturbing results did not stop there. According to the inspectors, Europeans are the most penny-pinching guests. They were found to be the least realistic about having to pay for quality and were seen to focus too much on value for money. Asians were felt to be conscious of food, shopping, tour guides and slippers, while Americans were most concerned about spacious lobbies, big bathrooms and ice machines. Most inspectors felt Far Eastern staff provided the best service, followed by those in India, Mexico and Central America, plus parts of Africa. *Source: Caterer & Hotelkeeper magazine, 2-8 August 2001*