When you stay in a hotel room, you tend to assume it’s been cleaned and sanitised for your arrival.
But this woman has showed we shouldn’t assume, finding hidden dirt in accommodation using a simple ‘paper towel test’.
Alyssa, who posts on TikTok as @alyssascleaningcompany, shared a video of her hack on the platform, revealing that even surfaces that look clean might be hiding grime.
Explaining the test technique, Alyssa showed how she takes a damp paper towel to hotel rooms she stays at.
Spraying plain water onto the floor, the cleaning professional from Michigan, US, swiped over the apparently-washed floor. After a quick swab, the paper was covered in gunk.
‘Can’t trust anybody or anything,’ Alyssa captioned the video, and comments poured in echoing her sentiment.
‘That’s why I never walk barefoot at a hotel,’ said one, while another wrote, ‘I do the same every time I check in. Whether it is a Marriott or a Four Seasons.’
Many in the comments did highlight to Alyssa how little time hotel staff have to clean the rooms, with one saying: ‘They turn the room in about seven minutes….what do you expect?’
Another commented: ‘Only a person who works in hotels can understand that it is not possible to deep clean every room. Short time and a lot of rooms to be cleaned.’
Alyssa replied to these criticisms, saying: ‘I’m being charged a cleaning fee. Regardless of its the housekeepers fault, or the upper management, It’s still unacceptable.’
While it’s not cleaning employees’ fault they were unable to scrub floors or deep-clean other surfaces, it’s still within a customer’s rights to expect a sanitised room.
If hoteliers are providing accommodation, they should give staff more time to ensure it’s to the standard their customers require.
In the meantime, you can give the paper towel test a go whenever you visit a hotel. Don’t use it as an excuse to be a bad guest, but to check whether you’ve been given the room you paid for.
Perhaps if enough people (politely) mention issues to management, housekeepers will get the time they need as standard in future.
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