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Home / Travel

Hotel workers share the strangest things guests leave behind

NZ Herald
26 Jan, 2022 05:08 PM4 mins to read

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Hotel service: 'It's amazing the things people will do to things that 'aren't theirs'. Photo / 123RF
Hotel service: 'It's amazing the things people will do to things that 'aren't theirs'. Photo / 123RF

Hotel service: 'It's amazing the things people will do to things that 'aren't theirs'. Photo / 123RF

When you next check out of a hotel room, spare a thought for those who clear up between guests. And definitely don't leave $490,000 behind. It might not fit in the tip jar.

Hotel workers have been revealing the most unusual, stomach-churning and downright unforgettable finds they've made while cleaning rooms, via a Reddit forum r/AskReddit.

One former-housekeeper 'Rattler 00' revealed how they found a loaded gun beneath a mattress. The forget owner of the concealed weapon, asked her to look after it.

"The guest called me at the desk while he was driving and asked me to go look for it after he remembered leaving it there." Rattler had some misgivings as to why the gun had been planted and did not want to get her prints on the piece.

"In hindsight, I should have made his a** go up there himself and get it, instead of bringing it to the back office myself."

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From lethal weapons to money in the laundered linen - a couple of hotel workers claimed to have come across huge sums of cash.

One hotel worker under the pseudonym 'Korbindallas912' said they came across some winnings in their Las Vegas Strip hotel. This "high roller" had left $328,000 ($490,000) in cash, forgotten in the hotel safe.

Getting help from hotel security to move the cash to the casino vault, and safe keeping, they said it was the "most money I have ever had in my possession at once."

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Not quite the same sum but enough to get worked up about, Redditer "sugaree53" said they had found $18,000 in another room they were cleaning.

"I took it and put it in the hotel safe. Sure enough, they called frantic that night while I was on duty."

Ex-hotel employee "GothSpite" didn't have any such pleasant surprises in the safes she had to clean.

"The weirdest was probably the 'treasure hunt' those b*****ds left. They locked stuff up in the safe and moved things around in such a way I had to hunt for them, and then they left a tip of like $5 in change, in the safe."

The Redditer said that the smell of old nappies was something seared into their memory.
"It's amazing the terrible s**t people will do to things that 'aren't theirs' and families with small kids are the WORST."

One hotel employee claimed to have found a "literal crack pipe in the freezer".
"I was told to never ask questions and just throw any drugs away that we found."
Meaniescreamtrain said they were turning mattresses when they were "greeted by about 15 needles" in the bed.

"I realised one was stuck in my hand. Immediately went to my supervisor who laughed it off and told me I was being overdramatic. My mom then took me to the hospital for blood tests and my doctor made me take HIV medication for a month 'just in case'."

While cleaning up used nappies and dirty needles were among the most gross discoveries was left behind by a "trio of young guys" who had checked out of a room smelling of "sweat and booze".

"Worst part was that someone had taken a s*** on one of the beds... Not a smear on the sheets, no, an actual f*****g large turd. And I mean unless they did it minutes before checking out, they had stayed, and perhaps slept in a room with the giant turd on a bed," said the anonymous hospitality worker.

Another maintenance worker claimed to have found an unedited 'adult movie', left behind on a camera memory card.

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"I put it in my pocket and forgot all about it till later that night when I got home and was putting my wallet and keys up. Curious, I put the SD card into my computer, figuring it had business files and random uninteresting b******* on it. I was very surprised to find an unedited porn scene, showing not only the "lovers" but also the camera crew."

As far as they were aware, nobody came to reclaim it from lost property.

Another repair worker claimed to have been sent to replace a bulb only to discover it had been filled with water and left in a light fixture.

The strange low-tech device appeared to have been made to stop bugs from picking up conversations, they explained.

"The hotel is located near an air force base. I'm guessing someone filled it to drown out voices in case of hidden microphones without hindering them."

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