Etiquette Expert Shares The Rudest Way You Could Ever Treat Hotel Staff

According to a hotel etiquette study commissioned by Hotels.com, 90% of Brits think our manners are pretty perfect when we’re at a resort. 

But the stats don’t quite stack up. The same research also found that over a third of us have tried to sneak in an extra guest after booking, while about the same amount say they’ve snuck out breakfast buffet food to eat later (guilty). 

Etiquette expert and author William Hanson has paired up with the company to help provide some tips on how to conduct ourselves during the short stays.

Here, he spoke to HuffPost UK about the rudest thing you can do when you’re dealing with hotel staff. 

Treating staff like they’re lesser is William’s biggest no-no

Though he joked that “there is stiff competition” when it comes to treating staff rudely – he’s not a fan of leaving your room a mess for cleaners, for instance – he said one sin stands above all others. 

“The height of rudeness is treating staff as though they are invisible, or worse, beneath you,” he shared with HuffPost UK.

“Snapping fingers, avoiding eye contact, or issuing demands without a ‘please’ or ‘thank you’ is quite beyond the pale, he added. 

He reminded us that “Hospitality is a profession, not servitude. Courtesy should be constant”.

William’s golden rule?

“If you wouldn’t speak that way to a colleague, don’t do so in a hotel simply because you are paying to be there. Good manners, one finds, are often quietly rewarded.”

Any other advice? 

In his ‘Grand Etiquette Hotel’ Hotel.com guide, Hanson offered plenty of advice.

This included not washing your undies in the kettle – “Incredulously, some people attempt to use it for laundry, and they deserve to be
cut off from society” – and never trying to reserve a lounger with a towel. 

He also recommended queueing for the hotel buffet, stating it’s not a “free for all”.

Staying quiet in the corridors, especially at night, is another must, he continued.