We pass in and out of hotels without knowing what is going on in all the other rooms. But now we have a few clues—and some of them are bizarre.
A survey from Hotels.com highlighted the most surprising requests, services and anecdotes at its partner hotels, showing the lengths that some hotel staff will go to accommodate guests.
"By asking hotels to reveal the secrets behind their most memorable stays, we discovered that these 'innsights' have actually inspired services available to guests today," Melanie Fish, vice president of global public relations at Hotels.com, in a release about its "Hotel Room Innsights Report."
For example, the most peculiar room service orders include an Evian-filled bathtub "so a child can bathe in the purest water," a caviar hot dog, burnt toast, 4 pounds of bananas, a customized menu for a pet that's free of allergens like gluten and dairy, as well as a "high five from a team member to ensure their room service request was read."
Meanwhile, hidden perks include a guitar concierge for guests who want to play in their rooms and pet services like access top groomers and a pet acupuncturist "for stressed pets."
Examples of items that were left behind also reveal what guests were up to—and what hotel staff did to help them.
A pet lizard was once found and returned to the owner. Guests also left behind full-leg casts, a car tire, and construction pipes. And among the most expensive things guests forgot were a $6 million watch and a Birkin bag.
"Despite efforts like ‘lost and found’ boxes, some hotel staff have gone to the extreme to reunite guests with their possessions," the Hotels.com report said. "One hotel hero drove 100 miles to return a passport, another ran several blocks to deliver items before a cruise ship departed, and another took a shopping trip to replace a lost teddy bear for a young traveler and included a book detailing the bear’s adventures."
Some luxury hotels have stepped up in other ways, such as by investing more in merchandise as wearing branded swag has become a hot fashion flex, according to a Bloomberg report last month.
For example, the Aman company sells a $2,700 monogrammed “A” tote bag, Mandarin Oriental offers a cotton-and-leather bag for $166, and the Hotel Eden in Rome sells a handmade yellow canvas bag for $500.
“Merchandise is a status symbol for a lot of people, depending on whether the hotel is an upscale or meaningful destination,” Leora Lanz, associate professor at Boston University’s School of Hospitality Administration, told Bloomberg, saying hotel swag boasts "if-you-know-you-know."
