Flight attendant warns ‘never use’ common hotel room item

A former flight attendant has claimed that some parts of a hotel could be covered in germs, even if they appear clean just by looking at them. Kat Kamalani worked as a flight attendant for six years and during that time she picked up some useful tips when staying in hotels around the world.

“You have to try these tips the next time you stay at a hotel from a flight attendant,” she told her audience of 974.2K followers on her TikTok page @katkamalani.

“Starting out, if you don’t have a dishwasher in your hotel room I would never use the glass cups,” she revealed to her followers. “The reason being is you don’t know if they are cleaned properly or they were just rinsed out from the last people who stayed in that hotel room.”

Although glass cups in the bathroom or by the bar may look clean, Kat says they may have been missed if they looked clean after the previous guests checked out. “If you have a cup that is fully sealed then you know they’re good to use,” she added.

READ MORE: Flight attendant says ‘throw bottle under bed’ to stay safe in hotel

Likewise, while you might turn to the television for some light relief after a day of travelling, Kat urges holidaymakers to be careful about using the remote.

“These remotes are seeing so many hands with how many people are staying in the hotel room and you have no clue if they are being sanitised,” she said. Instead, Kat suggests getting a plastic ice bag which is usually provided in rooms which have an ice bucket.

“Grab an ice bag and wrap your remote in it,” she explained. Although it may seem surprising, one former hotel worker has suggested that the airline worker may be correct.

Commenting on the video, Elonda said: “I have over 25 years of working in the hospitality industry and I agree with you. Most housekeepers do not sanitise nor clean the glasses among others.”

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However, Kat’s time working as a flight attendant was before the coronavirus pandemic, after which most hotels and hospitality industries overhauled their cleaning regimes.

Major hotel chains around the world, including Marriott, Hilton, Hyatt, Wyndham, and Sandals created their own post-coronavirus cleaning standard to assure customers that properties are fully sanitised on a daily basis.

This can include special seals on hotel room doors which show the accommodation has not been touched by anyone since it was specially cleaned down by staff. However, cleaning standards between hotel properties do vary, and you can never know for sure if a spot has been accidentally missed, which is why experts recommend taking extra precautions.

In a separate video, Kat has urged her followers to always check the mattress and bed linen on arrival. She explained: “You want to make sure for bed bugs. Check on the corners [of the mattress].

“The next thing you want to do is take off any decorative pillows or top comforters. They never wash those.”

Research by Merlin Environmental added: “Probably the biggest culprit for spreading bed bugs is the hospitality industry.

“Hotels and guest houses are effectively human conveyor belt buffets for bed bugs, with each hotel bed, in many cases, hosting a different human each night or two, particularly during the peak holiday season.”

Taking your own anti-bacterial wipes to give surfaces a once-over can also ease any concerns hotel guests may have and hand sanitiser is an essential to always have in your bag when travelling.