Heads in Beds, Jacob Tomsky, 2012 – The author (not his real name) has worked in the hospitality business from being a valet to the guy who checked you in or out, to running housekeeping. You get an insiders view of how a hotel functions, from the nitty-gritties of how minibar is replenished or accounted for, to how a bellman works/thinks, to how frontdesk staff can be influenced into giving you a good price or upgrade or even the way the top management runs the hotel and what their priorities are.
Some of the useful things I found – Its easy to get charges waived – especially charges where there’s no real cost/low cost to the hotel. Tip the front-desk staff “before” they give you a room (he works for you now) – but hang back and find the right agent before you do – the one who is most bored but also efficient knows the system well and is likely not a new hire. Make sure you memorise the name, if you are a regular and so on. Be sympathetic because very likely most of the staff is overworked. The bellhop for eg. relies a lot on the tips to supplement his earnings. Don’t be on the phone while you check-in, don’t plonk your card and don’t treat service staff as servants etc.
The perspective of a front-desk agent gives you a slice of the world that is unique and there’s very good observations on the kinds – from families on vacation to business travellers to large groups and even celebrities (author has very good things to say about Brian Wilson of The Beach boys). The book was a breeze to read as it was humorous and includes a host of colorful characters that you could connect with and root for – almost as if it were fiction. I could see a lot of Bukowski influence in the writing (from something like ‘Factotum’ which is a big fav of mine). If you are having trouble starting/resuming reading, or come from reading fiction with no exposure to non-fiction, a book like this is ideal way to get started. 8/10
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