"OFWW" wrote in message ...

On Sun, 24 Jan 2016 06:43:15 -0500, Mike Marlow
wrote:


I do agree to some extent with your thoughts on house employees and the
quality of workmanship, but I don't generally see them doing renovations
- repairs, but not renovations. Those are usually contracted out.

Around here, not at the motels, but at the hotels where they have a
crew of 5-6 guys days, and 3-4 evenings I've seen way too many working
way over their heads. Non-union, usually limited skill sets, but
that's not to say they aren't serious or trying to degrading them.
They all want to eat and feed their families so they will do as asked.

I've seen way too much, and have way too many stories, even from the
most unlikeliest places like the finest in Beverly Hills, and Palm
springs.

It doesn't seem to matter where I travel but I find a lot of poor conditions
in motels, hotels, hostels and campgrounds. When I'm on months long bicycle
trips I'm in a new place pretty much every night. The last trip, from FL to
NY, I repaired things in rooms just to satisfy my needs... or asked for a
different room/site. I stopped using one chain motel as I encountered
terrible conditions in too many of them, e.g., sticky carpets, filthy
carpets, water controlled by the wrong faucet, loud/broken A/C, burn holes
in sheets/pillow cases/comforters in non-smoking rooms, useless or no Wi-Fi,
out of control guests, disengaged staff. Independents are a crap shoot. Some
were well maintained places with great staff. Others were absolute dumps in
locations where there were no options (for someone traveling by bicycle!).
The biggest name in campgrounds doesn't guarantee anything either... though
a few were exceptional. Hostels are all over the map when it comes to
condition and cleanliness. I've had great experiences camping in the back
yards of Warm Showers hosts and have hit the jackpot a few times. An
encounter on the road in Savannah, GA resulted in the free use of a new
guest house and vehicle to visit a fort! Business travel accommodations
have tended to be a bit better on average but by no means perfect in every
case.

One pet peeve is faucets in sinks and showers where the hot and cold water
are reversed. Some are labeled as such but most are not. It's perhaps worse
than not having sufficient (or any) hot water as it can be dangerous.
Another pet peeve is clogged drains and they hand you a plunger or tell you
not to throw paper in the toilet!