Who Doesn’t Love Hearing About the Hospitality Industry?

If you ever find yourself staying in Room 1212 of a New York City hotel, Jacob Tomsky’s “Heads in Beds” suggests that you think back to the way you behaved while checking in. Were you rude to the front desk? Cheap to the bellman? Yammering nonstop on your cellphone? Asking irritating questions about the gym and the ice machines?

Mr. Tomsky, a self-taught expert in the passive-aggressive tricks of hotel workers, says that a Room 1212 may not happen by accident. It may be assigned spitefully, because it is a torture chamber where the phone rings at all hours of the day and night. It is well known to hotel management that guests dialing the New York area code 212 often hit 1–212, not knowing they must first dial 9 to get a local outside line.

As someone who enjoys hearing people dish about the hospitality industry, I am probably going to pick up this book. I mean, there’s this: “…he explains how to watch free movies, steal the entire contents of a minibar, avoid a cancellation charge even when canceling hours after the room rental started, and generally win any argument you choose to pick with a hotel employee.” Expect a future post about this, you guys!!!

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