# American hotels have bibles. What quirks do other nations' hotels have? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [April 18, 2011, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852 "2011-04-18T16:25:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/181 "2011-05-04T21:52:36Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Right. My mistake, I was picturing one of these: [http://howto-repair.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/how-to-repair-electric-shower-1.jpg](http://howto-repair.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/how-to-repair-electric-shower-1.jpg) > > The Brazilian is even more compact, like this: [http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/364773](http://www.travelblog.org/Photos/364773) Which is terrifying. > > But you can’t get either one in the US. Water pressure either comes from the City water tower (City water), or from a whole-house pump (well water). And there is a single central water heater for the house. Some few are going to individual water heaters for each shower/sink, but it’s quite rare. ? We have all sorts of [wall mounted water heaters here in the US](http://www.houseneeds.com/shop/atop/productswaterheaters.asp). hm, electric, oil, gas, even solar both tanked and tankless are available per google. Thankfully not the scarey brazilian electric shower head though. ---
**Author:** ![Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/dbc845/32.png) [@Michael\_of\_Lucan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Michael_of_Lucan)\ **Post date:** [May 4, 2011, 10:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/182 "2011-05-04T22:47:50Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Right. My mistake, I was picturing one of these: [http://howto-repair.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/how-to-repair-electric-shower-1.jpg](http://howto-repair.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/how-to-repair-electric-shower-1.jpg) These are common in Ireland. Either you have a shower linked to your normal hot and cold water supply, or one of these. Many houses have one, as they give greater control of heat and pressure options, and the hot water supply doesn’t run out. The unit and all its controls are in the shower cabinet, with the shower hose coming out of it. This is not the same as a water heater, which in effect provides an external source of hot water supply to the shower. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/183 "2011-05-05T02:16:10Z")
> [@TexasDriver](#): > > Also in Korea: The slot to put the room key in to turn on the lights. My group had never seen this before and many of us had to go find an English speaking person to tell us how to turn on the stupid lights. Word spread pretty fast after the first 10 or so got the information. Those seem to be common all over Asia. They can be annoying if I want to go out somewhere at night and the wife just wants to stay in and watch TV, because I can’t take the key with me or even leave it at the front desk, or else she’s left without power. Then I have to knock on the door and wake her up if it’s late. When they had the keys on keyrings attached to hard-resin sticks and the slots accommodated those, I could slip the key off and take it with me, leaving the stick in the slot. But then hotels started to weld the keyrings shut to prevent people from doing that! And of course there’s no way around the same system with key cards. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/184 "2011-05-05T12:52:14Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > Those seem to be common all over Asia. They can be annoying if I want to go out somewhere at night and the wife just wants to stay in and watch TV, because I can’t take the key with me or even leave it at the front desk, or else she’s left without power. Then I have to knock on the door and wake her up if it’s late. When they had the keys on keyrings attached to hard-resin sticks and the slots accommodated those, I could slip the key off and take it with me, leaving the stick in the slot. But then hotels started to weld the keyrings shut to prevent people from doing that! And of course there’s no way around the same system with key cards. As said up-thread, there’s no card reader; it’s purely mechanical, so business cards work. (Also we usually get two keys when travelling as a couple.) ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 5, 2011, 1:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/185 "2011-05-05T13:03:50Z")
> [@Balthisar](#): > > As said up-thread, there’s no card reader; it’s purely mechanical, so business cards work. (Also we usually get two keys when travelling as a couple.) They have devices now that counter that, and these are being phased in more. There’s something in the key card itself that activates the power in the new ones. ---
**Author:** ![Mnemnosyne](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mnemnosyne/32/3347_2.png) [@Mnemnosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mnemnosyne)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 5:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/186 "2011-05-06T05:49:33Z")
For those hotels that have some kind of thing to shut off the lights and air conditioning when you’re out of the room - if they are not **significantly** less expensive than nearby competitors I would make it a point not to patronize them. Not because I have a problem with the system, but because they’re saving a bundle and not passing it on to the customer, so I’ll patronize the competition thank you very much. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 9:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/187 "2011-05-06T09:42:42Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > For those hotels that have some kind of thing to shut off the lights and air conditioning when you’re out of the room - if they are not **significantly** less expensive than nearby competitors I would make it a point not to patronize them. I don’t know about the other posters, but I’ve only ever seen these at expensive, fancy hotels. So while it might be about saving the hotel money, or looking “green,” it’s not about cutting prices for you, the consumer. ---
**Author:** ![boyhowdy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/43a26b/32.png) [@boyhowdy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boyhowdy)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/188 "2011-05-06T15:42:17Z")
I stayed in Germany few years ago and the pillows were square (as opposed to the rectangular American norm). Also had to surrender the room key when exiting and they were peevish when we returned at 1:30 am. There was no signage that indicated there was a “curfew”. In some European travels I noted a lack of washcloths; don’t know if they aren’t used much or if they are considered the sort of thing you would bring yourself. On a side note, back in my bartending days I occasionally had customers who would ask me to sign their credit card slips on Shabbat. ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/189 "2011-05-06T16:54:06Z")
> [@aruvqan](#): > > ? We have all sorts of [wall mounted water heaters here in the US](http://www.houseneeds.com/shop/atop/productswaterheaters.asp). > > hm, electric, oil, gas, even solar both tanked and tankless are available per google. > > Thankfully not the scarey brazilian electric shower head though. Right, but those generally heat water for the whole house, and very rarely, a small one heats for a specific faucet or appliance. An electric shower is specific to the shower head (not the bath tap if they are co-located) and also has a pressure pump to increase the water pressure fromt he shower. In the ones I have seen you can “dial it up to 11”, and pressure wash your scalp as mentioned above. ---
**Author:** ![SmackFu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/53a042/32.png) [@SmackFu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmackFu)\ **Post date:** [May 6, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/190 "2011-05-06T18:22:31Z")
And for the record, I had the “scary” version with exposed wiring in my hotel in Costa Rica. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/191 "2011-05-07T00:13:36Z")
> [@Mnemnosyne](#): > > For those hotels that have some kind of thing to shut off the lights and air conditioning when you’re out of the room - if they are not **significantly** less expensive than nearby competitors I would make it a point not to patronize them. Not because I have a problem with the system, but because they’re saving a bundle and not passing it on to the customer, so I’ll patronize the competition thank you very much. > [@Balthisar](#): > > I don’t know about the other posters, but I’ve only ever seen these at expensive, fancy hotels. So while it might be about saving the hotel money, or looking “green,” it’s not about cutting prices for you, the consumer. Those are pretty ubiquitous over here. They’re common even in the places costing US$20 or $25, so maybe they are passing the savings along. You can get a pretty nice room for that amount here too, especially upcountry. ---
**Author:** ![JustinC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justinc/32/8083_2.png) [@JustinC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JustinC)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/192 "2011-05-07T00:56:11Z")
I stayed in the hotel ‘Victoria’ in Klaipėda, Lithuania, for one night a couple years ago. I was supposed to stay in a different hotel but turned up late. The conversation with the receptionist went something like this; “Hi, I have a room booked for tonight.” “Sorry, we are full.” “But, but I booked it online?” “Yes. It is National holiday weekend. We are full.” “Erm. Full? OK. It’s pretty late (11PM, the train was delayed), do you think I can go somewhere else?” “Yes. The Hotel Victoria has rooms.” “How do you know?” “It is horrible.” pause… “Oh. So can you tell me how I get to my horrible hotel?” The local bus dropped me off near my hotel, and after searching for a while I found it. It was a classic communist establishment; the windows were held shut with nails that had been bent for security, the lighting in the hallway was green (not power saving, actually green), the bed felt like it was stuffed with vegetables, and there was an odd closet which I never opened. The door to the room had no lock so I used a chair to barricade myself in. I used the communal bathroom the following morning, only realizing you had to turn on the switch in the hallway to power the hot water, just before I checked out. It was one of my more memorable stays in the Baltics so there is that… ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/193 "2011-05-07T03:10:12Z")
Greek hotels ask you to put your toilet paper in a bin next to the toilet rather than flushing it. I think this might be common for Greece in general, not just hotels. Small hotels and hostels in Italy often seem to have curfews. Small places I’ve stayed elsewhere don’t because either you can let yourself into the building or someone’s there to let you in, but there they kept your key, locked the building and went to bed. ---
**Author:** ![GameHat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ed655f/32.png) [@GameHat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GameHat)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/194 "2011-05-07T08:26:38Z")
> [@SmartAlecCat](#): > > In America, the low end hotels have free internet. The medium ones have a small cost. The high end ones have very expensive internet. To be fair, the low end hotels have free shit internet. I stay in a lot of cheap hotels (mostly midwest and southeast US) through work travel, so I can claim this with some authority. I mean shit to the point where my basic 3g coverage is faster than the hotel’s wi-fi “broadband”. ---
**Author:** ![Raguleader](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/258eb7/32.png) [@Raguleader](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Raguleader)\ **Post date:** [May 7, 2011, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/195 "2011-05-07T16:39:58Z")
> [@GameHat](#): > > To be fair, the low end hotels have free shit internet. I stay in a lot of cheap hotels (mostly midwest and southeast US) through work travel, so I can claim this with some authority. > > I mean shit to the point where my basic 3g coverage is faster than the hotel’s wi-fi “broadband”. Which, I’m sure you’ll agree, is much faster than the expensive hotels nonexistent free internet.😃 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/196 "2011-05-08T02:56:57Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > Greek hotels ask you to put your toilet paper in a bin next to the toilet rather than flushing it. I think this might be common for Greece in general, not just hotels. I’ve seen that in Asia and Latin America. Was always told that had to do with the state of the sewage system. ---
**Author:** ![Implicit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Implicit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Implicit)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2011, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852/197 "2011-05-08T04:35:52Z")
Even expensive Las Vegas hotels have crap WiFi (that you have to pay for) and no room amenities (ie. no coffee maker, no cable, no minibar, etc.) to discourage you from spending any time in your room. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/american-hotels-have-bibles-what-quirks-do-other-nations-hotels-have/578852.md?page=9)