I’ve heard the job title “hotel detective” from one source only: rock & roll songs. Generally older songs, at that. Based on the lyrical contexts in which these “detectives” are usually mentioned, I would have to assume that the primary function of a “hotel detective” is to prevent hotel guests from fornicating in their rooms.
This does not seem like a task that would require a “detective”, unless this type of job involves running background checks on people in order to determine whether the young lady attempting to visit the room of a rock star is the rock star’s wife, or simply a groupie. I am aware that, in the past, many hotels had policies in place which attempted to prevent unmarried men and women from sharing a room (which I suppose led to the rise of the “no-tell motel”).
Is “hotel detective” simply an old-fashioned term for what we would now call “hotel security”?
Ironically, I work for a big hotel (though I primarily work at the city convention center next door, which contracts with the hotel to run the place). Our hotel doesn’t seem to have positions specifically called “detective” or “security”, though there are a few guys whose title is “houseman”. I suspect they may serve the same purpose - I’ve seen notices in employee areas instructing us to call a “houseman” in certain circumstances. When I was first hired my boss was showing me around and at one point he said that if I needed to get into housekeeping (to put away my uniform after my shift) and the door was locked, to “just pick up this phone and ask for a houseman - he’ll let you in”.
The hotel detective has become a security specialist, and surveillance screens now do the work of that seen-it-all squint. But at least one thing remains the same: there’s always a diamond ring missing…
one of their primary purposes was to prevent the hotel being used for the purposes of prostitution, if it prided itself on its reputation. Watching out for known local hookers and throwing them out if they came in.
Nowadays, most hotels won’t care who your lady is if you pay the bill and she at least looks respectable.
