Anybody else here have this lightbulb problem in hotels?

[Guest]

At home, I seem to have a light bulb go out somewhere every few months, but I find that when I check into a hotel room, there's usually about a one in four or one in five chance that at least one light bulb is out. Any of you have the same experience? Then when I call, they have to send an "engineer" who usually takes over an hour to get there. WTF? Why don't the housekeepers ever call in and say "the bulb in the lamp by the couch is out--have someone come in and fix it!"? Or do I just have my own personal hotel light bulb gremlin?

[+ Travis69]

Whenever I stay at a hotel I take my old burnt out light bulbs from home and exchange them for good ones from the hotel room. You're obviously checking into the room I just had.

[+ Travis69]

On a serious note, I doubt the housekeeper checks all the light bulbs as she is cleaning during sunlight hours. If she did find a burnt out one I would hope she would be able to have new ones on her cleaning cart that she could change right then. They really should put 2 or 3 new ones in the room closet for easy access for the guest.

[+ azdr0710]

I don't quite have that high % when I travel, but, yeah, much worse than home....

 

having worked in a nice hotel during college, I can say it's probably due to the housekeepers not even checking all the lights and/or being too busy to call "engineering" and try to get them to answer and/or the light not being plugged in....

 

I guess it could be said we have more important things to worry about....unicorn: did you just check into a place tonight?!

[gallahadesquire]

What I find is that the "1-2-3" lights typically have burned out the "1" filament, so you're left with off-off-on-on, such as, with a 50-100-150 watt bulb, off-on-on-off. Otherwise, if it's the 50 that blows, it's on-off-on-off, and it's not detectable that it's a three way anyway.

 

Of course, I hate hotels. My favourite place to vacation is Old Key West Resort at Walt Disney World. It's 942 square feet, but I'm not sure if that includes the balcony. It certainly is big enough for two or three. And it's pre-paid.

[rvwnsd]

At home, I seem to have a light bulb go out somewhere every few months, but I find that when I check into a hotel room, there's usually about a one in four or one in five chance that at least one light bulb is out. Any of you have the same experience? Then when I call, they have to send an "engineer" who usually takes over an hour to get there. WTF? Why don't the housekeepers ever call in and say "the bulb in the lamp by the couch is out--have someone come in and fix it!"? Or do I just have my own personal hotel light bulb gremlin?

 

I've encountered the light bulb problem, too. More irritating is when the room does not have toilet paper, which seems to occur whenever I stay at a Ritz-Carlton. (I attend a conference that always takes place at a Ritz property). The last time it happened, I phoned the front desk and asked for toilet paper. I mentioned I had some stomach issues and needed to use the rest room and they said it would be their pleasure to bring some right away. (If you have ever stayed at a Ritz you know that it is their pleasure to do EVERYTHING to the point where you want to scream "I don't want it to be a pleasure, I want it to be HARD FUCKING WORK!") Ten minutes pass and I really need to use the toilet. I call again and ask if they could please hurry and they tell me it would be their pleasure, blah, blah, blah. Another ten went by and I went to the front desk and asked for a roll. Again, it would be their pleasure to bring it to the room. I couldn't hold on any more and sprinted to the single-occupancy toilet next to the front desk. As I walked past the front desk holding the roll of paper I swiped from the toilet I told them not to bother with the TP and suggested they send a janitor to the rest room to freshen it up. Funny, but it wasn't a pleasure for them any more.

[Steven_Draker]

I usually travel with a set of light bulbs and as soon I notice that one is out, I change it myself. That way I don't have to bother engineering with trivial things.

[geoffk]

I have often thought to myself that housekeeping should at least take note of issues and report them. The last time I was at the Richmond Omni the shower head was all gunked up and not working well. I told the front desk when I went out for the day and it was fixed by the time I returned. And engineering left me chocolate too with an apology note.

[whipped guy]

All the times I have stayed in hotels I don't ever recall having a significant lightbulb problem. However, once the battery to the safe died... What an ordeal that was!!! They had to call security to fix the issue... and the entire 1000 plus room Sheraton in NYC didn't have a backup battery available that fit that particular model safe. So... the security guy/technician had to fabricate one by jury rigging a battery with some special wires. What should have taken a couple of minutes took hours. I should have demanded a different room in retrospect... but who woulda thunk it would have taken so long!!??

[+ Charlie]

I notice this problem often, though more commonly in motels than in good hotels. The burned out bulb is almost always in the light I need to read by. An even bigger problem for me is that so many rooms don't even have a decent reading light.

[Kevin Slater]

The burned out bulb is almost always in the light I need to read by.

 

Well that's an easy fix, no? Just swap with one of the other bulbs.

 

Kevin Slater

[+ newatthis]

First thing I do when I check in is check that the lights and phones are working, that there are enough hangers, and that the requisite toiletries are there. Usually a call to the front desk gets any problems fixed right away, but since I'm not unpacked yet, it's not a hassle to change rooms. I'd guess that there's a light bulb problem about 50% of the time.

[Frequentflier]

I've only experienced the "bulb out" problem once about 1 year ago. I called the front desk and they sent the bellman with a replacement. Turned out to be the hottest I'd say 24 year old guy. Clean shaven and beautiful face and what looked like an amazing body. I was to tempted to say something to test the waters but was too shy. I did think about rendering the other bulbs inoperative and trying again....its the regrets in life that bother us most...so...I wouldn't travel with replacements and would always call for assistance because one never knows And speak up - don't make my mistake !

[KMEM]

I notice this problem often, though more commonly in motels than in good hotels. The burned out bulb is almost always in the light I need to read by. An even bigger problem for me is that so many rooms don't even have a decent reading light.

 

I understand what you mean and often the problem is not only a burned out bulb but also a bulb not sufficient for my reading requirement. Therefore, using a bulb from another lamp will not solve the problem. I have thought that carrying a bigger bulb will solve the problem; just remember to remove it when you leave.

 

Best regards,

KMEM

[AdamSmith]

Parallel to whipped guy's issue with the battery in the safe, I was staying at the Parker House in Chicago one time, went down to breakfast, then returned to room to pick up my briefcase to scurry off to a meeting. Well, horrors -- the battery in the mag-key door lock was dead. Took "engineering" 20 minutes to get there, then another 10 to fix the stupid thing. I was late to my meeting, of course. The only thing that saved me was my reason -- when I told it to the locals I was working with, they then took half an hour gleefully recounting all the other stories they had heard about disasters of all kinds at the same hotel.

[whipped guy]

An even bigger problem for me is that so many rooms don't even have a decent reading light.

Exactly!!! That's why I do virtually all my hotel reading in the bathroom... The only place where the lighting is usually bright enough to actually see something clearly!!

 

Tale note KMEM as well!!

[anotherjohnindupont]

You should just stop by the front desk and ask for a light bulb.