Las Vegas bellhop reveals what it’s REALLY like to work at a top-notch hotel

Have you ever wondered if there will be repercussions for not tipping a hotel bellboy?

The answer to this question is revealed in a fascinating Q&A thread with a bellhop who works on the Las Vegas Strip.

The 25-year-old, whose job involves loading suitcases and opening doors for guests, lifted the lid on what it’s like to work at “one of the most expensive premium hotels” on the Strip after he took to Reddit’sI am a‘ forum, written, under username ‘gape‘: ‘I’m a bellboy… ask me anything.’

Scroll down to see their responses, which touch on the ‘revenge’ buttons for not tipping, the ‘weirdest’ thing you’ve ever seen at work and more besides…

SALARY AND TIPS

How much money can you earn as a bellhop? That was a question posed by an anonymous user, prompting the hotel worker to reveal that while the hourly pay is “nothing special,” with the tips he makes around $65,000 (£50,000) per year.

“It’s greatly affected by the type of shift you have: mornings or nights, which door you work, and so on,” he explained.

In a subsequent post, he revealed that the older generation of hotel bellboys remember “coming home with hundreds or even thousands of dollars” in the “golden days” of the industry. He explained: “Today, a more realistic goal at the end of the day is $150 to $200 (£116 to £155).”

Another Reddit user, ‘Interesting Person84’ – who revealed they were applying for a job as a bellhop – asked how many tips to expect ‘on a slow weekday’ and ‘on a busy weekend’. In her reply, the experienced bellboy said that it varies from hotel to hotel and depends on how busy it is.

He wrote: ‘Gather a consensus of the other guys around you if [get the job].

‘If the guys on full-time day shifts seem to comfortably earn $100 (£76) or more a day, then it’s a good place. Because buttons don’t group, your best days will be very enjoyable, and your bad days will make you want to pursue other lines of work.

“But if you’re on a good property, and especially if you’re on a good turn, it all balances out in your favor in the end.”

TIP ETIQUETTE

“If you don’t need help, it’s actually better not to ask, because it frees us up for people who need it,” the bellhop said of helping guests with their bags.

Several Reddit users were intrigued by tipping etiquette, and user coherent spoon‘ by asking, ‘Is it impolite to refuse the service of a porter and just carry my own bags? Would there be some kind of retaliation from the hotel staff?

The bellboy replied: ‘Absolutely not. If he feels more comfortable carrying his own stuff, he is 1000 percent within his rights and he will not be held accountable.”

He added: “If you don’t need help, it’s actually better not to ask for it, because it frees us up for people who need it.”

‘Light_Dark_Choose’ He asked how non-tipping customers are treated and if ‘workers secretly punish them’, to which the bellhop replied: ‘There are levels and shades of grey.

‘If we are helping a guest that we know is not [going to] give us anything, there will certainly be a degree of diminution in effort and enthusiasm, but we are only human.’

Once the buttons are out of sight, “things get less nice,” with the Reddit forum button revealing that he’s seen other buttons in the past “dropping bags” and “being a little rougher” with baggage to vent your frustration.

He said: ‘The safest way to do it is if you don’t have cash to support your part of the exchange… carry your own bags. I hate to say it, but as someone who has worked in this industry, that’s my honest opinion.’

The bellhop recalled an incident where a guest with 20 bags needed to be brought downstairs quickly but did not tip. He revealed that, in retaliation, the bellboys in question were deliberately slow to put down the bags.

He said: ‘The guys who take the bags in the room are not on the pavement and vice versa, so we wouldn’t have to worry about seeing [the guest] again and there are a million reasons [why] we could say that it took a long time.’

The bellboy added that the team has “discreet” ways of letting other bellboys know that certain hotel guests did not tip. He said: ‘I’m not saying I’m the one doing these things, but it’s understandable that guys get agitated when it comes to their main source of income.

STRANGE GUEST BEHAVIOR

As part of a trio of questions, ‘LegoMyAlterEgo’ questioned the bellhop about the ‘strange’ requests he receives ‘on the clock’

Steer the conversation in another direction, ‘Gandalf the Jaded’ he asked the worker what was the “weirdest” thing he had seen on the job.

The bellboy’s response? Apparently, he saw a hotel guest urinate in front of “hundreds of people” after he was thrown out of a daytime beach club for being “too drunk.”

User ‘LegoMyAlterEgo‘ He wondered if any guests ever asked him for advice on hiring escort services or drugs, to which the bellboy replied: ‘I get those questions from young people who don’t know any better.’ This job is considered sought after in this town, so it would be pretty foolish to try to hook someone up like that.

He added: “Same with being ‘proposed’ as an employee: the answer should always be no.”

In a similar sense, ‘Proper-Divide64‘ he asked: ‘Do you have shady connections so that customers get what they ask for?’

The bellboy was quick to close the question, saying that his workplace was too “posh” for such goings-on.

He said: “Even if I did, or if one of my co-workers did, the likelihood that we would risk a job that is quite difficult for us to get [the] maybe $100 (£76) we could be bribed with is pretty low.’

PERSONAL QUESTIONS

The bellboy revealed that the German luggage brand Rimowa is his favorite

On a lighter note, some Redditors wanted to know about the bellboy’s personal taste in luggage and the different cars he sees parked outside the hotel.

He revealed that the German luggage brand Rimowa is his favorite, adding: “Louis Vuitton [luggage] It’s not that practical, but I like the classic brown pattern.’

The bellboy, who used to work as a valet, revealed that Porsche GT3s used to be among his favorite cars to drive for guests. He said: ‘Anything that’s fun and interesting and not absolutely disgusting on the inside is welcome.’