Hotel Guest Claims Housekeeping Used His Toothbrush to Clean Room (2024)

A gross accusation, plus four other travel stories from the last week.

Today’s the day that has been hyped for weeks: the total solar eclipse. Hotel and airline prices are soaring for cities in the path of totality and the eclipse may inject $1 billion into local economies.

The latest travel boom in the U.S. comes at a time when Boeing-related issues have turned into an industry-wide problem. Apart from multiple incidents in the past months, the manufacturer has run into production delays, and United is offering time off to its pilots due to a shortage of planes. Last week, cruises also became a topic of conversation when a captain left tardy passengers behind and another ship was held back at a port due to visa issues.

These are the five travel stories you might have missed from the last week.

NO.1

UNITED OFFERS TIME OFF TO PILOTS DUE TO BOEING SHORTAGE

Boeing’s troubles don’t seem to be ending. Many airlines publicly criticized the company for its recent safety lapses, and now United has asked its pilots to voluntarily take some time off in May because they don’t have enough planes. This year, United expects to receive only 88 out of 197 planes ordered.

United spokesperson Leslie Scott said, “Due to the recent delays in Boeing deliveries, our forecasted [flight hours] have been reduced and we are offering our pilots voluntary programs for the month of May to reduce excess staffing.”

Boeing is facing a mountain of problems. The cracks started to show during the pandemic, which delayed deliveries, but since January, a wave of mishaps involving its planes have been making headlines. The company is also under the FAA’s microscope, which has concluded that it has quality control issues.

Boeing garnered even more bad news Sunday after an engine cover fell off a Southwest Airlines flight heading to Houston. The cover hit the wing flap, and the flight returned to Denver safely; an investigation is underway.

Related: United’s Latest Move Probably Means Higher Airfares

NO.2

BRITISH AIRWAYS CREW FORCED TO FLY HOME FROM THE MALDIVES

In what seems to be an embarrassing incident for British Airways, a crew member was forced to return from a luxury resort in the Maldives after causing a ruckus. The flight crew was staying at the Oblu Xperience Ailafushi in Male and brought along her daughter and a friend on discounted tickets to enjoy the beautiful island. However, the party of three disturbed other guests with their “screaming and screeching” and got into a physical altercation. The resort contacted the airline and threatened to kick out the whole crew. The bosses ordered the flight attendant to fly back, and The Sun reported that British Airways is investigating the matter.

NO.3

1,500 CRUISE SHIP PASSENGERS STUCK IN SPAIN

Last Wednesday, Bolivian passengers got a rude shock when they weren’t allowed to disembark in Spain because they lacked visas. MSC Armonia was moored in the port of Barcelona–it was the last destination for the 69 Bolivian passengers, but authorities realized that they didn’t have the right visas to enter the Schengen area. Some reports claimed that the passengers may have been duped with fake visas. On Thursday, the Bolivian passengers were taken to a transit zone and the cruise embarked on its onward journey to Italy.

In another bizarre incident, a Norwegian Cruise left tardy passengers on a port after they missed the scheduled departure time. The eight passengers—including a pregnant woman, a paraplegic traveler, and someone who had to disembark for emergency medical treatment—were left behind in the African nation of São Tomé and Príncipe on March 27.

The unlucky guests were on a three-week cruise (ending on April 10 in Barcelona). After they failed to show up, their passports were delivered to the port and they chased the vessel across six countries to rejoin the group. One attempt was thrashed by low tides, but they finally boarded the ship in Dakar, Senegal, on April 2. It cost the group more than $5,000 according to The Guardian.

Related: What to Do When You Miss Your Cruise Departure

NO.4

HOTEL GUEST CLAIMS HOUSEKEEPING USED HIS TOOTHBRUSH TO CLEAN

A traveler alleged that housekeeping staff used his toothbrush to clean his room. Lavell Jackson was in Las Vegas for a convention and stayed at Mandalay Bay Las Vegas. In a TikTok video, he explained that the hotel staff used his toothbrush to clean and later offered him a $50 credit and a new toothbrush. Many users questioned how he found out and he replied, “Not hard for me to see, plus I used it the day before…as soon as it hit my tooth I knew something was wrong. We all know what happens when you clean with a toothbrush.”

@buyandsellwithlavell Mandalay Bay Las Vegas. Housekeeping horror stories. Why would you Ean with someone’s toothbrush?!? #mandalaybaylasvegas #mgm #lasvegas ♬ original sound – Lavell Jackson

People also chimed in to say they never leave their toothbrushes out in hotels and don’t allow housekeeping to clean their rooms until check-out.

NO.5

RYANAIR JOKES THIS IS THE REASON THEY DON’T FLY TO AMERICA

In lighthearted news of the week, Ryanair responded to a tweet to make fun of American cuisine. A user shared a photograph of a small plate of buffet food, which had a slice of pizza, pasta, Jell-o, and seafood, and tweeted, “The European mind can’t comprehend this.” Low-budget Dublin-based airline Ryanair joked, “This is why we don’t fly to America.”

this is why we don't fly to America https://t.co/j3YtNy7RvQ

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) April 4, 2024

For more amusem*nt, check out Ryanair’s Twitter account, which claps back at passengers and makes sarcastic comments about news, often poking fun at the airline itself. Like this one:

no instagram? no problem! we don't have wifi anyway

— Ryanair (@Ryanair) March 5, 2024