logo
Wrong email address or username
Wrong email address or username
Incorrect verification code
Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality - Jacob Tomsky
Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality
by: (author)
3.39 220
In the tradition of Kitchen Confidential and Waiter Rant, a rollicking, eye-opening, fantastically indiscreet memoir of a life spent (and misspent) in the hotel industry. Jacob Tomsky never intended to go into the hotel business. As a new college graduate, armed only with a philosophy degree... show more
In the tradition of Kitchen Confidential and Waiter Rant, a rollicking, eye-opening, fantastically indiscreet memoir of a life spent (and misspent) in the hotel industry. Jacob Tomsky never intended to go into the hotel business. As a new college graduate, armed only with a philosophy degree and a singular lack of career direction, he became a valet parker for a large luxury hotel in New Orleans. Yet, rising fast through the ranks, he ended up working in “hospitality” for more than a decade, doing everything from supervising the housekeeping department to manning the front desk at an upscale Manhattan hotel. He’s checked you in, checked you out, separated your white panties from the white bed sheets, parked your car, tasted your room-service meals, cleaned your toilet, denied you a late checkout, given you a wake-up call, eaten M&Ms out of your minibar, laughed at your jokes, and taken your money. In Heads in Beds he pulls back the curtain to expose the crazy and compelling reality of a multi-billion-dollar industry we think we know. Heads in Beds is a funny, authentic, and irreverent chronicle of the highs and lows of hotel life, told by a keenly observant insider who’s seen it all. Prepare to be amused, shocked, and amazed as he spills the unwritten code of the bellhops, the antics that go on in the valet parking garage, the housekeeping department’s dirty little secrets—not to mention the shameless activities of the guests, who are rarely on their best behavior. Prepare to be moved, too, by his candor about what it’s like to toil in a highly demanding service industry at the luxury level, where people expect to get what they pay for (and often a whole lot more). Employees are poorly paid and frequently abused by coworkers and guests alike, and maintaining a semblance of sanity is a daily challenge.Along his journey Tomsky also reveals the secrets of the industry, offering easy ways to get what you need from your hotel without any hassle. This book (and a timely proffered twenty-dollar bill) will help you score late checkouts and upgrades, get free stuff galore, and make that pay-per-view charge magically disappear. Thanks to him you’ll know how to get the very best service from any business that makes its money from putting heads in beds. Or, at the very least, you will keep the bellmen from taking your luggage into the camera-free back office and bashing it against the wall repeatedly.
show less
Format: hardcover
ISBN: 9780385535632 (0385535635)
ASIN: 385535635
Publisher: Doubleday
Pages no: 247
Edition language: English
Bookstores:
Community Reviews
tigertales
tigertales rated it
4.0 Heads In Beds
It's funny and gives good insight in to how a customer might best navigate the hotel system. I was sort of embarrassed to realize all the times I should have tipped but didn't! Of course it's not Important Literature(tm) but I am giving it a high rating because it did exactly what it was supposed to...
Mirkat Always Reading
Mirkat Always Reading rated it
4.0 Hotel Life
I'm a sucker for "job" memoirs. This one shares the inner-workings of the "hospitality" industry, mostly from the perspective of someone who has spent many years working front desk, as well as stints in valet parking and managing housekeeping. In addition, the author shares interesting historical ...
spinsterfun
spinsterfun rated it
1.0 I hate hotels
Heads in Beds is supposed to be the Kitchen Confidential of the hotel world, full of tips on how to get upgrades and what not to say to bellmen and the people who check you in. Meh. I guess I don't travel enough to care about what hotel staff are really thinking. I always use the U-Scan at the groce...
Randolph "Dilda" Carter
Randolph "Dilda" Carter rated it
0.5 Better Off Sleeping
Complete waste of ink and paper. Poorly written and totally tasteless on top of that dull, dull, dull. Take your hard earned cash somewhere else for a good read. On top of that the author is an asshole. https://www.facebook.com/JacobTomskyAuthor/posts/10203180727029496?stream_ref=10
ErikaWasTaken
ErikaWasTaken rated it
4.0 Heads in Beds: A Reckless Memoir of Hotels, Hustles, and So-Called Hospitality
Pros:* Great voice* Everything you've always wondered about during check in* Inside look at hotelsCons:* Everything you've always wondered about during check in* Moments of self doubt where you wonder if you were ever "that guest."I love these "behind the scenes" memoirs, like Kitchen Confidential a...
Other editions (9)
Books by Jacob Tomsky
On shelves
Share this Book
Need help?