Jacob Tomsky's Heads in Beds purports to be a tell-all on the hotel industry. Instead I found it mostly recounted Tomsky's personal exploits, frequently involving alcohol, often a hustle, and almost always some choice expletives, most commonly beginning with the letter F. So, no, it didn't really appeal...which is unfortunate, because it had potential, especially in the early chapters.
Tomsky more or less lost me when he got tired of his job and packed off to the Europe to live a backpacker's lifestyle until the money ran out. Returning to the States, he settled on New York and, out of options, returned to the hotel industry where he learned the real tricks of the hustle (aka scam). He did confirm for me others bits of hotel lore I've heard over the years, such as never, ever, ever drink from a glass in a guest room and the do not disturb sign is a very good friend. Also, valet parking: not a good idea.
As rapidly as the travel industry is changing, I'm curious how much some of the "advice" in Heads in Beds holds true a decade on. Certainly, I would expect that as the industry consolidates (think Marriott-Starwood merger), front desk staff have less autonomy than they did in the early 2000s, particularly at the mid-tier properties. (I also assume that hotels track individual guests more closely than in the past. Try Tomsky's mini-bar hustle on multiple properties in the same chain and I bet they catch on pretty quickly.)
Two-and-a-half stars.
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