Travel Experts Say These 4 Red Flags Can Reveal a Bad Hotel Stay Within Minutes of Checking In—Before You Even Unpack

It doesn't take long to get a sense of how well a hotel is run. According to frequent travelers, the first few minutes after check-in can be surprisingly revealing, whether it's an overpowering scent in the lobby, an unattended front desk, or a guest room that raises questions before you've even unpacked.

To find out which warning signs matter most, Travel + Leisure spoke with two travel pros: Jesse Neugarten, founder and CEO of Dollar Flight Club , and Jimmy Yoon, head of points intelligence at Point.me . Both shared the first things they look for when checking into a hotel—and the red flags that can signal bigger problems.

Overpowering Scents

For Neugarten, the smell of the lobby is one of the first things he notices. "If the lobby is full of air freshener, there's usually a reason," he says. "They may be trying to cover up mildew, smoke, old carpet, or something else." Per the pro, "A clean, well-maintained hotel should not need to hide the way it smells."

Yoon has encountered a similar issue inside guest rooms. He once checked into a non-smoking room that smelled strongly of cigarettes, only to discover an ozone machine still running inside. As he puts it, ozone machines "should never be running while a guest is in the room." The experience is why he recommends taking a few minutes to inspect every room before unpacking.

Understaffing

Both experts pay close attention to staffing from the moment they arrive. Neugarten says he doesn't mind waiting a few extra minutes to check in, but someone should acknowledge guests upon arrival. "If the front desk feels understaffed or overwhelmed, there is a good chance housekeeping and maintenance are dealing with the same problem, and you usually notice it later in the stay," he says.

Meanwhile, Yoon says the common areas can be just as revealing. Overflowing trash bins, dirty hallways, or room service trays left outside guest rooms for hours—or even days—can say a lot about how a property is run. "A well-run property keeps those spaces tidy," he says. At luxury hotels , he also expects staff to greet arriving guests and assist with luggage, while at more budget-friendly properties, he says an unattended front desk is an immediate red flag.

Poorly Maintained Rooms

Neither expert starts unpacking as soon as they enter the room. Instead, both recommend spending a few minutes making sure everything is clean and working properly. Before unpacking, Yoon heads straight for the bathroom. Hair on the floor, residue in the shower, or anything left behind by a previous guest is an immediate red flag. "If one area of the room is dirty, it's fair to assume the areas you can't easily inspect weren't properly cleaned either," he says.

He also recommends taking a few minutes to walk through the rest of the room, checking that the thermostat and air conditioning work properly, flushing the toilet, and running the shower to test the water pressure. "The last thing you want is to discover the AC is broken in the middle of the night and have to deal with a room change after you've already unpacked, assuming another room is even available."

Neugarten also pays close attention to the air conditioner—but for a different reason. He sees it as one of the clearest indicators of how well a hotel maintains its rooms. "If it is loud, weak, or takes forever to cool the room, it probably has not been serviced properly," he says. "HVAC is expensive to maintain, so if a hotel is cutting corners there, it may be cutting corners in other places too."

If something doesn't seem right, both experts recommend speaking up immediately. Neugarten learned that lesson after checking into a room where the air conditioning barely worked during the middle of summer. Rather than waiting for maintenance the following morning, he requested a new room and was moved within minutes. "Hotels are much more likely to move you or fix the issue during check-in," he says.

Recent Negative Reviews

A high overall rating doesn't always reflect a hotel's current condition. Neugarten recommends sorting reviews by newest instead of relying on an average that may include feedback from years ago. "You are booking the hotel as it is today, not what it averaged over the past five years," he says. He also skips past most five-star reviews in favor of recent one- and two-star reviews. "Positive reviews tend to say the same things. Negative reviews tell you what can actually go wrong."

Yoon also looks for patterns rather than focusing on a single review. He checks online travel communities and forums in addition to traditional review sites. "I prefer online communities and forums where actual travelers share their real experiences, because those posts usually aren't manipulated, and there's no incentive behind them," he says.

The Bottom Line

No hotel stay is guaranteed to be perfect. Still, both experts say a few extra minutes of research before booking—and a five-minute room inspection before unpacking—can make the difference between a minor inconvenience and a vacation headache.

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