by Jacob Tomsky
First published 2012
Jacob Tomsky graduated college with a philosophy degree and no clear direction. He took a valet parking job at a luxury New Orleans hotel, never planning to stay in hospitality. Over the next decade, he worked his way through every hotel department. He parked cars, supervised housekeeping, and manned front desks at upscale Manhattan properties. He checked guests in and out, separated their underwear from bed linens, delivered room service, cleaned toilets, and fielded wake-up calls. Tomsky pulls back the curtain on a multi-billion-dollar industry most people think they understand. He exposes the unwritten bellhop codes, valet garage antics, and housekeeping secrets. He reveals guest behavior at its worst and employee struggles in a demanding service environment where workers face poor pay and frequent abuse. The book chronicles both hilarious moments and harsh realities of luxury hospitality work, where maintaining sanity becomes a daily battle.
Genres: abuse, business, american, crime, contemporary, biography-memoir, comedy, 21st-century
Vibes: emotional, fast-paced, thought-provoking
Tropes: fish-out-of-water, insider-perspective
Setting: Manhattan, New Orleans
Period: 2010s
247 pages · Hardcover · Doubleday
Content warnings: abuse, explicit-sexual-content