I found an article on Travel and Leisure in which they describe the dirtiest parts of a hotel room. Their list includes:
- Phones
- Remotes
- Light switches
- Carpets
- Barware
- Ceiling fixtures
- Bathtubs
This list pretty includes all aspects of a hotel room. The items they do not include are all the handles on the furniture, keypads on safes, doorknobs and faucets. I would also include the curtains and temperature controls. These items are pretty much touched by every visitor!
I would also throw in decorative linens like throw pillows and bed runners. I doubt those items are cleaned are a regular basis. In fact, it would be hard to believe that they spend any time on the throw pillows.
The reason that everything is not sterilized each day is that housekeeping does not have enough time to do a deep clean on every room each day. I would figure that housekeeping does not spend more than 30 minutes at most in each room. In some hotels, that time will be considerably shorter.
Upon entering my hotel room, I break out the Clorox wipes and wipe all surfaces and exposed items especially the remotes, phones, door knobs, handles and light switches. I have a friend who goes one step further and puts the remote into a Ziploc bag. I also take the throw pillows and bed runner and put them in the closet so that housekeeping will not put them back on the bed during my stay. As to the barware, I either clean them myself or used the cups that they leave for coffee.
You can call me crazy and over the top but I used to get sick all the time when I traveled for business and vacation. Since I started my wipe down, I have fewer and fewer illnesses. For your next trip, make sure to bring a cannister of wipes to clean your room.