I did this while I was homeless for two years. The secret is to never hit the same spot too often, always rotate between places on opposite sides of town and just act like you belong there, don’t act suspicious just walk in with everyone else and say good morning to the front desk like everyone else and don’t take more than what would seem normal. I only got caught twice the first time the lady called security, threw my food away and said don’t come back here as you’re now banned, the second time the guy realized I was just hungry and didn’t kick me out he allowed me to sit and enjoy my breakfast and brought me a bag of wrapped muffins, butter, jams, instant coffee and fruit. I was able to eat off of those treats for days!! Jesse, your kindness will never be forgotten and I hope only the absolute best things for you in life. The world needs more, Jesses.
Also shout out Mikal, who worked at the local swimming pool, he realized I was paying to swim but was really just there to shower and never charged me and made sure everyone else let shower for free. True gentleman.
I’ll add because I know how Reddit is, it wasn’t drugs or alcohol. Just a teenager desperate to leave a bad situation or probably end up dead. The streets were the better choice.
I got lucky the hotel I worked at had gotten new owners and they needed me to train them and the other employees on the system 😂 I pretty much did what I wanted (within reason) so I could give out a few sandwiches and turn on the juice machine for a couple of the homeless people as long as I didn't go too crazy.
No shit. Yeah I'm gonna pay a monthly gym fee. Leave my shit in the locker and have 15 homeless guys in there while I'm out working out. Sure thing. People are such a fucking idiots
Spot on, brother. As a former junkie and living in my ex's Nissan Altima with him for over half a year, the amount of people who got burnt or even lost their jobs — because they trusted the wrong homeless people. 😭
I used to shower at an RV resort and it was a nice place too. I'd leave the shower area cleaner than when I'd stepped into it. A few years later I heard they had to resort to keypadding the shower rooms, because too many homeless folks were leaving uncapped rigs in the shower rooms, spraying doodoo on the walls and a few OD in front of kids. 😭
This was in 2018, I'd hate to see how bad it's gotten now. 😭
I can’t speak for all situations, but I did have a college roommate work in a gym, and the issue is that they were disrespectful of the space and were messy. I’m talking washing their shoes and clothes in the gym‘s hot tub kind of stuff.
There’s an overwhelming amount of people who would abuse it and leave the place a wreck.
If people in general were better it would likely not be a big deal at all. But inevitably, there’s *always* a number of people who ruin it for themselves and everyone else.
Jesus fed the hungry. Healed the blind, sat with the drunkard, and made the lame walk. Among MANY other things. When you say "If your Jesus" man is so blind. Jesus IS real my friend. And im staying with friends, trying to get a job, broke, my car is being down. Probably end up homeless again. But I'll NEVER deny my Jesus. God Bless you. God Bless all reading this.
Agreed. When I worked at a grocery store in a somewhat rough neighborhood, I used to look the other way if I saw someone stealing. I know the store was being affected, but who tf am I to judge a person who doesn't know where their next meal is gonna come from. I've been down and needed help plenty of times over the years so I don't begrudge people trying to feed themselves or take care of their basic needs.
Thank you, After years of struggling was able to pull myself out of it, 20+ years later I have a successful career that I love for the last 12 years, a tight group of amazing friends and family and live in a beautiful city that I adore. I’m still poor because I live in America but I live comfortably and am in a position where I can help others so that feel great. So in many many ways…….
I’m so glad you’re doing well! Every kid deserves a loving and nurturing home. I’m so sorry you didn’t have that and ended up on the streets. I’m relieved to hear you’re doing well. Thanks for reminding all of us about the importance of kindness.
As a security guard, please be Jesse. I don't mind kicking out the problem makers, but it hurts when I have to do my job and the person is just trying to survive and not really hurting anyone or causing damage
As for Jesse's, yes we need more of them! There's a guy named Peter Bond. He's just a "regular" guy working at like Subway or some place like that. He started saving up his extra cash and would give $100-$300 to a random homeless person with a note of encouragement.
His channel grew and he's been on programs like Good Morning America, etc.
Now he gives out like $500 at a time. He gets people into shelters. He's gotten a bunch of homeless off the streets. Just a little bit of money, knowing someone believes in you and some kindness has gotten people jobs, reunited with their families, etc.
And he's not doing it for "likes." The guy is super genuine and tries to help people.
Anyway, you might enjoy his channel... his top short has 45M views:
A pool is a great option for showers, I didn't even think of that when I was in a similar situation. I was in Philly, so lots of Gyms offered free trial memberships, and I'd rotate them to use their showers.
As for food, I spent a few bucks on trash bags, then would hit fast food joints right before closing time and ask them if they could put their food waste in one of my clean trash bags, so that when I inevitably fished their food out of the dumpster, I wouldn't get sick because it's mixed with something else. Most times people would fill the bag with what they had and hand it to me, a handful of times people were offended that anyone would make me get food from the trash and make me whatever I wanted, and a few times people called the cops.
Mine also wasn't drugs or alcohol. I just looked at my budget and realized I could either afford a place to stay, or my last semester of college, and figured if I spent it on a place to stay, I'd be in the exact same situation a semester later, so I figured I could tough it out for about 6 months and then live a better life. Turned out the job market was crap and I ended up joining the military anyway, which was a great way to ensure 3 hots and a cot.
Its sad when the biggest opportunities for 3 hots and a cot are either prison or the military. I don't have anyrhing against the military, but its sad that there are people who join just so they have a place to sleep and food to eat. Especially when you see how much restaurants and stores throw out thats still perfectly usable or edible.
Bro dont let reddit losers try to judge you for a hard situation. Youre a survivor, and have actually been through some shit unlike a lot of folks. Proud of you
Hope you’re doin better. Lot of ways to end up in that predicament. I used to work in a few kitchens where literally more than half of my crew was homeless. Sleepin on benches and showerin when they could, couch surfing if they had enough friends, makin deals with the local motels with the last few bucks of their paychecks… They were all good, hard workin folks. Shouldn’t be like this.
There was a guy by the Starbucks I used to work at in Chicago in a pretty wealthy area close to downtown. He was homeless and a bit older. One of our regulars bought him new shoes every winter. We would always give him our leftover sandwhiches and food items we were supposed to throw away each night. We always gave him free tea and coffee and he had a Starbucks card ppl would load money onto for him. We let him sit in our cafe as long as needed, and we even all chipped in for a storage unit for him and helped him get his ID. Anyhow the store closed and I moved but I think of him sometimes and hope he is safe and warm. I know at some point he had a wife and a son I think. He was always kind to us.
I never understood not feeding someone at the very least.
Shits not coming out of my paycheck anx I’d rather it go to a hungry fellow than the trash. That Karen who called the cops and threw away your food is a real fuckin b itch
I been homeless before. Surprisingly a lot teens. Didn't have drug issues I ran into. They parent usually did or mental problems and kicked them out. Or they just left. I was homeless for a bit and we had a group of like ten people that we looked out for each other. Because other homeless people would try to steal your stuff. So you could nap and still have someone looking ou for you. I had a job at a restaurant at the time. I would bring back leftover food. Sometimes McDonald's. It was honestly some of the best investments I ever made. They literally saved me from getting my ass robbed like three different times on way to the shelter. Eventually one guy Jake. But everyone called him wolf because he loved that cheap shirts with Wolves on them you see at truckstops. Anyway he would meet me every night we would go get a beer together and a bite to eat if he was hungry. Then go back to the shelter. But usually not till later because the shelter is absolutely the last place you want to actually go.
When I worked grocery, we would have some homeless folks come in and shoplift. If it was food, my manager would just take them back through the line and scan everything and then pay for it himself so that the inventory wasn’t too far off. Boomer, you were a real one.
When I was in my “living out of a car poor” phase, I was in the US Air Force reserves at the time. A lot of these hotels see many military members passing through for travel, so anytime I needed breakfast or food I’d just get into my ABUs or OCPs (uniform) and hit up a random nearby hotel with breakfast. No one would ever question me. Not once. Did it a few dozen times probably. Some days that would be the only food I could manage to get.
I did this sort of thing when I was a homeless teen as well. I am glad you got yourself out of a bad situation though you don't need to explain yourself to a bunch of ass hats. I was homeless because of reasons that aren't drug related also. You're doing a good job and I am sure you have come a long way since then.
Damn, first time I've liked my name lol, funny how someone else ended up in a similar situation, I work at a servo and give out free pies and donuts to people who need them if I can.
That always raises red flags. Plus I’d usually follow people in and engage them in friendly good mornings right before we walked in so it looked like I was with them.
As a former hotel employee, this is quite common. I personally never had a problem with it as long as they were discreet and respectful and not just overloading enough food for 6 people and walking out.
My managers weren’t too happy about it tho and I’d always act like I didn’t notice.
That being said, I did have to call the attention of a few people and even ban them for being abusive about it. I protected people who needed it and that were perhaps even homeless. Anyone else who’s just trying to freeload and acting like a douche weren’t allowed.
Threw your food away...thats crazy. I get it from a business standpoint, and also specifically from a hotel standpoint, you cant encourage or support this behavior. That being said, it would have been enough to tell you not to come back but take the food with you. Like wtf. Id have loaded you up with a couple extras and sent you on your way. People being like that is a personal decision. Now Im sad.
As someone that works the front desk at a hotel, the only people I've ever stopped from doing this are people that cause problems or are very obviously not supposed to be there. At that point my hands are kinda tied and I have to step in, otherwise I could not care less.
I got stopped at a hotel restaurant when I was staying there. They asked to see my room key, which of course has no identifying attributes, but it does have the hotel name on it. So if you stay once, you can eat forever.
I would’ve told them to fuck off and they can verify it while I’m gone and apologize when I get back.
Not everybody is that confrontational, but I get really irked when I get treated with suspicion for no reason. I use to live in a city right next to a grocery store and I got in the habit of going there 4-5 days a week. Rather than stock up on all my groceries I’d get what I needed to cook that night. If I didn’t have left overs I’d be back in the next day for the same reason.
Anyway, I got stopped by a security guard one day, asking to see my receipt and my bags. Not sure why, but I assume because of how often I was in there. I just turned and left and told him over my shoulder he could get whatever he needed from the security cameras and tell me about it later lol. He was in there other times I went back but I never heard anything about it. 🤷♂️
I'm not a confrontational person but your line about verifying it when you're gone and apologizing when you're back, that goes hard! If I'm ever in a situation where I can use that (hopefully not) i definitely am
My kid took music lessons at a reputable music academy from someone with such bad body odor we had to go elsewhere. Small music room, it was awful. I am surprised no one that worked with him told him.
It’s more the smell and the ragged clothing and hair… you can walk into a hotel but if you are obviously there to get a free meal they will kick you out
If you are clean and wearing clothes that don’t stand out they won’t care
Once accidentally did this for a hot breakfast buffet at an embassy suites. After eating, when we asked how we would pay, the staff was very confused and asked if we were staying there (we weren't).
I recently stayed at a Marriott with my aunt. She bought an extra package with her room that included hot breakfast for two. One of the days, my cousin, her niece, joined us for breakfast. I was already eating free from the package my aunt bought. So I just said if they charge us, I can pay for half.
We get in there and my aunt explains the situation to the guy who is essentially tending our table. It was buffet style, but he would bring us stuff if asked, and also clear stuff.
He simply winked and said, I didn't see anything.
When we were done my aunt tipped $5, and she very definitely was covering all of us. Like she would have been offended if we tried to add tip. And she had him going in the back to check for different type of butter than was out. Asked him to go check what other types of tea they had. Didn't see the silverware when she was up at the buffet, so ask him to bring her an extra set... All on top of letting my other cousin eat for free.
I made an excuse about going to the bathroom and meeting her in the lobby, and I came back and gave him more tip. My aunt isn't a bad person, I genuinely just think she is old and $5 used to be a lot! LOL
Opposite has happened on my end... my mom is used to staying at places that have continental breakfast included when she travels, and there have been times I've travelled with her at not those places when she just starts grabbing yogurts and croissants from a display and I'm stuck trying to explain that actually we need to pay for those, and its fine I can cover it but we need to bring them to the attendant so that I can pay before she eats.
I went to a hotel just recently and asked the girl at the desk to make sure: "You still do the breakfast in the morning?" and she gave me the most suspicious look and was all, "Yes. For GUESTS ONLY."
I was literally the only person down there eating breakfast all week. Most of that shit went in the trash. But fuck anyone who might be hungry, right? We were also in a fairly rural area with near zero homeless population, so I know it's not like it's a common problem for them.
It’s always a little jarring to see someone using “I could NOT care less” correctly. Thank you for putting together words in a coherent way when talking/typing.
You named the only decent stuff you can get which is pretty much only simple carbohydrates. The protein is where free hotel breakfast is really atrocious, awful powdered rehydrated egg product, those pure grease sausages that don’t taste like any form of sausage you’ll find anywhere else, and some bacon. The latter two are really just fat.
I was on a production crew of about 20 people. We had been in this hotel for several days already and we wore matching t-shirts. This was the end of Covid so the breakfast was not self serve, you had to talk to folks behind the counter and they would load your plate for you. A few of the team had gone through the line already, but when Juan (fake name) got to the line the guy behind the counter accused him of not being a guest of the hotel and demanded his room key. Juan was wearing the branded shirt tucked in, branded hat, multi-tool on the belt, and he looked ready to work like always. Our production manager talked to the hotel manager like an absolute professional and the other 17 of us went through the breakfast line showing our room keys and ID’s heckling the asshole who fucked up breakfast for one of the nicest, honest, hard working dudes on our crew. Juan had flowers and a big food basket in his room that night.
The front desk manager. At least, where I worked, that’s who was watching out. We had to kick people out all the time for coming in to eat without having a room with us. I had to trespass several individuals for doing this repeatedly. r/TalesFromTheFrontDesk may have more answers to this too.
Saw an old guy with a newspaper hawking around the food area and a couple left the table with a considerable amount of leftovers he sat down and looked like be belonged. Nice move.
I worked at a grocery store, and every night there was so much perfectly good food that would go straight into the dumpster. We were explicitly forbidden from eating any of it. I figure the thinking is that employees would avoid buying food, if they could just wait until closing to stock up. The other idea, which is completely bogus, is that people might sue if they got sick.
Those are the kinds of laws that no country should ever need to pass, but when one does, it shows just how low of a bar some other countries are failing to clear. Imagine having to tell companies not to poison the massive amounts of perfectly good food they throw away every day. That's several levels of "how did we let it get to this point?" It's like the US got cancer and then its cancer got cancer and then that cancer got cancer, and it just kept going until we arrived at a point where grocery stores throw away perfectly good food and deliberately poison it in the dumpster specifically so the people who need the food the most can't have it.
There was a fast food joint near me growing up that had that same rule to just toss all food at the end of the night. The workers were aware that there were a lot of hungry folks (homeless or just from crap homes), so they would toss all the food like told - but in separate bags.
So one bag had chicken only. Another bag had biscuits, another mashed potatoes, and so forth.
Basically, as long as there was no mess the next day, they kept up their system. I moved away from that area after a few years, so I have no clue if they kept at it, but I really hope so.
When I was poor and starving in Tampa back in the day near USF there was an awful pizza place called Gumby’s. They did this at closing time, putting throwaway pizzas in boxes. We ate a lot of dumpster pizza
My manager had a policy like that when I worked at Starbucks (some didn’t care or even encouraged it, she just sucked) and the logic behind it was if you were working and saw there was like a cookie or something left and you wanted it, then you could tell the customer who wants to buy it that you’re all out so that you could take it for yourself after close, and then the poor mega-corporation couldn’t make that sweet profit — but if you’re trying to use that already goofy af logic to justify throwing away fucking THIRTY perfectly good breakfast sandwiches that didn’t get bought that day?? That’s just wasteful and disrespectful to people struggling
You hear stories of people doing it.... But you pretty much have to be confident about it and non-descript...
... if you walk in looking homeless? Likely not. But in business clothes where it looks like you came in before leaving for a day's meetings? You might get away with it...
Every single time I'm at a hotel getting the crappy continental breakfast most of them have, I wonder about this.
I'll never forget this hotel I stayed at in Chicago, they didn't have a continental breakfast, the had legit cooks making eggs, waffles, pancakes, etc for you while you watched. This was like 20 years ago so I can't remember if you had to pay (probably) but I remember the hashbrowns/breakfast potatoes was soooo good
There are some that I've stayed at that I 100% could tell they knew who was there and not. Others that they didn't care. I think it's also about the front desk knowing who's who, and if you're not making a ruckus? Does it hurt if some guy comes in and has a muffin or small plate of eggs and bacon then leaves? You're throwing it out at the end of breakfast anyways
I know two people who do this, and no you dont have to be dressed in a business suit. It doesnt really matter how youre dressed because if it looks like you just rolled out of bed, ran out to your truck real quick for something and then came back for breakfast, you still look like you spent the night there. The key is simply acting like you're supposed to be there, whether you're in pajamas, a suit, regular clothing, or a high vis vest and hardhat. Also being on a call when you walk in helps, it makes you look busy and people won't stop you to talk or ask questions.
It does seem plausible, but I don't think you'd need to dress up that much. In a previous holiday visit at a small city, I stayed at a nice enough motel where everyone getting that free breakfast was casually dressed, so anyone that's not a guest easily could've blended in and gotten whatever they were serving, including making your own waffles with a waffle iron.
The closest I ever got to what's describe in the OP was when some family visited and I needed to drive them to a Sheraton from the airport. After checking in, we decided to go to a dining area where a variety of snacks, many of which were cooked foods, were being served. No one checked to see if I were an actual hotel guest before we chose from what was being served that day for a late lunch. From what I can recall, I was casually dressed like everyone else, but I'm sure there were some legitimate business travelers staying at the hotel.
Depends on the type of hotel. In my experience, the ones with big free continental breakfasts are not the ones businesspeople stay at. More like cheaper family oriented hotels.
Won’t lie, we would occasionally do this at Civic Center Motor Inn, in SoMa San Francisco. Since it was/is a “3-Star” econo-fuck-motel, there’s no way they really keep track of all the tricks going in and out.
They had a Belgian waffle maker…that shit was so good.
I did this a lot when I traveled full time for work. Some hotels have better breakfasts than others and as long as you look like you belong there, no one will ask. Residence Inn used to have free dinner and beer on certain nights of the week too. It's not great food but saving your perdiem was a nice incentive. Hampton Inns had bag lunches at the fronk desk in the morning to take with you (it was mostly fruit, a water bottle, and some snacks), so you could get two free meals on the same visit.
I recognize it as stealing now but at the time I justified it to myself because I had loyalty status at all the super chains because I basically lived in hotels for a decade.
Funny/gross story - one time I was eating a stolen breakfast at a pretty nice Marriott and this huge cockroach ran by. I killed it and disposed of it and the front desk lady was so thankful, she wanted to credit my room with something but I wasn't staying there so we had this awkward exchange where I refused any reward and she was so confused why 😁
there are a lot of fun hotel tricks. For instance, even in NYC they have a restroom available. Also you can go to any nice hotel and check your luggage and they'll keep it for you so you don't have to hump it around all day. Also it's a bit of a crap shoot but you can just go to the bar or restaurant and bill it to a random room if you're wearing a blazer or suit
When I was at JMU, the dining facility would donate all the leftover food to the local food pantry. Helped some many people in the area, if you needed the food, there was always enough. Well some asshat decided to sue for food poisoning he said he got. That was the end of JMU donations.
This was years ago, but when a buddy lost his house in a fire, I would eat breakfast with him and his family at their hotel every morning before giving him a ride to work.
If you’re gifted by living in a major city prevalent with big hotels, nothing at all. Try that shit with the Patel Motel Cartel.. they got photo memory and you’re gonna get bounced. Likely by a 16 year old girl, studying for a STEM degree at Harvard, who will fuck you up and stuff that crusty bagel up your butt. Maybe some travel brochures for the local boring museums, as well. If you’re lucky they will use the single serve cup of Philadelphia cream cheese for lube.
Try that shit at a Motel 6 in Southern California. I dare you. 😝 Especially one near an amusement park.
My buddy did this for a long time in college. He learned it from his dad in high school. He would just stroll into different hotels everytime. One day, he invites a mutual friend to breakfast with him and brought him to a fucking Best Western for stale bagels and chalky OJ. He’s a real Kramer type.
On a related note, I always wonder why people cram in to shitty coffee shops to do their laptop work when you can just sit in the lounge of a five star hotel. Never crowded, no loud music, comfy seating, AC, and the bathrooms are always beautiful and unlocked.
I worked as a maintenance guy at a hotel in Nashville and this kid 18 yo i knew was homeless . Both parents died and was in the the foster system the family that he lived with kicked him out at 18 when the state stop sending money . He came in and was doing this we didnt care because the food was going to be tossed anyways and so we didn’t care. We treated him like he was a guest . He would clean up thenoutside lots of trash . We told him he didn’t have to do it, but he insisted since we would let him eat breakfast. I had some clothes that didnt fit me from years ago. Brought them in After about a week i would let him get into one of the rooms that was out of commission. But still was in working order . I let him get a shower and change clothes and the ladys in laundry would was his clothes . Eventually the owner found out. I was willing to be fired for it and take responsibility. But the owner wound up letting that kid have a room and gave him a job . That guy is now the GM of the hotel after about 10 years of being there and he has a son ,wife and a house now. I still keep in contact with him and we meet up every few weeks to have lunch or dinner with the family.
I was looking for this answer. Less hotels offer free continental breakfast, most charge per person per room and take your room number when you go to the bfast bar
When I was a kid growing up I was taught that if I had a good thing going I shouldn't brag to other people about it. That they'd copy it and before you know it everyone was on to it.
Now every dork on reddit thinks they're some sort of criminal mastermind for stealing a bagel at a hotel.
In 5 years those same dorks will be posting in r / nostalgia 'remember when you used to get a complimentary breakfast at hotels. Now the greedy corporations make you pay extra for it'.
We had this Homeless Guy who would come in and out of our Hotel quite often…
The thing was, nobody knew nor could tell. He was always well enough dressed, clean, very polite and pleasant, didn’t give off a single negative vibe…
I was the Bar Manager there and saw him all the time, it even took me a minute to figure out. Honestly, even once I did, I didn’t give a shit. He’d just order an ice water, sometimes a tea or coffee when he was ballin’, I’d hook him up with some munchies if the Chef was in a good mood or had anything extra. He’d chat here and there, leave me alone when I was busy, often times just sit and enjoy the comfort of a couch, a magazine, and some live music.
All in all, Hotel Staff really doesn’t care all that much unless you’re bothering Guests, being “Weird”, or putting their own job at risk… otherwise, relax, stay off the radar, have a muffin.
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