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Cleaning
staff at top luxury hotels in Shanghai and Beijing were shown using the same
towels and sponges to clean showers and toilets and cups
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Despite
their luxury standards and high price tags, cleaning staff were shown wiping
down in-room cups with the same towels and sponges used to clean showers and toilets.
Since
the video was posted to Twitter-like Weibo on Wednesday, it has racked up more
than 30 million views.
The
video clip was apparently shot by hidden cameras set up in hotel bathrooms and
titled "The Secret of the Cups". The video creator, who goes by the
pseudonym "Huazong", claims he has stayed at 147 five-star and
boutique hotels over the past six years.
The
outcry also attracted the attention of regulators, who promised an
investigation. It follows a scandal this summer that rocked the country when a
manufacturer of rabies vaccines was found to have produced sub-standard
vaccines.
The
Ritz-Carlton in Shanghai said it carried out an investigation after the video
exposed one of its cleaners, who had been found using the same towel to clean
the shower glass, floor, counter and cups.
The
cleaner had received training on proper room cleaning, the hotel said.
"But
the actual practices on that day did not follow the cleaning standards for room
cleaning, we are deeply sorry for this," the hotel apologized in a
statement posted to its Weibo account, adding staff would be retrained.
A
cleaning woman at the Four Seasons in Shanghai was shown using the same sponge
to clean the shower, counter and cups.
"We
sincerely apologize for what has occurred and we are currently investigating
this matter with the highest diligence," said hotel spokeswoman Chloe
Qian.
Other
hotels highlighted in the expose included The Peninsula in Beijing, the Waldorf
Astoria Shanghai, and the Sheraton Nanchang Hotel.
China
is regularly hit by scandals involving sub-par or toxic food, drugs and other
products, despite repeated promises by the ruling Communist Party to address
the problem.
The
Ministry of Culture and Tourism ordered an investigation into the hotels, state
news agency Xinhua reported Friday.
In
Beijing, regulators summoned managers from the four hotels demanding answers
while conducting their own tests of hotel cleanliness, Xinhua reported.
On
Weibo, users lambasted the hotels and the recurrent health and safety problems.
"On the level of hygiene and morals, China's best hotels compare unfavourably to a small Japanese inn," mocked one user.
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