"Culture Shock": Indian YouTuber Shares Disappointing Experience At Las Vegas Hotel

An Indian YouTuber recently took to X to share his disappointment with the lack of hospitality in American hotels. The 22-year-old Indian traveller, who's accustomed to the exceptional hospitality of Taj Hotels in India, was shocked when he was charged a staggering $14.99 (₹1,258) for a bottle of water at 2 am at Las Vegas's iconic Caesars Palace Hotel. His experience sparked a heated debate about the vastly different hospitality standards between India and the US.

''My biggest culture shock - American Hotels. They just don't get hospitality. Funny how they ask for tips but won't even give complimentary water. I stayed at 3 star, 4 star AND today 5 star hotel (Caesar's Palace) Maybe I'm spoilt with Taj hotels in India. But basic things like helping with luggage, being accomodating were missing. I checked in at 2 am tired from the flight and asked for a glass of water, they said "It's $14.99 for a 200ml bottle you can buy it". And this is a $200 per night hotel! Complete lack of empathy. Unbelievable! Never expected this,'' Ishan Sharma wrote on X. 

See the post here:

My biggest culture shock - American Hotels

They just don't get hospitality.

Funny how they ask for tips but won't even give complementary water.

I stayed at 3 star, 4 star AND today 5 star hotel (Caesar's Palace)

Maybe I'm spoilt with Taj hotels in India.

But basic things… pic.twitter.com/RkB84F69R0

— Ishan Sharma (@Ishansharma7390) August 12, 2024

Reacting to his post, many internet users praised the warm hospitality of Indian hotels, highlighting the exceptional service and welcoming nature of the hotel staff. They also noted that Indian hotels often go above and beyond to ensure guests feel at home, from offering complimentary services to providing personalised attention.

One user said, ''Indian hospitality standards are by far the highest, indian brands must take this lead…we can be a global leader in this sector.''

A second commented, ''Indian hotels are 1000 times better than European and American hotels. We get extra complimentary services, plus, indeed, outside hotels don't even provide water bottles daily.''

However, not everyone shared the same sense of surprise and outrage. Several other X users in India noted that this is nothing new and pointed out that the functional approach to customer service in the US and other Western countries has been the norm for decades.

A third said, ''Is anyone going to point out the obvious… that you can drink the tap water at American hotels, but you cannot at most in India? So in India, free bottled water is likely mandatory and necessary Whereas in America bottled water at a hotel is usually ''fancy.''

A fourth added, ''Ishan, America understands hospitality differently !! Whether it be planes, hotels, restaurants, ships etc It's been so for decades. Their concept is just to provide the basic facilities, unlike in Asia / India where we are spoilt by airline hotels and the like with extras. You pay for everything in the US & their union regulations are so tough, it's the law to tip in most states.''

A fifth said, "This is not a new phenomenon. Western hospitality has always been about efficiency and directness. It's not about being rude, it's just a different way of doing things."