There’s one thing that really bothers me about hotel rooms.Now before I tell you what it is, I want to warn you that what you’re about to read is not exactly highbrow. I’m well aware this article won’t be winning me any journalism awards.It is however an issue that I’m sure has, or will affect most of us at some stage in our lives.Right, now that that’s out of the way, allow me to explain what shits me.It’s the fact that most hotel rooms these days don’t have toilet brushes in the bathrooms.Now I want to stress that nine times out of ten, this isn’t an issue for me.But earlier this year, it did become an issue.I was sharing a hotel room with a friend and let’s just say things weren’t as tidy as I hoped they’d be after a couple of flushes.That left me with two options …Number one: I could leave the toilet in its current state, a move that would in turn leave me riddled with anxiety and unable to look my friend in the eye for the rest of the trip.Number two: I could debase myself by wrapping my hand in toilet paper to erase the remaining evidence.Yes, I’m ashamed to say that I chose the latter, which I guess is kind of fitting given that was option ‘number two’.Since then I’ve stayed in a number of different hotels and I’ve noticed that none of them came equipped with a toilet brush.To understand why this is the case, I reached out to hotel experts both here in Australia and overseas.The first email I sent was to Professor Chekitan Dev, a hotel management expert from Cornell University, an Ivy League school in New York.He’s previously been included in the “Top 25 Most Extraordinary Minds in Hospitality, Travel and Tourism Sales and Marketing” and has been quoted in Time Magazine, The New York Times and The Washington Post.Given his credentials, he was understandably surprised to receive an email from an Australian journalist with the subject, ‘toilet brushes’.“In my 47 years in the hotel business, I don’t think anyone has covered this topic,” Mr Dev wrote in his reply.What can I say, I’m a trailblazer.“Of all the services a hotel provides, even in the lowest priced ones, cleaning the bedroom and the bathroom is still the purview of the hotel,” Mr Dev explained. “Which is why hotels don’t provide vacuum cleaners, or toilet brushes, or, perhaps more useful, plungers.”Most hotels would rather their in-house cleaners deal with any toilet mishaps, the hotel expert told me, rather than supply a brush that they would have to stock, repair and eventually replace. Mr Dev did however admit that he’s not exactly a fan of the policy, saying, “Personally, I would like a toilet brush so if I make a mess in the toilet, I can clean it myself without (embarrassingly) having to call housekeeping.”Welcome to the team, Mr Dev!In my quest to get to the bottom of this issue, I also reached out to James Goodwin, the CEO of Accommodation Australia, who explained that cleanliness and hygiene are the main reasons hotels don’t provide brushes.“A wet brush can breed harmful bacteria so it’s better for housekeeping to professionally clean bathrooms on their rounds,” he said.“If you do get into ‘trouble’ or make a mess with the toilet while staying at a hotel, just call housekeeping.“No one wants to see a used toilet brush when they get into their room,” Mr Goodwin added.But here’s the thing … I could handle seeing a toilet brush in a hotel bathroom, especially when the alternative is having to make an excruciatingly awkward phone call to housekeeping in front of the person I’m sharing a room with.How would that mortifying call even play out?“Hi. Um … could you please send a cleaner to our room as soon as possible. The bathroom is just a tad … messy. And while I’ve got you here, can I put you on standby to swing past again later tonight? Why? Um … we’re having Mexican for dinner.”I’m not sure what I’m hoping to achieve with this article.I think mostly I want to know that me and Professor Dev aren’t the only ones who wish hotel bathrooms came equipped with toilet brushes.Yes, the hygiene issues are valid, and yes, cleaners are available to scrub away any marks, but nothing can scrub away the shame I feel from having left the marks there in the first place. So to any hoteliers reading this, please provide a brush so we can erase our own evidence and leave your establishment with our dignity intact.