A former hotel worker has revealed all about hot breakfasts when you stay - and recommends avoiding some of the options.

Brandi Augustus, 36, from Knoxville, Tennesse, started working in the industry in 2005 either on the front desk or as a night audit.

Initially, she worked for a high-end chain but says when she moved to more affordable hotels, she was less impressed with the standard for hot breakfasts.

"I felt like I was the only person who cared and that made me sad because my mama always told me not to play with other people's food," she told Jam Press.

"The handling of the raw bread/pastries was the first thing that gave me immediate pause and made me say something.

"Gloves weren’t used and hands weren’t washed and this was food that was removed from the buffet the morning prior so who knows how many sets of hands had touched it all.

"Bread/pastries as they are often recycled and picked over for DAYS! Steer clear of the meat at most places. Sausage is not supposed to be grey. Stop eating grey sausage."

The worst incident, Brandi claims, involved just adding new waffle batter to some old stuff she thought smelt bad.

She said: "When I was told to smell the waffle batter to check if it was still good I just lost all hope.

"That completely soured my stomach as the batter had a slight smell to it but it the container was a little over half full so instead of wasting the old batter I was told to just mix new batter into it and the smell would go away.

"That smell was bacteria multiplying."

Brandi says she reported some of the problems to her managers but it didn't change anything.

She said: "They did not care! They would say that they passed health checks so they couldn’t be doing too bad.

"I didn't report it to hygiene officials. The health inspectors would never come during my shift and I often felt that if I did report it outside of work then my job would somehow know. Whistleblowers are never the tea."

Brandi admits that as a single mum-of-two, working a shift where no restaurants were open, she would eat the breakfast but stick to certain things after seeing the processes.

She said:  "I had standards though. I would only eat what I made fresh like new waffle mix or unopened pastries."

Now, after 15 years in the industry, she has switched careers and works as a coordinator at a social justice nonprofit.

Her previous jobs still make her think when she is booking somewhere to stay.

She said: I try not to stay at those hotels and stick with the ones that offer a hotel made-to-order breakfast.

"Do I trust it more…? kinda. Food service as a whole seems to be a gamble these days.

"The chances of getting food poisoning seem to decrease when you can see the person cooking your food so always opt for the omelette station."

After posting about her experiences on her TikTok account, Brandi went viral with the video getting over 1.5 million views.

One person said: "I waited in hotels and you are CORRECT!!!!"

Another added: "As a night auditor for a very popular hotel, she telling the truth!! Stick to a the pre-package food, also check the room before you bring luggage in."

Someone else wrote: "TikTok keeps ruining things for me."

A fourth said: "I only do the pre-package stuff. Cereal, yoghurt, fruit. Maybe a PBJ."

Others disagreed and said it wouldn't put them off.

One said: "When it comes to a free hotel breakfast... imma have it."