Why Don't Hotels Have a 13th Floor? The Spooky Reason Dates All the Way Back to Norse Mythology

The mark of a great hotel can generally be boiled down to how frictionlessly it executes the floor routine between check-in and check-out. While tactful discretion is always appreciated, it’s the flourishes and the flair that guests write home about. Maybe it’s a welcome drink that comes right before your breaking point at the end of a weary travel day, or the heated tile in your bathroom that staves off the shivers through your post-shower routine. When a hotel gets all the little things right, it can make it all the more head-scratching to encounter what seems like a slip-up. Perhaps you’ve been here before: you’re going up to your hotel room in a high-rise, cast your eyes down for a quick glance at your floor, and notice something amiss. What starts as private doubt shifts into confirmatory eye contact across the elevator car, until it bubbles into the question on everyone’s lips upon taking a second look at the panel—why don't hotels have a 13th floor? After you notice it once, you may develop a keener eye for this odd Easter egg everywhere, from everyday residential buildings to soaring skyscrapers to even the booking platforms of airlines like Air France, KLM, Luf

Aug 11, 2026 → Aug 11, 2026