Hotels in China sorry after shocking video

Four major hotels in China have apologised after a video showed cleaners wiping cups and sinks with dirty towels and sponges, some used on toilet seats.

At least four major international hotel chains have apologised after hidden camera video of their room cleaning practices in China was posted online.

The 11-minute video shows cleaners wiping cups and sinks with dirty towels and sponges. Some use the same towel to wipe the toilet seat.

The Shangri-La Hotel in Fuzhou said the actions in the video violate its hygiene standards, while the Park Hyatt in Beijing called it an isolated occurrence. The Waldorf Astoria in Shanghai and the Sheraton in Guiyang city also apologised and said they were reviewing their procedures.

An activist blogger who uses the pseudonym "Huazong" posted the video late on Wednesday on his verified account on Weibo, a Chinese version of Twitter. It was picked up by Chinese media and had been shared 78,000 times by Thursday afternoon.

Hilton and Marriott group properties were among the 14 luxury hotels included in the video.

Beijing tourism authorities issued a statement requiring hotels to check and rectify their practices. It also said it had asked the Beijing health commission to conduct sanitary inspections of four of the hotels named in the video.