Demanding hotel guests have literally requested the shirt off the back of reception staff in one of a number of bizarre requests made this year.

Other strange requests made in Brighton hotels include customers asking if staff could stop the snow for them or if they had a king-sized quilt to keep their car warm.

One nervous customer asked a hotel manager whether he would go on a blind date for him while another guest asked staff if they offered a sleep-sitting service as he was a sleep-walker.

The strange requests made to staff at two Travelodge hotels in Brighton have been released by the hotel chain.

Other hotel owners in the city also revealed some of the strange requests they have received in their line of work.

Tony Mead, co-owner of Snooze in St George’s Terrace in Brighton, said: “From time to time we do get customers asking can we do anything about the seagulls.

"We have to politely tell them it’s a bit beyond our control and say it’s to remind them at least they know they are by the seaside.

“We also have people who are not sure how to switch the kettle on. We had some Japanese guests and they had never heard of scrambled eggs before, so they wanted to watch me make them.”

Paul Eastman, owner of Leona House in Middle Street in Brighton, said: “We haven’t had too many strange requests but we do find strange things left behind in the rooms.

“We had one pair of overweight customers and when I cleaned out their room I found they had left a pair of fluffy pink handcuffs and they had broken a bed leg.”

At the Brighton Central Travelodge in Preston Road a wedding guest went to reception after spilling coffee down his shirt – and asked to borrow the manager’s clean clothes.

Other customers asked staff if they could teach them how to make tea, while one aspiring thespian asked employees to read a script with him in prepa- ration for an audition.

One cheeky customer at the Brighton Seafront Travelodge in West Street even asked for an employee to be sent up to their room to warm up their bed before they arrived.

Travelodge spokeswoman Shakila Ahmed said: “Our staff will always try their utmost to accommodate all customer requests but occasionally there are just some requests that we just can’t help with, such as stopping the snow, keeping guests’ cars warm and keeping guests from sleep-walking.”