"Hey this hotel room is only $99 a night, great deal!!!"
"My dad went to a hotel once and checked in to a first floor room. He went in the room, put his stuff down, opened the curtains...and a man was hiding there. My dad went 'excuse me,' closed the curtains, got his stuff, and left. He went to the front desk to explain that a man was hiding in his room. It turns out the guy had just robbed the place and somehow got into the room with an open window."
They're actually taking steps against it though by posting this stuff online.
Central Europe the same
You are correct. I usually put a business card in it to keep the power on.