Looking for rough in AAA’s diamonds

She lifts up the toilet-seat cover and handles the TV remote in a hotel room, knowing full well she would use hand sanitizer later. She also travels to new cities, eats at fancy restaurants and checks into hotels — all while making sure her identity isn’t leaked.

The AAA inspector aims to be an independent voice as she reviews hotels and restaurants for the public. AAA allowed an Orlando Sentinel reporter to shadow her as long as she was not named because of the nature of her job.

In an era of Yelp and Google reviews, the public is empowered to shout opinions on establishments. Terrible service! The food was cold! Don’t stay in this dump! I love this place!

That’s why it’s important for travelers to get an unbiased review, said Mark Jenkins, a spokesman for AAA-The Auto Club Group.

“They can count on knowing what review they are seeing is legitimate, not from someone who has an agenda,” Jenkins said.

In turn, it also gives feedback to the hotel and restaurant owners on how to improve.

The woman is one of about 45 inspectors for AAA who visit establishments across North America.

Last year, AAA approved 59,000 hotels and restaurants while 1,185 others failed its inspections, according to the company, which declined to say how much the inspector job pays. The Volusia County inspector alone conducted 982 on-site inspections in 2016 as she primarily covers Central and North Florida.

While plenty of travel reviews exist in publications, Jenkins said what makes AAA stand out from its competitors is its national scope. The reviews can be found on AAA’s website or its app.

A good inspection shows a hotel is clean, the rooms are inviting and everything is running smoothly.

There are also horror stories about the bad inspections over the years: A handgun found in