Lucky me - I got to travel for work right before Thanksgiving! woohoo :rolleyes:
I’ve got a little time to kill before I meet with the folks I’m in town to see, and I’m just about packed up. And being bored, I got to thinking about my routines as I get ready to check out.
I don’t make the bed - that’s just silly. Last night I managed to knock a couple of the pillows on the floor, so I tossed them back on the bed. I see no need to neaten up the bed - it’s just going to be stripped anyway. If I was staying multiple nights, I might smooth it out, or not.
I only used one of the 3 bath towels, and I left it hanging over the edge of the tub - no sense in my wet towel possibly dampening the clean towels on the rack. Sometimes I’ll leave used towels and washcloths on the floor. I bring my own soaps/shampoos/etc, so I don’t mess with the little bottles they leave for me, altho I’ve been known to grab a little bottle of lotion - very convenient to carry in my purse.
I toss all my trash into the garbage can - no need for housekeeping to gather my empty cups or other food-related refuse. I try to remember to leave the remote where it was when I checked in, and on the rare occasions I use the alarm, I try to disable it, altho I’d like to think that’s on the list of things that housekeeping checks.
Not that I think the people who clean the rooms will be judging me, nor do I care if they do, I just can’t leave a room looking like there was a wild party overnight. Plus it’s easier to make sure I have all my stuff if the room isn’t a disaster.
Do you even think about things like this when you rent a room?
Bed not made, of course; towels, additional linens, additional pillows, in such a way that it’s clear which ones have been used and which not. Many hotels ask to leave towels which you’ve used but are ok with reusing back on the bar; I do. Any trash goes into the trash receptable if it’s large enough: the hotel where we’ve been staying the last few months has tiny trashbins, so items small enough go in it and larger items get piled up beside it or put in a plastic bag. If I’ve got things I’ve taken out of the suitcase but don’t want to hang up, they’re organized in piles; right now my hotel room contains two bottles of lactofree and a bag of chips in the TV stand and my pajamas folded on top of the suitcase, none of which should be a problem for the cleaning staff.
Once during an unusually long stay I got to talking with the cleaning guys; they thanked me for how I left the room. They mentioned approaching any unknown client’s bed warily after some of the things they’d found, several of which went way beyond careless and into straight out gross.
Any towels or washcloths that I’ve used, I put in a pile on the floor, so it’s obvious which ones need to be cleaned. Otherwise, I try to put things back where I found them. I tend to move things around, I’ll put the remote on the desk instead of the TV stand, for instance. So, as I’m checking the room for my belongings, I’ll return things to their proper places. And I pitch out any trash. I don’t worry about the loose hairs around the sink (I must be part cat, I shed when I breathe) and I do take any of the toiletries that I’ve opened, such as the bars of soap.
Last week, I stayed in a hotel suite for four nights. I asked for a couple of fresh towels and washcloths at the desk, and never had housekeeping enter the room at all. If I’d stayed longer, then I’d probably want to have my bedding changed, but at home I generally don’t change my bedding any oftener than every week, and I see no reason why I need it changed if I’m at a hotel. Unless, of course, something happens in the bed other than sleep. I don’t need my bed made up for me every day. In fact, I don’t like the top sheet tucked in, so if someone else makes my bed for me, I just have to fuss with it until I get it arranged properly.
Nava I’m torn between wanting to thank you for not telling us what the cleaning guys told you and wanting to beg you to regale us with the tales.
I do tidy up the room a bit before leaving. All trash in the trash can, the tv remote back where it belongs and all that. Bed is left unmade and any used towels in a pile on the bathroom floor. I do use the little soap, shampoo etc as I’d rather use that than bring stuff but I don’t take the leftovers.
I travel a lot and never let house keeping in during the week. When I leave at the end of the week, the sink has all the unused toiletries on the left, the coffee maker on the right. Towels/washcloths in a stack on the sink. The trash is tied up in bags and in one spot for pick up. I strip the bed down, blanket, sheet, etc to make sure that I haven’t left anything and leave them all at the foot of the bed in a stack. All remotes/ads/books stacked on the TV.
I try to make it so they can come in, pick up the trash/laundry, run the vacuum and re-assemble the room without having to look for stuff.
I try to remember that another human being has to clean up behind me and I act accordingly. I clean up any loose trash, pile all my dirty linens together and wipe up any food or drink stains.
I throw out all of the trash, return moveable objects (such as the remote and magazines) back where I found them and pile all of the used towels and other washables on the bed. I generally take the little bottles of shampoo with me, used or not. I also wipe up any spilled water around the sink. Not sure why, I guess because a room looks infinitely more tidy when there isn’t a bunch of spilled water.
For my own purposes, I check all of the drawers and the closet to make sure I didn’t forget anything in them and pile up everything I am taking next to the door (once it is packed).
I don’t even make my bed at home, so I sure as shit am not going to make it in a hotel. I also throw garbage in the garbage can, not because I’m thinking about the housekeepers, but because that’s where it goes. I’ve only once left the room in beyond disarray (party), so I left a tip.
I tidy up. All used towels in one pile next to the shower, all trash in the trash can, all pillows on the bed. And a tip on the unmade bed.
Usually if I stay extended lengths (more than 6 days) in the same hotel, I put the DND sign on the door until I need towels. No sense that they have to clean more than I would at home.
Throughout the course of the stay, I make a half-assed attempt to hit the trash can. I don’t intentionally leave messes. Beyond that, I just live my life and let housekeeping do their job.
I’m in hotels for work probably 10-15 days a month, and like Enkel, I don’t utilize housekeeping while I’m there. Sometimes I tidy up a little before checking out, sometimes I leave it a slobby mess. If it’s really messy (or if in an extended stay hotel with a kitchenette, if I’ve left dirty dishes and pots), I will increase the amount I leave for a tip. Usually, I’ll tidy up if I’m short on cash. If I have extra money in my wallet, I figure I’ll leave the mess and give them some extra dough to deal with it.
I never leave the room gross, but there are times I’ll leave trash on the desk, bottles and cans and fast food bags fall on the floor, etc. Really messy, sure, but not disgusting.
Most of the time when I am in hotels, I put out the do not disturb sign so that I do not get cleaning service until I leave.
Why would I need my sheets cleaned every night? Face it, there is pretty much nothing that needs to be done to your hotel room in between your nights there.
I have always wondered, do the cleaning staff like this or not? Do they get paid by room? Are they thankful or irritated?
I usually tidy the bed just a bit to give myself a better work area for packing my things. If I don’t do that, then stuff tends to get lost into the folds of the bed clothes, between pillows, etc. I like to travel with minimal luggage (usually just a knapsack for trips under a week) so it takes a bit of planning to make everything fit and accessible as need be.
Beyond that, I try to pick up trash and not make extra work for the housekeeping staff, but don’t do things they are going to go over anyway. I try to make it obvious that anything I am intentionally leaving behind (food, soda, etc.) was not forgotten and the cleaning crew can keep it…like I’ll use it as a paperweight for the tip for example. I try to make it obvious which towels I used, and keep the unused ones clean and dry, and obviously not used.
It varies. Often the management will object: People trash rooms, cook meth, etc…so they like to have a look in the rooms daily and make sure the guests are not up to no good.
I always put up the “Do Not Disturb” sign for multiple night stays. When I leave for good:
I put everything in its original place, such as clickers and hair dryers.
I gather all used towels in a pile and put them in the tub.
I strip all the bedding and put it in pile on the ground. (I do this for the maid’s convenience, in addition to removing the temptation for her/him to simply make the bed with the old sheets instead of putting on new ones.)
Leave the bed crumpled, used towels on the floor, trash in the basket. Take the toiletries that I’ll use (never the shower cap!). Make sure the toilet is flushed.
One thing I do is grab the used bar of shower soap with a tissue and throw that in the trash - one less thing for the cleaning person to have to deal with.
And leave a couple dollars per night if we’re there more than one night. If that was your job, you’d appreciate it.
I leave the wrapped bars of soap, and any item that is clearly unused. But I take the used bars of soap and anything that doesn’t have an obvious way of telling if it’s used or not, because the staff has to throw that stuff out anyway. I do use it all at home, or my husband takes it on hunting trips (the small bottles and bars are much easier to pack). Well, he doesn’t take the moisturizer, which is just as well, as I will throw it in my purse and use it.
