I’m curious about the extent people use the dressers in hotels.
Do you fully empty your bags into the dressers, or do you operate entirely out of your luggage, or something in between? Does it depend on the hotel, or the length of your stay, or some other factor?
I travel more than anyone should and I always unpack my clothes. They get wrinkly otherwise.
If I have dress clothes I hang those up. If I’m staying more than a couple nights I unpack because everything just gets jumbled up in the suitcase.
When I traveled weekly for work, I unpacked and hung everything to prevent wrinkles. There are many things I NEVER use in a hotel room:
the dressers (bed bugs)
the comforter (general cooties - we all know that doesn’t get washed, right?)
the coffee maker (again, these don’t get more than a surface wipe down)
The general general rule of thumb is that if it CAN be used as a receptacle for grossness, it HAS been used as a receptacle for grossness. That includes ice buckets and coffee mugs (also not replaced unless visibly dirty, but if they’re turned upside down in the “I’m clean” position, they’ll be untouched by housekeeping.)
So yeah, anyway, no dressers for me. 
If it’s more than a couple of days, I’ll put my stuff in the dressers, and then my suitcase can be used for the dirties. I’ll hang up stuff that can wrinkle (and where I’d care) right away, regardless of length of stay.
Dress clothes and anything that gets wrinkled get hung up. If I’m staying for several day, I will partially unpack into the dresser. If I don’t, the suitcase just becomes a mess and I can’t find anything.
Exactly this, for me. Keeps what’s clean separate from what’s dirty without having to dig to the bottom of the suitcase.
On work travel, anything I plan to wear for work gets hung up immediately. Just because I CAN iron in my hotel room, doesn’t mean I particularly want to.
I don’t ever use the dressers. That is a great way to forget things, and in my experience, people who unpack like that seem to always forget something! I will hang up stuff that needs it, but other than that, I am ok with living out of a suitcase for up to a week.
When I traveled, I never made use of the dressers. The first night I would iron and hang up shirts and trousers that I would need. Other items would remain in the suitcase. Dirty clothes went into a plastic bag so that they would be separate.
I’ve always just operated entirely out of my bag. Dirty clothes go in a plastic bag brought specifically for that purpose. If I have a suit it would either have traveled separately from my bag, or hung up immediately if it was packed in my bag.
Until I saw a friend unpack into the dressers, it never even occurred to me that people actually used them. I guess I figured they were only there to make the room seem “home-y” or something.
I always pack things that I want to be hung up on the hangars, so when I get there, I transfer them to the closet and spray each thing with Downy Wrinkle Release. I pack underwear and socks into pack-it cubes (a different one for each type of item), and I usually do transfer those to the dresser. I pack makeup/hair stuff/toiletries into gallon size ziploc bags, then put all of them into a 2 gallon ziploc, and that whole thing gets transferred to the bathroom. Before I leave I always check all the drawers, whether I remember putting anything in them or not. I also try to remember to check the hook on the back of the bathroom door - that one has gotten me once or twice (but not for a long time).
Jackets and coats get hung up. Everything else stays in the case. But then I’m seldom in any one hotel for more than a few days.
I travel with one carry-on-compliant soft duffel bag, even if gone for 4-6 weeks. Nothing gets taken out unless and until I need it. I can identify contents down in the bottom by feel.
I’ve never seen a hotel room that was dirty enough to make me say eek. Whaever it is, it’s my home away from home.
Unless I’m just staying in the hotel on the way to the airport to fly out the next morning, I unpack everything, and use their plastic laundry bag for dirty clothes. I don’t forget things. I don’t stay in places with bedbug problems, though I’d think dresser drawers are reasonably safe.
Don’t use the dressers. My wife does if it’s more than a few days. It’s not like I’m big on that at home either.
Entirely depends on the hotel and the length of stay. If I’m in a hotel overnight while traveling with the debate team, I live out of my soft bag. If the wife and I are spending some vacation time in Vegas, I completely unpack to the dresser my rolling bag.
Professionally speaking …
The vast majority of my hotel stays are one night stands. Today’s clothes are spread out on the unused bed overnight to de-sweat. And are re-packed just before departure. Tomorrow’s clothes are ironed & hung in the closet before bed.
All hotel crap already on the desk goes on the floor in a corner. All my pocket stuff, laptop, chargers, etc. live on the desk. Before I depart the desk has absolutely nothing on it. So nothing is left behind.
Like the desk, I clear all hotel crap off the bathroom counter. My stuff gets moved to the bathroom upon arrival and goes back in the suitcase just before departure. If the counter is dead clear, then nothing is being left behind.
No drawers or cabinets are ever used. The one exception is I’ll put food or water bottles in the fridge. They occasionally get forgotten, but no great loss. About the only time I bother is when we’re leaving in the morning before breakfast is available. Then I’ll buy food at a convenience store or wherever the night prior & stick it in the fridge for a field expedient breakfast. The fact I wake up hungry helps me remember to eat it.
This summer will be 27 years on the job times 5 to 15 nights per month in a hotel. I haven’t left anything significant in a hotel room yet.
On those comparatively rare occasions I’m staying someplace for several days the only change is I’ll hang several days’ shirts in the closet. That way they hang out a bit and are easier to iron. Or may not need it at all.
I travel quite a bit for work. I never use the dressers. Sometimes I will hang a few shirts but I basically live out of my suitcase for weeks at a time. I mostly do it this way so I don’t forget anything. I might have to try LSLGuy’s counter/desk clearing technique. Sounds almost foolproof.
I pack a plastic garbage bag in my suitcase with my clean clothes. As I get the clothes dirty, I put them in the plastic bag to keep them separate from the clean ones.
Nothing is fool-proof. But it’s pretty fool-resistant. 