Housekeeping becoming a luxury at hotels

[cruisin]

I'm weird about hotel rooms too. The sheets and blankets actually kind of freak me out, because I always lie there wondering who else has used them, even if they have been thoroughly washed.

I convince myself that they wash the sheets and towels in boiling hot water with some bleach (that's why they are always white ). So, in my mind any germs are killed. But, then they are handled with hands that are likely not washed between rooms, so... but, if I think about that, I will never leave home .

I too have seen the "green" signs in hotels for at least the last 10 years, it's nothing new. And I want to know what hotels the author of the article stays in that changes the sheets every day. I always thought protocol was every 3 days, unless you are staying for less than 3 days (). And even 3 days is more than necessary.

[deltask8er]

Me too, although half of what is called "news" these days doesn't seem to be.

Hotels at all ends of the cost spectrum have been offering this option for at least 10 years.

I gather the new angle to this trend is not having housekeeping come into the room at all during your stay, especially if you are staying there less than one week.

Maybe hotels are also feeling the competition from other types of accommodations, such as Bed & Breakfasts and apartment rentals.

The other side of this is cuts in employment for chambermaids, who are on the bottom of the social totem pole. A physically tough job (my back hurts just thinking about all the beds they make) and I shudder to think of the filthy scenes they must occasionally encounter. I always tip them generously. I could certainly do without housekeeping, but what will they do without their jobs?

Hopefully someone who works in the industry here can answer that. How difficult is it to hire and keep reliable staff? There seems to be one hotel room for every American . Even during this recession, I see more hotels being constructed and opened.

Maybe it makes housekeeping more efficient. The rooms can be better cleaned between checking out and the next person checking in because the staff doesn't need to worry as much about rooms currently occupied.

I wonder if this is also happening on cruise ships.

[cruisin]

Maybe it makes housekeeping more efficient. The rooms can be better cleaned between checking out and the next person checking in because the staff doesn't need to worry as much about rooms currently occupied.

I think they've covered that issue - they just let the incoming person wait. Try checking out of a hotel after 11:00 am or checking into a hotel before 3:00 or 4:00 pm . And even then the room is rarely ready.

[heckles]

I keep the "do not disturb sign up" and hand them the towels and trash.

I was told at a hotel in New Jersey that it's state law for housecleaning to come in at least every two days in order to ensure that nothing illegal was occurring, e.g. a temporary meth lab hadn't been set up. Maybe they thought I looked like I was up to no good...

[PeterG]

I'm all for saving the environment, even if the reason behind it is to save companies moola! (Saving money is also a good thing, no?)

But I was at an extended-stay place once, from a Monday to Monday I believe. I was told at check-in that my room would be cleaned once during my week-long stay. I thought that was okay, the cost of the room was cheap and I'm fine with new towels/bedsheets every three days. However, once I got to my room, there was a generic card that said that this room is cleaned once a week...on Sundays!

I was told at a hotel in New Jersey that it's state law for housecleaning to come in at least every two days in order to ensure that nothing illegal was occurring, e.g. a temporary meth lab hadn't been set up. Maybe they thought I looked like I was up to no good...

I hope their disturbances didn't interrrupt business...

[deltask8er]

I think they've covered that issue - they just let the incoming person wait. Try checking out of a hotel after 11:00 am or checking into a hotel before 3:00 or 4:00 pm . And even then the room is rarely ready.

Which probably means the hotel is understaffed and/or mismanaged.

[cruisin]

I was told at a hotel in New Jersey that it's state law for housecleaning to come in at least every two days in order to ensure that nothing illegal was occurring, e.g. a temporary meth lab hadn't been set up. Maybe they thought I looked like I was up to no good...

Really? I live in NJ, so I rarely need to stay in an NJ hotel. But, I've never heard of that. Guess I won't be setting up my meth lab at the Hilton, darn!

[tarotx]

I was talking to a friend who's a Hispanic housekeeper in Columbus Ohio. (I used to be a Janitor for the schools so I was in that line of work too). My friend told me that some of the "green" that the hotel industry is because they can't hire illegals as easy now. Cops come in an "harass" much more then used to and their is fear of repercussions for the hotel/motel and the illegals. (My friend had to bring all her papers in to prove she's legal. She was born in Columbus Ohio to a mother who was born in Columbus Ohio.). She says everybody in the know knows that the hotel's don't want to pay minimum wage let alone higher.

Now I don't know how true this is for her let alone for the rest of the country but I talked to a few housekeepers who all feel this way. I thought I would bring it up to see if any of you think it rings true or not or just sounds like gossip. My friends aren't liars but gossip can get to any one I guess.

[genevieve]

No, the 'green excuse' doesn't matter a bit to me. One person, more or less, makes no statistical difference in a hotel with three hundred rooms. It has a much bigger environmental impact if I only do one or two loads a week at home with an HE machine than if I spend a week at a hotel and want fresh bath towels and sheets every day. It's a luxury, which is what I'm on vacation for.

The point is, if a large percentage of the hotel guests choose not to have their towles/linens changed, there IS a statistical difference.

[milanessa]

The point is, if a large percentage of the hotel guests choose not to have their towles/linens changed, there IS a statistical difference.

Absolutely. I usually don't get new towels every day but to just not have basic cleaning service? I like the floor vacuumed and the bathroom cleaned. And the bed made since I'm pretty lax on doing it myself.

[cruisin]

Question for everyone: Which would you rather have - clean towels every day or clean linens every day? Which one would you care most about losing?

Me, for under a week they don't have to change my linens at all, but towels every day. Even just cutting back on washing the bedding would save lots of water and $$$. And they don't have to provide all of the tiny bottles of stuff (like shampoo, conditioner, moisturizer). Those little plastic bottles are not green and people can bring larger bottles with them. All they need to provide is bar soap. And the rest of the stuff only on request (for those who may have forgotten something).

[agalisgv]

Just curious cruisin, but do you wash your towels after just one use (including hand towels) at home?

[genevieve]

If I were that freaked about towels, I'd bring my own. And I certainly would bring my own towels if I knew I was going to ruin the hotel ones with spray tan That's just common sense.

ETA: to answer cruisin's questions, I'd lose both linens and towels. I don't need either of them replaced daily.

[agalisgv]

I certainly would bring my own towels if I knew I was going to ruin the hotel ones with spray tan That's just common sense.

Yeah, to me that falls into the category of destruction of property--I can't imagine doing that intentionally. Anyone who did that should be charged with replacement of those towels since it's not like they can be used again.

Very, very thoughtless.

[CynicElle]

If I'm just staying for a couple of days, the only thing I really need replaced daily are the coffee fixins -- Mr. Elle and I are coffee fiends. I don't replace my linens and towels every day at home, so I don't need that done in a hotel.

[overedge]

Replacing towels and sheets is one thing, but how about actually cleaning the room? The last few times I've stayed in hotels, I've seen evidence that e.g. the tub has not been wiped down during the daily cleaning. I know this because there was a hair that was definitely not mine in the tub when I checked in....and it was still there after the room had (allegedly) been cleaned the next day. I see stuff like this happening more and more.

I would sooner see the hotel staff spend their time on actually cleaning the room than on frills like "turndown service" at night. Which, at the last hotel I stayed at, arrived at 4 pm in the afternoon.

[genevieve]

Well, yeah, cleaning between guests should be a given

[liv]

When I was a housekeeper at some swanky resorts during summers while at university, we would not replace sheets until there was a new guest. That made perfect sense to me. We didn't always replace towels, but if they were visibly dirty or very wet, we'd replace them or make sure the correct number was there. What we made sure we did do for the "stays" as we called them, was make sure the sheets were tight and hospital corners were redone etc on the beds. If the place really needed vacuuming we'd do that, fireplaces would have wood restocked etc. All things like coffee, shampoos were replaced if empty, garbages emptied, and the bathroom was cleaned, or at least everything was dried, no water spots on the mirror etc...although toilets that were dirty were cleaned with soap. It wasn't a cleaning, ie things were dried rather than washed with soap and then dried, but it was made to look tidy. Sometimes I would fold pyjamas if they were lying about, but now as I'm older, I realize I don't want some random person touching my pj's!

These days I would expect the same. I don't need new sheets, can live without new towels if they are clean (just need to dry), but I like to see my bed straightened and everything generally tidy. Because I was trained to have everything 'just so,' (the hangers had to be counted and arranged, the curtains had to be folded the right away, even the pamphlets arranged a certain way) I find that when I do stay somewhere I'm very critical about how things are done now, lol!

[cruisin]

Just curious cruisin, but do you wash your towels after just one use (including hand towels) at home?

Bath towels, yes, they get washed after every use. I can't stand the smell of towels that stay damp. Hand towels, no, they get used for a day or two. But the hand towels are on a towel rod and they dry. I have no place to let the bath towels dry adequately.

[bobalina77]

Yeah, to me that falls into the category of destruction of property--I can't imagine doing that intentionally. Anyone who did that should be charged with replacement of those towels since it's not like they can be used again.

Very, very thoughtless.

Yeah I was gonna say something but decided to keep my mouth shut until someone else does. But seriously that's just rude. The hotel may be able to keep those towels to use the next year, but they still have to replace those towels and sheets that are now ruined because most places don't have THAT many extra towels and sheets.

People who don't respect the property are my biggest pet peeve.