What? Housekeepers are people?....

[wolfie]

Just wanted to say that as of tomorrow, I am no longer posting on CS, because I am going back to Iraq and may not get a chance to go online

An alternative to the "7/11" line would be "wish I were going, but I flunked the Army physical". DON'T use "Don't know when I'll be going - my Guard unit hasn't been called up" - I've heard (somewhere on CS) that it's illegal to falseley claim to be a member of the military, although (my speculation) it's probably OK to falsely claim (in a "stranger on the street" situation, not when dealing with authorities) to have applied and been turned down for no fault of your own. After all, "going to Iraq" could have more than one meaning.

[PepperElf]

bleh. that's just stupid of him.

i mean sure it sucks having to pay for an extra day if you're not going to spend the night... but that's the breaks. and yes i've done it myself.

one of my hotel pet peeves... leaving a big mess behind.

i shared a hotel with a co-worker once and my god... i don't know where to start... she made a mess with the coffee sugars, leaving wrappers everywhere, trash everywhere, and tried to microwave the coffee pot for hot water (yes it had metal parts!).

it didn't dawn on her that it was on my credit card so i'd have to pay for any damages. (thankfully i was there for the coffe pot thing and rescued it before it sparked)

my own policy... clean the room before you leave. try to keep the trash in as few cans as possible, put the used towels neatly in a single location (preferrably so they don't have to bend over to get them), and if it's over a holiday, make sure you leave a card with a tip. (last holiday i also left some candy canes).

A few minutes of work to make it easier for them...isn't that hard. besides, while straightening up the room you can also be checking it for anything you might leave behind.

[slick]

I'm really happy to see that people treat hotel rooms as they do their own homes. I can't for the life of me understand how people stay in hotel rooms with their crap thrown around and food on the floor and the bathroom all wet, its really disturbing.
I went to Toronto in 2006 to visit some friends, and stayed at a hotel for 7 nights. I didn't get my room serviced the entire stay as I was barely in there (just to sleep and shower) and I didn't dirty a thing. Guess what I did with the empty water bottle I kept on the nightstand? I threw it in the trash can, what a concept!
But PepperElf made a great point, if you tidy up, you are less likely to leave something behind, and believe me, if it looks like garbage and is mixed up with garbage, its going in the garbage!
For the most part, people keep the room clean, but every once in a while, disaster strikes (I had made an album of pictures of dirty rooms before, but I lost all the pics )
You always have those debates on how much to tip a waiter/waitress or delivery person, but there are lots of jobs out there that I believe people should get tipped for also, but I appreciate how cool you guys are , there are some housekeepers out there hoping you come back to stay where they work

[PepperElf]

lol thanks.

I have to credit Mom with the tip thing though - she's the one who said it should be done over the holidays.

[marasbaras]

I don't treat a hotel room like it's home, 'cause it's not. I am paying for certain services.

On the other hand, I'm not a pig. I put all my trash in the trash. Room service plates are all put together as best as possible. Used towels all in a single pile (usually on the floor in a corner next to the tub).

And, if there are hotel-branded pads of paper in the room, I've taken them all because my son LOVES to draw the special paper daddy brings home.

[Seshat]

I also take advantage of the cleaning service - but I make the cleaning comparitively simple. Dirty dishes together, un-slept-in bedding untouched, slept-in bedding turned down casually, towels clearly either untouched or used and kept together, my dirty clothes tucked away in a bag in the cupboard (or my suitcase) where the cleaner doesn't have to look at them.

I'm living in the hotel while I'm there, so I scatter my things where I want them in the space. But I try to be nice while I'm doing that.