Is hotel housekeeping a lost art?

[drron]

I had forgotten of the pre pandemic extra points for not having housekeeping. Used to get that 2 nights in 3. They would insist on doing it the third night. now not only no housekeeping but no points. Lose twice.

 

[kyle]

I had forgotten of the pre pandemic extra points for not having housekeeping. Used to get that 2 nights in 3. They would insist on doing it the third night. now not only no housekeeping but no points. Lose twice.

Yeah what happened to those 250 or 500 points?

 

[mahooligan]

Having stayed in 5* hotels recently in Cape Town, Egypt and Qatar, I found that I would let either the reception or butler know when we were leaving in the morning that we wanted the room serviced and in the evening when we wanted a turndown service.

The Front desk manager at the Taj in Cape Town told me that they don't offer a turn down service, so I showed him on their website where it is stated as being offered. His response "we need to make changes to the website"

Like the "call button" in business class, I just ask when I want or need something.

 

[oz_mark]

Yeah what happened to those 250 or 500 points?

Sofitel in Melbourne still offer 300 points for skipping housekeeping.

 

[Stealthflyer]

I had forgotten of the pre pandemic extra points for not having housekeeping. Used to get that 2 nights in 3. They would insist on doing it the third night. now not only no housekeeping but no points. Lose twice.

Some hotels in Tasmania still offer a free drink for every day you skip housekeeping.

 

[Captain Halliday]

At Novotel Sunshine Coast it’s a $15 F&B credit.

Over a two week stay we took housekeeping every third day and accumulated enough credits to cover a seafood buffet for three.

 

[Kremmen]

- Various 4 star hotels in several countries that completed housekeeping after 4 PM. Surely this is getting a bit late in the day.

I stayed at a hotel last month where housekeeping were still going after 9pm. At another, the housekeeper said mine was her 29th room for the day. Some hotels just haven't ramped up staff as quickly as their increase in bookings.

I had one hotel which said they only did housekeeping on demand and then didn't bother to do it even when requested. However, on a positive note, one of the hotels that I stayed at recently which had signage saying that housekeeping was only being done on demand was in fact doing it every day.

 

[I love holidays]

I find housekeeping all a bit hit and miss. I hate having to complain about not having my room cleaned. I prefer my sheets to be changed after 3 nights, I don’t expect it every day. I usually only stay 5 star, so I appreciate clean towels every day.

 

[JohnK]

Stayed Pattaya Intercontinental Resort for 7 nights in June.

Signs everywhere they only change sheets every 5 days/nights. We didn't bother changing at all.

Still get towels, water each day and they do make up the bed.

On one of the days it was disappointing to find the balcony door wide open. Yes it is a resort but quite easy to get inside and from what we saw there are no surveillance cameras.

 

[Melburnian1]

I have a major trip planned so with this useful information, I'll be politely asking at reception upon check-in 'do you have daily housekeeping?'

Perhaps we should all adopt this strategy.

I don't need sheets changed even for a four night stay, but the room should still be attended to. And yes, Austman, it's amazing how messy some hotel patrons can be, beyond my comprehension. I try to be conscious that the housekeeper has a challenging job as he or she flits from room to room: most state they clean 15 rooms a day, with much bending involved. Not a job for the seriously unfit.

I haven't found hotels booked recently overseas attracting comment about lack of room servicing on TripAdvisor, though I read numerous reviews. Generally, if an issue, a TA reviewer expeditiously brings it to users' attention, and others may in turn comment. This is a major reason why I read TA but crucial to look for the 'reasonable' reviewer not the 'fixated' or 'revengeful' ones.

 

[Melburnian1]

I'm in my 30's and have only travelled independently for the past 15 years. Question for people who travelled in the 80's and 90's - was there ever a golden era where you could just rely on housekeeping simply being done without issue?

Time can dull one's memory but it hasn't been a problem for my household as recently as 2019. The majority of stays are one, two or occasionally three nights, so not the best sample.

 

[plspoon]

And the housekeeping standard has become very erratic! On our recent 7 night stay in Singapore…..
on different days we had:
dirty wine glasses removed but not replaced
one used bath towel replaced but not the other
bath mat removed but not replaced
one used bath towel replaced but not the other, but an extra clean one added
asked At reception about the “pillow menu” advertised on their website to be greeted with blank looks. Had to explain that both of us found the pillows too high and too hard, could we have two softer and lower pillows? Got two more pillows delivered by housekeeping, one marginally softer, the other exactly the same as the first two. No idea what has happened to the mystery “pillow menu”.

*Edit. Just want to add that actually we don’t want our towels or linen changed every day anyway, just puzzled by the erratic changes.

anyway, not really complaining, just slightly annoying that every day they seemed to miss something different…..4 star hotel. Otherwise very happy with the staff and the hotel.

 

[Chicken]

I hate house keep coming into my room. I don't want them to

• touch my pyjamas after toucing about a million things from a million people;
• touch and move my things around so they could wipe the surface;
• Replace a glass / cup I have washed rinsed and disinfected with boiling water, just so I would need to disinfect another one (more work for me)

I actually like and feel more comfortable without housekeeping during the duration of my stay.

It's my room. I know my hygiene standard, I can clean it myself the way I want it. I don't want strangers touching my belongings. If I want people to touch my stuffs, they would need to pay me because they would be my flatmate / invading my personal space.

If I need something, I just call reception or housekeep myself.

 

[CMA222]

As someone who has spent many years telling housekeeping staff not to bother changing sheets or vacuuming everyday I have often received 'heart felt' thanks as the staff were worked to the bone trying to do all the rooms they were allocated in the time allowed by management. When I was first offered an offset free drink or whatever if I elected not to receive daily room servicing it did not occur to me that every time someone does that it potentially reduces the house keeping staff's already low wages by reducing shifts or shift duration. In some countries the free drink (or whatever) accumulates to equal a worker receiving one less days wages. I would rather see those low income workers not going without just so I can get some token benefit. I know this is all idealistic but every action has a consequence.

 

[Anna]

I recently stayed at a resort in Kauai where I got $50 per day room credit for having housekeeping every 3 days instead of every day. It was a really good deal. If not used in full at the bar / restaurant / spa / resort shop, the remaining amount was able to be taken as a discount on the final bill when checking out. (I had no problem using it all up on f&b ).

 

[Lynnelanne]

Currently at the Eastern and Oriental Hotel in Penang, getting full room service twice a day. Sorry, not sorry. Really enjoying the luxury.

As an aside, I have been staying here regularly for more than 30 years. Most of the staff are the same, even having been retained by the hotel during covid where there was very little for them to do. They are extremely happy to have retained work while so many of their family members did not. If there was less room service there would be less staff. Two sides to every story.

 

[OZDUCK]

Currently at the Eastern and Oriental Hotel in Penang, getting full room service twice a day. Sorry, not sorry. Really enjoying the luxury.

As an aside, I have been staying here regularly for more than 30 years. Most of the staff are the same, even having been retained by the hotel during covid where there was very little for them to do. They are extremely happy to have retained work while so many of their family members did not. If there was less room service there would be less staff. Two sides to every story.

We stayed at the E & O around 1997 when it was in a state of gentile decline. Huge, if sparsely equipped, rooms with the bathroom bigger than the whole room at the Singapore Holiday Inn Express we have used. I gather it has been restored to its old glory these days.

 

[Port Power]

Maybe a better way of doing this is housekeeping or $ bar credit when you check in?

Personally I could care less about the whole thing - but wouldn't say no to a free whiskey.

As someone who has spent many years telling housekeeping staff not to bother changing sheets or vacuuming everyday I have often received 'heart felt' thanks as the staff were worked to the bone trying to do all the rooms they were allocated in the time allowed by management. When I was first offered an offset free drink or whatever if I elected not to receive daily room servicing it did not occur to me that every time someone does that it potentially reduces the house keeping staff's already low wages by reducing shifts or shift duration. In some countries the free drink (or whatever) accumulates to equal a worker receiving one less days wages. I would rather see those low income workers not going without just so I can get some token benefit. I know this is all idealistic but every action has a consequence.

I don’t want housekeeping for a stay of 2 or 3 nights, but I just tell the housekeeping staff myself when I see them in the corridor, as well as leaving the ‘do not disturb’ sign out (in case I miss the staff). If I want an extra towel, I also just ask in the corridor or just take one of the trolley if it’s unattended. If all else fails, I ring or visit reception asking for another towel. Supplies are often kept in a back room behind reception for this very reason.

 

[Lynnelanne]

We stayed at the E & O around 1997 when it was in a state of gentile decline. Huge, if sparsely equipped, rooms with the bathroom bigger than the whole room at the Singapore Holiday Inn Express we have used. I gather it has been restored to its old glory these days.

Haha, we have probably seen you there. We have been regular stayers since it was a rat infested dump in the 1980’s, “gentile decline” was kind. You can see a video we took of it then on YouTube. We go nearly every year,sometimes twice. We adore the place. It was renewed in the late 90’s and the old wing was done up again about four years ago. As you are probably aware, it was founded by the Sarkies brothers who also set up Raffles and the Strand in Rangoon. So the latest ‘reno’ has been tasteful and age appropriate. As very long term long staying customers (six weeks this trip) they give us a really good price. Customer satisfaction here! You should come back, I recommend it.

 

[JohnK]

I haven't found hotels booked recently overseas attracting comment about lack of room servicing on TripAdvisor, though I read numerous reviews. Generally, if an issue, a TA reviewer expeditiously brings it to users' attention, and others may in turn comment. This is a major reason why I read TA but crucial to look for the 'reasonable' reviewer not the 'fixated' or 'revengeful' onones.

I mostly don't do reviews on TripAdvisor.

As I mentioned earlier I don't care about changing sheets regularly. We engage with housekeeping daily to take away rubbish, provide bottled water and basic cleaning of room.

My preference (and wifes) is to be around when housekeeping is done unless we have to be somewhere else. It's not that I don't trust them, it's the things they do that don't make sense. e.g. leaving balcony door open. There's very little security at the resort and no CCTV.