Six Ways to Show Your Hotel Housekeeper Some Love

Who makes your bed when home? Who makes your bed when traveling? Chances are, when staying in a hotel room your personal housekeeping habits slack off because you think it is someone else's job to clean up after you. It's not your mother but a hotel housekeeper who ensures you have a clean and pleasant stay. Yes, it is a chambermaid's job to make the bed and clean the toilet but show some respect for the hard work they do. Use one or all of these six ways to show your hotel housekeeper some love during your next vacation or business trip.

Consolidate Your Trash

When traveling I make an effort to throw all trash in one of my hotel room's bins rather than putting a few items in every garbage can provided. Placing all the trash in one spot assists the housekeeper's efficiency in cleaning the room. They can spend extra time scrubbing the bathtub rather than picking up after you. Hotel housekeepers appreciate this and have told me how clean I am because of this practice.

Pile Your Towels

Are you one of those travelers who randomly tosses their towels on the hotel room floor? Or throw a face cloth under the sink? If so, stop. When finished with your bath towels, consolidate and pile your towels together so the hotel housekeeper can make one scoop and concentrate on cleaning.

Remove the DND Sign

For those not the know the DND sign is the "do not disturb" sign placed on the outside door handle. If you're leaving for the day and want your room cleaned, remove it. If you've checked out of your room at 6 a.m., take the sign off. Removing it means a housekeeper can begin cleaning the room sooner rather than waiting for checkout time or relying on a housekeeping report informing them you're gone. The sooner they can get in the room the quicker they can get your room cleaned for the guest arriving prior to check in time.

If you've gone out for the day and left your DND sign on, you'll be returning to a dirty room. The hotel will probably be able to send an evening housekeeper to clean the room but it's not the most convenient option for you.

Flush the Toilet

That cute little saying beginning with "If it's yellow..." should not apply to hotel toilets. When leaving the hotel room for the day or when checking out, do something good for your hotel housekeeper and flush the porcelain throne. Enough said.

Leave a Tip

Travelers know to tip the bellman and valet but the hotel housekeeper is often forgotten. Leave a buck or two (or three) for your housekeeper daily. There's nothing written in stone regarding the appropriate amount but I leave between $2 and $3 a day and place it on my pillow. (Am I cheap?). If I did leave a mess, such as leaving behind empty boxes and excessive brochures from a trade show, I leave a little a bigger tip.

A Note of Thanks

Art of the thank you note is quickly going out of style but hotels make it easy to leave notes for you housekeeper. Use the notepad and pen provided in most hotel rooms to write a quick note such as "Have a great day!" or a simple, "Thank you." Leaving a handwritten note is an easy way to let someone know they and their work are appreciated.

Appreciate your housekeeper the next time you are traveling. After all, they are cleaning your toilet, making your bed and probably learning more things about you than your friends know about you.

Source: Personal experience of more than a decade of business and leisure travel.