Friday, 7 April 2023

Are you ready to say goodbye to having your hotel room cleaned?

The pandemic meant many hotels cut back on cleaning guest rooms for health and safety reasons.

The hotels also found that they saved money by cutting back on staff.

So now you are at risk that your room will not be serviced any more. 

And if you do want it cleaned then you might have pay extra for the privilege.

It sounds like hotels - which are supposed to offer hospitality - are becoming more and more like AirbnBs.

The New York Times recently highlighted this unwelcome trend, hilariously reporting that some guests say they prefer not having their rooms serviced.

The only people I can see legitimately not wanting someone in their room are people with guns, or folks with drugs.

Mind you, this trend is starting in the US, so there you go.

If a guest doesn't want a room serviced, perhaps because they are feeling unwell, or have drug paraphernalia strewn around, then they can put a "do not disturb" sign on their bedroom door. 

That does the trick.

With turndown service a thing of the past except in the most exclusive establishments, I prefer to have someone come in and make my bed, empty the waste bins, refresh the towels if needed and re-stock the mini bar. That's why I am staying in a hotel.

The New York Times reported that ending daily housekeeping industrywide would eliminate up to 39% percent of all hotel housekeeping jobs in the United States. So money talks.

“Cleaning surfaces and changing bedsheets during shorter stays is now quite rare,” Scott Keyes, the founder of the Going travel website told the newspaper. “Oftentimes, it’s only offered during longer stays.”

Our German correspondent reports a similar trend starting in Europe, and staff shortages have forced a cut back on hotel room servicing in Macao. 

Image: Hotel Holic, Scop.io 

1 comment:

  1. If I am staying for 3 nights or less I take care of tidying the room and ask for any supplies needed..

    ReplyDelete