Do you want your room cleaning daily?
Discussion
I work on a ship and my steward comes every evening to make my bed, clean the bathroom, empty the bin and replace the used towels. When I need washing to be done, I put it in a bag and fill out a form and he takes it away, and brings it all back on hangars two days later.
After 4 months of this (my contract length) it’s genuinely odd for a while back home to have to make the bed and use the washing machine…
It’s a good arrangement though, I don't have to worry about cleaning and washing and he gets a tip from me which makes it genuinely worthwhile. Sadly, many of the passengers are not very generous.
After 4 months of this (my contract length) it’s genuinely odd for a while back home to have to make the bed and use the washing machine…
It’s a good arrangement though, I don't have to worry about cleaning and washing and he gets a tip from me which makes it genuinely worthwhile. Sadly, many of the passengers are not very generous.
Can’t really join in this one, if we stay in a hotel, it’s usually for one night, two tops.
For ages now we’ve rented a house, sometimes a condo, very occasionally an apartment for two or three weeks when we go anywhere.
If she decides that the duvet cover, towels etc. need to be changed, we throw them in the washing machine, and use the others that are always in an airing cupboard.
My wife will tumble dry, then iron anything that she washes while on holiday, you can take the girl out of Peckham, but you can’t take Peckham out of the girl.
For ages now we’ve rented a house, sometimes a condo, very occasionally an apartment for two or three weeks when we go anywhere.
If she decides that the duvet cover, towels etc. need to be changed, we throw them in the washing machine, and use the others that are always in an airing cupboard.
My wife will tumble dry, then iron anything that she washes while on holiday, you can take the girl out of Peckham, but you can’t take Peckham out of the girl.
GetCarter said:
let's face it, they have a rubbish job.
I don't agree with that at all. I have met a number of housekeepers who really enjoy their job. When we had to evacuate due to Irma, I was working from the hotel room and would have conversations with the girls most days. They all seemed very up beat and like they enjoyed their job. I tried to give 4 of them tips, but only 1 would take it...and then very reluctantly.I'm currently in a Fairmont in Canada and hang the DnD sign on the door whenever I'm in the room. Unfortunately this seems to coincide with the timings of housekeeping who slip a note under the door.
A couple of times I've had to deliberately not go back to the room so as to give them time to empty the bins etc.
On collection of the second consecutive housekeeping note I got a voicemail on the hotel's phone by a concerned staff member doing a "Welfare Check" on me. (Probably just making sure my decomposing body wasn't seeping into the carpet...
)
A couple of times I've had to deliberately not go back to the room so as to give them time to empty the bins etc.
On collection of the second consecutive housekeeping note I got a voicemail on the hotel's phone by a concerned staff member doing a "Welfare Check" on me. (Probably just making sure my decomposing body wasn't seeping into the carpet...
)Cold said:
I'm currently in a Fairmont in Canada and hang the DnD sign on the door whenever I'm in the room. Unfortunately this seems to coincide with the timings of housekeeping who slip a note under the door.
A couple of times I've had to deliberately not go back to the room so as to give them time to empty the bins etc.
On collection of the second consecutive housekeeping note I got a voicemail on the hotel's phone by a concerned staff member doing a "Welfare Check" on me. (Probably just making sure my decomposing body wasn't seeping into the carpet...)
Prob checking you weren’t doing a Stephen Paddock (Vegas shooter)A couple of times I've had to deliberately not go back to the room so as to give them time to empty the bins etc.
On collection of the second consecutive housekeeping note I got a voicemail on the hotel's phone by a concerned staff member doing a "Welfare Check" on me. (Probably just making sure my decomposing body wasn't seeping into the carpet...
)paulguitar said:
I work on a ship and my steward comes every evening to make my bed, clean the bathroom, empty the bin and replace the used towels. When I need washing to be done, I put it in a bag and fill out a form and he takes it away, and brings it all back on hangars two days later.
After 4 months of this (my contract length) it’s genuinely odd for a while back home to have to make the bed and use the washing machine…
It’s a good arrangement though, I don't have to worry about cleaning and washing and he gets a tip from me which makes it genuinely worthwhile. Sadly, many of the passengers are not very generous.
I assume from your username and occupation that you are a musician playing on a cruise ship ?After 4 months of this (my contract length) it’s genuinely odd for a while back home to have to make the bed and use the washing machine…
It’s a good arrangement though, I don't have to worry about cleaning and washing and he gets a tip from me which makes it genuinely worthwhile. Sadly, many of the passengers are not very generous.
Assuming you are; so you are being paid to be on a cruise ship whilst the passengers are paying to be on the same ship ?
Can you see why those paying passengers are not tipping their room steward ? Maybe because they assume service is part of the what they have paid their money for their holiday for ?
The towels thing has been going on for years surely ? There's always a card in the bathroom that says "If you'd like clean towels, leave them in the bath, otherwise leave them on the rail". Seems fine to me.
Most places don't appear to change the bed every day, just make it.
As for the discount/points/whatever for not having your hotel room serviced; I saw that in New Orleans about 3-4 years ago. Which would be okay, but we were on a coach tour holiday, so as we had no account to settle at the end, there was no way to give us said discount. But there did not seem to be any way to indicate if you wanted your room serviced or not. So they never bothered to once service the room. It rather did look like it was more of a way for teh hotel to not service your room as their default position.
Most places don't appear to change the bed every day, just make it.
As for the discount/points/whatever for not having your hotel room serviced; I saw that in New Orleans about 3-4 years ago. Which would be okay, but we were on a coach tour holiday, so as we had no account to settle at the end, there was no way to give us said discount. But there did not seem to be any way to indicate if you wanted your room serviced or not. So they never bothered to once service the room. It rather did look like it was more of a way for teh hotel to not service your room as their default position.
WindyCommon said:
In some very nice hotels, turndown is achieved in incremental stages through the day. If you haven’t put DnD on the door your room will be visited every 2-3 hours. At each visit small changes will be made - the decorative cushions removed from your bed, the corner of the cover turned down, the decorative cover removed, the corner of the duvet turned down, the sheet folded carefully over the turndown etc until full turned-down status is achieved around 9pm. Stay in one long enough, and you can tell what time of day it is by the presentation of your bed...
seriously?!Thales said:
WindyCommon said:
In some very nice hotels, turndown is achieved in incremental stages through the day. If you haven’t put DnD on the door your room will be visited every 2-3 hours. At each visit small changes will be made - the decorative cushions removed from your bed, the corner of the cover turned down, the decorative cover removed, the corner of the duvet turned down, the sheet folded carefully over the turndown etc until full turned-down status is achieved around 9pm. Stay in one long enough, and you can tell what time of day it is by the presentation of your bed...
seriously?!Typically in hotels three times a month, usually for two nights at a time, there is no need to make my bed for me or change my towels etc. If I am there for a week I will leave the bin outside the room when it is full and just ask for a fresh towel from reception on my way in one evening. That said I am typically in Premier Inns so even when they do come and make the room up you only get fresh bed linen once a week and they only change the towels if you leave them in the bath, if they are anywhere else they just get hung on the rail, seems pretty sensible to me.
I stay in hotels about every two weeks.
I just let them do their standard service. Can put a “ do not disturb” notice if I need that. First time I have ever heard that this was an issue and I have stayed in hotels for decades.
On tips I leave a daily tip for cleaning staff and often get a thank you note. Possible to have light- fingered supervisors but have not come across that. I never worry about the worst case.
I just let them do their standard service. Can put a “ do not disturb” notice if I need that. First time I have ever heard that this was an issue and I have stayed in hotels for decades.
On tips I leave a daily tip for cleaning staff and often get a thank you note. Possible to have light- fingered supervisors but have not come across that. I never worry about the worst case.
snuffy said:
paulguitar said:
I work on a ship and my steward comes every evening to make my bed, clean the bathroom, empty the bin and replace the used towels. When I need washing to be done, I put it in a bag and fill out a form and he takes it away, and brings it all back on hangars two days later.
After 4 months of this (my contract length) it’s genuinely odd for a while back home to have to make the bed and use the washing machine…
It’s a good arrangement though, I don't have to worry about cleaning and washing and he gets a tip from me which makes it genuinely worthwhile. Sadly, many of the passengers are not very generous.
I assume from your username and occupation that you are a musician playing on a cruise ship ?After 4 months of this (my contract length) it’s genuinely odd for a while back home to have to make the bed and use the washing machine…
It’s a good arrangement though, I don't have to worry about cleaning and washing and he gets a tip from me which makes it genuinely worthwhile. Sadly, many of the passengers are not very generous.
Assuming you are; so you are being paid to be on a cruise ship whilst the passengers are paying to be on the same ship ?
Can you see why those paying passengers are not tipping their room steward ? Maybe because they assume service is part of the what they have paid their money for their holiday for ?
I don’t want to derail the thread, but briefly to answer your question… Tipping in the cruise industry is a rather contentious business, especially for Brits who do not have a tipping culture. On American ships, such as the ones I usually work on, passengers are automatically charged a daily tipping rate. Some choose to remove this, meaning their waiters and room stewards are working for them without pay.
GT03ROB said:
Bed made daily - yes
New sheets daily - not necessary
Room cleaned/tidied daily - yes
New towels daily - only the ones I left in the bath
Toiletries daily - yes
Minibar restocked daily - yes
This sums it up for me.New sheets daily - not necessary
Room cleaned/tidied daily - yes
New towels daily - only the ones I left in the bath
Toiletries daily - yes
Minibar restocked daily - yes
Make the bed, small sweep up/tidy, towels that I've earmarked for replacement, replace any supplied toiletries.
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