To disturb or not to disturb, that is the question

April 11, 2019 10:56 AM

When I stay at a hotel for multiple days, I often leave the "do not disturb" (or "no moleste" for tig fans) card on my door all day. I figure that it gives the cleaning team a break. But do they get paid per room? Would it be better to have them clean my already reasonably clean room so they can get paid for it?
posted by dawkins_7 to Travel & Transportation (18 answers total)

This is a good question. I do the same, to cut down the workload. I do always tip per day when I leave, even though I don't have my room cleaned at all while I'm there.
posted by sockermom at 11:14 AM on April 11, 2019

I'd have them clean and give them a nice tip. There was just a big thread on twitter about how few people tip cleaning staff.
posted by BibiRose at 11:16 AM on April 11, 2019 [4 favorites]

Every hotel I worked in paid per room.
posted by Cosine at 11:16 AM on April 11, 2019 [9 favorites]

Well, also, even if you are tidy, will they have a bit more to clean if they're not in there every day?
posted by bluedaisy at 11:17 AM on April 11, 2019 [2 favorites]

I've heard that at some hotels if there's not enough workload, they start removing excess staff from the schedule (which for hourly or piecework workers is not good).
posted by soren_lorensen at 11:44 AM on April 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

I worked foodservice a long time ago, and one of the reasons I left was the tendency for management to send people home when things were slower than usual. I'm like, bitch, I got rent to pay! and I'd get shrugged shoulders and "not my problem". And I don't trust hotel management to not do the same to their employees. So I make sure to use a bath towel, hand towel, washcloth, and leave them in the tub; bed isn't torn apart, but definitely unmade; coffee maker has been used and needs addressed (I don't use sugar or creamer, but I'll toss those packets in the trash so they have to be replaced); water glasses have some soda or gatorade in them; etc. Basically all things that need to be done to freshen up the room, but nothing really nasty that actually takes time to clean. And if I'm traveling on the company dime, I leave $3-5 per day so I know that person actually gets something, rather than leave $30 at the end of the week and someone else gets it who only works weekends.
posted by disconnect at 11:51 AM on April 11, 2019 [15 favorites]

Additionally, every hotel I worked in called however many housekeepers the night before, depending on how full we were.
posted by Cosine at 12:01 PM on April 11, 2019

I like having my reasonably tidy room vacuumed and the bed made up. If the staff is paid by the room, it's easy, or if paid by the hour, more work. I tip a couple bucks/ day. Bumping up pay by even a buck or 2 an hour makes a real difference. And I tip in cash.
posted by theora55 at 1:32 PM on April 11, 2019 [1 favorite]

Where do you leave the tip money so they know it's for them and not just $2 I cleaned out of my pocket and tossed on the dresser?
posted by misanthropicsarah at 2:33 PM on April 11, 2019

near the TV with a note that says "Thanks"
posted by soelo at 2:34 PM on April 11, 2019 [18 favorites]

Where do you leave the tip money so they know it's for them and not just $2 I cleaned out of my pocket and tossed on the dresser?

Leave it on your pillow.
posted by cholly at 2:39 PM on April 11, 2019 [8 favorites]

I read an article a while back that you should let the cleaners in every day because many places have a time limit for each room and it will take them longer to clear a room they have not been in for several days. So this was a request from people who do this for a living. Good Q!
posted by Bella Donna at 3:51 PM on April 11, 2019 [9 favorites]

I think if they encounter a DND sign, they have to keep checking back until the end of the shift, in case you take the sign off. Sounds like a PITA to me and I try not to do that unless I'm really in there. Even then, I might consider stepping out to the coffee shop or getting lunch when they knock so they can do their thing.

I try to help by leaving my room tidy, my stuff all put away in drawers, trash collected in one bag, towels all in one pile. That way they can get in, do the things they have to do like vacuum and change linens, and get out. I've had several after long-ish term stays thank me for being such an easy, thoughtful guest. Maybe they're just being polite to a customer, but they don't have to say anything at all, so I'm guessing they're not cursing me in private.
posted by ctmf at 4:53 PM on April 11, 2019 [3 favorites]

Best answer: When I worked at a Holiday Inn as a housekeeper, management started to get nervy if rooms hadn't been cleaned by a certain time each day--sign or not. In fact, we were told to go in after knocking if the sign was up after a certain time (maybe 11??). They really wanted us to get all the rooms done early, so if you're thinking of the staff, it might be best to leave the sign off and just go with the flow. A tip is very nice (but leave a note so it's clear it's a tip).
posted by mmmbacon at 5:27 PM on April 11, 2019 [7 favorites]

I stayed at a Marriott chain, they were offering extra Reward points to opt out of cleaning some days, I think you had to log on an app or put out a sign in advance, I can’t remember. I imagine it’s in aid of cost savings / cuts somewhere...
posted by ElasticParrot at 1:15 PM on April 12, 2019

I ended up on a mailing list for the Marriott strike last year (sorry, Marriott labor organizers, but I have no power over the hotels my work uses for conferences!). I received many emails about how much Marriott housekeepers hate the "green" no-cleaning policy: it makes shifts less predictable, leaves rooms dirtier, and is sometimes abused by guests who take the reward points and then ask the housekeepers to do work anyway.
posted by yarntheory at 5:03 PM on April 12, 2019 [1 favorite]

My parents in retirement bought a small motel...from that I learned 1) Always leave the tip on the pillow. Many places will not allow any money to be taken from anywhere else. 2) Tip every day (there may be tip pooling, but there may not be), and 3) The housekeepers really appreciated tips because they are not paid well at all and need the money, but even beyond that, because it meant that someone acknowledged the work they were doing - this has been borne out by the number of embarrassingly grateful notes I've been left on the hotel memo pad ("God bless you!"), just because I left a few dollars each day. (I have never seen a proper guideline for this, but mine is 2-ish% of the room rate, never less than $2.)
posted by LadyOscar at 8:49 PM on April 12, 2019 [4 favorites]

If you're worried about Housekeeping stopping by over and over, wasting their time, just call the front desk and tell them you won't need your room cleaned. I do this quite a bit.

I also keep the room clean enough so that when the cleaners *do* come, they aren't stuck with a major mess.
posted by yellowcandy at 10:11 AM on April 13, 2019