I love my summer job working at a hotel as a housekeeper. I love the people I work with, my manager is absolutely amazing, and, most importantly, it satisfies my type-A need for cleanliness and order. However, I don't always love working at a hotel, as you might have guessed. Cleaning up after people is hard work, especially if they aren't very aware of what a mess they're leaving for someone else to clean up. Here are some housekeepers' pet peeves about cleaning up after others that Sally and I have compiled together.
1. Garbage everywhere
This takes forever to clean up and includes multiple trips to the cleaning cart. As housekeepers, we are encouraged to clean our rooms in certain time span in order for the hotel to make the most money off of the room, and picking up trash eats up this time. So please, just put all of the trash in one area, or if you're staying more than one night, please have housekeeping or front desk staff take any full trash bags from your room.
2. Food smashed into the carpet
Please, please don't let this happen! Crumbs and food smashed into the carpet means a more thorough vacuuming, which eats up more time. Please just pick up anything you drop before it gets smashed into the carpet.
3. Food splattered all over the microwave
This is just plain disgusting. We always check to make sure the microwave is spotless, and usually it's just a few splatters. However, every once in a while, there is food all over the microwave which turns a microwave cleaning from a 30-second cleaning into a five-minute cleaning. Please be mindful of the way you heat your food so a simple task doesn't have to turn into a long and drawn out one.
4. Fingerprints on the mirrors
Mirrors have become the bane of my existence since becoming a housekeeper. They are a pain in the butt to get completely spotless, and fingerprints take forever to get off of the mirrors. This isn't an easy one to avoid since it's usually kids' hand prints all over the mirrors, but please just be mindful.
5. Rearranged furniture
We are totally fine with guests moving the smaller furniture, but please put it back where it was. By the end of the shift our backs are already pretty sore from making beds and cleaning bathrooms, and moving furniture is something that we shouldn't normally do. Please just be respectful of that.
6. Remaking the bed
If you are staying more than one night in the hotel, and housekeeping is going to be making your bed for the second night, please don't try and remake the bed yourself. You might think that you are helping us out, but chances are we are just going to have to undo all the work you did and remake it anyway. So, to save us time, just leave the bed-making to the professionals.
7. Use the "Do Not Disturb" sign
Nothing is worse than opening a door after knocking to find someone in the room who was taking a nap, or just relaxing, and didn't want people barging in. It's almost like there is a sign or something to let us know that you don't want us in there. If you are going to be in your room and don't want to be disturbed for whatever reason, use the "Do Not Disturb" sign. No matter what time of day it is. Because we would rather know that you don't want us in there before we open the door.
All this really boils down to is this: please be aware that someone is going to have to clean up after you. Yes, we're paid, but sometimes our job is harder than it needs to be. Please respect your housekeepers even if we are meant to clean up after you. Essentially, just be a thoughtful person in regards to the people that will ultimately tidy up your mess.
