It’s safe to say that no one’s a bigger expert on hotels than the people who work there. From housekeepers and front desk clerks to the people who own hotel properties, they’re the first to say there are certain do’s and don’ts when it comes to hotel room behavior.
To be clear, when you’re staying at a hotel, you’re on vacation — you should feel free to have a great time. Within reason, of course. Below, hotel workers share what they would personally never do in their hotel room.
They don’t leave uneaten food in their room (or even in the hallway).
Ordering room service is one of the best parts of staying at a hotel. But when you’re done, it’s best to let the hotel staff know.
“If we eat food in the room, I always make sure that I call room service to come remove it, or I make sure that we take the trash out of the room because it drives me bananas when people put the food out in the hall and don’t let anyone know, resulting in it sitting in the hallway for hours,” said Trisha Pérez Kennealy, owner of Inn at Hastings Park in Lexington, Massachusetts.
They don’t overuse or misuse towels.
You’ve probably seen signs pop up in hotel room bathrooms in recent years about reusing towels for sustainability purposes. And indeed, people who work at hotels are all about hanging them up for future use.
“I am fully capable of reusing towels,” said Mary D’Argenis, founder and CEO of MDA Hospitality Solutions, a company that trains hotel staff. “And when I leave, I neatly pile my towels in the bathroom and ensure all my trash is organized by the can.”
Kennealy added that she never uses towels to take off her makeup. “If the hotel is taking the time to provide you with makeup wipes, or a washcloth that is specifically for makeup removal, please use it and not the regular bath towels,” she said. “It is really difficult to get makeup stains out of white towels and they are expensive to replace.”
They don’t blast music.
Hotels are packing a lot of rooms into one building, and for that reason, walls can be thin — especially when there are adjoining rooms.
“I love listening to music and I usually travel with a Bluetooth speaker, but I am always mindful that the walls in a hotel are much thinner and everyone is in much closer proximity,” Kennealy said, noting that she keeps her Bluetooth speaker at a reasonable volume.
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They don’t ask for their room to be cleaned daily.
While this is a personal choice, hotel workers typically use the “do not disturb” sign to let housekeeping know their room doesn’t need to be serviced.
“Hotel employees go the extra mile to make each room feel like a home away from home,” D’Argenis said. “I appreciate the plush pillows, the comfortable bed, the neatly pressed towels, and the well-stocked bathroom amenities. Each property has its unique charm, and I look forward to discovering these touches. If my stay is a few days, I do a few things to lessen the work for someone else. Often, I place the ‘do not disturb’ sign on my door to advise the housekeeping team that service is not required. I am fully capable of making my own bed.”
They try not to leave a mess.
Housekeeping works hard, and, out of respect for them, hotel workers never leave a mess in their own hotel rooms.
“I always try to keep the room in order out of respect for the house cleaners. No one expects guests to leave a room spotless, but some common courtesies when leaving are easy and can help make a housekeeper’s job easier,” said Brooks Ferring, owner of The Berkeley Hotel Denver.
Kennealy also makes this a practice. “When I stay in a hotel room, I am very conscious of keeping the hotel room as clean as possible because I have seen the way people leave hotel rooms,” she said. “I usually make the bed and really try to make sure that everything is put away in our suitcase and not leave things all around because that makes the housekeeper’s job more difficult.”
D’Argenis said that keeping your room neat-ish can go a long way. “From a tidy room upon arrival to impeccable public spaces, cleanliness alone reflects hospitality professionals’ pride in their property,” she said. “For this reason, caring for fellow service professionals is paramount when hotel employees enjoy their free time at another property. Hotel employees would never leave a big mess in their room for someone else to clean.”
If you’re conscious of being respectful toward hotel staff while on vacation, know that little touches go a long way when it comes to how you behave in your hotel room. With that in mind, hotel workers really do want you to relax and enjoy yourself — so make sure to have fun while you’re at it!