Do you leave things in hotel room after departure for the maids to take if they want them?

When we were in Florida last year I left unopened food and drinks with a note saying for anyone who wanted it to help themselves. I wasn't going to be taking it home so would be leaving it in the room anyway. I think I might have left some toiletries as well as I couldn't be bothered to pack them (we were both ill and it was as much as I could do to pack what we needed).

If the packages are unopened, leave them out rather than putting them in the trash, but also leave a note because otherwise it may be assumed that you left them by accident and they may end up in lost and found (and then probably trashed after a time because no one has claimed them). IME, many hotels will automatically throw out left toiletries or food, but it's variable.

When I did low paid service jobs any freebie was a good freebie! I can't imagine feeling patronised by having the option to take free stuff. I leave all sorts of things in hotel rooms (clean and usable of course, rubbish goes in the bin) and if any staff can make use of it they're welcome.

God almighty can we not even pass along usable but unneeded stuff? I'm a middle aged woman and I love getting little bonuses that others don't need.

This really depends on the situation. I worked a few Eurocamp seasons as a late teen and anything left was very gratefully received. Customers would leave food and toiletries as well as tips and in high season you could manage without touching your wages 😆 I also worked on cruise ships and if you're a bit off the beaten track getting brands you're familiar with can be expensive, and if you don't manage to go ashore in the right place you're limited to the ships shop. I had one z list celeb leave me a load of barely used Estée Lauder skincare which was very welcome.

Indeed. White, colonial privilege [masquerading as Lady Bountiful] at play.

I’m embarrassed by this thread.

As someone who was on the bones of her arse when I lived abroad, anything like was so appreciated I cant tell you

Another one here who always leaves a daily tip ( clearly marked so there is no confusion) when I am staying somewhere where the room is serviced daily. The problem with leaving a tip at the end of your stay is that you don’t know what someone’s shifts are like, so you could end up tipping someone who has only done one shift the money for a weeks worth of service.

I live in a MENA country. Can confirm that toiletries & san pro will be gratefully appreciated by resort staff.

One thing that goes down really well is kids' clothes (I give all our hand-me-downs to either my housekeeper or my baowab, depending on whose kids they'll fit). If you're on a once a year holiday in a hot, developing country, & have swimsuits or beach shoes or other holiday clothes that won't be of use to you next year, definitely leave them - the maid's dc/little dsibs will be very happy to get them. Same for any toys you don't want to cart home.

It's always a good idea to leave a note saying something like 'please take any of this stuff I've left in room 138' or whatever - resort staff often get checked on the way out to guard against theft, & could be accused if they can't show proof that things were left for them. This also applies if leaving a cash tip.

No I would never just ' leave it '

If I were to leave something, in the hope it might be useful, I would leave a note if I hadn't been able to speak to someone.

This is good advice.

Of course they don’t want your half used toiletries, just throw it in the bin.

I leave things for them if they want to take eg laundry gel, coffee, shower gel etc. I make a point of writing a note saying please take if useful. I also leave a money tip. We don't get daily service as it is not a hotel room per se. I give excess sun tan lotions to guests I may have got talking to. We were given noodles by leaving guests this year - floaty ones not eating ones 😂 they were very well appreciated ! I've travelled enough and lived abroad enough to know that this is normally welcomed . I wouldn't do this in the UK.

If it’s nice stuff and unused then yes.

Often we are in self catered accom and get stuck with some unopened bottles of cola or water and some tinned/packet food that we can’t use up. Nice stuff, I doubt anyone would bin it!

I wouldn't want people's partially used toiletries either personally or food unless unopened but probably not even then

I always leave toiletries in the villas.
I make sure the tops are wiped. I just assumed it was normal - not because I think the cleaning staff can't afford their own, but because we buy full size items airside and can't take them home and it seems a waste to bin them!
I do the same with suncream too.
I do always leave an unopened bottle of wine and coffee pods etc too.

Especially when I stay in a villa I'm always delighted if a previous guest has left olive oil or spare suncream!

In places like Gambia they will ask you to leave products and even clothing.

Very much depends on which hotel in which country. Travelodge in Leeds, no, small basic hotel in Indonesia, definitely.

I always leave a tip and a thank you note - I have left unopened drinks and snacks with a note saying please help yourself if you would like these - I probably wouldn't leave used toiletries or opened sanitary products.

It depends entirely on what it is. I cleaned hotels as a poor student but some of my team were full timers. We used to divide stuff up amongst ourselves. I always took left over stuff or offered it around. It seemed madness to me to buy expensive conditioner when I could get half a bottle for free. Our pay was shockingly low in a very expensive hotel. We were in a wealthy European country but most housekeeping staff were poor immigrants and refugees. Some had very tough back stories. That was nearly 30 years ago, maybe the norms have changed but I can't imagine things are that much better.

Our manager would do a quick 'scan' of the rooms once vacant before assigning for cleaning and in the few months I was there I received not one penny in tips. It took me a while to realise what was happening. It makes me mad even now thinking about it!

These days I always leave a tip and a note beside is saying 'for housekeeping'.

We mainly go to Egypt, and its young men who cleans the rooms

If you do leave anything for the staff, do ensure you leave a note stating that you have left it for the staff because if not they could get accused of stealing and get the sack ( This was recommended in one place where we stayed has it’s happened on numerous occasions)

I always leave a tip at the end of holiday. It's a tiny fraction of the holiday cost. Let's be honest it also makes me feel good.
I would also leave things like a bottle of shampoo simply because of the risk of leakage. Leaving it on the side gives staff/hotel the option of using it. If they don't it goes in the same bin I would have put it.
The only time I ever had a conversation about this was years ago in Fuerventura. One of the hotel maids did a side line in braiding hair, so I sat for an hour or so and chatted. She had many of the same issues as me. Childcare over the summer not being available/too much TV etc. She said that they appreciated things like shampoo/ kids suncream/sanitary protection because the high prices tourists paid for these items were the high prices they paid too! There weren't secret cheap shops. It made me think. So yes, I'll risk insulting someone.

I worked in a smaller hotel in London one summer (recently). All of us were on minimum wage; some were legitimately poor Europeans, and some were Europeans on a London adventure hustling on a shoestring. The staff loved things left behind if they were nice and newish. Of course not crappy dubious used looking stuff though!

Just money. Although this does remind me of when we stayed in a holiday house a few years ago. I spent the whole morning running round so it was left clean and tidy, I also left a box of chocolates on the kitchen table and the cleaners reported I'd left rubbish on the table!

Don't know about nowadays op but last few times I went abroad I asked at reception if I had any stuff barely used like sun creams, shampoos, insect repellent etc could anyone make use of it and they said yes and to hand it in when we checked out.

Maybe ask if they seem friendly?

I left a tip for the maid who cleaned our room so you could leave it with the money.