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

I leave toiletries and clothes but assume they will throw them away if they don’t want them. A waitress once asked me for my necklace! In Israel I left large bottles of shampoo and shower gel in the room (I had bought them there) and the chamber maid phoned down to reception to ask if I wanted them!
I also leave books, but usually on the hotel bookshelf.

The idea that passing on items is just for those who are desperately poor is such an outdated viewpoint. Like in the 1980s my mum would be horrified at the thought of second hand clothes and view that as being for people who were struggling...it would be whispered about in hushed tones if someone you knew bought clothes from a charity shop. But nowadays it's actually more about not wasting things and being more environmentally friendly...it's kind of cool.

That's really not the same thing at all.

The cleaners just is to, well, clean. They're expected to leave the room without any trace of the previous guest.

Whereas when a guest has a half used bottle of shampoo they can choose to bin it, to keep it, or to leave it for the cleaner to take. If they do the latter and the cleaner doesn't want it, it's not really an issue as the cleaner can simply put it in the rubbish with everything else. I don't imagine the cleaner would feel insulted. Maybe a bit annoyed that the guest hadn't bothered to put the bottle in the bin and left it to her to do that. Up to them if they choose to take the leftover product or not.

I used to clean hotel rooms when I was a student. The guest who left a pack of Penguin biscuits was the best!

We have an air bnb and I’m delighted when guests leave tins of food or soy sauce or whatever.
They don’t usually leave toiletries as we provide them, but I certainly wouldn’t be insulted if they did. Half a bottle of shampoo is useful.

I feel completely fine about it, because soap is soap. It doesn't go off, it doesn't get contaminated, it shouldn't go to waste.

Many villa and Airbnb owners do leave previous guests' opened suncream, shampoo etc in a box for people to use. Lots of hotels use refillable dispensers, which is the same thing—who cares if someone else has used the same bottle?

I'm astonished by the number of people on this thread who are just casually binning things, and assuming staff are doing the same. Bananas. I'm not hard up, but I don't sniff at free products, open or not.

We stayed in a family hotel in Lanzarote and there was a big box outside the kids club where people left nappies / swim nappies / suncream / beach toys / pool inflatables etc etc that they didn’t want to take home and anyone was free to take from it what they needed. We left a thin summer sleep bag that DS was about to grow out of, hopefully someone got use from it.

In many cultures including European ones it’s insulting and a sign of over-privileged, out of touch societies, to throw away goods that still have a use.

Even a half bottle of shampoo or half full box of individually wrapped sanpro

It’s like burning cash. That’s more insulting.

I don't think it's insulting to leave leftover items, it's not as if you'd put a label there saying "humble staff, please help yourselves to my unwanted crap." If they don't want it, they'll just throw it away!

What you’re describing is actually really common and thoughtful—many people do it, especially when staying with someone they know well or when they want to show appreciation for hospitality. Leaving behind useful items like unused shampoo, sanitary products, or even a few snacks can be seen as considerate, especially if:

1. They’re in good condition and unopened.
2. You’re discreet and thoughtful about it. For example, leaving them neatly in the bathroom or letting your partner quietly mention, “She left a few things you might find useful.”

If you’re concerned about how your partner’s parents might perceive it, consider:

• Cultural or generational context – Some people from older generations (like your DM, or “dear mum”) saw this as a kind gesture. But if your partner’s parents are very particular or formal, it might come off differently.
• Framing it as thoughtful rather than careless – Make sure it doesn’t look like you just forgot things or left a mess behind.

If you’re unsure, you could ask your partner:
“Hey, I was going to leave a few unused toiletries behind like my mum always used to do—do you think your parents would appreciate that, or would it be better if I just packed them?”

Would you like the cleaners to leave things from/used by the previous guests in room for you to use? How do you feel about this being suggested for you?

But I do leave a tip.

I don’t because I don’t like the idea of giving them more work.

Let's not even start on those countries where children scavenge waste tips to find anything which might be used or refused.

Usually leave a tip. Cash is king just about everywhere. In some resorts they keep a library of books people have read and left on hols. So I am happy to top this up. Always good to pass a good book on. In gites I have left tea bags, which I think are useful (and not easy to get good ones outside the UK. I have never left shampoo or other toiletries. I assume open ones simply get binned.

It depends where it is - UK wouldn't do it; Albania it was very welcome for example.

That reminds me, in Cambodia we used to get our restaurant leftovers packed up and give them to the guards when we got home.

I'm really surprised at the level of ignorance displayed on this thread. If someone earns $100 a month and a bottle of shampoo costs $5, do you really think they'll be turning their nose up at a part-used bottle? And even if they earn $500, $5 is still a ridiculous proportion of their salary!

Clearly never been to Cuba. They are grateful for everything as they are so expensive over there. I took a HUGE 30kg bag of toiletries including paracetamol and toothpaste and little colouring books for the kids. I was buying something everytime I went shopping and honestly they where so so grateful so please dont just leave them or they have to bin them. Put them in a bag with a little note on x

This is a very good point. In fact my office (London law firm) has baskets of free tampons and pads in the loos. I am luckily not in "period poverty" but I have occasionally grabbed one of those items when I have been caught out by mother nature. I'm very grateful for that and I don't think I'm grim or a skank for not refusing items other than from a sealed box.

It would be much more grim to squelch down the road to Boots hoping my trousers won't become soaked in blood in the meantime.

In the UK I don’t leave anything, but abroad we usually leave any loose change together with the equivalent of £20 in notes for the cleaners as a tip. We also leave un-drunk alcohol and any unopened food items (we usually self-cater). Any part-used toiletries or food goes in the bin before we leave.

What I imagine people in these countries where there income is exceptionally low and outgoings disproportionately high would find more offensive than being left a half used bottle of shampoo (that would probably cost about a days wages plus) is that bottle of shampoo being thrown away. Seeing it put into the bin to go into landfill where they probably struggle to get rid of it in landfill costing their community money to do so when shock horror they might wash their hair with it. What we consider a standard is very different to what they may. I'm far from on the breadline and it would make me sad to see it.

I've found that people leave their leftovers in the lost property / luggage room theres usually a place people leave like sun cream, hair products, aftersun half used or full for next guests.

Why on earth are some people so highly offended by such a question? Thankfully most people have offered helpful advice.
I know countries where people are so hungry they eat food from your half eaten plate. Jeez, some people have no idea.

Environmentally it's the right thing to do. Otherwise it's just another plastic bottle in landfill isn't it. I find the waste 'insulting ' not the handing stuff on.

If it was a product and I liked and it seemed in good condition, then yeah, I probably would. As someone said above, from a hygiene perspective it's not really different to those shampoo/shower gel dispensers they have in hotel bathrooms.

As for your other question, there's no point pretending the financial situation of someone who can afford to travel long distance for leisure is the same as that of a cleaner in a developing country.