Hotel room won’t be serviced…

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I’ve booked a short stay away next week for DH’s birthday. Beautiful country area that we have visited many times before and we have stayed at this hotel before but it changed hands a little while ago.
I’ve just received a confirmation of booking email:

ROOM KEYS and SERVICING

A member of staff will be here to check you in from 3.30pm to 11pm. Your key will be placed in your room on arrival and you should keep it with you until your departure, the key will get you through the front door and into your room whilst the hotel is closed.
*please note the hotel will be closed during the day after breakfast and re-open at 3.30pm. We close at 11pm each night. Take your key with you during your stay as it will give you access to the front door and your room.

The rooms will NOT be serviced during your stay unless you are staying for 5 nights or more, in which case we will offer to service the room halfway through your stay. If you require a top up or replacement of any items, ie towels, tea, coffee, etc inform a member of staff at breakfast and they will be left outside your room.

It sounds like they are on the bones of economising on staff costs. The room won’t be serviced - so not even making the bed and tidying the bathroom then. And no one around all day - it’s reminiscent of those old fashioned B&Bs where you were kicked out after breakfast and not allowed back until the evening.

It’s not that we leave things in a terrible mess but one of the joys of a hotel stay is coming back to a nice tidy room and bathroom.

I’m not sharing the email with DH - he’ll go off the idea of staying there and be on the look out for things to moan about from the minute we arrive and I don’t want to cancel and try to find something else. It’s a lovely location and we have plans for the walks we will be doing each day.

Is this the way the hospitality industry is going now?

I think it’s sensible. I always feel uncomfortable with the waste of clean towels and bedding every day / few days in hotels. It’s not like it will be dirty after a couple of days unless you’re doing some sort of desert hiking all day.

And I can’t imagine what would even be messy enough in the bathroom to need tidying.

It’s the mid-range ones that I steer clear of. Much like mid-range airlines, their running costs are now so high that they have to cut back. May as well go for a cheap place and save money in exchange for less good service, or upgrade in price to guarantee good service.

It sounds more like an Air B&B to me. I've noticed it's increasingly common for hotels and B&Bs not to offer breakfast as well as not servicing rooms. What would bother me about this place is being shut out in the middle of the day. That sounds like a 50s seaside boarding-house!

If it wasn’t made clear when you booked I’d be cancelling. The trouble is you might struggle to find somewhere else at short notice. If that is the case, would you be happy with discount?

At least the last hotel we stayed in offered us a free drink if we chose not to have the room serviced that day . I mean I empty our bins daily at home , so would expect that at least , towels changed when needed , and having to request extra supplies each day sounds a bit of a faff . I’m not going to lie , I like being looked after when I’m on holiday , I get to do the bed making and cleaning bathrooms enough at home .

Not great if you're on your period.

The only time I expect daily housekeeping is when I go to a country where you need to put toilet paper in the bin. Though I don't expect a bed change or towels at the same time

It would certainly bother me. I want the bed made, room vacuumed and bathroom cleaned. Plus top up of toiletries, preferably White Company! I'd cancel.

Depends on the price. it is always nice to have someone come in daily, but not really too much of an issue for a few days. I would just face on enjoying your holiday.

hotel will be closed during the day after breakfast and re-open at 3.30pm

What's that mean?
Aren't BnB a bit funny about you being in the room all day?

And hotels moan people are using airb&b. I stay in a hotel because I want to be pampered and not have to make my own bed. I would be cancelling. Service standards are so low now.

I don't know about economising on staff but when we had a rural B&B, finding housekeeping staff was a nightmare and that was pre-Brexit.

(Rooms were always serviced though!)

I would cancel. It’s a hotel and part of the joy of staying in a hotel is a daily clean and tidy and change of towels.

Late check INS really annoy me. If this hotel is shut from breakfast till 3.30 I’m taking it as you can’t even leave your luggage with them before checkin?

what about emptying th3 bins during your 5 night stay? Are you supposed to take the rubbish out yourself?

and yes I can wash cups and glasses but when on holiday and paying for the privilege am I expected to do it for 5 days in the bathroom sink with no washing up liquid?

I'd cancel. It sounds really weird and not the treat I want from a hotel

I presume that means there'll be no staff on duty and the front door will be locked but you can gain access with your room key.

I think it is pretty common now. We stayed in a hotel in Brussels last month and they said they only cleaned the room at the beginning and end of your stay as standard. There was however a little ipad tyoe thing in the room where tiu could request things in the interim like towels and bed sheets being changed or bins emptied.

I have also noticed even fairly nice mid price hotelss these day aeem to have full size bottles of hand and body wash and shampoo fixed to the wall rather than little mini bottles you can take home.

Hang up the towels? So you leave your towels in a wet heap ready for minimum wage employees to pick up your damp used towel and hang it on a radiator for you?

The only think i want them to do is take rubbish if we stay longer than a few days or tell us where to take it ans change the towels for longer stays, we can make our beds and tidy

Malmaison offered drinks instead of servicing ….

pity about the condom box behind the chaise longue when we checked in!!!!

I'm one of those who doesn't like cleaners/maids coming into my room to see my mess lol 😊I always feel I have to tidy everything before that knock on the door "Room Service!!" Oh go away FGS....

Anyway, as pp mentioned, post covid was a godsend - when we could get away again. Hotels I stayed in dropped a parcel outside the door every morning with change of towels, tea, coffee, milk, and whatever else they supplied. Perfect!

So now I always put the Do Not Disturb sign on the door, and collect anything I need from the trolley that's usually lurking around the corridor for those rooms that ARE serviced. The cleaning/maid staff have always been terrific for giving anything needed, and privacy is retained.

The whole point of booking a hotel is the luxury of having the room serviced! I would cancel if i could if i received this email

We had this at a premier inn we stayed at recently, though they did offer housekeeping on request. I think it must be lack of staff, as also often no one on reception or the one receptionist continually on the phone - which made it difficult to get hold of the things we did definitely need like toilet roll.
Also lead to the bin outside the front door of the hotel being continually overflowing as the room bins weren't being emptied. I would say they have gone slightly too far with lack of customers service in a bid to keep price down!

I wouldn’t go to that hotel. It sounds more like a hostel really, not a lovely warm luxurious treat.

Normally leave them on the bed. But yes. Do you think the minimum wage employees prefer no job instead?