To expect hotel room to be cleaned before 4pm

[Monster6]

Exactly that really. Away with family for Easter holidays in a big northern city, not a quaint rural location. In massive hotel chain (Marriott esque) have just returned from day’s activities hoping for a nice rest in a made up/slightly tidier room only to be confronted with the room ‘as it was’ when I left 5 hours ago. 😞 asked politely at reception to be told ‘housekeeping usuallly complete between 4.30-5pm…but!! If it was a ‘special request’ they could get to it sooner?!?! AIBU?! but it just feels you don’t really get the service you pay for nowadays. I think I’m just getting less willing to accept crap service as I get older.

Definitely not acceptable. Most people would be returning from days out around that time. I find it pretty surprising as whenever I'm in a hotel, they're usually hoping to turf you out early to get started on the cleans ASAP.

It’s really hard getting housekeeping staff nowadays. So they will first concentrate on changeovers 10-4pm then they will do guests who are staying. I used to housekeep in a hotel and it was always 9-3 hours now they’d have you in 8-6pm doing communal areas, then changeovers then the people who stay over.

I complained about this in a big London chain and was given a comp breakfast worth £30. I won’t go back. I had been out all day and just wanted to crash, not face a dirty room.

Did you accidentally leave on a DND?

I worked as a hotel room cleaner at a high end hotel in the US years ago, and it was very time-pressured — managers were very clear on your priority having to be to clean rooms guests had left so they were available for new guests to check into, and on an unlucky day, departing guests would leave at noon, leaving you three hours to fully clean all your rooms before new arrivals started checking in. Our shift started at 8 am, but in practice, bar the odd guest, no one staying over wants their room cleaned that early, as they’re sleeping, or at breakfast with the DND still up, and as it wasn’t a business hotel, few guests checked out early.

I get that none of this is the guest’s problem, and it’s certainly not the guest’s fault the hotel doesn’t hire an army of cleaners who only have to turn over three rooms between 12 and 3, but presumably from the hotel’s POV, few employees want a job that’s only three hours a day, and they don’t want to hire cleaners who stand around in the corridors outside rooms they can’t clean because the guest is inside.

That is one job I don’t miss. And it’s spoiled hotels for me, because I know how much hard work goes into making a room look as if no one else has ever stayed in it.

They used to put us in the laundry if we couldn’t get into any rooms — which was less time-pressured, but boiling hot, damp, heavy work, feeding wet sheets through these giant sort of mangles…?

I think YABU, you posted just before 3pm, if staff are employed until 5pm then they still have 2 hours to get your room done.

Someone's room has to be the last one done.

Also, how messy/dirty are you making a room in one night? If I don’t want to be disturbed, I’m quite happy to skip the daily clean.

@HeddaGarbled not that messy but staying with kids so need replacement towels, tea, loo roll, bottles of shampoo etc.

Yabu. Keep your own space today.
Most cheap hotels like that will have to focus on quick turn around.

@Goldenboysmum its the very fact that they have till 5pm to complete, which I think is just odd/not as it used to be. Ex housekeeping staff here too, I’m aware it’s a tough gig. I just think 5pm is a really late timeframe, given most guests would like to access their room in prep for evening activities before/around then.

It was eight till 4.30 when I worked in housekeeping, too, and stayovers just got done when we could fit them around cleaning rooms guests had vacated.

Sometimes that might mean the room was cleaned while the guest was at breakfast, but if they were still in the room till around checking out time, from then on cleaners are being leaned on to turn over rooms ahead of checking-in, so someone staying over probably won’t get done till just before the day shift ends.

Oh, and what I will do is, especially if all I actually want is replacement towels and toiletries etc, is either help myself (obviously letting the cleaner know) from their trolley on the corridor, or specifically ask if they can nip in quickly while I’m at breakfast — ime, they’re often quite glad to get one off the list ahead of the busier mid to late morning.

This, exactly 😊

It is a bit shit yeah, but I hate the intrusiveness of the cleaning, so as a pp said if I spot the housekeeper I ask for replacement tea, coffee, loorolls towels etc. and tell them not to bother with the cleaning, unless it's absolutely manky which I can't see as it would be in one night, they're usually more than happy to oblige lol, ( extra biscuits, shampoo, tea bags 😂)

I had been out all day and just wanted to crash, not face a dirty room.
I'm not being snide but why would it be dirty. It would be your mess.
Surely most days housekeeping should only need to replace towels and at a push make a bed if you can't be arsed to fo it yourself?
You can decline housekeeping.

To be clear, I think housekeeping should empty bins, replace towels shampoo and tea coffee. Make beds. Not a full deep clean of the room, just a ‘once over’ 😊 I think ‘dirty’ is in context, not meaning actually filthy.

I’ve not seen a hotel with a laundry for doing anything except towels in ages. It’s considered cost ineffective and they tend to rent linen it’s about £7 for a king size bed per change.

Eh, there's always someone who has to be last.

Some hotels don't replace towels daily anymore as it's a waste of resources. But you can easily ask for whatever you need.
I think it's nice to come back to a clean and tidy room, but it wouldn't particularly bother me after one night.

Don't they mostly only replace towels now if you specifically ask? As it should be. They don't need changing daily, nor do bins need changing daily. Not sure I'd think this was a particularly big deal.

I’m with you OP when I stay in a hotel I want someone to replenish tea and toiletries, empty the bin and make the bed. It’s part of the joy of a hotel stay.

At a stay over I’d always give bathroom a once over replace towels left in bath, quick dust and a hoover of kids had been enjoying the biscuits. I do think it’s cheeky that hotels don’t ptioritise housekeeping . I think because it’s a department that doesn’t make any money managers are always looking to trim budget.

If housekeeping doesn’t do your room they will have saved themselves about £6. 15 minutes of housekeeping plus hospitality items. Lose loads of goodwill though and possibly repeat business.

If that is made clear to guests, reasonable to me. Remember two of the largest Northern cities have regular 'tourists' who visit about 20 times a year and will be engaged in their glory seeking interest until after 5pm.

Do you need towels to be replaced? Would you replace them daily at home? Do you need the bin emptied daily? Tea/coffee can easily be collected from reception.

I’m not sure I understand @LlynTegid ? What ‘tourists’? 🤣

So many people missing the point. Yanbu.