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

[helpmepleasewiththis]

I am due to leave for home after a weeks holiday and remember that my DM always used to do this. Things like unused shampoo, sanitary products etc. is this still a thing or would they find it insulting?

DH and I were in Kenya on honeymoon and he paid for windsurfing hire, he is a very experienced windsurfer and he had a long chat with the guy about windsurfing but also the local situation. He explained how hard some items were to come by. When we left he gave the guy his close to full shaving cream, one of the items very hard to get even if you had money. I take refill bottles of shampoo and conditioner so don’t have stuff to leave.

I leave anything in a neat pile with the tip. I do not understand the hang wringing over this it’s not offensive or designed to denigrate anyone, if the staff don’t want it they'll scoop it into the bin and if they do it saves a lot of waste (financially and ecologically - all the plastic!) If you have a luggage allowance or liquids allowance it often makes no sense to cart home 1/3 of a bottle of Pantene or sun cream, and they are more prone to leaking in your suitcase once the cap has been battered about after 2 weeks!

Oh yes and gin too! I’ve so often left half a bottle of gin with the tip, they might want it they might not - what’s the harm? I absolutely loathe waste.

There’s usually a little notepad in hotel rooms, so I usually leave a little message, like “Thank you - please enjoy the chocolate and drinks in fridge”, so that it is clear I’m leaving those behind for them.

I wouldn’t leave opened or used products but I also can’t imagine a guest phoning up and asking for their half-empty bottle of shampoo, and how would the hotel get that back to them? Maybe housekeeping hang on to stuff like that for a few days and then dispose of items if no one claims them.

I stay in student accommodation during the Edinburgh fringe- even travel lodges are £200 a night then!- all ages and nationalities stay there and in reception there’s a table for everyone to leave u wanted food and toiletries for others to help themselves to- I think it’s a brilliant idea and nothing stays there for long!

we always used to leave all bits of loose change in local currency - never toiletries

There are so many tiktoks of people in the US who clean Air BnBs showing off all of the things the previous guests left. Many of them say they never have to buy their own liquor, sunscreen, shampoo or laundry detergent because so many guests leave it behind.

I've seen this is ladies restrooms in USA airports. People leaving deodorants and other bits that they can take on flights. It's a nice thing.

They cannot take on flights...

I once left a nice silk robe hanging on the back of the bathroom door in a hotel room - 100% certain I left it there. I phoned the hotel fully expecting it have been handed in by the cleaning staff, but the hotel had no record of it.

Also I once dropped my phone in rhe cinema - I traced it the following morning on “find my phone” - by the time I got to the cinema before it opened for the day it was on the move across town then was turned off and never seen again.

So whatever rules exist, they’re clearly not always adhered to - I’m pretty sure there’s no “finders keepers” rule on iPhones and clothing!