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?

I am by no means on the bread line. But when people leave stuff in my holiday let i don’t find it one bit offensive. I have no issue using someone’s left bottle of spray deodorant, there half bottle of shampoo or body wash. Would not use a roll on deodorant. Wrapped sanitary pads/tampax no issue using those.
What I do find offensive is people throwing perfectly good things that others could choose to use in the bin.
The food waste I see breaks my heart e.g box of eggs, 2 used and the other 4 thrown in the bin🥲

You must book into some right dumps, leaving partially used products in the hall for other guests to snaffle.
I suppose in your scenario were guests book in that sort of hotel, and have inadequate product,some guests need someone else’s discarded product dregs

Fortunately I’ve ever been in such a position or such a place

You are clearly better informed than me. I was just sharing my own experience. I left stuff in response to being asked. I promise I wasn't just dumping my old crap where it wasn't wanted.

Just checked - Morocco trip was 2010 and Tunisia was 2013 so possibly my limited experience may be long out of date.

Last year people posted on the resorts Facebook page x, y, x outside room xxx

it was an hours flight from Florida and heavily US guests who tended to come for 3/4 days and just bring carry on so there was a huge appetite for these types of products, especially sun cream as that was really expensive at the place

when we’ve gone to Spain etc, we’ve just bought home/binned depending on what it is and left euros for the cleaning staff

Who said anything about it being in lieu of tips?

What's amazing is the posters who have so little sense of their wealth that they would actually throw perfectly good products in the bin just because they've been opened. And the horror expressed that anyone would think of opened shampoo as anything but waste. Let them eat cake.

This is why the planet's fucked.

I have taken stuff down to the street if there are homeless people. Said do you want this or know anyone who could use this.

Also offer things to maids. Don’t just randomly dump stuff.

I once left a partly used aftersun as my case was overweight and the maid ran after me and asked if she was ok to take it. She explained her little boy had very dry skin and they were constantly spending money on moisturiser for him and this worked just as well.

If she didn’t want it, I imagine she’d put it in the bin!

If I don't want to take something home it's left in the room, in the bin or beside it. It's up to the staff if they want to take it or chuck it.

I asked an English girl last year who lived in Greece if these things get binned or used & she said she uses them and sometimes it’s nice to get familiar brands from back home .
I leave shower gel , shampoo , conditioner & usually a full pack of sanitary towels ( that I always take on holiday never knowing if I’m going to come on ) .
I also leave children’s toiletries as I buy different ones ( child’s farm specifically ) so hopefully they don’t get wasted .
I remember being asked for my toiletries in Cuba as they’re so expensive to buy there for the locals .
I wouldn’t leave stuff in a UK hotel though , would expect it to be binned .

I spent most of my twenties working in the med. The staff were a mixture of Brits, Antipodeans and locals and we all loved left behind toiletries, unopened food was also gratefully received. Why on earth would I want to bin shampoo and suncream and then spend my own money buying them?

From seeing the cleaners gleefully comparing hauls on changeover days, this hasn't changed in the last decade.

As there seems to be no consensus even amongst hospitality staff, my preferred method is to leave all things together in one place, so they can be taken or easily binned without creating more work for the cleaners.

But both those are developing countries, with a clearly culturally-aware person working there, who knew what would be needed and welcome. Not someone in a Costa Brava resort under the impression that the 'maid' will be thrilled to be left a half-used moisturiser. Two completely different situations.

We always leave our coins

I don’t think anyone is suggesting that it’s in lieu of a tip! I’ve done this as well as, not instead of.

Fossil fuel,Over industrialisation,pollution,over use chemicals are significant environmental issues. Discarded shampoo isn’t really the driver.There isn’t a lake of shampoo threatening the environment located around resorts and hotels

ps Marie Antoinette let them eat cake isn’t appropriate comparison ,it is a misattributed misquote and she didn’t actually say it.

as you were

Last holiday I had a small bit of perfume left in the bottle which wasn't worth taking home so left it on the hotel room table in case the maid wanted it.

I follow a Facebook page in an upmarket resort in Turkey. Someone has posted this very day, asking if anyone is going home and leaving aftersun as they’ve ran out and don’t want to buy a fresh one, with only a few days left.
I prefer to think this is resourceful and not wasteful, rather than disgusting!

My sister does this to save luggage space on the way home! I don’t, because I like to keep my toiletries!

The attitude to resources is the driver, everything else stems from that.

"As you were" is a weak valedictory flourish at the best of times, but especially so when all you've done on this thread is prove my point.

We got friendly with receptionist in our hotel in Madeira and she was more than grateful for items both opened and unopened we also bought her some chocolates as a thank you for her help.

This

🙄 at the money-ed posters saying no one wants it and to bin them.

Some countries reliant on tourism have really suffered since Covid. We visited Cambodia two years ago and what I heard repeatedly was that everyone was still really struggling and desperate for money from the lack of tourists. (Hopefully improved now.)

LOL no of course not!

You’re describing specific targeted redistribution and travelling with items that are wanted and needed. It’s incomparable to discarded used beauty products

I also used to leave the equivalent of a few quid for the cleaners when leaving but in recent years when I rarely use cash I've not had the opportunity for this.

Regarding leaving 'stuff', are cleaners allowed just to take what's been left? Even if it's only a half used bottle of Pantene, isn't there a chance the guest might call the hotel and ask for it? I would think many hotels have a policy that cleaners have to give any left behind items to management?

I would imagine a lot of hotels have policies on this where they are not allowed to take things and could get accused of stealing…