I found out something unsettling

[Kristie]

yep I've seen this sign, too. This just caters to the staff's laziness. the sheets are probably just left on the beds more times than not. With this water conservation excuse it's like saying they'd really rather not wash the sheets. I'm sorry but this is an instance where the use of water is absolutely necessary and called for.

It's a shame that there's no way to be sure you're sleeping on clean sheets in a hotel room unless you bring your own.

I always thought that sign meant just during your stay, meaning if you stay more than one night they don't want to have to change the sheets that you slept on if the next person to sleep on them will be you again. I'm sure they change the sheets between people.

I got scabies from a hotel bed once in Florida.

I'm not too scared of unwashed comforters, though.

 

[meegannie]

Considering the living conditions of 75% of this world, I don't think a used comforter is going to kill anyone.

Is it gross? Sure. But it's no more gross than taking a shower in a tub that may not have been washed, sitting on a couch that hasn't been cleaned in 5 years, walking barefoot on carpeted areas that haven't been washed since they were installed, walking barefoot around swimming pools, hell swimming IN swimming pools with other people who most likely didn't shower before going in and so on.

 

[BonosBaby12]

Quite honestly the comforter thing doesn't bother me. Most of the time I end up kicking that way during the night. But I have a HUGE problem with finding dried blood on my sheets.

 

[angelordevil]

The handrails on the escalators at the shops, for instance.

"Shops." Sure beats "DA MAWL!"

I'll never look at those handrails the same way again

 

[indra]

i guess if more people realized that you're supposed to TIP housekeeping...

I hate tipping. I do it, but employers should pay their workers enough that patrons don't need to tip. Considering how much even fairly inexpensive hotel rooms cost, housekeepers shouldn't need tips. Charge another $3-5 per night if you must, but pay the damned housekeepers a decent wage.

Same goes for wait staff at restaurants -- pay a fair wage and don't make them depend on tips.

And I do expect the sheets to be freshly washed when I check into a room (although I realise they might very well not be). If I'm staying a few days I don't mind if they aren't changed while I'm there. I'm not concerned about blankets or comforters/duvets since I rarely use those, but I consider clean sheets to be just part of the basic hotel package (like clean dishes at a restaurant). To me it doesn't matter what conditions much of the world lives in, and it's not a matter of "OMG I'm gonna catch something", but clean sheets are part of the package I expect when I stay in a hotel. I don't think that's too much to expect.

 

[Liesje]

I'm a picky sleeper so I usually travel with my own pillows and a blanket for napping in the car (never fly). Unwashed sheets is kind of gross, but honestly they can't be much dirtier than mine! But at least I can account for what's on mine (mostly cat hair and food crumbs).

 

[Mr. BAW]

With all of our traveling here, Canada or Mexico, neither BAW or I ever experienced dirty sheets....and yes that card they leave is for you to decide whether or not you want your sheets changed during your stay.

BAW and I typically put up the NO Service sign if we're staying three days or less...we get new towels from the girls as they roll by but that's about it...

Matter of fact, aside from incidentals happening during a stay, I can't identify any one particular hotel chain that was far worse than another.

 

[Molly Bloom]

It's a fact that most motels and hotels do not wash the bedspreads or blankets after each guest, they only change the sheets and pillowcases.

the way to fix this is to spill tea or soda on the blanket and call down for a new one.


seriously, though, if you are in a nice hotel they will not object if you call down and say you want a new comforter or blanket.

 

[Carek1230]

DO NOT travel with a black light. One of my guys at work did this when he went to Japan, based on the shows you see on TV where they show all the GROSS things about hotel rooms on TV. He used it and believe me, you DON'T want to try it yourself. He was so repulsed. I don't walk barefoot on the floors, and usually bring along with my own pillow and a bedsheet (this can come in handy for many things when travelling) sometimes a can of Lysol.

I have noticed lately at my local Ralph's market they have right inside the stoor entrance on a big stand a dispenser of handiwipes with a sign to use them to wipe off the shopping cart handle. These are antibacterial wipes.

 

[ABEL]

this thread is grossing me out

but i've never experienced a problem in any of the hotels i've stayed in, i just try not to think of the sheets too much haha!

nothing can be as bad as the place i had to stay in with my parents when my brother and i were kids...we had gone out to LA for spring break back in the 80's.
my dad worked for the airline at the time so we didn't know exactly when our flight would be getting in since we had to travel standby.
my dad thought he'd be able to get a hotel room somewhere as big as LA is.
haha not!
with spring break, and the acadamy awards, the rooms were few and far between.

we drove around for a couple of hours and called several places trying to find a room.
i think my brother and i were about 10 or 11 years old at the time.

anyway, we finally saw this little kinda scary looking hotel/motel place along the side of the highway.
to this day we call it the "happiness hotel" like the one from the muppet movie.
except this one was worse than that

there was a red shag carpet that wasn't red any more
everything was filthy in the room
even the bars of soap in the bathroom were from the holiday inn, and holiday inn this place was not!

we didn't get out of our clothes.
my mom, brother and i slept on top of the blankets on the bed.
my dad slept on a rollaway cot.

we were never so glad to get out of there the next morning


and as far as those signs in hotels go, i always thought they meant they didn't always change the sheets while you were there too, but that they did change sheets between guests

i guess this is also explains why there's such a problem with bed bugs now in hotels

 

[ABEL]

...hell swimming IN swimming pools with other people who most likely didn't shower before going in and so on.

or little kids that pee in the water

 

[BonosBaby12]

See Im going to be packing some necessities when I go to Chicago at the end of the month,lol.

 

[Doozer61]

don't get me started on the ice in the soda machines

 

[Achtung_Bebe]

and as far as those signs in hotels go, i always thought they meant they didn't always change the sheets while you were there too, but that they did change sheets between guests

yeah that makes more sense--and is a relief.

 

[Mr. BAW]

I said that on 4/18....WAKE UP!!!

 

[Achtung_Bebe]

I said that on 4/18....WAKE UP!!!

so you did



I guess I'm oblivious to things.

 

[Mr. BAW]

Not you, that gal from Dallas.....

 

[4EVRU2]

yep I've seen this sign, too. This just caters to the staff's laziness. the sheets are probably just left on the beds more times than not. With this water conservation excuse it's like saying they'd really rather not wash the sheets. I'm sorry but this is an instance where the use of water is absolutely necessary and called for.

Just stumbled upon this thread and am compelled to reply. I was a hotel housekeeper for Mariott last summer and can assure you housekeepers are NOT lazy--they work hard! We often had upwards of twenty rooms to clean in a day; multiply by fifteen minutes each for check outs and five for stays--it can get hectic!!

And there ARE people who do care about the environment enough to not want to have fresh sheets every day if they're staying for several (it's anal on top of ignorant)
The comforters didn't get changed frequently, but the duvet covers did, the sheets for every checkout/new guest, pillow cases too.

And just so y'all know, the housekeepers have plenty to say about all the guests who are downright dirty slobs (nothing more gross than cleaning a tub full of pubes )

I definitely have an appreciation for housekeepers and if I ever stay at a hotel anywhere will rinse my shower/tub/sink, keep the room tidy and leave a tip!!

 

[Mr. BAW]

You bring up a good point and food for thought.....

Its been my experience that when we check in, (I'm a Marriot Rewards Member but this applies to any chain) on a Friday, I see the card that my room has been cleaned by Juanita....BUT..Juanita only works Mon-Fri....and Maria is the housekeeper on the weekend...Now, if I don't request her service, and Juanita really didn't do anything for me, do I tip? which one? and how do you regulate a tip, on the cost of my room? weekday rate or week end rate?

Help me out here former housekeeper...thanks.

 

[Bonochick]

At the hotel my mom worked the front desk at, I remembering her saying that their pool, ice machine, and elevator were all pooped in.

 

[mdw3935]

The pool and elevator I can see happening. The ice machine?

 

[4EVRU2]

You bring up a good point and food for thought.....

Its been my experience that when we check in, (I'm a Marriot Rewards Member but this applies to any chain) on a Friday, I see the card that my room has been cleaned by Juanita....BUT..Juanita only works Mon-Fri....and Maria is the housekeeper on the weekend...Now, if I don't request her service, and Juanita really didn't do anything for me, do I tip? which one? and how do you regulate a tip, on the cost of my room? weekday rate or week end rate?

Help me out here former housekeeper...thanks.

No, you needn't tip if there is no service; the tip should go to whoever actually cleans the room on the day you leave the tip--if a housekeeper has any integrity (and whos to know) she/he would offer to split tip with anyone else who might've helped, etc. you can also indicate to whom the tip goes, if you know...

I don't think there is any regulated rate--I was happy to get a toonie! (a $2 coin) but make sure you leave it so they know it's a tip--i've gone to rooms where change was scattered or left in such a way as to question if it was a tip and if I wasn't sure, I left it.

 

[Mr. BAW]

Thanks for the input...slightly off-topic but still related, I travel with a lot of valuables, lap top, digital camera, sometimes with my work briefcase, and other important personal items...

I think one of the reasons that I choose not having our room cleaned is due to the many "hidden videos" we've all seen about a housekeepr pilfering a room...I am not saying that housekeepers are thiefs, far from that, its just that I chose to refuse service to thwart any such temptation of a sticky-finger Sal...

I've never had any thing stolen but I've had my drawers and other miscellaneous items moved around unnecessarily.....

 

[hiphop]

Considering the living conditions of 75% of this world, I don't think a used comforter is going to kill anyone.

Is it gross? Sure. But it's no more gross than taking a shower in a tub that may not have been washed, sitting on a couch that hasn't been cleaned in 5 years, walking barefoot on carpeted areas that haven't been washed since they were installed, walking barefoot around swimming pools, hell swimming IN swimming pools with other people who most likely didn't shower before going in and so on.

Originally posted by indra
I hate tipping. I do it, but employers should pay their workers enough that patrons don't need to tip. Considering how much even fairly inexpensive hotel rooms cost, housekeepers shouldn't need tips. Charge another $3-5 per night if you must, but pay the damned housekeepers a decent wage.

ah voices of reason

 

[hiphop]

You bring up a good point and food for thought.....

Its been my experience that when we check in, (I'm a Marriot Rewards Member but this applies to any chain) on a Friday, I see the card that my room has been cleaned by Juanita....BUT..Juanita only works Mon-Fri....and Maria is the housekeeper on the weekend...Now, if I don't request her service, and Juanita really didn't do anything for me, do I tip? which one? and how do you regulate a tip, on the cost of my room? weekday rate or week end rate?

Help me out here former housekeeper...thanks.

did you ever read "hotel" by arthur hailey? this juanita-maria reminds me of barnum and bailey..