Maids in Hotels!

see my diet coke. . .it's exactly where i like it!
Letter to the maid
I got to talking with a friend last month about maids in hotels. We both travel quite a bit and we ended up making a list of things that bug us. I know being a maid is a tough job, HOWEVER, they see their job from the standpoint of cleaning the room, not living in it, so there are some things that might make perfect sense to them, but not to us. I’d love to hear from maids on why they do these things – maybe there’s a very good reason. But for now. . .

Leave the drink on the floor. I put my diet coke or bottled water on the floor next to the desk for a reason – I don’t want it on the desk next to my laptop. Move it to clean only, and then leave it on the ground. I once knocked a beer over on my brother’s laptop and it drowned.

Look up. Twice in the last 5 months there has been a used washcloth (from a previous guest) draped over the top of my shower, and I spotted it once I got in. And this happened in NICE resorts. Not that I expect this in cheaper places, but when the client is paying bigger dollars, this really, really shouldn’t happen. I’m tall. I see this stuff.

Leave the soap/shampoo/conditioner in the shower. After I’m soaked is not the time to realize that my hair stuff has been moved across the bathroom. I know it looks prettier on the counter, but it’s more functional in the actual shower. I put it in the shower the first time I shower; it should just stay there.

Don’t clean the room until you’re sure I’ve checked out. Again, this has happened in really nice resorts. On the day I’m checking out, I leave the room for my morning show, knowing that I’ll have time to grab my stuff and check out afterwards. When I get back, I find that the maid has cleaned the room for the next guest. That’s gross. I just hope I’M not the next guest when that happens to someone else.

Don’t touch the shower head. Most of the time it’s turned towards the wall – which makes no sense, but on a few occasions, it’s been turned towards ME. Getting a shower before I step into the shower isn’t fun. I haven’t moved any of the showerheads in my house for YEARS, and yes I do clean them. Also not closing the drain would be helpful. . .but I digress.

Pay attention to the Do Not Disturb sign. This is a stock joke, but it really, really happens! At least twice a year I get a knock on my door despite the sign. One time I actually pointed to it and said I didn’t want to be disturbed, and the maid said (disinterested voice) “but do you want service?” YES, just not right now.

I know there are many things that us travelers do that bug the maids. . .write about it here. And maybe it’s management who should take note because perhaps some of these things are company policy. But most of them are easy to fix and shouldn’t take approval from corporate.

Jan McInnis is a comedian and professional speaker who has shared her humor keynotes “Finding the Funny in Change,” “Finding the Funny in Communications” and “Cubicle Comedy” with thousands of associations and corporations. She is also the author of “Finding the Funny FAST,” and she was featured in the Wall Street Journal as one of the most popular convention humor speakers. She can be reached at Jan@TheWorkLady.com or 1-800-492-9394.o

Maids in Hotels!