You want to be a polite hotel guest, so you strip the bed and leave your room service tray in the hall, but hotel staff actually hate most of those supposedly helpful gestures. Housekeepers operate on tight schedules, often cleaning 15 to 20 rooms a day, and your well-intentioned habits are likely slowing them down or creating genuine safety hazards.
Simple changes to your checkout routine make a massive difference for the hardworking people maintaining your space. If you want to stop accidentally frustrating the front desk and cleaning teams, you need to completely rethink your travel etiquette.
Here are the 10 most common mistakes you make during your hotel stays—and exactly what you should do instead.
1. Stripping the Bed (Yes, Really)
You probably think you are doing the housekeeping staff a massive favor when you strip the sheets, pillowcases, and heavy duvet covers before checking out. In reality, pulling the linens off the bed disrupts a highly choreographed cleaning routine and creates unnecessary physical strain. Hotel housekeepers operate on a demanding schedule, usually receiving a strict 15 to 30 minutes to turn over an entire room.
When you strip the bed yourself, you leave behind a massive, tangled pile of fabric that the staff must carefully sift through to ensure you did not leave behind a television remote, a phone charger, or expensive jewelry.
Furthermore, tearing heavy linens off a king-sized mattress requires specific ergonomic movements. According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), housekeepers face a high risk of repetitive motion injuries and back strain from lifting mattresses and bending awkwardly. Staff members are trained to strip beds efficiently using specific methods that protect their wrists and lower backs.
Instead of wrestling with the fitted sheet, simply leave the bed unmade. An unmade bed clearly signals that the room was occupied and the linens require changing, allowing the professionals to handle the heavy lifting safely.
27 Responses
Tips for Budget hotel staff don’t hide in the office watching on CCTV guests standing around the reception area hoping guests will check in them selves
Thank you for the helpful information about proper room etiquette when staying at a hotel/motel.
I worked as a housekeeper. I strip the beds as a guest putting pillow cases in a pile, fitted sheets in a pile, sheets in a pile and duvets. I do this because I worked with a woman who just kept all that on if it looked “clean enough”. N I loved when people did it for me. And I wipe ALL mine and my families hair out off the bathtub. Cause that was the worst
Exactly I do the same. My fear is when I go to a hotel those sheets might have already been slept on. Questioning ,did they really change it? I take everything off and separated for them. That way I know the next person is going to have clean sheets .I used to work in the hotel business myself.
I don’t want to sleep on used sheets that someone else left body waste on
Touché
Don’t forget a tip
Be honest… they don’t want the beds stripped because they don’t always replace the sheets and definitely don’t replace the duvet covers!
That’s what I thought. So I just pile them neatly -easy to see there are no remotes, etc in the pile.
Exactly!!!
Thanks for providing this information on the web site but need to be presented or provided during check in time or when confirmations are made. This will assisted in knowing specific do’s and don’t on both ends before arriving. Looking at a bed that appears to not be slept on is not proper etiquette to me, but a concern. Pay the workers more and appreciate the work they are doing for customers services. I would appreciate the carpet being clean and deodorized more, the odor is not the first thing I want to smell when I open a hotel door. This tell me a lot and IT affect allergies and calling to the front desk with complaints
It’s true some do Not change the sheets or even look at them they just make it up. We stayed at a hotel and time for bed pulled covers back and found a used condom and stains. We switched rooms never intend to go back.
I was a hotel housekeeper while in college. So, I do follow these rules. Yes, they are helpful reminders to treat hotel staff with respect.
Great information
All good points, but I also suggest stopping by the front desk (or calling right before you depart) and telling the staff that you’ve actually left – especially if it’s very early in the morning. That way the housekeeping staff can get an earlier start on that room. Several desk clerks have said they appreciate the courtesy
After reading all the 10 Things Hotel Staff Hate I can only imagine how frustrating the staff would be since all the things are what COMMON SENCE should show in this article. I have never done any of those things and can’t imagine that there are people who would not respect some ones property. I believe most of the things is how people were raised poor parenting!
I agree with, and practice, all but the wastebasket one. Some days are just messy. Why not use larger wastebasket cans?
Sounds like the cleaning staff needs a strong union more than depending on guests who are well-meaning but ignorant of any unposted ‘desirable’ rules. (This is why there are such unions in the highly ‘hospitality industry’ dependent Las Vegas area.
Workers should not be subjected to tight turnovers requiring borderline-injurious hand, arm or back movements, especially given the fact that the most cooperative guests are unaware of secret ‘best-practices’, which guarantees less-than-‘ideal’ conditions.
Most of us want to be cooperative. It would this behoove hotels to post your suggestions prominently! Also, they should provide much bigger trash receptacles, given our National food proclivities. Should provide towels designed for maximum guest use, not for company cost benefits. Etc.
Actually it is best to check out before doing anything else. This provides the best way to manage or settle any misunderstandings about charges and ‘seals the deal’ about leaving time. (Usually one of us guests does this while their roommate is packing and cleaning.
PS: I will gladly leave the room while housekeeping works if my own boss did the same. I guess that’s why ‘working from home’ has become popular.
I believe in treating hotel workers – and everyone else – with respect. It is up to Management to inform & facilitate best guest practices. Keeping in mind it is MY vacation.
What is the current tipping etiquette per room per day? And is gratuity ever included on the Bill.
I agree with all of this.
Great checklist!
10 reasons, but only one came up. There was no “next” button for reasons 2 through 10!
You need to find the numbers and click each one:)
stripping the bed sheets assures the bed is changed an not just remade> i can’t amagine a house keeper not wanting that extra help unless not changing sheets is what they are doing to save time.
I don’t do any of these things.
I whve went to hotels when I get in bed you can rub your sheets and get a pile of sand. Other times their is a smell on sheets where they haven’t been changed nice hotels
I go by ALL their rules!! I have cleaned rooms, many years ago and it’s NOT easy work!!
🙂
I worked as a maid at Howard Johnson’s and I had most of the whole floor to clean. We didn’t really have to worry about the stuff in the hallway so we had other people to pick that stuff up from the kitchen, but I appreciate it people taking off their sheets because it took so long to pull out the sheets from the corners, and I appreciated it if they put the towels all in one pile and stop putting your dirty magazines on the bottom drawer of the desk what are your 12 years old and you don’t want your mom to see it lol we used to get the biggest laugh out of them because we knew we never see these people. What are they afraid of?