Thread: Confessions of a Hotel Housekeeper

"Instead of Vacuuming, I Picked Up Some Crumbs"

Allison Rupp worked at Yellowstone National Park's historic Old Faithful Inn in 2004.

The best guests sleep in

Three simple letters could inspire the "Hallelujah" chorus: DND, or do not disturb. One sign hanging on a doorknob, and the day's work was shortened by half an hour. Two signs? Pure heaven, but only if they remained there until my eight-hour shift ended—otherwise I'd have to circle back and clean the rooms. My daily list of 15 rooms (out of 325 in the hotel) consisted of DOs (due out) and Os (occupied), which in housekeeping lingo meant the guests were scheduled to check out or were staying another night. An occupied room was less labor-intensive (making the beds rather than changing the sheets saved me 20 minutes), but there was always the possibility the guest would stay in the room while you worked. One man watched me clean his entire room, from scrubbing the toilet to emptying the trash—and told me at the end that I was "building character." Condescension is not nearly as encouraging to a maid as a couple of dollars.

As long as it looked clean

I cut corners everywhere I could. Instead of vacuuming, I found that just picking up the larger crumbs from the carpet would do. Rather than scrub the tub with hot water, sometimes it was just a spray-and-wipe kind of day. After several weeks on the job, I discovered that the staff leader who inspected the rooms couldn't tell the difference between a clean sink and one that was simply dry, so I would often just run a rag over the wet spots. But I never skipped changing the sheets. I wouldn't sink that low, no matter how lazy I was feeling.

A bacterial wonderland

I was disgusted by the many guests I came in contact with through the things they left behind: the hairs on the pillow, the urine on the toilet seat, the half-eaten cookie, the stained sheets. One woman had soiled her sheets so thoroughly that we had to toss them in a biohazard bag—they could never be used again. Rooms where young kids stayed were the worst, with food ground into the carpet and piles of used diapers in the trash. That kind of demoralizing mess could take 45 minutes to clean up. Most maids wore rubber gloves when they worked, but mine were too big, so I discarded them. Unsurprisingly, I got the flu twice.

Not for love — or money

I didn't know maids received tips, so it took me weeks to realize that the coins left in rooms were an intentional gift. My tips were paltry: I almost never received more than $1, and at times guests left religious pamphlets. One day, however, I was shocked to find a crisp $100 bill lying on a table. Although the generous tip put a little spring in my step and compelled me to do a better job that day, it didn't change my work ethic for long. I apologize to you now if you ever stayed in one of my rooms. You deserved better. But if housekeepers were paid more than minimum wage—and the tips were a bit better—I might have cleaned your toilet rather than just flushed it.

Thats gross but doesn't surprise me. I travel a lot and belong to some message boards with fellow travelers. One lady just posted she got to a 5 start resort and opened the bed to find pubic hair on the sheets..OMG I would gag.
I always bring 2 pillow cases to use my own but never change their sheets. I KNOW better than to ever use the bedspread and barely use the blanket..lol
I would never trust ANYTHING is really clean.

I find this highly disgusting but am not the least bit suprised. My very 1st job was as a front desk clerk for a MAJOR hotel chain (H. Inn) and my Aunt worked in housekeeping and I could really tell you some nasty stories. Working there as taught me to take my own linens and disinfectant cleaners when I stay in hotels. The 1st thing I do is wipe down everything especially the door handles, light switches etc..

It grossed me out and ticked me off. To think if you stay there what you may have touched. UGH!! I know when we go to hotels I take sanitary wipes with us. I have been a housekeeper/supervisor in 3 hotels. And I know alot of them people I worked with were lazy and did not want to clean properly. The last place I worked with was basically just like this.

I usually take my own linens when we travel if we're staying in a hotel. Well, I take blankets, pillows, pillow cases. We usually wind up sleeping on top of the bedspread anyway. I don't trust any hotels, motels, lodges. Really clean on the outside, not on the inside. Yuck!!!!!