Most hotel guests don’t think much about their room’s condition after they leave. You pack your suitcase, check the bathroom for your phone and charger, gather your belongings, and head out.
For the housekeeper assigned to that room, though, what you leave behind can make a big difference. Hotel cleaning staff often have several rooms to finish in a limited amount of time, and a room that needs extra attention can put them behind schedule.
Nobody expects you to clean the room before checking out. You’re a guest, after all, and cleaning is part of the job. Still, a few small courtesies can save housekeepers some extra work during an already busy shift.
Here are 10 checkout habits hotel housekeepers would rather guests avoid.
Checking Out Late Without Telling Anyone
Staying a few extra minutes might not seem like a big deal, but it can interfere with the housekeeping schedule. Rooms are assigned based on expected checkout times, so if you need more time, call the front desk and ask about a late checkout instead of staying past the deadline without notice.
Leaving Personal Items Spread Across the Room
Chargers plugged into every outlet, clothes draped over chairs, toiletries covering the bathroom counter, and shoes tucked under furniture can make cleaning harder. Keeping your belongings together while packing gives housekeepers more room to wipe surfaces, vacuum, and clean the bathroom without working around your things.
Leaving the Room in Complete Disarray
A suitcase on the floor or a few clothes on a chair are perfectly normal signs that someone stayed in a hotel room. But scattered clothing, food containers, used towels, and trash covering every surface mean the housekeeper has to spend extra time picking everything up before cleaning can even begin.
Taking a couple of minutes to gather your belongings and throw away your trash can help. You don’t have to make the room spotless, just leave it reasonably tidy.
Related: 10 Things That Keep Getting Stolen From Hotel Rooms
Hiding Wet Towels Around the Room
Leaving wet towels behind doors, under beds, or in random corners creates extra work for housekeeping. Damp towels can develop a musty smell and leave moisture on carpets, floors, or furniture, so it’s much better to leave them in the bathroom or in the hotel’s designated towel area.
Leaving the Toilet Unflushed
Walking into a bathroom and finding an unflushed toilet is an unpleasant start to anyone’s shift. It takes only a few seconds to flush before leaving, and it’s a basic courtesy that saves the housekeeper from dealing with it right away.
Leaving Food All Over the Room
Room service trays, takeout containers, pizza boxes, open snacks, and unfinished drinks can leave behind a mess that takes extra time to clean. Food scraps and leftovers can also cause unpleasant smells and attract insects if they’re left sitting around.
If your hotel offers room service tray pickup, follow its instructions. Otherwise, gather your food containers and throw away the trash before checking out.
Leaving Hair All Over the Bathroom
Hair can collect on shower walls, around the drain, in the sink, and across the bathroom floor. Housekeepers are used to cleaning bathrooms, but large clumps of hair can be unpleasant to deal with, so picking up any noticeable piles before leaving is a thoughtful gesture.
Tossing Trash Everywhere Except in the Trash Can
Empty bottles on the nightstand, wrappers on the floor, tissues behind furniture, and other bits of garbage add unnecessary work to the cleanup. Emptying the trash cans is already part of a housekeeper’s routine, but walking around the room to collect scattered rubbish is another task entirely.
Use the trash cans provided in the room, even if that means gathering a few small pieces of garbage before you leave. It takes very little time and makes the room easier to clean.
Getting Makeup and Self-Tanner All Over the Linens
Hotel towels and bedding are often white, which makes stains from foundation, mascara, self-tanner, and hair dye easy to spot. A little makeup on a washcloth may not be a problem, but heavy stains can require special treatment, and some may be difficult or impossible to remove.
Using makeup wipes before washing your face and keeping hair dye away from hotel towels can help prevent stained linens. If you know a product might leave a mark, bring your own towel or use a dark washcloth from home.
Keeping the “Do Not Disturb” Sign Up for Days
The “Do Not Disturb” sign is useful if you’re sleeping, working, or simply don’t want anyone entering your room. But leaving it on the door for several days without arranging housekeeping can mean more accumulated trash, used towels, and bathroom mess by the time staff can clean.
Some hotels also have rules about how long a room can go without housekeeping service. If you prefer privacy, ask the front desk about its cleaning schedule and let the staff know what arrangements work for you.
