From a combination of work and leisure trips, I’m well on my way to spending more nights in hotels this year than ever before. Staying away from home so much has led me to try and make my hotel room feel more “homey”. I’ll unpack things right away, keep my stuff organized instead of just throwing it all over the room, as well as bring more toiletries than I used to carry with me.
The last one of those is due to me never being sure if the hotel I’m staying at will have individually sized or bulk dispensers of soap and shampoo. Therefore, I’m more likely to bring my own items from home, including bringing my own small soaps with me from my vast collection.
This brings me to my most recent travel pet peeve.
Could the hotel housekeeping staff please stop re-arranging my toiletries!!!
If you haven’t figured out by now, I like to keep things organized. It keeps me happy. I’m not over the top about it but small things, like stacking my change by coin type, give me some sense of order. It’s one of my strange travel quirks.
In the bathroom, I also keep things organized by category:
- Toothbrush, toothpaste and mouthwash
- Razor and shaving cream
- Brush and deodorant (the two last things I use)
- Random items off to the side
That’s how I left the room yesterday. Here’s what I looked like when I returned:
OK, so you moved everything around. Maybe you needed to clean the counter and if so, thank you. But the item placement has me totally confused. I can get the nail clippers next to the razor as grooming products but why put the toothbrush cover in a prominent space? I had nothing on the shelf so why move the shave cream, brush and deodorant there?
The final thing is that when I left the room, all of the items were on the right side of the sink. Moving them to the left side doesn’t bother me but if you’re moving them, could you just mirror where they were on the other side.
I’m spending way too much time trying to figure out the thought process behind this action. There was most likely no thought given to the placement of the items, just wanting to present them in a neat manner. If so, who does that?
Time to stop obsessing over this and get out of the hotel room to enjoy the day.
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
11 comments
Wow, I dont blame you for being upset! In most of the hotels I’ve worked in, they told me to never touch the guests belongings, so I always just cleaned around the items…I can certainly understand your frustration!!
Why even have them in your room? The gloves they wear are filthy…from the toilet to your toiletries is probably how it went. Then they used the same filthy gloves to create that facial tissue concoction they jam into the dispenser. By all means, hold one to your face while you wipe your nose! ICK! No housekeeping ever.
This!
I travel 100+ nights a year. I have never EVER let housekeeping in my room. The DND sign goes on the door before I close it for the first time. The room is filthy and germ-infested already when you get there. I wipe down what I can but letting them in to your room with the same filthy gloves they just wiped a toilet seat with so they can organize your toothbrush and nail-clipper? It might look clean because they tidy everything but make no mistake, you should never EVER let them in your room – especially touching your stuff. GROSS!!!!
OCD much? And I agree without whomever said the flight gloves thing. Dont leave your stuff out. Its isnt your home and they do clean whatever they have to without thinking of you personally. Better to put all your personal items away. As would be expected if you had a housekeeper in your home. I wouldnt want a soul in the world touchong my toothbrush, toothpaste or even readers.
If it bothers you enough to write a WHOLE article about it, why don’t you leave housekeeping a note asking them not to rearrange your things? I’m sure it would save a lot of stress for you in the future.
I will never leave stuff out like this. Imagine a housekeeper who just cleaned the toilet touching your toothbrush or whatever. Even in an innocent attempt to clean around you.
Personally I always put my toiletries back in their bag before leaving the room. This is because a) I want to be sure they clean the sink/counter, and they might not if they have to move my items and b) if they were willing to move my toothbrush, I’d prefer it not be with the hand that just scrubbed the toilet bowl…
Wow to me thats not a damn big deal
My toiletries are put away. No exposure! Even cleaning around the items is no bueno.
Housekeeping isn’t supposed to touch your personal items. I am a Housekeeping Supervisor and every hotel that I’ve worked at touching or rearranging personal items isnt allowed. If the housekeeper turns the thermostat cooler or hotter she has to change it back the way the way the guests had it before she leaves. If the tv is on they leave it on. If their are personal items on a bed we try to make the bed as best as we can without touching your items..Your personal items should never be touched.
Every hotel room has a DND sign if you dont want your items touched you could always opt out of cleaning services
Wow i don’t know why all the fuss is about.
If you are a guest in any hotels .And if you don’t want housekeeping to clean after you just put the DND sign up on your door i bet you they will be so happy to not do your room.