Checking Out Of Your Hotel Room? Don’t Do This Before You Go

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Most of us have a little routine before checking out of a hotel.

We make sure we didn’t leave anything in a drawer, take one last look in the bathroom, and maybe even check under the bed for a forgotten charger.

But there’s one thing some travelers do before leaving that hotel staff would actually prefer they skip.

The vacation or business trip is over, and it’s time to leave your hotel room for the final time. Your bags are packed. You’ve done your little tricks to ensure you didn’t leave anything behind in your hotel room or in the safe. You’ve had your “pee for the road.”

Did you make your bed?

Don’t.

There are two reasons.

To help housekeeping

It’s easier and faster for housekeeping to pull everything up from the bed if it’s not made. That’s especially true if your definition of “making the bed” includes tucking the covers in and replacing those stupid show pillows. So you’re saving the housekeeper a few seconds in time, as well as a little less strain on his/her back.

Want to be really nice? Move the blanket and show pillows to the side, strip the bed, throw all the towels on top and leave the whole thing as a ball of linens and towels on the bed. It saves her/him a full minute or two (which doesn’t sound like much but multiply that by however many rooms they have to service for new guests that day), and leaving them on the bed (as opposed to the floor) is safer for their back when they go to pick the bundle up.

To help your fellow travelers

I’m not suggesting that hotel housekeepers will often shirk their duties. But I’m also not naive enough to think that it never happens. If a housekeeper sees a bed that looks made, there’s a small chance, that’s a small chance (s)he may just not change it.

Other things to not do when you check out

• Leave the TV on – if it’s too loud, housekeeping may not be able to tell if there’s a reply or not when they knock on the door to clean the room. And really, why would you leave the TV on if you’re not only not in the room, but aren’t going to return to it?
• Leave the Do Not Disturb sign on the door – again, it just causes confusion for the housekeeping staff. Are you in the room and just sleeping?

Either one can cause delays. Housekeeping may need to contact the front desk to see if you’ve checked out or not (and if your bill is already paid, some people might not even check out; they just leave), or they may leave that room “for last,” in case you’re actually still in there.

With the availability of early check-in, it’s always a bit disappointing when you ask for it and can’t get it. When it happens to us, we always wonder if they’re short-staffed or…what. Sometimes it could be because of the actions of the guest that’s been in the room before you. Now that you know, don’t be that person.

I get it – most people who make the bed before they leave are genuinely trying to be helpful.

And honestly, that’s refreshing in a world where some hotel guests seem determined to leave rooms looking like they hosted a three-day music festival.

But when it comes to checking out, what feels helpful isn’t always what works best behind the scenes.

So before you leave your next hotel room, focus on making sure you haven’t forgotten anything important. Leave the room accessible, remove the Do Not Disturb sign, turn off the TV, and let housekeeping handle the rest.

After all, they do this for a living. 😄

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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary