Handling Housekeeping with Hang-Arounds

[Don Draper]

Do you all post anywhere what time your housekeeping "hours" are? Our housekeepers are typically here from 9:30 to 11:30 each day. Normally (in-season) folks are up and out of here so this works fine. In our discounted off-season we get SO many people who just refuse to leave the house. Should I post a note that if they want their room freshened they have to physically LEAVE it? Or just not clean the rooms if they stay in them?

 

[agoodman]

Unless a guest is checking out, they are paying for the room and I would not ask them to leave - I knock on the door and tell them I need to service the room, if they say "oh don't worry" I at least tell them I need to collect the trash and pick up dirty towels
If they are "those" types of guests (ya know what I mean) then I would re-iterate that I do not offer another service today, and is there anything else they will be needing
I do not post my housekeeping hours, I don't want people to feel they are at a "boarding house with rules". However if you have a Guest Directory you may want to list it under "Housekeeping Service" - something like "Housekeeping Service is provided once a day, in the mornings. If you do not want service please notify the Innkeeper"

 

[Alibi Ike]

We have it posted on the back of the door that housekeeping is only from 9-1. We will do all of the vacated rooms first and then knock to ask if someone wants their room freshened. If they say they do, we do ask them to vacate for a few minutes while we clean. If they refuse to vacate, no cleaning. We say, 'That's ok, stay there, we'll just give you new towels and throw out the trash, but we don't want to disturb your reading by cleaning around you.'
If they insist it is ok with them, we state it is a company policy to not have the housekeeper in the guest room with guests present. Let them think about that what they will. Having the housekeeper on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor while being watched is not part of what you paid for.

 

[Don Draper]

We have it posted on the back of the door that housekeeping is only from 9-1. We will do all of the vacated rooms first and then knock to ask if someone wants their room freshened. If they say they do, we do ask them to vacate for a few minutes while we clean. If they refuse to vacate, no cleaning. We say, 'That's ok, stay there, we'll just give you new towels and throw out the trash, but we don't want to disturb your reading by cleaning around you.'
If they insist it is ok with them, we state it is a company policy to not have the housekeeper in the guest room with guests present. Let them think about that what they will. Having the housekeeper on her hands and knees scrubbing the floor while being watched is not part of what you paid for..

I think I'm going to go with a small note on the back of the door, one I can take down during the season. 9 times out of 10 they don't want anything done anyway. You can sit in there with your trash for all I care!

 

[Breakfast Diva]

We have it on our welcome letter which is the front page of a binder in each room. We open this binder and rest it against the pillow, so they have to at least notice it. We offer housekeeping until noon. If they need anything after that, they can call us. The POs used to offer housekeeping until 2:00, but after a year or two I just couldn't stand waiting around so we changed it to 12:00. Works well for us. Here is our policy in their welcome letter.
Housekeeping is offered until 12:00 noon. We will not disturb you if you want to stay and relax, but if you leave before 12;00 We will come in and freshen up. If you ever need any extra linens, etc., don't hesitate to call us.

 

[Joey Camb]

we do it till all the rooms are done which if it is a full house is usually about 3pm (12 rooms to do sometimes a full change) but we will say to them if they are in "could you let us know when you are popping out so we can service the room" I wouldn't do it when they are their it would be super off putting! When you say that they some times say oh we just need towels or more tea don't worry about anything else and then it saves us a job WOOO HOOO

 

[gillumhouse]

I ask my guests each morning if they need maid service. The family that was here over Thanksgiving said everything was fine so I just had them put the garbage in the hall each day and gave them new liners and extra plastic liner bags each day for the diapers. Everyone was happy!