Why do I not like housekeeping in hotels? I don’t think housekeeping in hotels are given all of the tools they need to properly clean each room. And because Covid-19 has encroached upon our lives, I am even more skeptical. I have had a few experiences that I will share with you. One of them is especially gross so beware.

Why Housekeeping In Hotels Is Gross

When I get my key and go into my room, I put my carry-on bag on the table, and get out my sanitizing wipes. I like to use disinfectant wipes and I carry them with me every time I travel. And think about this, have you ever seen dishwashing liquid on a housekeeper cart? How do they clean the coffee pots or glasses? This article from USA Today gives you a few more reasons why housekeeping in hotels isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. 

Here are the things I sanitize:

•  The remote control.
• All knobs in the room.
•  All light fixtures in the room.
•  The locks on the door.
• The toilet seat and handle.
• All faucet handles.
• Any chairs or couches.

What Is A Housekeeper Job Description?

According to Workable.com, a housekeeper has a laundry list of requirements that they must adhere to. Of course, every job has requirements, but housekeepers are given so much responsibility yet not given ample time, nor proper resources to do their job effectively.

How much does a housekeeper make?

Would you believe that housekeepers only make $10.95 an hour? According to Indeed.com, that is the average rate for the people responsible for making your room completely sanitized.

 

Cleaning a hotel room is not an easy job, and I am in no way saying anything negative about the women and men who do this job. They do the best they can with the materials they are given.

It is my hope that since the onset of Covid-19, cleaning a hotel room is being taken seriously by upper management and they are equipping the staff with what they need.

Housekeeping in hotels

Here are a couple of reasons why housekeeping in hotels is something I deny and why I normally don’t let housekeeping in my room to clean up.

1. I walked into my room one day when the housekeeper was there (this was in a 5 star hotel). No problem, I was looking for something in my suitcase and I happen to look up and notice the housekeeper was coming out of the bathroom with a rag in her hand and immediately went to clean the nightstand…with the same rag.

That. Is. Gross.

I mean, think about it, if she just finished cleaning my toilet that my booty was on and then came and cleaned my bedroom with the same rag. Was that the same rag from the last room she cleaned? From the last toilet she cleaned?

So she uses the same rag to clean my toilet as she used to clean the toilet of someone I don’t know, someone who sat their naked possible sweaty butt on their toilet? No thank you.

So, when I check into my room, I do the thorough wipe down, and when I leave, I put the do not disturb sign on the door. I do not allow housekeeping back into my room. I only ask for new towels and toilet paper if I happen to run out.

2. Now this one is really gross. I was in a hotel room in Paris, at a very high end hotel off The Champs Elysses. (This was before my ban on housekeeping) Housekeeping had come into my room and it was nice and clean. I went into the bathroom because I had eaten breakfast and I wanted to brush my teeth before I had to meet my guests downstairs, so I picked up my toothbrush and started to brush.

My toothbrush was in my mouth and a few strokes had been taken. When all of a sudden I realized that this wasn’t my toothbrush. I took it out of my mouth and it was a toothbrush from housekeeping. Something they use to clean cracks and crevices (and I refuse to think about the other things it may have cleaned). This brush had ‘mistakenly’ been put on my sink and I had put it in my mouth.

 

Have you ever had something happen that is so nasty you can’t think about it or you will throw up? Well, that was definitely one of those times. I didn’t have time to dwell on it, I had 50 guests waiting downstairs and I certainly couldn’t let any of them know what had just happened.

However, I did tell the head of housekeeping what happened, showed her the brush and told her I didn’t want this to happen to anyone ever again. She was very apologetic and let’s hope they got things together.

 

So, from these experiences I learned to keep housekeeping out of my room. It doesn’t matter if I’m staying in a 5 star hotel or a cheaper one, I don’t normally need a housekeeper. It doesn’t bother me to fix my own bed (if I choose to) and I don’t need my carpet vacuumed daily.

It’s nice when they arrange things in the bathroom for you, but then that means their germs are on everything and I just don’t like people touching my intimate things.

If I travel with someone and we stay in a hotel, I tell them my policy before we book a room together so they won’t be surprised. Why? Because I absolutely do not like a housekeeper in my room. There was one time in Paris when I specifically told the manager I didn’t want housekeeping. They came in anyway. I simply re-sanitized the room and kept my toothbrush in my suitcase.

To this day, when I go to a hotel, I keep my toothbrush in a holder in my carry-on, just in case housekeeping ignores my do not disturb sign and cleans my room. If you had put something in your mouth that cleans bathroom surfaces and cracks, I think you would feel the same way as I do.

Do you let housekeeping in your room to clean when you travel?