![\"Housekeeper-royaltyfree\"](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/verygoodpoints\/files\/2013\/03\/royalty-free-housekeeping-clipart-illustration-227604-285x300.jpg\")
<\/p>\nI had the opportunity to sit down with the former Director of Housekeeping for one of the five largest hotels in Orlando with more than 2,000 rooms and suites.\u00a0 I wanted to ask, are all the rumors true? Are the rooms clean? Are bedspreads as dirty as we think? Do the housekeepers go through our stuff?\u00a0 Here\u2019s what I learned:<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Q: First, off, thank you for the interview. I\u2019d like to ask, what\u2019s the best part of being a Director of Housekeeping for such a massive hotel?<\/p>\n
A: Working for a well-known chain hotel means building and maintaining an exceptional image and reputation.\u00a0 If the rooms aren\u2019t clean, the reputation goes downhill. I know that I get to impact that every day by ensuring that a team maintains a clean hotel.<\/p>\n
Q: There\u2019s lots of rumors and tell-alls out there right now. Let\u2019s talk about some of the rumors. How dirty are the bedspreads?<\/p>\n
A: Many hotels only clean the bedspreads one time a quarter. They\u2019re very expensive to clean, so it\u2019s done infrequently.\u00a0 I personally remove the bedspread. However, many hotels are turning to duvet covers which can be cleaned much more frequently and cheaply.\u00a0 You can feel pretty sure your duvet cover is clean if you don\u2019t see stains, hairs, etc\u2026<\/p>\n
Q: I read in a book recently that housekeepers cut corners by using Windex to clean the cups in the bathrooms. Is that true?<\/p>\n
A: I suppose there maybe some housekeeper(s) out there who cut corners and break rules, but most well run hotels have supervisors and managers who check each room. Trust me; we\u2019d know if they used Windex on cups. A good hotel would never that that occur and if it did, the person would be dismissed.<\/p>\n
Q: What corners do housekeepers cut?<\/p>\n
A: Honestly, not many\u00a0 because they\u2019re bonuses based on the number of rooms cleaned in a shift and docked if they skip any items on their checklist.\u00a0 Some may try to skip vacuuming if the floor looks clean. They\u2019ll try to cut corners sometimes, but it\u2019s not so frequent as you would think.<\/p>\n
Q: Do housekeepers look through our things?<\/p>\n
A: No, they don\u2019t have time to.\u00a0 Every housekeeper has a specific number of rooms they have to clean in a shift. If they don\u2019t finish the rooms in the shift they\u2019re docked.\u00a0 The more rooms they get done in the shift, they more money they make. They don\u2019t have time to waste going through your things.\u00a0 Now, I\u2019m sure it\u2019s happened before, but it\u2019s not the rule.<\/p>\n
![\"Hotel](\"http:\/\/first2board.com\/verygoodpoints\/files\/2013\/03\/Hotel-Room-copy-300x106.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Q: What is the strangest thing you\u2019ve ever found in a room?<\/p>\n
A: You name, we\u2019ve seen it. Use your imagination, we\u2019ve probably found it!<\/p>\n
Q: What is the one tip you would give a hotel guest?<\/p>\n
A: Check for bed bugs! It\u2019s a huge problem all over. If you pull up the corner of the sheets and see anything that shouldn\u2019t be there, call housekeeping right away.<\/p>\n
Q: What\u2019s the standard on tipping housekeepers?<\/p>\n
A: There\u2019s no standard. It\u2019s very much appreciated because housekeepers aren\u2019t paid very well in many places.\u00a0 When housekeepers are unionized, they may make a slightly better wage, but it\u2019s still a very low paying job. I would suggest tipping $1-2 a day.\u00a0 But you should leave a note saying this is for the housekeeper. Some hotels have policies that they can\u2019t keep money found in the room if there\u2019s no note.<\/p>\n
Q: Do you have a favorite hotel?<\/p>\n
A: Yes, whichever one is sending me my paycheck.<\/p>\n
Thank you very much for your interview and sharing this information. It\u2019s always great to learn about hotel practices!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I had the opportunity to sit down with the former Director of Housekeeping for one of the five largest hotels in Orlando with more than 2,000 rooms and suites.\u00a0 I wanted to ask, are all the rumors true? Are the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2401,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[91,92,742,18],"tags":[743],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\n