https://triblive.com/business/one-of-the-most-basic-hotel-amenities-is-disappearing/
QuoteWhether out of necessity due to staffing shortages, out of respect for social distancing or perhaps just to save money,
So... perspective from the inside. My officemate at the hotel was the environmental manager. He was trying to do things like get the hotel to zero waste, promote composting, get the Tesla Superchargers up and running. When we all lost our jobs due to Covid, he was putting together a business case for putting a solar roof over the parking lot.
The hotel also went to a fancy laundry system that recycled a lot of the water and energy. Heat from dryers heats water or water preheats the air. I don't know all the details, but I remember when they proudly announced that over 1 million gallons of water had been recycled. That was less than a year after the system went online. In other words, hotels use a LOT of water and energy and a lot of it goes into laundry and a lot of that laundry is for sheets and towels that have either not been used or barely used.
So, said environmental manager did some calcs, figured out the savings in resources and money. The hotel then tried to bribe people into skipping daily house cleaning. The bribe was something like a free cocktail per day (so about $15 retail value). Almost nobody went for it.
Realizing the potential money savings, they then made daily housekeeping opt-in. At check-in, you were given the option of having daily housekeeping and if you didn't opt in, you didn't get it. Where the hotel dropped the ball, though, was in what happened to those who did not opt in. People thought they would save some energy and water. All good. But when they actually ran out of towels and needed replacements, the wait was often much longer than they expected. Of course, if the hotel had put the savings into hiring two new positions to make sure that towel delivery was prompt, guests might have been fine with it.
But they decided that the savings should go toward the private jet of the owners. Guests were less happy about that. Reviews were savage. Opt-in housekeeping lasted a few months. Then it was back to business as usual.
Of course, the accountant types were disappointed. So was my officemate, seeing the potential savings in water and electricity go, literally, down the drain.
That was all before the pandemic. I have to say, one of the things that I just can't fathom is why people need all new towels every day. Do they really use towels only once at home?
>>why people need all new towels every day
Totally agree on this. I also don't need my bed made every day. The first thing I do when I get to a hotel is to untuck everything anyway and it only takes a few seconds in the morning to straighten everything out.
But if I did need new towels or sheets I would want a somewhat quick response. Last year we were traveling with the kids and one of them started throwing up in the night. We called down for new sheets in the morning but they didn't get there for 8 hours or so.
>> want a somewhat quick response
That's the issue. Like I say, if the *primary* reason were environmental, they would have funded staff to deliver towels. That's not what they did, so there was a genuine decrease in stay quality without a corresponding decrease in price. People were justifiably upset.
I've always liked my privacy and never did like having housekeeping in my room. But until the last 5 or 6 years, it was almost impossible to keep them out, even if you asked the front desk to make a note for housekeeping. I'd have to catch the maid in the corridor and tell her directly to skip room X. (Oh, and give me more coffee pods! NO DECAF!)
But the clincher was traveling with a very sick toddler with tons of sterile medical supplies.
The motel I stayed at had a card that you placed on your bed if you wanted the sheets changed. Made it all about environmental.
You got towels replaced every day but only the used ones.
Last december, we stayed in a nice, brand new Marriott or Hilton that was obviously having severe staffing shortages. They shut down a few floors. On the floors that were open, they put out a couple of towels & washcloths beside each room door, sorta like room service. That was a good 'emergency' idea.
>>privacy
The first thing I do is hang a Do Not Disturb sign on the door unless I'm staying just one night.
Related:
Luxor Joins List of Las Vegas Hotels Phasing Out Room Service
https://www.casino.org/vitalvegas/luxor-joins-list-of-las-vegas-hotels-phasing-out-room-service/