B&B Trifecta - No need to clean

[swirt]

Sometimes its the little things that make your day. Yesterday was in the mid 90s and high humidity. All the guests had just left for the wine trail so I walked out to see who wanted rooms cleaned. A perfect trifecta, three "no need to clean" signs, one on each door. DW and I felt like we won the lottery. Those door hangers are one fo the best things we ever putin int the rooms. "Please clean" on one side and "No need to clean. / Do not disturb." on the other.

 

[gillumhouse]

I ask at breakfast if they need maid service and the answer is usually no. I tell them I consider their toom as their "home" during their stay and I do not enter unless requested. Hey, it works for me. A lot less work. The shared bath gets cleaned several times a day if it is being shared - if not it is treated as a private bath.

 

[Morticia]

I'm stealing this for the summer. We just can't do it all ourselves and this is the perfect solution. There are a lot of guests who don't need/want the room done up everyday and this will help us out enormously. I hung the door hanger out when I was at the hotel the other day. Had a bag of towels and amenities left for me outside in the hall, which I thought was nice.
OK, who had the different templates for the door hangers?

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

The compulsive side of me says ... must go in, must make sure wine not spilled on bed, wet towels on floor and furniture, stinky leftovers in bins, floors flooded, ceiling fans on, lights on, bathroom exhaust fans on (If guests leave early these are always left on to burn out)....
Question for all: Do you think guests keep their room cleaner/tidier if thy think the innkkeeper will be coming in there?
(I know I WOULD PERSONALLY)
This makes it harder for me to wish for the trifecta.

 

[Morticia]

The compulsive side of me says ... must go in, must make sure wine not spilled on bed, wet towels on floor and furniture, stinky leftovers in bins, floors flooded, ceiling fans on, lights on, bathroom exhaust fans on (If guests leave early these are always left on to burn out)....
Question for all: Do you think guests keep their room cleaner/tidier if thy think the innkkeeper will be coming in there?
(I know I WOULD PERSONALLY)
This makes it harder for me to wish for the trifecta..

Experience speaking...NO. Guests do not keep rooms tidier because they think I may enter, they keep them tidier because that's who they are. I might close my suitcase if I was exepcting housekeeping, but I wouldn't 'tidy up'.
I know what you're saying, absolutely. BUT, if I don't have to clean 7 rooms everyday, the door hangers are looking good to me right now.
You know, we can do 5 rooms without blinking. 6 rooms is hard, the 7th is the straw. Don't know why that is, but we noticed it last year. 5 rooms goes by zip zip. After that we can barely move to get the other 2 done.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

The other reason I ask is that most of our guests make their own beds and hang up their towels. Even many of the younger guests do this. I often wonder if it is because they know I am coming in there, so they do it. For that, there is less work.
Know what I mean?
For myself, I am tidy, but I would be extra tidy in my room at a B&B. A hotel is different. There are not personal decor and care in my room at a hotel. I still put all used towels in the tub (mainly due to lack fo space more than anything else)

 

[swirt]

The compulsive side of me says ... must go in, must make sure wine not spilled on bed, wet towels on floor and furniture, stinky leftovers in bins, floors flooded, ceiling fans on, lights on, bathroom exhaust fans on (If guests leave early these are always left on to burn out)....
Question for all: Do you think guests keep their room cleaner/tidier if thy think the innkkeeper will be coming in there?
(I know I WOULD PERSONALLY)
This makes it harder for me to wish for the trifecta..

Actually, off the top of my head with no real statistics, I would say it is the other way around. The ones who choose "no need to clean" are the thoughtful guests who are less likely to have trashed the room. Its the inconsiderate/thoughtless people who don't bother putting them out and don't bother to notice they spilled water all over the antique night stand.
At the moment I can't think of a single instance where "no need to clean" has been used to cover something up. And even if they put that out, if we hear the AC running all day, it doesn't mean we won't peak in just to make sure they didn't also leave a window open or set the thing to 60 degrees and the fireplace to 65.

 

[Morticia]

The other reason I ask is that most of our guests make their own beds and hang up their towels. Even many of the younger guests do this. I often wonder if it is because they know I am coming in there, so they do it. For that, there is less work.
Know what I mean?
For myself, I am tidy, but I would be extra tidy in my room at a B&B. A hotel is different. There are not personal decor and care in my room at a hotel. I still put all used towels in the tub (mainly due to lack fo space more than anything else).

Now, see, I remake the beds. Usually they just pull the quilt up and it's a mess with blankets and sheets hanging out all over. So, it doesn't save me anything. And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me, a fluff is way fast. Make the bed, empty the trash, adjust the blinds, turn off the A/C and I'm done.
And it't the A/C part that has me worried. If we go to the clean/no clean idea, I will tell guests we WILL enter the room to turn off the A/C if they do not. I'm not paying $.16/kWh for 7 A/C units to run all day.

 

[swirt]

The other reason I ask is that most of our guests make their own beds and hang up their towels. Even many of the younger guests do this. I often wonder if it is because they know I am coming in there, so they do it. For that, there is less work.
Know what I mean?
For myself, I am tidy, but I would be extra tidy in my room at a B&B. A hotel is different. There are not personal decor and care in my room at a hotel. I still put all used towels in the tub (mainly due to lack fo space more than anything else).

Now, see, I remake the beds. Usually they just pull the quilt up and it's a mess with blankets and sheets hanging out all over. So, it doesn't save me anything. And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me, a fluff is way fast. Make the bed, empty the trash, adjust the blinds, turn off the A/C and I'm done.
And it't the A/C part that has me worried. If we go to the clean/no clean idea, I will tell guests we WILL enter the room to turn off the A/C if they do not. I'm not paying $.16/kWh for 7 A/C units to run all day.
.

Cleans and scrubs the entire bath on a fluff? Is that typical for your area?

 

[YellowSocks]

We have a guest in today who left everything tidy. I told her last night when she checks in that any towels on the floor will be taken and any left hanging will remain, so she knew I was coming. She asked if she should turn off the AC. I said no, leave it on. It gets hot up there and it's probably better to let it run during the day so it's cool when she comes back at lunch. She did leave it on low, though...
=) Kk.

 

[Morticia]

The other reason I ask is that most of our guests make their own beds and hang up their towels. Even many of the younger guests do this. I often wonder if it is because they know I am coming in there, so they do it. For that, there is less work.
Know what I mean?
For myself, I am tidy, but I would be extra tidy in my room at a B&B. A hotel is different. There are not personal decor and care in my room at a hotel. I still put all used towels in the tub (mainly due to lack fo space more than anything else).

Now, see, I remake the beds. Usually they just pull the quilt up and it's a mess with blankets and sheets hanging out all over. So, it doesn't save me anything. And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me, a fluff is way fast. Make the bed, empty the trash, adjust the blinds, turn off the A/C and I'm done.
And it't the A/C part that has me worried. If we go to the clean/no clean idea, I will tell guests we WILL enter the room to turn off the A/C if they do not. I'm not paying $.16/kWh for 7 A/C units to run all day.
.

Cleans and scrubs the entire bath on a fluff? Is that typical for your area?
.

Cleans and scrubs the entire bath on a fluff? Is that typical for your area?

No, that's typical for him. He wants to 'keep up' with the shower especially as that is prone to molding quickly without attention. And, like Samster and her sheets, it's one of the top 3 things we get the most comments on...how clean everything is. (Great breakfast, great conversation, how clean- in that order.)

 

[Samster]

The other reason I ask is that most of our guests make their own beds and hang up their towels. Even many of the younger guests do this. I often wonder if it is because they know I am coming in there, so they do it. For that, there is less work.
Know what I mean?
For myself, I am tidy, but I would be extra tidy in my room at a B&B. A hotel is different. There are not personal decor and care in my room at a hotel. I still put all used towels in the tub (mainly due to lack fo space more than anything else).

Now, see, I remake the beds. Usually they just pull the quilt up and it's a mess with blankets and sheets hanging out all over. So, it doesn't save me anything. And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me, a fluff is way fast. Make the bed, empty the trash, adjust the blinds, turn off the A/C and I'm done.
And it't the A/C part that has me worried. If we go to the clean/no clean idea, I will tell guests we WILL enter the room to turn off the A/C if they do not. I'm not paying $.16/kWh for 7 A/C units to run all day.
.

Cleans and scrubs the entire bath on a fluff? Is that typical for your area?
.

Cleans and scrubs the entire bath on a fluff? Is that typical for your area?

No, that's typical for him. He wants to 'keep up' with the shower especially as that is prone to molding quickly without attention. And, like Samster and her sheets, it's one of the top 3 things we get the most comments on...how clean everything is. (Great breakfast, great conversation, how clean- in that order.)
.

I think that you can make the bathroom really look clean on a freshen and not do all that work. jmvvho. All our room journal comments and TA reviews talk about how everything is immaculate. I don't go to the extent that you do in the bathrooms. Showers, tubs, get wiped down really well with a clean towel (older, out of service type towel) & fixtures get polished for water spot removal. They get hit with cleaner if there is soap residue only. Toilet seat gets cleaned & bowl scrubbed. Sink gets spritzed & wiped out. Of course mirrors get wiped for any hairspray or toothpaste spots. I will check the floors & wipe any spots up but I don't pull the rugs and do the whole floor. I will vacuum if I'm vacuuming the room. Seems to be working for me. I HAVE to do it this way because of the size of our baths. I would never be finished.....

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

The other reason I ask is that most of our guests make their own beds and hang up their towels. Even many of the younger guests do this. I often wonder if it is because they know I am coming in there, so they do it. For that, there is less work.
Know what I mean?
For myself, I am tidy, but I would be extra tidy in my room at a B&B. A hotel is different. There are not personal decor and care in my room at a hotel. I still put all used towels in the tub (mainly due to lack fo space more than anything else).

Now, see, I remake the beds. Usually they just pull the quilt up and it's a mess with blankets and sheets hanging out all over. So, it doesn't save me anything. And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me, a fluff is way fast. Make the bed, empty the trash, adjust the blinds, turn off the A/C and I'm done.
And it't the A/C part that has me worried. If we go to the clean/no clean idea, I will tell guests we WILL enter the room to turn off the A/C if they do not. I'm not paying $.16/kWh for 7 A/C units to run all day.
.

Bree wrote: And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me refreshing the room means making the bed, replacing towels/toiletries, emtying trash putting fresh choco's near the bed. Unless there is grass and debris on the rug, I won't vacuum, I won't clean the toilet or sink. I can WIPE it with the used hand towel and close toilet seat and flush if necessary. That is it. I do not and will not scrub it when I freshen a room.
Freshing up a room takes only 3 or 5 minutes tops. I make the bed adn tuck everything in, and put cover pillows in closet or one set BEHIND their bed pillows. I mean it is a quick walk in, grab push move outa there.

 

[YellowSocks]

The other reason I ask is that most of our guests make their own beds and hang up their towels. Even many of the younger guests do this. I often wonder if it is because they know I am coming in there, so they do it. For that, there is less work.
Know what I mean?
For myself, I am tidy, but I would be extra tidy in my room at a B&B. A hotel is different. There are not personal decor and care in my room at a hotel. I still put all used towels in the tub (mainly due to lack fo space more than anything else).

Now, see, I remake the beds. Usually they just pull the quilt up and it's a mess with blankets and sheets hanging out all over. So, it doesn't save me anything. And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me, a fluff is way fast. Make the bed, empty the trash, adjust the blinds, turn off the A/C and I'm done.
And it't the A/C part that has me worried. If we go to the clean/no clean idea, I will tell guests we WILL enter the room to turn off the A/C if they do not. I'm not paying $.16/kWh for 7 A/C units to run all day.
.

Bree wrote: And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me refreshing the room means making the bed, replacing towels/toiletries, emtying trash putting fresh choco's near the bed. Unless there is grass and debris on the rug, I won't vacuum, I won't clean the toilet or sink. I can WIPE it with the used hand towel and close toilet seat and flush if necessary. That is it. I do not and will not scrub it when I freshen a room.
Freshing up a room takes only 3 or 5 minutes tops. I make the bed adn tuck everything in, and put cover pillows in closet or one set BEHIND their bed pillows. I mean it is a quick walk in, grab push move outa there.
.

Mine's like yours, but takes longer (probably because I'm not as seasoned as you). I do wipe mirrors, countertops, etc., plus refresh towels, tidy the bed, take the trash, check the condition of the floor (but rarely vacuum). I kept forgetting to do it at all when I first started.
=) Kk.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

I never wipe countertops or dressers due to personal belongings. I don't want to touch their stuff at all, ever. People can freak out over that. But a quick wipe over everything with a face cloth or hand towel is easy enough.
As many of our guests MAKE their beds, the same percentage DO NOT REPLACE THE BLASTED TOILET ROLL. Sure they can even put it on the back of the toilet and use it, and not reach over 2 feet to the roller. I am ALWAYS replacing those.

 

[Morticia]

The other reason I ask is that most of our guests make their own beds and hang up their towels. Even many of the younger guests do this. I often wonder if it is because they know I am coming in there, so they do it. For that, there is less work.
Know what I mean?
For myself, I am tidy, but I would be extra tidy in my room at a B&B. A hotel is different. There are not personal decor and care in my room at a hotel. I still put all used towels in the tub (mainly due to lack fo space more than anything else).

Now, see, I remake the beds. Usually they just pull the quilt up and it's a mess with blankets and sheets hanging out all over. So, it doesn't save me anything. And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me, a fluff is way fast. Make the bed, empty the trash, adjust the blinds, turn off the A/C and I'm done.
And it't the A/C part that has me worried. If we go to the clean/no clean idea, I will tell guests we WILL enter the room to turn off the A/C if they do not. I'm not paying $.16/kWh for 7 A/C units to run all day.
.

Bree wrote: And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me refreshing the room means making the bed, replacing towels/toiletries, emtying trash putting fresh choco's near the bed. Unless there is grass and debris on the rug, I won't vacuum, I won't clean the toilet or sink. I can WIPE it with the used hand towel and close toilet seat and flush if necessary. That is it. I do not and will not scrub it when I freshen a room.
Freshing up a room takes only 3 or 5 minutes tops. I make the bed adn tuck everything in, and put cover pillows in closet or one set BEHIND their bed pillows. I mean it is a quick walk in, grab push move outa there.
.

Freshing up a room takes only 3 or 5 minutes tops.

Holy cow! When we fluff it is 15 minutes, at least. I guess we'll regroup this summer when it's too busy to do it all. Heck, at that rate, I could be done on some days in an hour or less.

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

The other reason I ask is that most of our guests make their own beds and hang up their towels. Even many of the younger guests do this. I often wonder if it is because they know I am coming in there, so they do it. For that, there is less work.
Know what I mean?
For myself, I am tidy, but I would be extra tidy in my room at a B&B. A hotel is different. There are not personal decor and care in my room at a hotel. I still put all used towels in the tub (mainly due to lack fo space more than anything else).

Now, see, I remake the beds. Usually they just pull the quilt up and it's a mess with blankets and sheets hanging out all over. So, it doesn't save me anything. And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me, a fluff is way fast. Make the bed, empty the trash, adjust the blinds, turn off the A/C and I'm done.
And it't the A/C part that has me worried. If we go to the clean/no clean idea, I will tell guests we WILL enter the room to turn off the A/C if they do not. I'm not paying $.16/kWh for 7 A/C units to run all day.
.

Bree wrote: And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me refreshing the room means making the bed, replacing towels/toiletries, emtying trash putting fresh choco's near the bed. Unless there is grass and debris on the rug, I won't vacuum, I won't clean the toilet or sink. I can WIPE it with the used hand towel and close toilet seat and flush if necessary. That is it. I do not and will not scrub it when I freshen a room.
Freshing up a room takes only 3 or 5 minutes tops. I make the bed adn tuck everything in, and put cover pillows in closet or one set BEHIND their bed pillows. I mean it is a quick walk in, grab push move outa there.
.

Freshing up a room takes only 3 or 5 minutes tops.

Holy cow! When we fluff it is 15 minutes, at least. I guess we'll regroup this summer when it's too busy to do it all. Heck, at that rate, I could be done on some days in an hour or less.
.

That is by myself. Always 15-20 minutes tops. Going out to the cottage opposite direction of the other rooms adds a couple minutes. Not much.

 

[Morticia]

The other reason I ask is that most of our guests make their own beds and hang up their towels. Even many of the younger guests do this. I often wonder if it is because they know I am coming in there, so they do it. For that, there is less work.
Know what I mean?
For myself, I am tidy, but I would be extra tidy in my room at a B&B. A hotel is different. There are not personal decor and care in my room at a hotel. I still put all used towels in the tub (mainly due to lack fo space more than anything else).

Now, see, I remake the beds. Usually they just pull the quilt up and it's a mess with blankets and sheets hanging out all over. So, it doesn't save me anything. And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me, a fluff is way fast. Make the bed, empty the trash, adjust the blinds, turn off the A/C and I'm done.
And it't the A/C part that has me worried. If we go to the clean/no clean idea, I will tell guests we WILL enter the room to turn off the A/C if they do not. I'm not paying $.16/kWh for 7 A/C units to run all day.
.

Bree wrote: And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me refreshing the room means making the bed, replacing towels/toiletries, emtying trash putting fresh choco's near the bed. Unless there is grass and debris on the rug, I won't vacuum, I won't clean the toilet or sink. I can WIPE it with the used hand towel and close toilet seat and flush if necessary. That is it. I do not and will not scrub it when I freshen a room.
Freshing up a room takes only 3 or 5 minutes tops. I make the bed adn tuck everything in, and put cover pillows in closet or one set BEHIND their bed pillows. I mean it is a quick walk in, grab push move outa there.
.

Freshing up a room takes only 3 or 5 minutes tops.

Holy cow! When we fluff it is 15 minutes, at least. I guess we'll regroup this summer when it's too busy to do it all. Heck, at that rate, I could be done on some days in an hour or less.
.

That is by myself. Always 15-20 minutes tops. Going out to the cottage opposite direction of the other rooms adds a couple minutes. Not much.
.

Hubs says he might be able to cut some corners but he's not sure how or where. He says he'd like to watch you clean to see what you do/don't do and the process you follow. (Another engineer...)

 

[JunieBJones (JBJ)]

The other reason I ask is that most of our guests make their own beds and hang up their towels. Even many of the younger guests do this. I often wonder if it is because they know I am coming in there, so they do it. For that, there is less work.
Know what I mean?
For myself, I am tidy, but I would be extra tidy in my room at a B&B. A hotel is different. There are not personal decor and care in my room at a hotel. I still put all used towels in the tub (mainly due to lack fo space more than anything else).

Now, see, I remake the beds. Usually they just pull the quilt up and it's a mess with blankets and sheets hanging out all over. So, it doesn't save me anything. And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me, a fluff is way fast. Make the bed, empty the trash, adjust the blinds, turn off the A/C and I'm done.
And it't the A/C part that has me worried. If we go to the clean/no clean idea, I will tell guests we WILL enter the room to turn off the A/C if they do not. I'm not paying $.16/kWh for 7 A/C units to run all day.
.

Bree wrote: And hubs cleans the entire bathroom each time. Scrubs the shower, sink, toilet and shelf and then washes the floor. For him , the only diff between a fluff and a strip is the amount of 'product' in his way.
For me refreshing the room means making the bed, replacing towels/toiletries, emtying trash putting fresh choco's near the bed. Unless there is grass and debris on the rug, I won't vacuum, I won't clean the toilet or sink. I can WIPE it with the used hand towel and close toilet seat and flush if necessary. That is it. I do not and will not scrub it when I freshen a room.
Freshing up a room takes only 3 or 5 minutes tops. I make the bed adn tuck everything in, and put cover pillows in closet or one set BEHIND their bed pillows. I mean it is a quick walk in, grab push move outa there.
.

Freshing up a room takes only 3 or 5 minutes tops.

Holy cow! When we fluff it is 15 minutes, at least. I guess we'll regroup this summer when it's too busy to do it all. Heck, at that rate, I could be done on some days in an hour or less.
.

That is by myself. Always 15-20 minutes tops. Going out to the cottage opposite direction of the other rooms adds a couple minutes. Not much.
.

Hubs says he might be able to cut some corners but he's not sure how or where. He says he'd like to watch you clean to see what you do/don't do and the process you follow. (Another engineer...)
.

I don't clean, I freshen. I clean when they are gone and the next room will be checking in. Tell him that, then he can go yuk or whatever. I don't vacuum unless necessary. I wipe things out and that is the cleaning portion. I don't take out used soaps from the showers or anything until they are gone. Remember THO that I have more one nighters than I would like. So it is actually MORE cleaning around here than not. I wish it weren't.
Synopsis of a one room freshen:
Carry set of towels and new bath mat upstairs and plastic rubbish bags (walmart). Extra chocolates in pocket.
Walk in turn off all lights, fans. Open shades. Empty all waste baskets into plastic bag (each room has about 3).
Make bed if un-made or just pulled up to cover it. Put cover pillows (shams) in closet out of the way and one set behind bed pillows. Replace chocolates.
Bathroom - collect wet/used towels. Flush toilet and replace tp roll. Check to see if they need any soaps/shampoo/cups etc.
Swipe out sink with spare hand towel and shower. Replace towels and hang fresh bath mat over shower.
Leave. Lock door. Done in under 5 minutes. 5 minutes if I have to make the bed, under that if I don't.

 

[GeorgiaGirl]

As a guest, I am perfectly fine without my room being cleaned or towels replaced daily. I always tidy up the room like it was my own. BUT, if it were my Inn I would probably go in and at least check for spilled items and to make sure there was nothing that 'needed' my attention.