Cleaning an Occupied room ~ what to do??

[user 26]

i got a call from a former chambermaid asking my advice.
she was fluffing rooms. and, per our old established protocol, knocked loudly on the door and said 'HOUSEKEEPING' ... no answer. entered the room. and one of the guests was lying on the bed. not in it. not sleeping. just lounging. she stopped in her tracks and apologized that she thought the room was empty. male guest told her to go ahead and clean as if he wasn't there. she put a pile of clean towels on the bureau and left the room.
i don't recall that we had a policy on this. but i think she did the right thing by leaving. since she couldn't return with another housekeeper ... she is working alone.
do you have/ have you ever encountered a policy .... something to the effect that the room must be UNoccupied for room to be cleaned?
isn't it inappropriaite for male guest to be lounging about while young chambermaid is in the room? (the door is always open while fluffing) perhaps a team of two could fluff a room while the guest is in there. should the guest be asked to please leave for just a few minutes or does the guest have the right to stay?
she felt 'creeped out' ... her words, not that he did anything ... and also wondered if he didn't trust her to be in his room with his things. he will be there 2 more nights. the innkeeper told her to just go ahead and tidy the room if he is in it tomorrow. chambermaid is not happy with this instruction. personally, i think the innkeeper should go with the chambermaid to the room tomorrow and speak to the guest or accompany the chambermaid into the room.
why didn't he answer when she knocked on his door? is he playing games? i don't know.
nope, i don't think i encountered this before. puzzling

 

[Morticia]

Good call. I would have done the same thing myself, old lady that I am.
Had a guest working in his room the other day. Asked if he wanted the room done and said we would appreciate if he could step out for a few minutes. He declined and said it wasn't a problem at all, no towels, nothing needed, thanks.
So, yes, I do not like to clean while guests are lounging. Hubs doesn't care.

 

[Samster]

I've only encountered this a few times. I'm not comfortable with them hanging out in the room while I'm freshening. I feel like I'm being scrutinized. So, first I ask if they want me to come back later when they're gone? If the answer is no, then I just tell them that I'll empty the trash and swap out the wet towels. I leave it at that and get out as quickly as possible. The door is left open, especially if there's a lone male in there.

 

[JBloggs]

I think the I will come back later works well, and if they are still there then SOL. Leave a stack of towels and be gone. I am not sure of legalities but am sure a chambermaid is not to be alone in a room with a guest like that, there must be safety rules set up somewhere. You went on a cruise right? What do they do there, do they come in and clean? No, they leave and say they will come back. Which is much harder than a regular room since they do this twice per day on a ship.

 

[Morticia]

I think the I will come back later works well, and if they are still there then SOL. Leave a stack of towels and be gone. I am not sure of legalities but am sure a chambermaid is not to be alone in a room with a guest like that, there must be safety rules set up somewhere. You went on a cruise right? What do they do there, do they come in and clean? No, they leave and say they will come back. Which is much harder than a regular room since they do this twice per day on a ship..

We ended up putting on the welcome notecard that rooms are only cleaned between 9 AM - 1 PM to eliminate this 'hang around until 2 PM get my room cleaned after that' problem. I'm DONE cleaning at 1 PM, too much more to do.
But definitely I won't go in to clean if the guests are in the room. I won't even knock if I know they are in there unless it is getting close to 1 PM and I'm getting close to being done.

 

[Copperhead]

I can only recall this happening 2 times. Once a woman and the other a young man (early 20's). Both times, upon entering I just turned around and left. If I recall neither came out to tell me to come back in X minutes, so the room was left untidied. I have 'do not disturb' cards in each room and there is a side that says "no refresh needed today" but of course they were not used.
I would either A - not clean the room if he was in there or B - have 2 go in. Something is just not right there!

 

[SweetiePie]

I would give them the benefit of the doubt but do the quick clean.

 

[Don Draper]

There is definitely something odd if he didn't answer when she knocked...that would "creep me out" as well. I would NOT clean a room with someone in it, nor would I ask my housekeepers to, it's just a weird situation, like being on display.
We have a notice that if you'd like your room freshened up please vacate it between 10 am and noon. Seems to work pretty well, most folks who aren't out will just tell our housekeepers if they need towels, etc.

 

[egoodell]

she felt 'creeped out' ... her words, not that he did anything ... and also wondered if he didn't trust her to be in his room with his things. he will be there 2 more nights. the innkeeper told her to just go ahead and tidy the room if he is in it tomorrow. chambermaid is not happy with this instruction.

In this day and age a man, even a young one, should have the brains to know this is not acceptable. She acted properly. I don't know how many times the police have told young women they should have followed their "gut feeling". He can get his jollies somewhere else.
If a guest will not vacate the room, I will not clean. I'll dump new towels if needed and leave and I would expect any employee to do the same. I will NOT come back later, I have a schedule. Period.
Male or female, no matter which. If they don't vacate, expecially when asked, they don't get the service. It's the same as someone looking over my shoulder as I'm working on the computer. Not acceptable.
Riki

 

[gillumhouse]

I would not clean while a guest is in the room. Period.

 

[Proud Texan]

I would not clean while a guest is in the room. Period..

Heck, I'm a guy and even I know better than to act like that. From an innkeeper's standpoint, I don't feel like waiting around all day to do a fluff. But, as you all know, sometimes they never leave. If the guest is in the room, I will ask if they would like for me to empty their trash and bring them fresh towels or anything else. Usually, the response is "no thank you, we're fine."