Cleaning rooms while guests are at breakfast-opinions?

[Morticia]

So, now that I have a housekeeper, I have a question...on mornings when many are staying over and no one has checked out and everyone is still eating and all the odd jobs are done, would you say it's ok or not for her to fluff the rooms of guests who are staying over who are just sitting down to eat?
The question has nothing to do with noise but with being in the guest room while the guest is still in the house. Also has nothing to do with cleaning a room that a guest is in. This guest is just starting to eat, will probably still be eating when the room is done.
Answer as an innkeeper or a guest, I'd like to hear all sides.

 

[JBloggs]

Nope, don't go into someone's room while they are temp out of the room like that, not a good idea.

 

[GeorgiaGirl]

As a guest I wouldn't have a problem with it.

 

[Mr.Design]

Interesting question... if they're staying overnight aren't they always just 'temporarily' out of the room?

I guess I might feel uncomfortable knowing that I was downstairs and somebody was in there but in reality I guess it's no different than if I had gone out for the day.

I'm torn... helpful, huh? LOL!

 

[SweetiePie]

I don't think it is a good idea. Guests may not be expecting it and may have things out they wouldn't want you to see. Once they've left for the day, they usually have things in order.

 

[Morticia]

My take as a guest...when I am gone for the day, my stuff is put away. I've put my jammies in the suitcase, all of my toiletries are put away, I've gotten rid of tissues, that sort of thing. If I'm at breakfast, all of my stuff would be out and in the way of the housekeeper. I wondered if this is how other people travel...

 

[Mr.Design]

My take as a guest...when I am gone for the day, my stuff is put away. I've put my jammies in the suitcase, all of my toiletries are put away, I've gotten rid of tissues, that sort of thing. If I'm at breakfast, all of my stuff would be out and in the way of the housekeeper. I wondered if this is how other people travel....

Very good point and something I didn't think of. I say scratch the cleaning during breakfast.

 

[Morticia]

On the side of the innkeeper, tho, I don't want the housekeeper idling away while guests lounge around after breakfast. Some of them may not leave until 11, so that means the housekeeper sits for an hour and a half with nothing to do.

 

[DaisyMae]

what time does your housekeeper arrive? our housekeeper is here from 11am -3 pm.

 

[Morticia]

what time does your housekeeper arrive? our housekeeper is here from 11am -3 pm..

what time does your housekeeper arrive? our housekeeper is here from 11am -3 pm.

9:30. I want the rooms done before 1 PM, when most of the guests start arriving. Also, if she needs help, I don't want to be starting cleaning so late. The majority of our guests are gone by 9:30-10. What happens, tho, is that if they are going to be leaving 'on time' ALL the rooms will do that for some reason!
Right now everyone is gone. So it's ok today. But I was wondering about other mornings.

 

[SweetiePie]

Maybe post a note in the rooms stating that housekeeping begins at 9:30. That way guests can be prepared for it.

 

[user 26]

ask your guests
bree, being that your place is small and personal, as mine was ... but big enough so that lots of labor was required to fluff and flip .... when we were really full ... i went to people and said 'do you mind if housekeeping tidies your room while you are having breakfast?' only one said she had her 'things out' and wanted us to wait. perfectly fine. the rest said it would be fine.
i always liked the rooms to seem to magically transform but ......

 

[Morticia]

ask your guests
bree, being that your place is small and personal, as mine was ... but big enough so that lots of labor was required to fluff and flip .... when we were really full ... i went to people and said 'do you mind if housekeeping tidies your room while you are having breakfast?' only one said she had her 'things out' and wanted us to wait. perfectly fine. the rest said it would be fine.
i always liked the rooms to seem to magically transform but .......

Thanks. That's what I'll do if need be.

 

[Morticia]

Maybe post a note in the rooms stating that housekeeping begins at 9:30. That way guests can be prepared for it..

My note says between 9-1 PM, but I wasn't sure if guests would think that meant only if they weren't there. And it was more for the stragglers who think we're going to clean at 3 PM because that's when they finally got themselves together!

 

[Tim_Toad_HLB]

what time does your housekeeper arrive? our housekeeper is here from 11am -3 pm..

what time does your housekeeper arrive? our housekeeper is here from 11am -3 pm.

9:30. I want the rooms done before 1 PM, when most of the guests start arriving. Also, if she needs help, I don't want to be starting cleaning so late. The majority of our guests are gone by 9:30-10. What happens, tho, is that if they are going to be leaving 'on time' ALL the rooms will do that for some reason!
Right now everyone is gone. So it's ok today. But I was wondering about other mornings.
.

Do all the other B&Bs in your area as a standard policy allow that early of a check-in?
Most of our guests come to breakfast before showering, packing their gear for the day, etc.. it would be counterproductive to go in and fluff a room that fiftenn minutes later is going to get messed up again after breakfast.
I would perceive the housekeeper being in my room that early as trying to rush things.

 

[muirford]

I also think asking would be the way to go. I have actually seen a TA review where the guest was happy that the room was fluffed while s/he was at breakfast, so that they came back to a room ready for the day. I also know another innkeeper who would strip the sheets while the guests (checkouts) were at breakfast - that did not make the guests happy campers at all! So there is a fine line to walk there.
Maybe add a note to your check-in routine? Our housekeeper may be able to refresh your room during breakfast tomorrow morning - would that be alright or would you prefer we wait until you are out for the day? Maybe use the do not disturb sign during breakfast if you don't want service then?
On mornings when we can handle breakfast on our own, I have my housekeeper come in later - like 10:00 or so - because more people are out and about by then. I have a better situation for early check-ins than you do, though - downstairs powder room available - so it doesn't bother me if the rooms aren't flipped until 3:00.

 

[Don Draper]

We don't usually have the housekeepers go in unless folks are languishing at breakfast. We do have two guest rooms that contain our housekeeper's supply closets, so I will tell them to go into those rooms to get started if the folks are at breakfast.
I don't see a problem with it, I just get worried that if they haven't showered yet you'll need to redo the towels anyway. My girls have gotten very good at folding during these down times, can they help you with laundry or something else if they can't get in the rooms?

 

[Proud Texan]

ask your guests
bree, being that your place is small and personal, as mine was ... but big enough so that lots of labor was required to fluff and flip .... when we were really full ... i went to people and said 'do you mind if housekeeping tidies your room while you are having breakfast?' only one said she had her 'things out' and wanted us to wait. perfectly fine. the rest said it would be fine.
i always liked the rooms to seem to magically transform but .......

ask your guests
bree, being that your place is small and personal, as mine was ... but big enough so that lots of labor was required to fluff and flip .... when we were really full ... i went to people and said 'do you mind if housekeeping tidies your room while you are having breakfast?' only one said she had her 'things out' and wanted us to wait. perfectly fine. the rest said it would be fine.
i always liked the rooms to seem to magically transform but ......

I totally agree with Seashanty.
A side note....sometimes guests don't want to have their rooms fluffed. I'm working up some door hangers that will indicate wheather or not to have housekeeping attend to the room. I'm going to do them in bright colors so I can use binoculars to see if I need to bother walking the 300 yards to the cottages for a fluff or not. I will usually ask if they need towels or their trash removed when I see them. Most of the time the response is no. Since most of our guests bring a bottle(s) of wine with them, we've placed a special bin near the cottages for recycling. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and it keeps us from having to dig through the trash to remove bottles etc.

 

[muirford]

ask your guests
bree, being that your place is small and personal, as mine was ... but big enough so that lots of labor was required to fluff and flip .... when we were really full ... i went to people and said 'do you mind if housekeeping tidies your room while you are having breakfast?' only one said she had her 'things out' and wanted us to wait. perfectly fine. the rest said it would be fine.
i always liked the rooms to seem to magically transform but .......

ask your guests
bree, being that your place is small and personal, as mine was ... but big enough so that lots of labor was required to fluff and flip .... when we were really full ... i went to people and said 'do you mind if housekeeping tidies your room while you are having breakfast?' only one said she had her 'things out' and wanted us to wait. perfectly fine. the rest said it would be fine.
i always liked the rooms to seem to magically transform but ......

I totally agree with Seashanty.
A side note....sometimes guests don't want to have their rooms fluffed. I'm working up some door hangers that will indicate wheather or not to have housekeeping attend to the room. I'm going to do them in bright colors so I can use binoculars to see if I need to bother walking the 300 yards to the cottages for a fluff or not. I will usually ask if they need towels or their trash removed when I see them. Most of the time the response is no. Since most of our guests bring a bottle(s) of wine with them, we've placed a special bin near the cottages for recycling. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and it keeps us from having to dig through the trash to remove bottles etc.
.

Since most of our guests bring a bottle(s) of wine with them, we've placed a special bin near the cottages for recycling. The response has been overwhelmingly positive and it keeps us from having to dig through the trash to remove bottles etc.

I am still trying to figure out a way to do the recycling upstairs. Some of the rooms have enough space for another recycle bin - although I worry it will turn into a third trash bin then. I have a library upstairs with space where I might put a recycle bin instead.

 

[gillumhouse]

I also say no. Sometimes they go back to the room for a nap (or frisky) or get a shower before going out. Also someone might have a priority calling for the loo and return to the room for that purpose and oops, here is the housekeeper.
Suggest an appointment with the dreaded ironing board or folding towels or dusting the common area or sweep the porches as a filler while the housekeeper waits. There is ALWAYS something to be done at a B & B.