guests that request NO service???

[EmptyNest]

Just had a lady & business associate leave yesterday after a 3 night stay - 2 rooms. Lady said no need to bother their rooms all was fine...I said OK if you're sure? Then she said will if you want but it is up to you.
So I went in to her room - bed linens had stains all over so stripped bed. The bath towels were in the sink along with the soaking wet wash clothes. So what was in her plans - ask me for fresh towels etc when she came back after a hard day? Oh and her Bus. Assoc. slept on top of the made bed under the quilt each night...DH said I should have provided a turndown for him as he obiously had never seen the real makings of a made bed before! (Well at least he felt the blanket and quilt were clean....a feeling never to be felt at a hotel!).

Well she did say...do it "if you want" and you wanted...so that is a good thing But if as in the other case..they said DO NOT GO INTO THE ROOM..then I would not and if it were me..I would be very pissed if an innkeeper did go into my room when I specifically asked them not to. And..I would be complaining about it as well.

 

[Innkeep]

Just had a lady & business associate leave yesterday after a 3 night stay - 2 rooms. Lady said no need to bother their rooms all was fine...I said OK if you're sure? Then she said will if you want but it is up to you.
So I went in to her room - bed linens had stains all over so stripped bed. The bath towels were in the sink along with the soaking wet wash clothes. So what was in her plans - ask me for fresh towels etc when she came back after a hard day? Oh and her Bus. Assoc. slept on top of the made bed under the quilt each night...DH said I should have provided a turndown for him as he obiously had never seen the real makings of a made bed before! (Well at least he felt the blanket and quilt were clean....a feeling never to be felt at a hotel!).

Well she did say...do it "if you want" and you wanted...so that is a good thing But if as in the other case..they said DO NOT GO INTO THE ROOM..then I would not and if it were me..I would be very pissed if an innkeeper did go into my room when I specifically asked them not to. And..I would be complaining about it as well.
.

I was tickled last week when a lady told me that I didn't need to change her sheets (after one night). A motel person that I converted into a B&B person. She's coming back next year even though we don't change the sheets every night.

 

[JBloggs]

I'm on the fence about this personally and have had problems in the past by not going into someone's room. We are a Victorian Inn and all our furnishings are good antiques. I have had ignorant people throw soaking wet towels on valuable pieces, I have had an overflowing toilet that no one bothered to mention because they thought they would get 'in trouble'. I had someone smuggle in a full size, live Christmas tree one year and put it up in their room complete with decorations and leave in front a burning fireplace.
So to answer your question, yes... I will check on a room. I have found this to be in the best interest for all involved..

Thanks everyone!!
More then helpful!
I've decided to peak in the room to make sure everything is 'okay.' But I won't bother anything in their space. Thanks!
.

Thanks everyone!!
More then helpful!
I've decided to peak in the room to make sure everything is 'okay.' But I won't bother anything in their space. Thanks!

If I were a guest and said not to I would be ticked off if I found out you opened my private space and took a peak. Disregarding my wishes.

 

[JBloggs]

This falls under the category of nanny cams imo. INVASION of PRIVACY. A BnB is supposed to be privacy enhanced. For those who spoke about preserving the privacy of celebrity guests and yet go into or peak into a room without PERMISSION (in case there were wet towels) and in fact AGAINST the wishes of a guest...a big no no. This really bothers me. Sorry, but it does.
I just freshened a room upstairs, and I think you might find MOST of the time the "we don't need maid service" means they are ultra tidy and want you to STAY OUT. Not because they are hiding damages. That always amazes me, how many damages have we all had combined? Not many. You have people in your home, you need to trust them. You are the one who handed them a key.

 

[user 26]

my place ... my property ... my responsibility ... i was not peaking in to see anyone's personal stuff ... that would be snooping ... i was peaking in to be sure there was not a wet towel on a bed or a wet glass on a table. i didn't touch their stuff or their bed, made or unmade, unless there was a wet towel on the bed.
as i said ... i never had a complaint about this. ever. lots of hugs as folks left with promises to return. po'd guests? why??
i am going to keep repeating this: no one ever said to me 'do not go into my room' they said they didn't 'need anything done' ...
i did what i felt was appropriate. i still feel i did the right thing. we all have to decide what we feel is appropriate. if to you 'no service' means 'stay out' then stay out.
that's my story and i'm sticking to it.

 

[gillumhouse]

They tell me no, I stay downstairs. I am a small inn so it is more personal than trying to deal with guests from 6 ot 8 rooms at a time. If I was really concerned I could go out on the roof and look in the window - and that AIN'T gonna happen!

 

[Morticia]

This falls under the category of nanny cams imo. INVASION of PRIVACY. A BnB is supposed to be privacy enhanced. For those who spoke about preserving the privacy of celebrity guests and yet go into or peak into a room without PERMISSION (in case there were wet towels) and in fact AGAINST the wishes of a guest...a big no no. This really bothers me. Sorry, but it does.
I just freshened a room upstairs, and I think you might find MOST of the time the "we don't need maid service" means they are ultra tidy and want you to STAY OUT. Not because they are hiding damages. That always amazes me, how many damages have we all had combined? Not many. You have people in your home, you need to trust them. You are the one who handed them a key..

You have people in your home, you need to trust them. You are the one who handed them a key.

Total sidetrack...hubs checked in guests and then they left for dinner, I didn't meet them. Heard guests coming to door after dinner and opened it for them as I was standing right there talking to someone else. 6 women. They glared at me and said, 'Do you always open the door for people you don't know?' I laughed and said, 'Yes, all the time, I own the place.' I went to intro myself and they just walked away. They needed help with a couple of things and I was right there because I was making my 9 PM rounds to close up. Did they thank me for any of it? No. Basically didn't acknowledge me at all. Totally weird. And they kept calling me 'ma'am'.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

Before I was an innkeeper, I used to travel a lot for business. I know it's a bit different because I was not staying at B&Bs, but more often than not, I would put my Do Not Disturb sign out 24 hours a day because I didn't want anybody coming in my room. EVER. I had expensive equipment I traveled with and I didn't want to worry about the safety of it. Your guests may not have the issue of having something expensive they are trying to protect like I did, but since most b&bs don't have safes in the room, they may be uncomfortable leaving any valuables around and would prefer that no one enters their private space.
If a guest says they don't need/want freshening, we won't go in. I think it's a matter of trust for both the guest and the innkeeper.

 

[One Day]

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?

 

[JBloggs]

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?.

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?

We do.

 

[Proud Texan]

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?.

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?

I've thought about doing that. That way I can see hanger (with binoculars) from the main house and don't have to waste a trip to the cottage for a fluff. I've even thought about color coding so that they could indicate whether or not they'd be eating breakfast.
We've had several amorous couples skip breakfast for early morning bed aerobics.

Edited to ask: Does anyone have a source for door hangers?

 

[JBloggs]

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?.

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?

I've thought about doing that. That way I can see hanger (with binoculars) from the main house and don't have to waste a trip to the cottage for a fluff. I've even thought about color coding so that they could indicate whether or not they'd be eating breakfast.
We've had several amorous couples skip breakfast for early morning bed aerobics.

Edited to ask: Does anyone have a source for door hangers?
.

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?

I've thought about doing that. That way I can see hanger (with binoculars) from the main house and don't have to waste a trip to the cottage for a fluff. I've even thought about color coding so that they could indicate whether or not they'd be eating breakfast.
We've had several amorous couples skip breakfast for early morning bed aerobics.

Edited to ask: Does anyone have a source for door hangers?

There is a company that sends them to me that is "earth" friendly, they have a variety of products for bathroom, door hangers etc. You could make some real easy from a craft store, we have one set that are cross stitched and hand on a ribbon "Please go away" one says and the other "Please come in" guests seem to like to use these.

 

[SweetiePie]

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?.

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?

I've thought about doing that. That way I can see hanger (with binoculars) from the main house and don't have to waste a trip to the cottage for a fluff. I've even thought about color coding so that they could indicate whether or not they'd be eating breakfast.
We've had several amorous couples skip breakfast for early morning bed aerobics.

Edited to ask: Does anyone have a source for door hangers?
.

PT have you considered a flag system, since you are separated from the cabins? White for surrender, upside down for distress.

 

[swirt]

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?.

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?

I've thought about doing that. That way I can see hanger (with binoculars) from the main house and don't have to waste a trip to the cottage for a fluff. I've even thought about color coding so that they could indicate whether or not they'd be eating breakfast.
We've had several amorous couples skip breakfast for early morning bed aerobics.

Edited to ask: Does anyone have a source for door hangers?
.

PT have you considered a flag system, since you are separated from the cabins? White for surrender, upside down for distress.

.

White for surrender, upside down for distress.
How can you tell when a white flag is upside down? LOL

 

[swirt]

Our door hangers say "Please Clean" on one side and the other says "Do not disturb / No need to clean" on the other. To me the "no need to clean" portion is an important line.

 

[SweetiePie]

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?.

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?

I've thought about doing that. That way I can see hanger (with binoculars) from the main house and don't have to waste a trip to the cottage for a fluff. I've even thought about color coding so that they could indicate whether or not they'd be eating breakfast.
We've had several amorous couples skip breakfast for early morning bed aerobics.

Edited to ask: Does anyone have a source for door hangers?
.

PT have you considered a flag system, since you are separated from the cabins? White for surrender, upside down for distress.

.

White for surrender, upside down for distress.
How can you tell when a white flag is upside down? LOL
.

That's for the regular flag, silly. It's the international distress signal.

 

[Samster]

Do any of you use the "do not disturb" door hangers?.

We have them but the guests don't use them.

 

[MooseTrax]

A quite bizarre guest left yesterday. He was here for 5 days and required no service for his room. Each day I knocked on the door to ask if the housekeeper could change out the towels or empty the trash. Each day he stood in the doorway to the room and said he was fine, thanks. A quick peek and sniff while talking to him showed the room to be in impeccable condition so we left him alone. After he left we found no trash and one towel was used. He left the room at precisely noon everyday and was back at precisely 5 PM at which point he sat down and had a glass of milk, read the front page of the local paper and then went to his room.

 

[Samster]

A quite bizarre guest left yesterday. He was here for 5 days and required no service for his room. Each day I knocked on the door to ask if the housekeeper could change out the towels or empty the trash. Each day he stood in the doorway to the room and said he was fine, thanks. A quick peek and sniff while talking to him showed the room to be in impeccable condition so we left him alone. After he left we found no trash and one towel was used. He left the room at precisely noon everyday and was back at precisely 5 PM at which point he sat down and had a glass of milk, read the front page of the local paper and then went to his room..

Spy? Government agent? Hit man? Boggles the mind

 

[brighteyes_22]

This is kind of off subject, but somewhat funny. While my husband and I were planning our honeymoon, we visited a prospective B&B, just to get a feel of the place to make sure it would be private. The inkeeper was showing us the rooms with her toy poodle following us all along. She then proceeded to enter into a guests suite, all the while saying, "These people are on their honeymoon too. They really didn't want anybody coming in here, but I'm sure it will be okay". My husband and I looked at each other with raised eyebrows. We felt extremely uncomfortable going in their room, because who knows what could be laying around. I almost objected, but after a quick peek, we left. About five minutes later, the innkeeper asked, "where's __ ?"(insert the poodle's name). She had locked him in the guest's suite! I almost wished she had left him in there so the guests would have found out. My husband and I immediately checked that one off the list. Any B&B that would let strangers into my room is not a place I would feel comfortable staying at!