A Classy Guest

It’s been over five years since my stint as a hotel housekeeper, and most of the lessons I learned have faded from my memory.

Such is the nature of memory, even in one as young as I.

But a few nights spent in a hotel during state survey are enough to bring back a few notes I’d filed away in my mind from my housekeeping days.

Particularly, notes on what makes for a classy guest.

A classy guest, you see, makes herself at home in her hotel room–but not too at home. She hangs her clothing in the closet, leaves her toiletries beside the sink, sets her Bible beside her bed, and maybe has a pillow or blanket of her own laying across her bed. She does not trash the room, leave her personal belongings strewn across the floor, or cover all available surfaces with half empty food and beverage containers.

A classy guest takes advantage of amenities–but does not abuse them. She acknowledges the pretty bottles of shampoo and conditioner, uses them while showering, and leaves them in the shower for the next day. Should she end up with a partially used bottle, she’ll tuck it in her bag, but she’ll never systematically empty the room of amenities every day, hoping that the housekeeper will refresh them. She might take home a bottle or two, but never seven sets of bottles.

A classy guest honors the hotel’s property enough to leave her luggage on a luggage rack rather than hoisting it onto the bed where it’ll destroy the mattresses lifespan. She has a sense of fitness and chooses to put things where they belong instead of dropping them willy-nilly wherever they fall.

A classy guest leaves the bed looking slept in, but neat. She understands that the housekeeping staff are going to make assumptions about who she is and what she does, but she isn’t keen on revealing secrets to the staff. If wild midnight romps occurred here, she’s not sharing–which the staff certainly appreciate. On the other hand, she recognizes that the staff make beds for a living–and she isn’t going to try to make the bed just for them to remake it every day.

A classy guest leaves a kind note or a tip (or both) for her housekeepers. It needn’t be much–although coins are not particularly appreciated unless accompanied by a handwritten note from a child. Most housekeepers are raising their families on meager incomes, struggling to make do in a nation whose language is not their native tongue and whose customs are not their own. Some are refugees, some the more “ordinary” immigrants, others are honest but less-educated natives. Either way, they can use a kind word and a couple dollars to ease their monotonous days.

Does anyone else have any hotel experience? Do you have any pointers to add?