How to be a good hotel guest: the do's and don'ts
Since I’m fast approaching my fourth week serving as a housekeeper at The Monhegan House, it seems fitting to share a bit of “good guest” wisdom I’ve observed throughout my shifts. So far I’ve interacted with a wide variety of tourist types: artists, musicians, birders, families, foreigners, photographers, regulars, and many many more niche categories of travelers. While some folks have been patient, appreciative, and sweet, there have been a few Karens (and whatever the male version of a Karen is) thrown in the mix. Hopefully the following list of do’s and don’ts in regard to overnight stays will give you some new perspective on how to be a kinder customer (but if it just makes you chuckle that’s okay too).
#1 Do tip appropriately
Starting off with the obvious no-brainer, or at least I thought so. As it turns out, apparently not everyone was raised with the same value for gratuity as I was. I would honestly say only about 50% of the guests leave a tip in the room, which was shocking to find out. While some rooms leave heftier sums of cash between $20 and $50, the majority of low ballers probably brings the average tip down to around $6 (estimate). I’m not going to sit here and tell you how much is the right amount to dip into your wallet for your next housekeeper, but I will encourage you to tip something. You’d be amazed to see how many rooms left in complete disarray leave nothing but their trash and soiled linens behind as a thank you.
#2 Don’t miss the trashcan
It seems like common knowledge, but I have yet to go a day without feeling utter astonishment for the lack of some guests’ ability to simply put their garbage in the large open vessels that are our trashcans! Life becomes 10 times easier when all I have to do in order to take out the trash is swap out a few bags, but when I have to go on a treasure hunt for used tissues and q-tips strewn about with zero regard for proper waste disposal––life gets a little harder.
#3 Don’t miss the toilet
Coming up next, but certainly not second in importance to missing the trashcan, is ye old pee splatter. Apologies in advance to my male readers out there, but I simply can’t put any blame on the ladies for this one considering it’s only the urinals where this becomes an issue. Having to clean out the mysterious sludge and rogue pubic hairs from the urinals is bad enough, but cleaning a pee-speckled bathroom floor by hand is truly the icing on the cake. Accuracy is key, and always remember that someone’s gotta clean up your mess.
#4 Do leave non-monetary tips
I’ve personally never been one to leave behind unwanted goodies or small gifts for housekeeping staff in the past, but as a now frequent recipient, I can say with good conscience that it’s a fun little surprise. So far I’ve been left (intentionally, I promise I’m not stealing belongings or swigging half-drank beer cans) water bottles, unfinished wine, nice soap, snacks, shells, hair products, sodas, and my least favorite: driftwood. Seriously what is it with people collecting beachside branches only to leave them behind for me to get rid of? Anyway, if you happen to find yourself in a surplus of something useful, chances are someone from hotel staff could find a use for it.
#5 Don’t get into your bed sheets if you’re covered in sand/dirt/mud/etc.
Unlike sand found on the hardwood floors which can be easily swept or vacuumed up in no time during a room turnover, it’s not a nice surprise to gift your housekeeper a mound of dirt under your comforter. As a religious sock-wearer and an absolute psycho about being clean before getting into bed, this one really stumps me. How does one sleep with such grainy, gross, sediment throughout the sheets?
#6 Do ask your housekeeper’s name
I tend to be a head-down, fast-paced worker when it comes to manual labor or minimum wage jobs, but housekeeping on a vacation destination has somehow pulled my formerly non-existent people skills to the surface. I’ve had some wonderful conversations with guests who ask my name and listen to my spiel about how and why I work at the inn and they almost always leave me with a sense of respect and acknowledgment. It’s easy to think of yourself as a lesser than maid at the constant beck and call of the guests, but the little interactions that disintegrate that barrier between staff and customer makes the job feel a whole lot less like a job. Plus, odds are if you know someone’s name they’ll be much more inclined to replenish your towel supply and make up your bed with a smile!
#7 Don’t rush the process
Whoever decided that early check-in was a good idea should be absolutely punched in the gut because it simply enrages me. Despite that fact that each of our guests are made well aware of the standard 3 PM check-in time far in advance of their arrival to the island––they still show up on the earliest ferry with heavy bags and inpatient attitudes. And the whole ordeal is ironic because the folks who want you to hurry up and finish prepping their room are the very same ones who will complain about missed dust bunnies or low ice supply in the freezers. Not only does the impatience cause me to feel physically exhausted from working so quickly, but mentally too! Try to imagine the anxiety you’d feel if someone watched you clean their room as if it were a life-or-death time-sensitive challenge. If a room happens to be ready a few hours earlier than expected, sure why not let folks in? But the expectation of early check-in availability is ridiculous and only adds pressure and unnecessary deadlines to those already working as fast as they can to begin with.
#8 Do double-check for all of your belongings
Normally, the first thing I do when entering a room before stripping it of linens, glassware, and trash, is check all of the drawers for items left behind. Since there's usually a bit of time between when guests depart their rooms and when they depart the actual island, I'm usually able to get lost belongings back into their owner's hands in time––but again, it would make my job a whole lot easier if everyone just double-checked in the first place. Oddly enough, the number one place where I discover the most left behind commodities is within the sheets. The Monhegan tourists must be some wacky sleepers because I've found more socks, shirts, and pairs of underwear in the bedding than I'd care to admit.
#9 Do reuse your towels
Now this is arguably more of a request for only rural places with limited resources like Monhegan, but it's still a good environmental practice no matter where you are. Seeing as water and energy are hot commodities on the island, we have all of our hotel laundry sent out to the mainland several times a week and ferried back in. The process is expensive and labor intensive as each linen and towel is folded, packaged, ferried, unloaded, trucked, carried, and unpacked, before finally being put away again. So really think twice about whether or not you actually need a fresh set of hand towels next time you consider chucking them on the floor instead of hanging them up to dry––you could be saving loads of time, money, and energy.
#10 Don't try to be an interior designer
It's not the end of the world if you decide to shift around a few chairs or push a bureau to the side a bit, but when beds, chests, and other hard-to-move furniture gets completely moved out of place? Now that's annoying. Not only does it suck up extra time and lead to more heavy lifting for your housekeepers, but it also tends to scratch up the floor which is something we try to avoid at our nearly hundred-year-old inn. Leave the room decor and setup to those who clean it everyday and just keep stuff the way you found it please.
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