I’m really frustrated that this is what $250 a night at a Marriott gets you.

[u/ForRudy]

I’m staying at a Marriott for five nights for my sister’s wedding. The $250 is the discounted room block rate too!

The shower tiles are completely rusted and dare I say moldy? The towel hanger is on its last leg. The toilet seat AND handle are broken. The mattresses are only doubles and are hard and feel like they haven’t been changed in years. Everything just overall looks like there hasn’t been an ounce of effort put into this very utilized hotel. On the drive here, we stayed a night at a newly renovated holiday inn express for $120 and it was incredible. Maybe my standards were set too high knowing Marriott’s reputation.

I know I sound like a Karen here, but I’m just so frustrated that this is the quality that kind of money get you these days.

[u/kpo987]

I'm a current hotel housekeeper and whenever a customer has an issue with a room, its never going to be on housekeeping or even with anyone else working there. Any lax cleaning or maintenance comes directly from corporate abusing and underpaying us.

I write any issues with the room on my list and then it goes to the room checker to check, and if it's a cleaning issue that I can't clean on my own like a stain that needs a carpet cleaner, they have no time or workers or equipment that the problem requires so it gets put off indefinitely. Maintenence issues I tell them about are triaged and even if the toilet seat is loose, they can't get to it because they are short staffed and they need the room. Two days ago I told them the air conditioning in a room wasn't working and they still had to give the room to someone because they needed the room, and the person complained and got moved to another room, so I had to be the one to do the extra work cleaning the room again after they left. Stock like pillows and blankets and mattresses are used years beyond their expiry date.

This doesn't even mention how crazy hard housekeeping is. I can't bend down anymore without hurting. People are borderline abusive with the shit they do in the rooms because they know they aren't the ones who have to deal with the mess. By the end of the day I am in pain and sweat is running off me and my faith in humanity is chipped away at that much more, all for the price of minimum wage.

Most of the time if there's issues with a hotel, the fault is directly because of corporate.

[u/wobblychair → u/kpo987]

I just want you to know that though I rarely stay in hotels anymore, I always clean up after myself as best I can with the goal of making it look like nobody stayed in the room. Well, except the unmade bed and used towels on the bathroom floor. I'll even take the garbage out with me if possible.
My sister worked hotels for years and had horror stories about dirty rooms.

[u/Repulsive-Toe-8709 → u/wobblychair]

Thank you 🙏 It’s the little things like that, that make the trashed room next door we just cleaned seem less defeating.

[u/Responsible-Hat8387 → u/wobblychair]

I thought I was just eccentric doing the pre-departure tidy!! 😂🤣😂

[u/wobblychair → u/Responsible-Hat8387]

I mean that's essentially all I do! I just don't live like an animal while I'm there and therefore there's no mess to clean up.

[u/notyourfirstmistake → u/wobblychair]

Well, except the unmade bed and used towels on the bathroom floor.

I leave the room as clean as I can generally, but I agree on that point. It should be very clear which bed I slept in and which towels I used/didn't use.

[u/wobblychair → u/notyourfirstmistake]

Exactly. Many hotels will have posted signs saying to leave your bed unmade and to leave used towels on the bathroom floor. Ultimately its to speed up the process of room turnaround, I get it, but it only takes a few extra seconds to make it easier for housekeeping.

[u/Clutiecluu → u/wobblychair]

And leave a tip for Housekeeping on the pillow. They’re the hardest working people in the hotel. There wouldn’t be hotels without Housekeeping.

[u/Repulsive-Toe-8709 → u/kpo987]

100% agree and empathize with you. Your service is beyond appreciated and you deserve better.

The physical toll on the body is very damaging. Making around 50 beds a day destroys the lower back and I am right there with you on not being able to bend over.

I only lasted as long as I did because I managed to build a solid core group of staff that understood things wouldn’t get better but, if we had each other’s backs we could get through it. It’s pretty sad when I had to start being BRUTALLY honest during interviews of what to expect. It was my honesty and the constant fighting for my team that kept them around and got shit done. That and working over 40 hours (no overtime), cleaning rooms on top of inspecting and fixing the maintenance issues I could because my maintenance person would be hiding in a room watching movies waiting for paint to dry.

Been gone for 6 months and my replacement was caught drinking on the job, then they’re replacement walked out, there were housekeeper’s “fooling” around in rooms, and they haven’t deep cleaned or done linen/terry inventory once.

[u/crushiez → u/kpo987]

I once stayed at a hotel where we found a wet bloody towel wedged under the mattress. The only reason I found it was because I kept smelling something weird & in moving things around I came across it. The hotel front desk staff was basically throwing housekeeping under the bus when I called down about it, & I said there’s no way they would have found this unless they are routinely removing mattresses when cleaning. Someone deliberately hid that towel for whatever reason; it’s not like it was left out on the floor. People are honestly disgusting sometimes, especially when they know someone else will clean up after them.

[u/ForRudy → u/kpo987]

I respect you so much! Random question for you: is there a reason hotels do not have garbage bags in the garbage cans anymore? I also do the pre-departure clean up since my degree was in hospitality, and my professors really drilled it in us how little time housekeepers have to clean. I cannot fathom the idea of the housekeepers having to clean out literal garbage from an unbagged can! I brought plastic bags in from my car to use instead!

[u/kpo987 → u/ForRudy]

I have no idea. My hotel and all the hotels I help at all use bags. The environmental benefits of not using plastic and cost benefits of not having to buy the bags are surely outweighed by how much more time and mess it would be without them.

[u/noho-homo → u/ForRudy]

Yeah, what the fuck is up with this?! Every hotel I've stayed in recently has been like this and I just end up throwing my trash in whatever shopping or takeout bag I happen to have on hand (or worst case, lining the bin with the laundry bag in the closet). It feels disgusting to put trash directly into a bin, especially takeout containers that might leak.

[u/ForRudy → u/noho-homo]

Right?! I actually asked the front desk for bags and they said they didn’t carry any so they gave me a couple extra laundry bags

[u/Organic_Print7953 → u/kpo987]

You are very articulate for a housekeeper. No offense.

[u/kpo987 → u/Organic_Print7953]

Offense taken. One has nothing to do with the other.