For sure you all know those little cards or signs in a hotel bathroom which say something like,
Please help us protect the environment.
If you put your towels on the floor, we will change them.
If you decide to use them a second time, you will help us save water.
This is a standard in like 95 percent of the rooms I book. For many, many years already.
However, barely 5 percent of all cleaning services actually apply the rule. No matter the country and no matter the hotel category.
This service attitude and cleaning behavior really frustrates me. We all cannot even imagine the piles - sorry, mountains - of towels that go into laundry per hotel and day.
Why does it matter?
First of all, it is a waste of water and we should be mindful with the usage of this resource.
Secondly, it is a waste of money. All hotels are businesses with the aim of making money. Why reduce your profit margin unnecessarily?
Thirdly, it is about service. I’m well aware that there are for sure guests who appreciate or even demand a daily towel change. And if that’s important to them, they should get it.
Isn’t that what the save-water signs say anyhow?
All they need to do is place their towels on the floor. They will receive fresh ones every single day and be happy.
However, for me the opposite is true. My happiness drops when I notice that my towels got changed even though I did not place them on the floor. And I only shake my head when they get changed although they have not been used at all. This happens as well.
No protection of the environment.
No money saving.
No respect of my needs.
Think about it: by putting up cards, the hotel signals to me that I have a choice.
I may choose (and they say it is preferable) to use the towels again.
I make the choice to use them again.
The towels get changed anyhow.
My choice has been disrespected.
This does not feel good!
Let’s look at the few hotels that truly live by their signs of reuse.
How many of them still change a towel, if it shows a small stain? Almost all! Here I have to admit that I would understand if their manager had the commitment to a clean and neat looking room. A stain disturbs the image.
Yet, if you let the guest choose their preference, you might want to accept a black mascara stain in the towel.
If accepted, reuse often means “up to three days”. Those hotels that do not change all towels after a maximum of three days are very rare. And three days does not necessarily mean that the towel had been used three times.
Well, I don’t know about you, but I don’t spend my time at home washing towels every day. And again I find it important to highlight that it is about guest satisfaction. Everyone who wants to get a fresh towel should get it. But I hope that there are more people out there who care about their choice and give feedback to the hotel staff.
Your behavior does matter!
Let’s change perspective: What can hotels do? Well, hotels are objects and don’t have a behavior, but the people who own them or work for a hotel, can think about their approach.
As a hotel manager, you may reflect your strategy:
Why do you put up those signs? Is it just for marketing reasons that you want to show your hotel contributes to environmental protection - like most do?
Or do you truly want guests to have and make their choice?
If so, you should invest more in staff training. You might have set up the cleaning process, but the actual cleaning staff will change the towels anyhow.
Then ask about the why.
Is it because they are convinced that all guests will appreciate clean towels?
Is it because they are in a rush and are quicker when changing all towels instead of differentiating between clean and dirty ones?
Is it because they have never thought about the topic and are unaware that they could save time for themselves and save money for the hotel at the same time?
Maybe there could be a language barrier and training is difficult in general?
Whatever the reasons, take the time to find out and collect feedback from your staff. If they know you care, they will start caring as well.
It is always the details that make the difference. Don’t settle to be average. Prefer great over average.
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