subject: Hawksmoor How Clean Is Your Hotel Room? By Trevor Francis Of Hawksmoor Guest House, Windermere [print this page] Have you ever wondered just how clean your hotel room is? Hotel rooms are public places, and you are sharing them with other people (albeit not at the same time). Trevor from the Hawksmoor Guest House Windermere, who has over 20 years experience in the industry, gives you some tips on how to check how clean your room really is.
Bedroom
Run your hands over the lamp shades and the light bulbs. If there is dust on them, then it is possible the room hasn't been cleaned properly. While you are by the lamps, run your hands over the lamp's base as well. Do the same to the tops of any picture frames or mirrors.
The next place to look is inside the dresser and bedside drawers. If you find that the drawers have not been properly cleaned, this shows that the housekeeper is only lightly cleaning between guests as opposed to making sure all surfaces and furniture are properly clean.
Lift the handset of the phone off of the base and check the ear and mouthpiece for dirt or grime.
Under the bed or sofa you can find a whole host of interesting items, including socks, food, nail clippings, condoms, underwear, etc, particularly if these spaces are not properly inspected.
Look at the table and chairs - check the underside of both the table and chairs for dirt and chewing gum. Also check the table top and seats to make sure that they have been cleaned too.
Next, inspect the curtains and window sills for dust. The cleanliness of a window sill can tell you a lot about how the property is maintained. If you find a considerable amount of dust, dirt, debris or other things that should not be there, you are likely to find that the rest of the room is in similar shape.
Open and close the window curtains and run your hands along the curtains edges and pleats. You'll also want to inspect the air conditioning unit's or heaters filter (if your room has one). It is often over looked by both maintenance and housekeeping staff members.
In the rest of the bedroom, you will find a host of other surfaces to inspect, including anywhere high dust could gather as well as in the corner and edges of the carpet. Both of these places require additional effort to maintain cleanliness.
Check every surface the previous guests may have touched and the maid may not have cleaned between hotel room guests. While tap handles have a better chance of having been cleaned, doorknobs and cabinet handles are often neglected areas in hotel rooms. Just like television remotes, many hands have touched these objects and a housekeepers cleaning routine doesn't often require them to sanitise these surfaces.
The item you will want to be most wary of is the remote control. Due to the electronic nature of remote controls, they are often as dirty as or dirtier than a public toilet.
Inside the kettle - All kinds of strange stuff can show up inside a kettle. People use them as ashtrays, hiding spots for valuables...etc and housekeepers often don't remember to check inside, especially if it appears that it has not been used by previous guests. If you need that cup of coffee in the morning, then it is advisable to ask one of the housekeeping team to thoroughly clean the kettle before you make your drink.
A lid or cover on top of mugs or glassware does not mean these items are clean or have been cleaned properly since the last user. Just because it is turned upside down or has a paper cap over it, doesn't mean that it hasn't been touched, used, sat for weeks in a dusty room, or worse. If glasses, cups or mugs don't come in a pre-sealed/plastic wrap container, wash them thoroughly before you use them! Properly sanitised glassware should come from the hotel kitchen having been washed in the dishwasher at proper temperatures.
Bathroom
The bathroom is a very easy area to inspect. Look behind the toilet seat and toilet (this is often missed as it is hard to reach), as well as the base of the toilet itself. It is also a good idea to check the bathtub for signs of mildew, soap scum or hair in the drains or plughole. The corners under the sink as well as behind the bathroom door are also often overlooked by staff, so I would suggest that you check those areas as well. It is also wise to check the attention to detail when the housekeeper has replaced the toiletries - attention to detail is generally the difference between a hotel that takes prides in offering a great experience and one that is more interested in controlling costs.
It is easy for a rushed housekeeper to squirt some toilet cleaner under the toilet seat and swill it round. An attentive housekeeper will actually leave the cleaner to do its work and clean other areas, then come back and give the inner lip and under the seat, which can be a haven for mould, a good scrub.
Bedding and Carpet
When it comes to the bed, it is likely to be the place that you will spend the majority of your time. If you are in a hotel that still uses traditional blankets or duvets, remove them from the bed immediately. Not only have they spent most of their life on the floor, but they likely only get cleaned a few times a year.
Most hotels use white sheets, making them easier to inspect, so look for crinkled sheets, hair, stains and other tell tale signs of dirty sheets. This can also be the perfect time to look around the edges of the mattress for the little blood stains left by bed bugs.
Also check the frame and headboard for signs of dust or bed bugs. You might also want to look under the bed, if you can.
Run your hands on the carpet and see if dirt pops up easily. Carpets can have had all sorts of things spilled on them, including bodily fluids and they might be hiding sharp objects so, never walk round barefoot in hotel rooms. You certainly don't need to be cut or get some sort of foot fungus from a previous guest.
After all of this, if you have found even just one problem speak up! Inform reception as soon as possible if there is a problem. Usually, the hotel will correct any issues you might have in my guest house in Windermere, Id expect you to do the same.
