[identity profile] nyreak.livejournal.com posting in [community profile] dragoncon_lj_archive
The recent post about etiquette at restaurants reminded me of something that I wanted to mention. People may get all cranky with me about it, but I thought I'd take a moment to point it out anyway.

Here's the thing: I know that many of you cram lots of folks into a hotel room that's meant for 4 people (or less). I understand this and have no issue with it. However, last year there were huge issues with getting new towels and bedding in the hotel.  When the hotel isn't just 'at capacity' but is actually quite a bit over due to people cramming more than expected bodies in a room, it puts a pretty heavy strain on the hotel. Yes, some of it is the hotel's fault, but not all of it.

If you are taking a 'floor space' in a room with 10 people when it's meant for 4, please consider bringing your own towels and definitely your own bedding. There are only 3 of us in our room, two adults and a child, and I bring towels from home because I hate fighting to get more. (We do ask them not to take them, but they don't listen.) I actually witnessed a few folks taking sheets from the rack of bedding when housekeeping wasn't watching. I can't help but assume this happens more often than that one time.

Last year, my daughter woke up sick at 3:00 in the morning, and made a complete mess of the bed. The blankets, the sheets, it all had to go. We called down to housekeeping and the manager apologized, said it could be a while, because they had a shortage on bedding. Good thing I'd brought extra towels, because that's what she slept on/under for 4+ hours.  This year, I'll be bringing a back-up set of sheets as well, just in case.

As I said before, I don't blame this completely on overcapacity rooms, I also blame the hotel. Still, if your room is going to help create that laundry strain, please consider asking the 'extras' in your room to come with their own towels and bedding. I'll be bringing my own, just to be safe!

ETA: Don't forget to tip! (Especially if you let your room get all grungy and not touched for the entire weekend. Think of the poor housekeeper having to clean up that mess!)

Date: 2011-08-17 06:50 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] trybutez.livejournal.com
Along the same lines... leave a tip for staff!

Date: 2011-08-18 12:15 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] plynn78.livejournal.com
And tip a little bit daily, not just at the end of the weekend. Different people clean on different days.

Date: 2011-08-17 07:00 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] sams-ceara.livejournal.com
I totally agree with this entire post. I'm definitely bringing towels & extra linen with me.

Date: 2011-08-17 07:12 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] glasscannon.livejournal.com
Totally agree, and I'd also add: if you don't really need housekeeping, leave the "Do Not Disturb" sign on your door. My husband and I have no need for new towels or new sheets during our stay, and try to leave the room clean enough that it won't be a huge ordeal to only clean it after we leave.

Even when they aren't booked at or above capacity, hotels go through massive amounts of water every single day to wash sheets and towels that don't really need to be washed yet. Bring your own if you have more than a couple of people, and try to be realistic about when hotel towels/sheets actually need to be washed.

Date: 2011-08-17 07:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] charismaryllis.livejournal.com
--even when the hotel is trying to be 'green' and i hang up my towels and leave the little "do not change bed" card on the bed, they change out everything. -sigh-

i usually have maid service in just once (if at all) during my stay (i'm there for five nights) but i didn't know about the linen shortage issue...

Date: 2011-08-17 09:06 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] bigleftboob.livejournal.com
most dont speak english much less read it.

Date: 2011-08-17 11:22 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] earendilgrey.livejournal.com
I usually do this as well. I usually set the trash out if it needs emptied or sometimes I bring a larger bag from home and fill it over the weekend just in case I have any larger items to be trashed (pizza boxes,take out boxes, etc.)

Date: 2011-08-17 07:16 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] greenwitch.livejournal.com
Microfiber (quick-drying) travel towels are awesome. Invest.

Date: 2011-08-17 07:36 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] greenwitch.livejournal.com
I think the one that I have is from LLBean (don't have it in front of me) and it's great, folds up relatively small (about the size of a regular kids towel, but it's the size of a beach towel.) Way easier than draping wet hotel towels over furniture and suitcases in a crowded room.

http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/49952?pi=862554&qs=3012739_g_shopping&subrnd=0
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/36971?pi=573421&qs=3012739_g_shopping&subrnd=0

Date: 2011-08-17 07:17 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] muntahz.livejournal.com
We always tip. It is important!
I discovered I like my own sheets when we travel and that helps a lot!
Also, just a heads up about last year. We were told by staff at 2 of the main hotels (you know which two!)that both hotels had actually cuts hours and even staff right before the Con. I knew that the housekeeping staff was smaller but was informed they also cut security and the number of the runners who bring stuff to the rooms. That was a part of the towel/sheet issue as they seem to be processing the laundry less often. I discovered, by accident, that one hotel had not paid the cable bill. Bad stuff happens when I have insomnia and the film I am watching suddenly ends before I know who is the real killer. Which is how I found out about the cable bill. The front desk person was sweet as can be and called me back at 4:30 am to tell me who the killer was! He used his break to look it on for me. Yes, he was tipped! I also left a comment about him with the hotel.

Date: 2011-08-17 07:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kittydesade.livejournal.com
... Oooh good point. I will add 'towels' to my con kit list!

And good god yes on the tipping. I've never worked that end of conventions or trade shows, any I can only imagine the hectic ridiculous chaos it is.

Date: 2011-08-17 07:57 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] ronofthedead.livejournal.com
This may sound like common sense,but, if you bring your own towels, make sure they look nothing like the hotel towels. I brought white towels from home at a smaller con I went to (I am diabetic with neuropathy and have to be very anal about drying my feet with a perfectly dry towel) and they ended up getting taken away with the hotel towels. I never got them back. Since then I take the brightest colored beach towels I can find.

Also, I agree on the tipping

Date: 2011-08-17 08:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] noelleleithe.livejournal.com
We keep the "do not disturb" sign out much of the time, in part to keep the towel turnover at a minimum, and in part because someone is likely to be in the room napping at any given time. We'll also ask housekeeping directly to just empty the trash and make the beds and not change anything out.

And yes, tip!!!

Date: 2011-08-17 09:19 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] jellibean.livejournal.com
I've been meaning to bring my own towel simply because I hate having to figure out which bathroom towel belongs to which con-goer! Unless I've colored my hair before D*C, all the towels look the same. ^_^

Date: 2011-08-19 10:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] boldpurpletext.livejournal.com
A solution I've used is wooden clothespins. Have each person write their name on one with a marker. Then they clip it to the towel they used when they hang it up. You can buy the clothespins in large packs at places like Walmart for a few dollars, so it's no real loss if a few disappear with the towels, and the leftovers double as chip clips in our house.

Date: 2011-08-17 09:24 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] nitelyfe.livejournal.com
Yeah I like to bring my own towel, especially since I color my hair usually just before going. Bringing a dark or black towel definitely sets it apart from hotel towels! I also like to bring my own pillow since hotel pillows are usually too squishy or in very short supply! I've an inflatable travel pillow that works really well in conjunction with a hotel pillow.

Date: 2011-08-17 10:37 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] genesisgirl2.livejournal.com
I never let housekeeping into our room. I don't trust them. My group has had things stolen twice during D*C weekend, some of them being cast of shows that we personally paid to get there.

We bring our own everything and never let a maid into our room. But we make sure that at the end of our stay it is a easy clean up for whoever is scheduled to clean the room after we checkout.

Date: 2011-08-17 11:28 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] earendilgrey.livejournal.com
I usually bring my own towel since the ones at the hotels are usually tiny and I like to wrap up in my towels. I usually don't let housekeeping into the room unless some one had an accident with something. I just don't trust them as I have had things go missing in the past. I usually try to bring a extra blanket and even a trash bag for the end of the weekend. And I try to call only if on the off chance I need extra towels or more toilet paper.

Date: 2011-08-18 10:36 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] cassthekitty.livejournal.com
Yess always bring trash bags. I ALREADY have my box sitting with my D*Con luggage.

Date: 2011-08-18 12:43 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] keita-yuki.livejournal.com
I always bring my own towels (I think hotel ones are scratchy >_<)

I also make sure my towels cant be mistaken as the hotels. >_> Ones got kittys on it, ones got drgsruntled burnt bread on it.. and my swimming towel is bright red and says "canada" all over it (hee bought this passing through Canada to World Steam Expo, used all my canadian change I saved the last 10 yrs) XD

I also bring huge bottels of shampoo and cream rinse.

We normally leave a note asking the trash just be taken and a tip.

Date: 2011-08-18 08:37 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] boomergoodheart.livejournal.com
Housekeeping never comes in our room while we're there, which is almost a week. We bring our own towels from home (bigger & softer), and I never make my bed at home, why should someone have to do it for me when I travel?

When we check out, the trash has all been conveniently bagged together, the towels we do use are all either on the floor or in the tub, and the room looks almost like it did when we checked in.

I've seen enough rooms with open doors during Con while housekeeping was in there to never, NEVER do that to them myself. Some people have no class.

Oh, a tip for those who bring big bottles of shampoo/conditioner from home: If you're staying at the Marriott (and you're not flying in), you might want to consider bringing your own over-the-show rack. Since they did the renovations a couple of years ago, there's virtually no room to store the teensy bottles, much less the big ones.

Date: 2011-08-18 01:52 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] meowwl.livejournal.com
We don't have housekeeping in during our stays...if we need something changed out, towels, linens, or the trash removed, we put it outside the room door. They usually replace towel or topsheets, and empty the trashcan without any problems.

When towels were hardest to come by, the hotel hairdryer comes in handy to dry off the worst of the dampness, and make them fit to reuse.

Date: 2011-08-18 04:38 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] fordan42.livejournal.com
Plus if you bring your own towel you'll prove what an incredibly hoopy frood you are.

(I can't believe I'm the first person to make a HHGTTG joke about this.)

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