Originally Posted by
writerguyfl
In the full-service hotels where I worked, we always had Housekeeping staff until 11pm. Their main function was turndown and cleaning in the public areas. But, it wasn't unusual for those people to turn a room after a late check-out.
Some people may find this interesting: In one hotel where I worked, the union contract didn't allow us to "carry" a room over night. ("Carry" means having a guest check out but waiting until the following day to clean it.) I guess the union leadership thought that management might only schedule X full-time room cleaners when they needed X plus a half-time equivalent. In practice, the rule caused more problems than it fixed because it forced those 2nd shift housekeeping employees to clean rooms that weren't going to be occupied that night. And, while they were doing that, they couldn't do turndown for guests.
A union hotel is a completely different animal. Not a good one either in my opinion. Most room cleaners are gone by 5 p.m. or 6 p.m. and the night staff isn't going to be as familiar with meeting the standards of cleaning a check-out. I would be extremely hesitant to check-in to a room knowing that someone trained to clean it wasn't there. They miss a lot of things that way. It makes much more sense to charge for the late check-out and leave the room empty, thus getting the room revenue and not technically leaving it empty, than having someone clean it improperly. I am 99% certain that even though a union contract speculates items, that it is at the discretion of management what will be done in each situation, but that if necessary, the people at night cannot give the whole it isn't my job excuse because it is part of their job description. I do know of airport hotels that have housekeepers cleaning rooms at all different shifts, so that is the only exception in my book.