Originally Posted by
pinniped
Now that leaving without telling anyone is the norm, is this job harder? If it's a hotel where I walk past the FD while leaving, and no one else is talking to the FDC, I'll still say something like "I'm out of room XXX", thinking maybe it helps housekeeping to know they can clean the room earlier. But I can never tell if this is actually helpful to anyone or not.
On an average day, it's there are always going to be a handful of rooms that need to be checked. It's not a huge issue. Most days, having guests just leave without notice wouldn't have any impact on hotel operations.
That said, I do advocate making the effort to let someone know you're leaving. Generally, housekeeping does clean "check-out" rooms first...but that only can happen if they know the room is vacant. Really, it's more about helping guests who may arrive early that same day than it is about helping the hotel.
My advice is to pick up the room phone as you're leaving. In a full-service hotel, dial "0" for the operator (not the Front Desk) and let whoever answers know that you're leaving. It shouldn't take more than 60 seconds. Alternatively, do what you wrote and tell the Front Desk on the way out.
Now, if no one answers the phone quickly or there's a line at the Front Desk, I'd simply leave. It's a nice thing to do, but it shouldn't inconvenience you.