Most full-service hotels have separate elevators for housekeeping staff. But at hotels where staff uses the same elevators as guests, I think it causes the elevators to be very slow. Just the other day, on the 5th floor of a 5-story hotel, I waited 8 minutes for an elevator and none appeared. I decided to take the stairs ... and have a look at each floor (to find out why the elevators would not work). As it ends up, both elevators were in use, with objects blocking the doors (so they would not close), and housekeepers making several trips to a supply closet to load things into their cart. So they wheel the cart into the elevator, position the cart so that the door won't close (thus taking the elevator out of service), then make several more trips to the supply closet for other items. While this may not be the case at ALL hotels, it was certainly the reason why both elevators were tied up the other day at a smaller hotel.