Cleanliness lacking since pandemic?
 

Does anyone else feel like room cleanliness has begun to slip since the start of the pandemic? I have logged over 50 nights since the pandemic has started and have recently noticed a decline in room cleanliness. Hyatt Place and Hyatt house have been some of the worst offenders. And don't even get me started on a certain California property located in a desert resort town that shall remain unamed. A few things I've encountered: sticky residue on night stand, food residue on TV remote, greasy fingerprints/face-oil residue on windows and mirrors, fingernail clippings on floor, leftover food residue in refrigerator, leftover toiletry bottles in the shower, etc. With hotels laying off housekeepers en masse due to covid, are the remaining staff now spread too thin? Are they being forced to cut corners in order to get to all the rooms they are required to service? If there ever was a time to emphasize cleaning and sanitation of rooms, surely it would be in the midst of a global pandemic. Is this all in my head? Am I paranoid or has anyone else encountered similar issues?

It may be all in your head... but it's certainly all property specific.

The properties I've stayed at in the last 9 months have all been exemplary when it comes to cleanliness and COVID precautions (a mix of HP in the US [albeit newer build properties] and resort properties in the US and abroad). If anything I've found it to be the opposite - things are nearly too clean! I.E. it takes a bit longer to clean the room since they're doing a much deeper clean than previously. I'm not complaining though.

I haven't noticed any decline in general cleanliness...

HOWEVER - I do notice a difference between franchise properties and corporate-operated properties, with corporate being cleaner. Aimbridge properties (found all over but many here in Texas) are IMHO extremely poorly-run on all levels, including housekeeping.... also, the vast vast majority of Hyatt Place and Hyatt House are also franchises. Not saying ALL franchises are bad - some are just fine, but I do notice a difference in overall quality at many of them.

So far just one stay to compare, but I'll have many more over the next 3 months. Currently in the middle of a 3 week stay at a HH in the Bay Area. Have to agree that cleanliness is definitely not a high priority here. May be due to housekeeping only servicing the room once every 7 days on long stays, so daily maintenance is now nonexistent. Kitchen cupboards doors/knobs (fairly dark wood but when the sun hits them . . ) look like they haven't been wiped down in a long time. Ditto the kitchen floor. In-room coffee pot is disgusting so took a trip to Walmart and bought our own, plus a toaster. Grab & Go food & coffee are inedible/undrinkable. Bathroom is passable but definitely not sparkling; shower head needs replacing. Found hair in bedroom & bathroom drawers. Sofa has stains. Carpet and paint on walls do look new so no complaints there. Allotted 1 hand towel, 2 bath towels, no wash cloths (for 2 people 7 days), 1 kitchen towel. Call for more. When questioned, told all due to "corporate budget cuts".

This place appears very full on the weekends; on the week days not so much, but it's not anywhere near empty. Unfamiliar with what the nightly rate was pre-COVID but we're paying $120. Visited the nearby Residence Inn, from the outside and front desk interaction guessing it's the same or worse. Moving to a new Homewood Stes the first of the month, which I think will be better--we'll see. However, there are positives to this HH setup so haven't yet crossed it off our list for future nights.

I’d guess “corporate” here is the franchisee and not Hyatt corporate?

It does sound pretty poor.

Virtually all HHs are franchises owned by various investors and run by companies like Aimbridge Hospitality - they are simply paying Hyatt to use the name and are **supposed** to follow Hyatt standards. Compliance can be scattershot even before COVID. Limiting towels is definitely NOT normal Hyatt standards and if it were me I’d be on the phone with my Concierge.

I definitely have, across a number of chains and levels of hotels (ie from upper upscale to limited service)... the issue is (as I understand it), housekeeping staff isn’t necessarily being given any additional time to turn rooms, even though many of them may not have been cleaned in days. That, plus the fact that when rooms are cleaned daily, they just generally don’t get that dirty, is what I think is causing this.