mikeef

Look, there's a very easy solution: Slip a note under the door or leave a voicemail.

Okay, it's clearly a training issue. The maids are told that they have to clean a certain number of rooms in a certain period of time. I blame management in this case.

Oh, and regardless of the OP's tone (which I didn't find as offensive as most here seem to have), there is no excuse for management not answering the email.

I'm sick and tired of people ignoring the DND signs. Even when I deadbolt the door, the maids seem to try and break it down. Or someone calls.

Look, here's the deal: If I request a late checkout, it's not my fault that they can't get the message out at the hotel. Yes, mistakes happen, but when this particular mistake happens as often as it seems to, there's an issue.

Mike

sbtinme

Help me understand how this is an 'easy solution.' If the guest vacates the room at 4;43am and leaves the DND sign on the door, what does a note under the door accomplish? What would a silent voicemail accomplish? If no one is inside to read the note or respond to the voicemail, how does anything change? Should the hotel really wait until 2pm or 4pm to check to ensure that this room is, indeed vacant?

At some point, housekeeping has no choice but to knock on these doors!

I think it's completely realistic for housekeeping to avoid knocking on DND doors until all other rooms have been cleaned and/or its past checkout time, but after that, they have to do their job.

From my past experience at a chain hotel, I can promise you that the vast vast majority of DND rooms were vacant and the signs were left hanging in the guests' haste to leave. It's a real catch-22.

mikeef

I was thinking it was more of a solution for determining if a guest is there during the time that the guest is supposed to be there or to see if they want their room cleaned. I agree that it is an issue if a guest takes off at 4:43 am without checking out.

If a guest requests a late checkout than yes, they should wait until after the requested checkout time. If not, than knocking on the door after the regular checkout time is acceptable.

I understand they have a job to do. But if a hotel offers late checkout, than a guest who requests it has the right to relax without fear of being disturbed. It's the hotel's job to figure out how to do it.

Mike

VPescado

I have an even better DND story. I was at the LM-SF and got late check out. I left the DND on the door and took my luggage to the car.

I went back a little bit afternoon and my key didn't work.

Turns out that the maid went in, didn't see any luggage and reported it to the front desk. The *MANAGER* then took the liberty of checking me out. There was someone already in the room by the time I came back. The manager gave me another (nowhere near as nice) room until four.

It would have been wonderful if I had left my wallet in one of the dresser drawers.

Surprisingly there was no goodwill gesture offered, but I didn't press the issue.

deant

Why not leave the luggage in the room until you were really ready to check out???????? How were they to know that you had not just left the DND on the door and had left the hotel?

How many people here are upset when a room is not ready when they check in? Guess what.......some of that has to do with people who request late checkout and leave a DND sign up but have already left the hotel.

I do not believe you were due any "goodwill gesture".

ryan-twob

Yea i never check out, well unless there is a billing issue which seems to be more than 50/50 these days (and never in my favor, imagine).

I guess this has happened to me multiple times over the years, but I never got too fired up about it.

I think I fall into the camp that most of the people on here are not typical. They are more picky and exacting, and also more likely to be outside the evening check-in morning check-out profile... and they forget to think about that. M

Most hotel/restaurant other service staff WANT to help you... but they can't always guess what that means. As a former waiter this always seemed to but me. One example I think of was a customer who ordered only coffee and a muffin (and one of 10 varieties) at a sit-down full service restaurant. I served it, plated, and he went to eat it and jerked back, full drama, appalled. "This isn't fresh out of the oven" [it was a muffin from the bakery case]. Back and forth that by and large we don't bake the muffins to order and never have... I heated it in the microwave and it was fine. Bottom Line: If your heart is set on a warm muffin well then ask for it warmed????

Anyway not everyone's idiosyncratic needs or wants can be anticipated.

mahasamatman

Somewhat off-topic, but since it keeps coming up...

Why do people not check out? Since you almost always have to walk past the front desk when leaving the hotel (or maybe go 5 seconds out of your way), why not just drop your keys there? I don't think I've ever left a hotel without dropping my keys (and key folder so they know which room I was in) on the desk. There's no need to even break stride, unless you want to be polite and say "thank you".

tcook052

Very much agree. OP solicited thoughts & comments and he got mine.

jaejaez

For the sake of continuing the trend of sharing the "my story is worse than yours", here is mine from end 2007 at Sheraton Towers Singapore.

I am a heavy sleeper and was sleeping in on one Saturday morning. I had heard a few knocks and rings of doorbells in the morning but disregarded and continued my sweet slumber (a long overdue one too at the time). I had my check-out time until 4 PM and the DND sign firmly placed on the knob outside. I believe the time was shortly after noon when I felt something weird and opened my eyes...

And there she was, standing by the lower end of my bed, a local middle aged housekeeping lady, patiently waiting for me to notice her. Luckily I (at least) had my boxer shorts on but not-so-luckily I was on top of the blanket rather than underneath it. It must not have been pretty but there she stood nonetheless. What felt like hours I finally opened my mouth to say (with eyes still half closed) "…….what are you doing here??" to which she uttered "you got laundry or not??".

To my disbelief I mumbled "no………??"

She then went "Ah Ok. Sorry sorry ah" and trotted out (I believe those were her exact words). I remember falling asleep after that though…

When I complained via email to the GM, I got a canned response from the FO manager instead. No comps, no nothing just a 'we apologise for the inconvenience caused etc etc'. When I check into SGP Sheraton now, I fall asleep at night knowing that I can potentially open my eyes and see a random housekeeping lady at the side of the bed again. This, believe it or not, does affect how well you sleep that night.@:-)

kimmielou01

It would scare the be-geezus out of me!

JFKSFOLAX_friend

Westin Cancun Lagunamar

Front desk called the room even though DND was on the door asking when I want housekeeping to clean. So, obviously, housekeeping called the front desk and asked to have the room called. But, what if I was sleeping? What's the point -- definition -- of DND? What do the words "Do" "Not" "Disturb" mean when read together? It's pretty self-explanatory, right? It does not mean "Do not disturb (unless we want to disturb you)."

Astrophsx

The Sheratons have this thing now where after you've put the sign out they will put a message on your account... you call down to the front desk... they tell you that your message is that they honored your do not disturb and would like to tell you about their green choice program.

LovetoTravel83

Sheraton Jumerah Beach Dubai

Exactly the same thing happened to me, I was sleeping and the called kept on ringing, I was so annoyed by it that I did not want to answer the phone call just go go back to sleep again, and then another one, and then the housekeeping came into the room while me and my wife were sleeping.

Is DND so hard to understand?

It was a 3 night stay, I was really annoyed by the housekeeping walking in on us while we were sleeping, so I called the Duty Manager and requested an early checkout with not paying the full amount of the 1st night, It was a pre-paid rate and they gave me a 20% discount on the 1st night, as I checked out after the incidient, I did not pay the 2nd night (3rd night was free).

Would never go back there again, The Grosvenor House next door is cheaper and way better than the Sheraton.

sbtinme

I hear you. I really do. But, hotels just can't win with this one.

If they don't call, then panicked guests call the hotel operator at 10pm claiming that they left the sign on the door by accident when they left for their snorkeling tour at 6:40am and they really need new towels, soap, etc, etc brought up at once.

If the hotel calls to simply inquire about when might be a good time for housekeeping to plan a visit, most guests are receptive and appreciative, but some are awakened from sleep and annoyed.

I've put out the DND sign on my door when I'm conducting phone interviews or am leading conference calls, webexs, etc, etc. It doesn't mean I'm sleeping, it just means that I'm in the room and I don't want housekeeping knocking on the door.

I see this issue from both sides and the only true way to properly handle the matter is for the guest to call down to the front desk and make his/her wishes completely known. Otherwise, there's a lot of room for error.

Whatever the hotel policy is, plenty of guests will end up being upset. It's a catch 22 for the property.

broadwayblue

I'm pretty sure I've had housekeeping leave me a message (straight to voicemail) acknowledging that I did not want to be disturbed and that I could dial XX whenever I was ready for them. The blinking light on the phone shouldn't bother most people. lol