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I live in a small one bedroom apartment and can't complete my cleaning in just 15 minutes! No wonder the turnover is high for that occupation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by elnina
Sure, proper training how to clean 17-20 rooms per shift ( average number I got after searching the topic)
On one website I read: On average, housekeepers clean 17 to 20 rooms a day, but it can be as high as 30 at some hotels.
Do your math:
"Stocking the cart: 1 hr
Things to clean
For stay over :
Change sheets (if requested) : 3 min
Just make up bed : 2 min
Pick up trash and clean and organize things : 3 min
Clean toilet/bath and clear trash and organize supplies : 5 min
Mini bar check and refill : 2 min
So a total : 15 min (minus the 3 min for change of sheets)
The cleaning time for every room will be the same and the things to clean will also be the same. The difference in time comes when the room size gets bigger in hotel types like - Club class/Luxury, Resort/Leisure. The luxury mattresses are harder to lift, and some hotels have quadrupled the number of pillows on each bed.
So the more time consuming items would be the dusting/mopping/vacuum time increases. If the number of beds in the room is more, then the making and changing of these increases.
Also you need to add time to vacuum hallways, common areas, hall restrooms, elevators etc. "
Now tell me how a "properly trained" maid can do a quality, detailed cleaning in 15 min?
When I was in college I took a job working at a local motel cleaning rooms. I lasted few months I think. It was a family style motel, national chain and it was brand new. The general cliental were family travelers on road trips and local teenagers that got an adult to book a room for them, so they could have a drunken weekend bash. Then there were a small group of just shady, nasty people that came from who knows what or where. In the short time I worked there, I saw some pretty crazy stuff.
How it worked when I did the job (a long time ago, things might have changed now) was that you came in at 8 am and you were assigned 9 - 12 rooms. 12 was the max and you dreaded having 12 rooms but it meant you made more money. This could be a blessing or not. You got paid by the room plus a small hourly wage.
You spent about an hour loading up your cart and you wanted to load as much as possible because the linen /supply room was pretty far and you didn't want waste time going back if you ran out of towels. So the cart was dreadfully heavy to push and got easier as you unloaded. You had to get the rooms done by 2 pm. This is where the stress comes in because people can wait until 11 am to check out. Somedays your rooms were empty and you could be done early and go home. Then other times you had people that couldn't make up their minds if they wanted to stay and/or wait until the very last minute to leave. If you had 5-6 rooms to clean in two hours, it was pretty tough.
Teen parties were not really all that bad. Yes, the rooms were a disaster with bottles, pizza boxes and so forth but they didn't really dirty up the harder parts of the rooms to clean which are the bathrooms. Beds were usually untouched, just sat on. Surprising didn't have problems with puke. I guess the teens in the area could handle their liquor. The state had a bottle return and these rooms actually could be a bonus. I would bag up all the bottles and cans and after work run them to the local supermarket and cash them in. That would produce about 15 bucks which was nice chuck of extra money to have at the time.
Bedspreads/comforters are not washed on a regular basis. Yes, I know its gross. Why? because it's labor intensive. The motel I worked at, did it once a year. If you saw something or smelled something then you are supposed to change it. They also did not have enough to replace every single bed in the complex. It was too expensive so they only had about 20 on hand to swap out if needed until they washed the replacements. I would change them if they were dirty because I have a conscious but I know others did not. It meant additional work. It meant dragging those large heavy comforters all the way back to the linen room and then carrying back the clean ones. A lot of the people I worked with had the attitude of ...ef that. (I don't use comforters at motels/hotels for that reason).
Carpets are not cleaned on a regular basis either (I have never walked barefoot in a motel/hotel). We did have one situation where a group of guys from out town got a roofing gig. They were immigrants and didn't speak english. They stayed at the motel for a couple of weeks. Thank goodness I didnt get the room. They drank heavily and barfed all over the place. The walls, the carpet. Yuck. The tub was black with filth when they left. The motel had the carpet cleaned and it was still stained so they had the carpet dyed. I thought that was pretty gross.
The beds are on boxes for a reason. People drop socks and god knows what else. Motels/Hotel don't want anything rolling under the bed and being missed. I remember this one couple that rented a room for one night. I came in and everyone was talking about them. Lucky me, I got the room. The customers complained all night to the front desk because the couple were so loud while they were having sex. Then they heard a large crash and reported that too. The couple refused to answer their phone at check out time and finally the manager had to go up to the room at 1 pm and tell them if they didn't get out they would be charged an additional night. They finally left. They were very large people. I got in the room and the bed was in pieces. The box the bed sits on was destroyed! Wood splinters everywhere. Since they ruined the bed, that room was out of commission for a while so I was able to leave and not worry about cleaning it but it was annoying to sit around for hours waiting on them. It was a good story to tell though.
When I got the job there was one room that no one ever cleaned. A family had been living at the motel for about 5 months. Their home had burned down in a fire and the insurance company was paying for them to stay there while the house was being rebuilt. They always refused service, just wanted towels. Finally management said we need to see the room. Who doesn't change their sheets for 5 months? ick. They went in and discovered the family had destroyed everything. The tv was ripped from the bolts off the dresser and the screen was busted out. The lamps were destroyed, wallpaper had been ripped off in places. The mirror in the bathroom was cracked. Not sure how no one complained, I'd say all that would make some noise. Management called the insurance company and they were thrown out. Not sure what happened to them after that. That room was under construction still when I left.
The best were rooms where people rented them and did absolutely nothing in the rooms. It was also odd. Beds never touched or even sat on, no one took a shower. Nothing.
Clean freaks were nice too. They would pile towels up in the tub so you could grab everything at once. Or bag up all the trash, tie up the bag and leave it for easy removal.
I have to say that the experience taught me how multi task, clean things properly, do it quickly and be afraid of motel/hotel rooms. I learned hospital corners because they don't use fitted sheets. Its actually easier to make a bed that way. Be efficient, you go in spray down the whole bathroom first then change all the linens. By the time you get that done, the soap in the bathroom has done its job and basically everything is a rinse and wipe down. They wouldn't allow us to have windex. It destroys mirrors. You flick water on the mirror with your hand and wipe with a towel, buff the faucet and you're done. I made the same amount of money as friends that worked at retail stores or restaurants but worked half the hours. Some people do treat you like crap in those types of jobs. I always appreciated someone that left a tip. Yep, they got extra towels or whatever other goodies I could leave behind. If I stay at a hotel I always leave a tip and I do it while still staying in the room. It is appreciated and often a nice unexpected surprise for the staff. I can't imagine doing that job now though. Bed bugs wasn't something I had heard of when I did the job. It might have been ignorance but I don't remember it being a thing like it is now.
I totally enjoyed reading this and want to thank you for your genuine care, concern and responsibility in doing your job.
OP - I didn't know that Windex can destroy mirrors. Can't find any info about it.
Do you know the reason?
It is best to rub soap on mirrors and then towel off. They don't steam up after using soap on them. I have used furniture polish on mirrors. It comes off very well and doesn't leave streaks.
I think most cleaning staff do a really good cleaning job. Hotel floors seem creepy to me but just use shoes when walking on them.
My husband and I are the clean freaks. We always put the towels in a pile in the tub. Learned that doing timeshares. Timeshares used to have us pull the cover off the beds and leave them in a pile too. At timeshares you take out your own trash too. At hotels we just leave the trash in the trash cans inside the plastic but don't usually tie them up.
I have a question about hotels. Do they pass on information from one hotel to another. I have noticed we always seem to get a really nice room most places we go such as the room that has just been redecorated. Are the nice rooms saved for those people who are not messy?
I think most cleaning staff do a really good cleaning job. Hotel floors seem creepy to me but just use shoes when walking on them.
Sure, you walk into a room and it looks clean. And you don't think about how it was cleaned. How many babies were changed on your comforter, how many bare butts were sitting on them, how was your drinking glass cleaned, or the counter, or the bathtub...
The sheets maybe changed, or maybe not. The body fluids just wiped of the carpet...
I guess not knowing can be a blessing...
Wait! I want to know more about putting soap on mirrors to clean them, and then they're steam proof.
What kind of soap? Dish soap? Bar soap? How do you put it on?
This also works for cars on the inside. Just rub the hand soap across the mirror then use a dry cloth and rub it all over. I read about this a long time ago. Sometimes I bother to do it and other times I don't. My favorite thing to use is Johnson's furniture polish or as the maid told us, just use water. I usually just wipe the mirror clean with the towel or washcloth in hand. I cannot remember the last time I actually used glass cleaner on a mirror. There's usually enough splatters from toothpaste to clean it. I know that is gross but it is also true when you use an electric toothbrush as we do.
Sure, you walk into a room and it looks clean. And you don't think about how it was cleaned. How many babies were changed on your comforter, how many bare butts were sitting on them, how was your drinking glass cleaned, or the counter, or the bathtub...
The sheets maybe changed, or maybe not. The body fluids just wiped of the carpet...
I guess not knowing can be a blessing...
I saw a TV show that had the light showing germs. First thing I do is place the comforter at the bottom of the bed. A towel goes any place my bare butt goes or my bare feet also. Clothes stay in the suitcase and it is zipped close until I plan to use the clothes. We have started carrying a special suitcase in the back seat of our car to carry in the hotel with enough clothes for the night. Everything else stays in the trunk of the car that is never opened so no one can see what is there.
Most hotels have plastic wrapped cups. We take bottled water with us and hardly ever use anything else except to hold our toothbrush.
I like the new white comforters with the little strips of color at the bottom of the bed. I love all the pillows we get now too.
OP - I didn't know that Windex can destroy mirrors. Can't find any info about it.
Do you know the reason?
I was told that it eats the finish on the mirrors, which causes the under layer of black to start coming through. (Sorry lack of a better way to describe it.) This usually happens along the edges first since windex will run down and sit on the edges. Flicking water on the mirror works great, even if you have toothpaste splatters. It wipes right off with a good lint free rag. I have a decorative mirror above my dresser. My husband used windex on it a couple of years ago. Drives me nuts because in a certain light I can see these streaks that will never go away. Most affordable mirrors are not of great quality so doesn't take much to ruin them. In small print a lot of manufacturers will say it voids the warranty.
Not sure if I can post this link but Kohler recommends not using windex.
Kohler does not recommend the use of Windex for cleaning cabinets and/or mirrors. We recommend simply a damp cloth for cleaning. Glass cleaner with ammonia or vinegar base is too harsh on the mirrors. For stubborn marks, a 50/50 solution of water and rubbing alcohol may be used.
Damage due to improper use of chemicals and/or cleaners is not covered under the manufactures defect warranty, and will not be repaired or replaced."
I thought it was a great post, too, fallingwater! I did not know about the windex!
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(I don't use comforters at motels/hotels for that reason).
In small print a lot of manufacturers will say it voids the warranty. 
