Do Not Disturb sign problem

[caladezi]

We have stayed in a couple of hotels that also use such a system and did not care for it at all

 

From the customer's point of view, we found it to be a pain and much prefer using a Do Not Disturb sign.

Best of all to us is having a choice of Do Not Disturb or Make Up the Room sign.

 

 

Whether in the room or out of the room, we want to be the ones who control whether or not someone else will enter the room, not have it tied to the card in the slot that turns the power on or off.

 

 

When we both wanted to leave the hotel room but did not want anyone else to enter while we were gone, we would leave one of our cards in the slot to give the appearance that the room was still occupied. That left one of us without a room key.

 

I don't know how a single occupant handles it, except perhaps to request a second card at the front desk so you can take one with you to open the door while leaving the other card in the slot.

 

 

This method is common in many parts of the world. In 99% of these devices any type of card will work and you do not need to use your room key. A credit card works fine but you would not want to leave it in the slot when you leave your room. I often use my plastic library card or an old hotel room card. Once I even cut out a piece of card stock to the size of a credit card and it worked fine. I leave whatever I use in the slot during the duration of my stay so that the a/c and my chargers will continue to work while I'm away. I have never had any room attendant remove them.

[Lisah101]

Maybe it should be that if you have the Do Not Disturb sign out during the morning, that means do not service my room this morning.

 

That would settle the issue and the Room Steward isn't put in the spot of trying to figure out exactly when each cabin expects them to be availalbe for service.

[MadManOfBethesda]

You know I can't help thinking that had you had the courtesy to explain to the room attendant WHY you were leaving the room sign up even though both of you were not going to be there instead of treating him like a robot with no initiative then he wouldn't have had to experience the horrors of seeing your underwear on the chair. At the end of the day he was only trying to be helpful and do his job and obscure requirements from one out of a hundred rooms he has to clean and finish are not helpful. A little communication goes a long way sometimes.

 

Fantastic post.

 

I don't understand why others have completely disregarded the OP's treatment of the steward as a lowly servant who isn't even worth talking to. I can't imagine being in a face-to-face situation with someone and having a message/request to convey, and instead of simply stating it, place a sign on a door that says to the other person "you're too beneath me for me to converse with you so read this sign on the door and follow it's instructions!"

 

Does no one else see how insulting the OP's behavior was in this situation?

[Charles4515]

These Room Stewards work something like a crazy 14-16 hour day I've heard. They have an enourmous workload and using the "do not disturb" sign to indicate you don't want them to service your room at this time is a bit crazy to me.

 

Do not disturb = I'm sleeping, leave me alone.

It does NOT mean do not service my room if you know I'm not there in my opinion.

 

Can you image if even half the cabins used the sign to indicate they didn't want their room serviced at that moment, but the steward should keep running back and forth to figure out which rooms are not yet done and which of these have the signs changed? This is a logisitcal nightmere.

 

They have an insane amount of work to do - so let them do their jobs without making it more complicated. If you have special circumstances, talk to guest relations and plan it out ahead of time - don't keep make the room steward's job that much more difficult. I know on Port days for some cruise companies, they often can't leave the ship until the morning rooms are done which means they can't find a wifi spot to talk or email their families.

 

In general agreement with you. They work split shifts. So they have certain time periods they can clean the rooms. Also they are checked behind by the head houskeeper from time to time so they will have to answer why a room has not been done.

 

Do Not Disturb means to me someone in the room, don't disturb them because they are sleeping, or whatever activity they don't want interrupted in the room. So while I might expect none to enter the room with the sign it is logical that if the steward knows none is in the room because he sees the occupants leave he/she would clean it......unless you ask for them not to.

 

Like others here I don't understand why the other person didn't converse with the steward that they would like him to defer cleaning the room.

Edited February 15, 2015 by Charles4515

[pcur]

Any time we leave our cabin, with or without the DND sign out, I put all charging electronics in a drawer, so just the cord shows. Just my habit, and that way I don't have to stop and think about what's left out.

 

It's also because I like a tidy living area no matter where I am. I had a friend once tell me I left an "invisible footprint" when I stayed at her house. :D

[Ma Bell]

I agree about speaking to the room attendant. I always speak to them when I see them, even just to say hello. I often go to play trivia in the morning without my husband and if I see the attendants I tell them he's still in the room. If we are just running out for a minute I tell them we're coming right back. They are not servants and they do everything possible to make you comfortable. I like to make it as easy as possible for them to do their job.

[varoo]

This method is common in many parts of the world. In 99% of these devices any type of card will work and you do not need to use your room key. A credit card works fine but you would not want to leave it in the slot when you leave your room. I often use my plastic library card or an old hotel room card. Once I even cut out a piece of card stock to the size of a credit card and it worked fine. I leave whatever I use in the slot during the duration of my stay so that the a/c and my chargers will continue to work while I'm away. I have never had any room attendant remove them.

Thank you for providing this information.

I never even thought to try another type of card in the slot, but will certainly remember your helpful advice as needed in the future.

 

[Gracie115]

Agree completely with speaking with the room attendant, shoot we talk more to the staff then we do other cruisers on most of our cruises.... Certainly helps to communicate your desires....but still, the rule in the hospitality business is NOT to break the barrier if the DND is on the door...unless it has been an inordinate amount of time and staff must enter to insure all are okay....but even then, management is called to enter the room. I understand those not in the hotel business not understanding this but no matter what it really is not okay to enter that room just because you (as staff) saw someone leave the room. Who's to say those two people who left the room didn't leave a 3rd person in there who was a friend that they were allowing to sit on their balcony or sleep because the room they were in had a snorer and they got no sleep the night before. Staff does NOT know the intentions of its guests and should not assume anything. So as much as the OP should have/could have just said "we're coming right back don't service now" the staff member could have/should have asked "may I service your room now?" It really is just basic hospitality business etiquette......