Question re room cleaning

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Fleur
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Question re room cleaning

Post by Fleur »

Having just stayed in a very nice, far from cheap, French B&B for 2 nights we were disappointed to find that the room was not serviced on the second day. This was our second stay at this lovely house but the first time we were only there for one night.

We returned from a day out to find the shower room and bedroom exactly as we had left them. Luckily we had put the wet towels and very wet bathmat (the shower leaked) to dry on the heated towel rail and not left them in a heap on the floor. Of course we were more than capable of making the bed. The tea cups provided (unusual for France) had not been washed and no replacement tea bags.

My question is, is this normal?

It also happened to us when we stayed in an up-market B&B in Yorkshire.

The thinking could be that owners assume guests do not want owners to enter the rooms while the guests are out.
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Post by Bunny »

I've never experienced this in the UK. I thought it was expected in a B&B. Can't comment on France though.
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Post by Fleur »

The first time we stayed there I left a glowing review on Trip Advisor.

I won't leave one at all this time.

Should I write to the owner, thank him for our pleasant stay and perhaps ask whether he forgot to service our room?
Last edited by Fleur on Fri Jun 26, 2015 7:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Bunny »

I would see what the French hosts on here say first. Maybe it's normal in France. If it's not normal I doubt they forgot to service it. Maybe something unexpected prevented them, but in that case, they should have apologised to you for not doing it. You could thank them for your stay but just say you were a little disappointed that the room was not serviced when it had been done on your previous visit. And see what their response is. It's always nice to do it this way rather than leaving a bad review, so I'm sure if they are good hosts, they will appreciate your suggestion of writing privately. I know I would.
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Post by B&B netherlands »

i have no experience in staying in B&B's outside the netherlands, but in my B&B i let my guests' privacy prevail, so except taking away the used breakfast dishes, cups etc., the leftovers and removing any remaining crumbs from the table, i do not touch anything - or i must expect bad weather then i close the windows. if guests leave the fans running, of course i switch them off.

when i wet find towels on the floor, i replace them; otherwise guests receive clean ones after 3 nights. if the bath robes have been used and are slightly wet, i hang them outside to dry. toilets are checked and cleaned if necessary. wet bathroom floors mopped, toothpaste removed from mirrors, but most people seem to behave quite well and do not leave a mess!

coffee sticks and teabags checked everyday, and topped up.

i do not touch the beds, do not pick up clothes from the floor.

the nice thing is: most guests leave the doors to their rooms wide open, after going out for the day - so it's very easy for me to 'scan' the rooms if guests bring - yes they do! - the used plates, cups etc. down to my kitchen themselves.

the two young french girls who arrived yesterday, even washed up what they used - not having seen i have a dishwasher!

a leaking shower should not happen; guests expect things are functioning normally!
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Post by Fleur »

We have regularly stayed in B&Bs in France and Spain and the rooms have always been serviced.

At this particular one we have previously only stayed the one night so do not know whether the non room service was normal or not.

I would not expect the towels to be changed for a 2 night stay and I only mentioned this because of the soaked bath mat situation. We certainly didn't leave our clothes and belongings lying around for others to pick up.
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Post by Frenchlady »

I think you will find if you read the French rules about running a B&B that rooms must be "serviced" daily. Sometimes if we have to go out before the guests depart for their day after their breakfast I am unable to do their rooms until I get back. Hopefully by then they out and about. We recently stayed in a B&B in France which was run by an Irish couple and being in the industry ourselves we were surprised that our room was not entered. No problem with us making our own bed, but bins should be emptied, bathrooms and loos cleaned, towels changed if necessary etc. Also it gives you a chance to see if there are any problems lurking.
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Normandie
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Post by Normandie »

I suspect nowadays it is more down to owner standards than what a country does. I did once read the Gîtes de France guide on what chambres d'hôtes hosts should do but I can't remember much detail about cleaning daily during guests' residence.

In my Ts&Cs I have a statement that I will be in the rooms once per day to empty bins, remove plates, etc, and that is non-negotiable (I word it better) because - as someone once said on here - I want to know whether someone has left a basin tap running... with a flannel / gant lying casually over the plughole.

- I straighten bed - don't totally remake it necessarily
- I empty bins and put clean bags in
- I check state of loo and check for loo rolls, etc
- I check the state of the towels and may replace them if dirty or sodden though normally it is every 3 days
- I vacuum / mop if wet feet have marked the floor or there are bits of grass, sand, whatever
- I straighten rugs, water any flowers or plants, clean windows if guests have been resting foreheads on panes or have left sticky handmarks
- if the bath, shower or basin is sopping or there are wet floors I mop them dry and give the taps a wipe over to stop marks (with a small m ;-))
- I wipe toothpaste spots (I hope they are) off mirrors daily

I never touch guests' belongings, even if they are strewn across the floor. And they often are. I clean round them.

Normally, all this takes about 10-15 minutes. Keeping on top of this during a stay makes the changeover much easier.
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Post by Fleur »

Normandie, this is more or less what I would expect to happen.
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Question re room cleaning

Post by La Chouette »

+1 for normandie's routine and thoughts on the process. We're with GdF and we're supposed to service the rooms daily, but what that amounts to isn't stipulated in our neck of the woods. I too like to keep an eye on what's going on but wouldn't dream of moving people's stuff. I change towels as often as Normandie but peg them outside to dry between changes - I've a set of pegs that indicate which room towels come from so I don't mix them up :idea:

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Post by Normandie »

Diverting slightly from the precise topic to... sheets. What do you do about 'well-used' sheets? :lol:

Change them every day? Or does that make it look as if you're checking? Some nationalities fold the duvet back across the bottom of the bed so the sheet is on view - it's not that I'm spying! :mrgreen:

I usually do change the sheet but wonder if that's a bit intrusive. Only on LMH do I feel I can ask this question. :wink:
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Normandie
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Re: Question re room cleaning

Post by Normandie »

La Chouette wrote:...peg them outside to dry between changes - I've a set of pegs that indicate which room towels come from so I don't mix them up :idea:
That's exactly what I do - and the pegs have a 1 and a 2 on them so I know which towel was on the upper rungs of the towel rail and which was on the lower. Overthinking, much? :lol:
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Post by Bunny »

Obviously I realised this question is more aimed at B&Bs but I don't think my sheets get 'well used'. I attract a lot of the older generation. Call me naïve but I don't think my cottage sees a lot of action! :lol:
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Post by Fleur »

We locked our bedroom door when we went out for the day. Perhaps this made the owner think we didn't want him or anyone else to go in.
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Post by B&B netherlands »

fleur, i think that could have been the answer. if one of my guests does that, although i do have a spare key of course, i do not go in there. for me this is a 'signal' they do not want me or my cleaner in their room. it happened only twice in the 6 years i run my B&B, as said: most of my guests even leave the door of their room wide open, going out for the day.

i think B&B-owners are very much aware of 'privacy', as most like me in the netherlands, receive guests in their own home. as a host, you also want to keep your privacy, just like holiday rental owners living 'next door' to guests in gites or cottages.

most guests staying with me, DO understand that and knock on the door of my living room, having a question. i HATE signs on every door stating 'private, do not enter', but with a bit of psychology ;-) i found out that people from all over the world understand the B&B-concept.

a few years ago, 2 couples from israel were 'sent' to me, through the local hotel as they were unfortunately overbooked.

both couples had NEVER stayed in a B&B! always in hotels.

they DID open every door in my house... :-D

in the end, leaving next morning, they said: 'we were absolutely thrilled to stay with you, because of the attention you paid to us, as guests - much more personal and better actually, than in a chain hotel!'

one of the male guests helped me to 'repair' the standing revolving fan thingie, i had just bought that day, but had not put together in the right way... 'please lady, do you have a screwdriver?'

and @normandie: i do it just like you. empty bins every day, check the loo paper, etc. - 10-15 mins, indeed - and the next change over is going smoothly.

at the moment, enjoying 4 bunches of flowers, from grateful guests - one of them even left 3 bottles of my favourite white wine... he will be back somewhere in august, so i told him 'i'll keep at least two, for you and me to enjoy together when you return.'

sipping now from the 3rd bottle of course, hahaha
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