Hotel housekeeping used to be pretty standardized: room attendants would tidy rooms during the day when guests were out, replenishing amenities, emptying trash, and changing linens as needed.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, hotels modified their policies for numerous reasons. First, guests indicated they felt safer with nobody entering their room, even if they weren’t there. Second, hotels struggled to stay staffed adequately to provide daily cleaning services, or needed to reduce staff when occupancy levels nosedived.
After the pandemic was over, most major hotel chains eventually returned to regular cleaning schedules, while others didn’t. Luxury properties which typically offered twice-daily housekeeping (a daily refresh plus evening turndown) didn’t change, while many upper-upscale and midscale hotels have brought back cleaning in varying degrees. Some have returned to daily housekeeping service, while other hotels have made it available on request.
Whether or not to clean rooms every day is a question that the industry has faced since long before the pandemic. In the 2010s, it was en vogue to offer guests a property credit or loyalty points as a small incentive for electing to forego daily cleaning on multi-night stays. Ostensibly it was more eco-friendly because it saved water and cleaning supplies, but what it also saved the hotels was money. Starwood Hotels, which was acquired by Marriott in 2016, started this program in 2008.
Nowadays, it varies by property. At some Marriott properties, guests can choose whether to have their rooms cleaned when they make their reservation or check-in on the Marriott Bonvoy app. Guests can also request cleaning whenever they wish.
But why is it a good idea to request daily housekeeping service? There are a number of reasons.