5 ms·

The Art of Making People Go Away

28 points by drjohnson 12y ago

ChuckMcM 12y ago
People will collect anything I guess. The nicest do-not-disturb sign I recall was at Kona Village Resort where you put a coconut on the lanai (porch) to indicate that you did not want to be disturbed.
beachstartup 12y ago
when travelling i just leave the DND sign up, as i prefer to sleep late, tidy my own room up, and not have someone going through my stuff. i've never once had the hotel staff honor the sign. they ALWAYS try to come in around noon at least once during my stay. it's crazy. maybe i should make my own sign that says "NO BUT SERIOUSLY." in whatever language and hang it under the real one.
- scmoore 12y ago
  It's probably impossible to prevent this. The chances of getting in trouble for not cleaning the room (sign or not) are probably higher than the chances of getting in trouble for ignoring the sign.
- eggoa 12y ago
  I do this too, but in my experience, it's worked. And that includes some very nice, and some very crappy hotels.
- SyneRyder 12y ago
  I used to do this, but ran into a few catches. They usually honored it for a day, but beyond that they need to check that you're not trashing the room & that they don't have a deceased guest on their hands. At one hotel, cleaning staff explained to me they were getting in trouble for not cleaning my room, and that they had a daily random check around mid-afternoon by their higher-ups. It also prevents them leaving early if they finish all the rooms, because they still have to wait for your room to become available. (Hence the midday "sorry to disturb do you need any towels" enquiry... they want to at least cross your room off their to-do list.) Nowadays I still put up the DND sign, but take it down anytime I'm leaving the room for a while to give them a chance to clean it.
pavel_lishin 12y ago
> I also have hundreds of toilet seat bands from hotels. Some of them are quite interesting, but these, too, are not a formal collection. What's a toilet seat band?
- duaneb 12y ago
  https://encrypted.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=toilet%20seat%20band https://encrypted.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=toilet%20seat...
- joezydeco 12y ago
  When travel on the US interstate highways picked up after WWII, motor hotels ("motels") sprang up on these routes to accommodate tourists. Many tried to promote themselves on their cleanliness by offering amenities that weren't typical for cheap motels in that era (disposable wrapped drinking cups, individually wrapped bars of soap, etc). When housekeeping cleaned the toilet in these places, they would put a paper band over the seat indicating the toilet had been cleaned (and, by visual glance, nobody else had used it yet). Example: https://images.jmcatalog.com/prdimgs/nP94Ser5/NEW/NEW1A-SEATBANDS.JPG https://images.jmcatalog.com/prdimgs/nP94Ser5/NEW/NEW1A-SEAT...
  - pavel_lishin 12y ago
    Ah, thanks.
- ArkyBeagle 12y ago
  We used to call them "a toilet hymen" when I was on the road. SANITIZED FOR YOUR PROTECTION.

28 points by drjohnson 12y ago

People will collect anything I guess. The nicest do-not-disturb sign I recall was at Kona Village Resort where you put a coconut on the lanai (porch) to indicate that you did not want to be disturbed.

beachstartup 12y ago

when travelling i just leave the DND sign up, as i prefer to sleep late, tidy my own room up, and not have someone going through my stuff. i've never once had the hotel staff honor the sign. they ALWAYS try to come in around noon at least once during my stay. it's crazy. maybe i should make my own sign that says "NO BUT SERIOUSLY." in whatever language and hang it under the real one.

scmoore 12y ago
It's probably impossible to prevent this. The chances of getting in trouble for not cleaning the room (sign or not) are probably higher than the chances of getting in trouble for ignoring the sign.
eggoa 12y ago
I do this too, but in my experience, it's worked. And that includes some very nice, and some very crappy hotels.
SyneRyder 12y ago
I used to do this, but ran into a few catches. They usually honored it for a day, but beyond that they need to check that you're not trashing the room & that they don't have a deceased guest on their hands. At one hotel, cleaning staff explained to me they were getting in trouble for not cleaning my room, and that they had a daily random check around mid-afternoon by their higher-ups. It also prevents them leaving early if they finish all the rooms, because they still have to wait for your room to become available. (Hence the midday "sorry to disturb do you need any towels" enquiry... they want to at least cross your room off their to-do list.) Nowadays I still put up the DND sign, but take it down anytime I'm leaving the room for a while to give them a chance to clean it.

pavel_lishin 12y ago

> I also have hundreds of toilet seat bands from hotels. Some of them are quite interesting, but these, too, are not a formal collection. What's a toilet seat band?

duaneb 12y ago
https://encrypted.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=toilet%20seat%20band https://encrypted.google.com/search?tbm=isch&q=toilet%20seat...
joezydeco 12y ago
When travel on the US interstate highways picked up after WWII, motor hotels ("motels") sprang up on these routes to accommodate tourists. Many tried to promote themselves on their cleanliness by offering amenities that weren't typical for cheap motels in that era (disposable wrapped drinking cups, individually wrapped bars of soap, etc). When housekeeping cleaned the toilet in these places, they would put a paper band over the seat indicating the toilet had been cleaned (and, by visual glance, nobody else had used it yet). Example: https://images.jmcatalog.com/prdimgs/nP94Ser5/NEW/NEW1A-SEATBANDS.JPG https://images.jmcatalog.com/prdimgs/nP94Ser5/NEW/NEW1A-SEAT...
- pavel_lishin 12y ago
  Ah, thanks.
ArkyBeagle 12y ago
We used to call them "a toilet hymen" when I was on the road. SANITIZED FOR YOUR PROTECTION.