I’m an ex-hotel cleaner – you should NEVER make the bed when you check out

NEXT time you check out of a hotel, you may want to avoid making the bed.

An ex-hotel cleaner has explained why this actually makes their job harder when cleaning the rooms between guests.

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A perfectly made bed not only takes longer for staff to re-make but it could also cause confusion for cleaning staff.

The former housekeeper, who worked at a resort in Australia, told Business Insider: “If we think you haven’t used the bed at all, we may not change the sheet.

They added it is actually better if the bed “looks slept in” when they are cleaning the room.

Don’t do this until you check out, however – as hotels rarely change the sheets every day if you are staying for a while.

Flavio Serreti, manager of Soprano Villas and Rome Lofts, said that doing this before housekeeping arrive can actually give them more work.

He told Insider: “On busy days, staff will simply plump pillows and reuse the same sheets, only changing the linens every three to four days.

Guests who do want to help can ball up their used towels and sheets so it’s easy for staff to remove.

People on Reddit discussed the bed etiquette when staying in a hotel.

One person said: “Anytime I stay at a hotel, I always strip the beds and pile the sheets and dirty towels together in the bathroom.”

Some explained how they had been taught to do this by their parents: “Every time we stayed at a hotel room growing up (which was a lot) my dad would bunch up all of the bedding and add it to the dirty linen pile.

“I never understood why until I was a house cleaner.”

Previous cleaning staff also replied: “Housekeeping loves it when you do that, it saves a lot of backbreaking effort.

“Try and leave it on a waist-high spot too, as they often try and grab it all at once to speed things up and it’s less dangerous for their back if it’s not on the floor.”

Another hotel cleaner revealed the five items they never clean in the rooms.

And a former hotel housekeeper said guests should be tipping at least £7.50 a night for their work.

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