Josh Martin is a London-based journalist who writes across business and travel topics.
OPINION: “Oh no, I can’t believe this,” my wife said as we entered the room of a Tunisian riad hotel recently, “they still haven’t cleaned the room. That bath mat is sopping wet and we need new towels”.
I hadn’t really noticed. Hand me a room key card and provide me with logo-embroided linens and I suddenly shave decades off my age, back to the slovenly teenage me when clothes, towels, bags and rubbish are dumped immediately in the place I last deemed them useful.
Bath mats remain on tiled floors, a pile of crumpled dressing gowns becomes a roundabout to manoeuvre around in room 1108. It means that my wife’s tolerance for untidiness barely passes 12 hours, so she has recently been left reeling from the trend away from daily hotel cleaning services.
Yes, part of this was my fault, I had just assumed somebody would have the thankless task of covering my tracks.
As has been reported since the reopening of post-Covid travel, the industry is facing a surge in costs as well as pronounced labour shortages in many markets – New Zealand included – and low-skilled jobs common to hospitality and travel have become increasingly hard to fill. Cleaning contractors demand more cash, in short.
Mainstream hotel companies, such as mid-range chain Premier Inn in the UK have recently introduced the cleaned-only-on-request policy, while certain Hilton properties switched to this policy during the pandemic.
Other multinational hotel companies like Hyatt, IHG and Marriott also reduced the amount of time cleaning staff spent in each room during the pandemic era and some of their budget brands have tried to lock in those labour costs savings by continuing the practice or by reinstating at certain properties just a quick once-over – only really replenishing towels, teabags and toilet papers, spraying some odour neutraliser and then moving on to the next one. Spray and walk away, indeed.
The labour shortage and cost-cutting move – and don’t believe any bit of greenwashing that this cutback is motivated by reaching net-zero or saving the planet – is also a reflection on what mainstream travellers can now tolerate and go without.
A spick-and-span room, with daily fresh towels, turndown services and emptied rubbish bins is clearly seen as non-essential and part of that is down to the era of Airbnb and other rental accommodation websites.
When booking with them, travellers get more space to cook and entertain at the likely expense of having daily cleaning and a concierge. Trade-offs that have established new habits and priorities for some.
However, those of us who relish the idea of escaping the monotony of having to do our own washing, bed-making and cleaning up – surely one of the main simple benefits of hotel stays – can of course put in a quick call to reception to request a service. A call that was swiftly made at the Tunisian riad.
© 2023 Stuff Limited