Originally Posted By standor It's OK to reuse the linens and towels if you are staying in that room. They should definitely change all linens and towels if the room is to be vacated. I stayed in a local hotel one night and found the linens were dirty. I immediately had my room changed. The manager went with me to the new room to check it out. When we found room was OK, I did not have to pay for the room and got a voucher for 20% off on my next visit. I go to this hotel often because of a medical problem and they supply shuttle service to all medical facilities.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I apologize for not explaining the details in my original post: The Be Green Save Green Initiative - Service will be provided every 4th day of your stay. That means no towels, trash, bed service for 4 days. I just thought a $5 offer is insulting. I guess I was wrong.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom My experience is that most hotels will work with you on such matters. While staying at the Conrad Hilton hotel in Chicago I arranged with housekeeping to leave clean towels outside the door each day. While I left used towels outside my door each day. Other than that, I didn't need daily maid service. Plus, I was sharing a room with friends from California and they were on west coast time the entire stay. Whenever I stay at Disney all I really need is fresh towels. Another thing I do is set the room temp back. There is no reason to keep the room at a comfortablely cool temp when no one is there.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub Interesting so far nobody would qualify for the $5 Be Green Save Green initiative offered in this particular scenario.
Originally Posted By Kennesaw Tom If I was in the desert, I would keep the reuse the same towel. With the humidity of Florida, I want fresh towels. I do however turn the AC down when my hotel room is unoccupied, which in my estimation would demonstrate a far greater ecological savings than reusing towels. I'm not sure how that works were you live but I don't run my clothes washer or drier 24/7. AC on the otherhand is another story. Newsflash, I got my electric bill for the month of August and it was only $100, not bad for Georgia.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub I just meant the Swan/Dolphin at WDW Resort has a specific offer to qualify for the $5. No trash, no bed, no towel service for 4days..evrybody, so far, agrees with different aspects to feel green , Which is great but still is not fulfilling the specific offer. So would you want to go 4 days without all this for a daily 5 dollar refund that is a hotel credit to spend on property? Does that sound fair and beneficial to the customer or to the hotel. ?. and more importantly to the environment?
Originally Posted By tashajilek 4 days would be way too long without housekeeping for me. A total of $20 credit at a expensive hotel probably couldnt get you much anyways. I am also someone who doesnt wash towels everyday. I hope i am not that dirty either!
Originally Posted By CDF2 Isn't is standard practice now in a lot of hotels that used towels and washcloths be left in the tub and those that had not been used left on the rack or their place in the bathroom? That seems like a reasonable request. Regarding bed linens, I'm of the school of thought that if you are on vacation you deserve a bit of pass on this one - nothing like new sheets each night. Seems like one could do far more for the environment by using good conservation practices at home during the 50 weeks of the year when you are there as opposed to the two weeks or so you are on vacation (rule doesn't apply to Euros who get 6 weeks!) But with just a little common sense it seems like you should be able to limit the number of towels or cloths that get laundered. Really, I'd be a bit more concerned about the tremendous waste of food that takes place at resort hotel buffets or due to ridiculously large portions that will not be taken home by hotel guests without a fridge and microwave.
Originally Posted By leemac <<They are both run by Starwood Hotels, the corporate owners of the Sheraton (Dolphin) and Westin (Swan) chain brand names.>> It is a really minor point but Swan and Dolphin are owned Tishman - they are managed by Starwood though - so they will participate in all of the promotions that Starwood put together including Sheraton Green Choice - virtually all of the Sheraton hotels offer this promotion - $5 credit or 500 Starpoints every night you decline housekeeping. It isn't an unusual offer. Westin offer the same program. I don't see the problem as it is an option for travelers - a lot of business travelers that only use the hotel for sleep and like the bonus points will take up the offer I'm sure.
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder The time is coming when they will begin to charge you EXTRA if you want fresh towels and linens every day. Giving you the option of saving $5 a day NOT to do it is the start of that slippery slope. And then there's the stuff that the already unwashed bedspread is covered in. How hotels get away with that is beyond me.
Originally Posted By leemac <<The time is coming when they will begin to charge you EXTRA if you want fresh towels and linens every day. Giving you the option of saving $5 a day NOT to do it is the start of that slippery slope.>> I'm surprised that those hotels/motels at the lower end of the food chain haven't followed the budget airline model and started charging for stuff like this. There are numerous examples of budget airlines like Ryanair that will charge you all manner of additional costs just to keep their basic fares as low as possible. They even thought about trying pay-per-use toilets on board. I kid you not. <<And then there's the stuff that the already unwashed bedspread is covered in.>> You and me both - that sucker gets kicked off the second I'm in any hotel room. That comforter gets pushed to the furthest corner.
Originally Posted By Mickeymouseclub The way I read the Be green Save Green Guidelines posted by SPG An agreement to opt out of all housekeeping except on the fourth day. So it is not a choice to forgo towels for one day it is every 4 days receive linen, towel and trash service. I wouldn't have a problem with this if there was any place to hang a towel to air-dry but to sacrifice all of those services for $5 in return is a joke. Now we all know this is standard for DVC BUT they also have a central trash location on every floor and free laundry facility for guests. Guests arrive prepared for housekeeping every 4 days. Would you really be satisfied with a daily resort fee of over 250 per night to give up basic amenities for $5. That is not jiving with the amount you are paying to stay at a nice resort...I feel like they are saying we charge a lot but want you to believe it is only worth $5 in return. I guess this also means a family of 4 has to make that one tiny bottle of shampoo last for everybody for 4 days...or use that $5 to purchase shampoo in the gift shop. Thanks makes me a happy guest for sure!
Originally Posted By leemac <<The way I read the Be green Save Green Guidelines posted by SPG An agreement to opt out of all housekeeping except on the fourth day.>> Not sure what that one is but the property-wide Sheraton/Westin Green Choice is a per day offer so you can choose which day to refuse housekeeping in exchange the credit or points. You just hang a tag on your door.
Originally Posted By TP2000 What's the carbon footprint of this thread, where we all weighed in on using or not using daily housekeeping to save the planet from Manmade Global Warming? We've all been firing up our laptops and desktops to type here, sending bits and bytes around the world via satelites shot into space with kerosene and relay stations run on coal-fired electricity, to be stored and retrieved a thousand times over in giant air-conditioned server farms sucking energy at an increasing rate. All for a little conversation about some are holier than others because they re-use a towel at a big cheesy theme park complex where they will be entertained by singing robots snd electrical parades. The irony in that re-used towel during a Disney World vacation is hilarious. And now I will hit "Post" and fire up the server farms one more time, just for fun! Hey Al Gore, what's the temp out there now?
Originally Posted By Boardwalkbum <<And then there's the stuff that the already unwashed bedspread is covered in.>> <<You and me both - that sucker gets kicked off the second I'm in any hotel room. That comforter gets pushed to the furthest corner.>> Tell me about it. Bring a black light with you and you'll never stay in a hotel again. I'll be staying at The Dolphin at the end of October and will not be participating in this program. While we don't ask for new towels every day (or linens for that matter) we do like having the room serviced and we tip accordingly. We do turn off all lights and electronics when leaving, though we do leave the a/c on,albeit not at a long term occupational level.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip I think it is a reasonable option, but believe the $5 credit it too low. I'm sure the actual cost of servicing a room is substantially more than that. I don't replace my towels, change my sheets, vacuum the carpet or clean the toilet on a daily basis at home; why do I need it done in a hotel? As long as the room is spotless when I check in and I have an adequate supply of toilet paper, I'm happy. Guess I'm too used to DVC...
Originally Posted By Disney Joy I use every towel every day ..... I also ask for extra towels. I need fresh towels to wash face in the morning and wash face in the evening. Yep on vacations I want all fresh. Fresh sheets everyday would be nice BUT I can do every other day. I want it ALL LOL
Originally Posted By FerretAfros It always seems like when housekeeping is tidying up the bathroom, they rearrange all the towels and put them back in a nice little folded pile. While this wouldn't be an issue if I was in the room alone, I tend to stay at hotels with a couple friends, and we're not really interested in sharing towels after a couple days. Yes, I know that in theory our bodies are clean when we use them (we did just get out of the shower), but there's a certain "ick" factor in the whole thing. If I was with my family, I'd probably be more okay with it, but still try to avoid it. Unless there's a way to ensure that the towels will stay in the same place while we're out for the day, I prefer to have them replaced. That said, if there was a way that they could distinguish which towel is which, then I would be fine with keeping the same ones for a few days. I have a vision that hopefully some hotel will someday pick up (free for the taking, if any hotel management are reading this thread!), that each towel is a different color, or at least has a different tag/label on it, so they're easily distinguished. It's one thing to try and guess who put their towel where, but it's pretty easy to remember if you used the blue, green, white, or red one. I would be much more inclined to reuse towels if that were the case. Then again, I'm on vacation. I like to be pampered a little bit. And I think that fresh towels qualifies as a 'little' bit.
Originally Posted By KCCHIEF I also pull the spread and blanket off the bed as soon as we arrive......I have a quilt that travels with us and goes over the sheets for the entire stay.... and I always want new towels each day and ......the garbage can(s) emptied ....
