The Belongings Standard
Five steps for cleaning around a guest’s things so the room looks cared for and nothing looks searched. Papers squared by a stranger feel like being watched.
- Who
- Room attendants, checked by the floor supervisor
- When
- Every service and every turndown in an occupied room
- You need
- A clean cloth for glasses, spare hangers, a pad for notes to the supervisor
- Measured by
- Nothing on desks or bedsides moved
- Shoes paired where the guest left them
- Nothing binned unless clearly rubbish
5 steps
01
Look first
Stand inside the door for five seconds before you touch anything. Note where the guest has put things on the desk, the bedside and the chair. That is the layout you leave behind, item by item.
Say this
“Desk: laptop open, papers, reading glasses. Do not touch.”
Common mistake Starting with the bed. By the time you look round, you have already moved the phone, the book and the glasses.
02
Hands off
Never touch laptops, papers, money, jewellery, medicines or anything on a desk or bedside table. Dust around them. If something stops you cleaning a surface, leave that patch and note it on your sheet.
Say this
“418: desk not dusted, guest papers left in place. 11:20.”
Common mistake Lifting the papers to wipe underneath and putting them back in a neater pile. The guest knows the order they left them in.
03
Pair and place
Pair shoes and set them where the guest left them. Fold loose clothes onto a chair or the end of the bed, where they can be seen. Coil cables, and leave anything that is charging plugged in.
Say this
“418: shoes paired by the wardrobe, shirt folded on the armchair, chargers coiled.”
Common mistake Putting clothes away in the wardrobe. The guest can’t find their shirt and starts to wonder who opened their drawers.
04
When in doubt
Bin only what is clearly rubbish: whatever is in the bin, empty packaging, used tissues. A note, a newspaper, a half-full bottle or a flower stays where it is. If you are not sure, leave it and ask.
Say this
“Supervisor, 418 has a folded paper on the floor by the bin. Keep it or bin it?”
Common mistake Binning the folded paper on the floor. It was the boarding pass or a child’s drawing, and nobody will find it again.
05
Report it
Tell the supervisor about anything unusual before you leave: cash left in the open, something broken, medicines on the floor. Write it on your sheet with the time. The supervisor decides what to say.
Say this
“418, 11:35: cash and a watch on the bed, left in place. Reported to Anna.”
Common mistake Moving the cash into the safe to be kind. You have now handled money that nobody saw you handle.
Touch, Arrange or Leave
Seven kinds of belongings and where the line sits for each. Keep it on the trolley so the answer is there before a hand reaches out.
Brief one row each morning for a week, holding the real object. The supervisor checks that row in every room inspected that day and writes the result on the inspection sheet.
The Standards Library.
No. 49 · Housekeeping
The Turndown Standard
Five steps that change a room from day to night in 15 minutes. Guests remember the one detail chosen for them, and rarely the chocolate on the pillow.
No. 50 · Housekeeping
The Final Look Standard
Five steps for the two-minute check before leaving every room. Seen from a seated guest’s height, chrome and mirrors show spots nobody notices standing up.