Karen's Column: Tidying made easy

Is the end of the room tidy?

The part of running a B&B I disliked the most was having to do a room tidy; that room refresh when guests go out for the day, and are returning in the evening.

Maybe it was because my guests were so relaxed and felt at home, but they always seemed to take their time actually leaving the premises, and returned rather too quickly.

As my rooms were in a separate annex, I'd repeatedly go to the window to see if their car was still there or if they’d gone out for the day, so I could get on with the cleaning and maybe even go out myself!

And despite my pleas that they hang up the “please clean the room” sign if they were going out without their car, I’d often be left with the dilemma of whether to go and knock to see if they were still in.

When they’d finally left, there’d be the anticipation of what state the room had been left in.

Should I move the clothes that had been left on the bed? Was I expected to pick up the socks off the floor? Do I pick up the contents of a bumper box of condoms strewn over the floor and put them back in the box, or gingerly vacuum around them?

During Covid times many B&B owners stopped the room tidy and I’ve seen several discussions about whether they should restart. I’m sure you can guess which camp I’d be in.

How to make room tidies easier

One of the great things about running a B&B is that you can decide how your business will run, within the constraints of the law, hotel inspectors and guest reviews of course.

It's up to you to decide whether your guests will opt in or opt out room tidies, what they involve and how you'll communicate this to guests.

As a customer, I enjoy having the B&B or hotel room all to ourselves and not worrying about someone barging in, or having the pressure to get out by a certain time of day. But some guests enjoy the luxury of a room clean.

Here are a few of my tips for making the whole room tidy process a bit easier, and stopping it from eating into your day.

There are different ways of communicating your room tidy policy to your guests; in the pre-arrival email, in person at check-in or over breakfast or in the room information folder.

• Give the guests the option to either opt out or opt in to room tidies with a time frame for them letting you know which they prefer e.g. hang the sign on the door by 11am or let us know at breakfast

• Let them know what a room tidy involves so there are no misunderstandings

• Have a clear time frame for when the room tidies will be done

• Explain what will happen if personal belongings are left on the bed/on the floor etc

Read more about room tidies on the bed and breakfast academy blog.