The most important hotel employee – Column by Minna Lindgren

TURKU TIMES COLUMN

The most important hotel employee

Written by minna Lindgren transLated by oWen F. Witesman

I love hotel room attendants. They are reliable, unobtrusive and irreplaceable. We can replace doctors, lawyers and hotel receptionists with artificial intelligence but not the person who cleans up the clutter that vacationers or business travelers leave in hotel rooms.

In A good hotel, a room attendant is always on site. You can identify them by their enormous carts full not only of a wide variety of cleaning supplies but also fresh towels, fresh sheets and endless small sundries to meet various guest needs: hygiene products, combs, sewing kits, shoe polish, pens, paper, irons, laundry bags, maybe even a Bible and birth control if someone happens to ask. You can get a warm blanket or a soft pillow. If they don’t have what a visitor needs, they get it.

But the room attendant sees all. They go in every room after the guests leave. The most skilled professionals will also know when that moment is right.

Most hotel guests don’t greet room attendants. Maybe they don’t notice the person standing next to the big cart. Or they think they might not share a common language, which saves the paying customer the hassle of a universal smile and wave. It could also be that the guest really is as busy as they’re trying to look—or they’re ashamed of the mess they’ve left behind. Because really, how many times have you exited a hotel room in a terrible rush, leaving behind the aftermath of a boisterous night for someone else to clean up?

But the room attendant sees all. They go in every room after the guests leave. The most skilled professionals will also know when that moment is right. They won’t knock on the door when we’re still doing our morning routine or resting and can tell from how we’re walking and dressed whether we’re popping down for a quick breakfast or leaving on longer business.

While we’re taking the sights, sitting in meetings, or doing other business, an attendant is inspecting our rooms. They see all the dirty clothes left on the floor—yes, including the underwear—, notice the empty wine bottles and count the dirty glasses, see the leftover food and stains on the towels, remove the hair and Band-Aids from the bathroom floor drain, glance at what we’re reading, and look at what kind of clothes we packed. They clean everything, set the clothes in a pile, make the bed, fold our nightshirts on the pillow, and arrange our random stuff on the desk at right angles – as if trying to teach us how a clean home should look. And what a pleasure it is to return to such a room!

Because I’ve worked as a cleaner, too, I never leave my room messy when I go. I clean the toilet and even fold my nightgown, despite which the pro still smooths any wrinkles I might leave. And because I clean after myself before leaving, it’s easy for me to give the room attendant a cheerful greeting. Maybe also because I consider them to be one of the most important people when it comes to my own comfort. After all, they are also the guard who ensures that no one else slips into my room. s

Minna Lindgren is an internationally recognized author. In addition to book tours, she spends nights in hotels while presenting operas to people across Europe.

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