Live data from Hacker News

Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

npr.org

161–170 of 521 posts

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#161

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But how is it better to sit at home making $0 than working and having an income? I had that very discussion with a co-worker leaving. They told me working wasn't worth their time, and they'd better care for their home, family, themselves etc. instead. And it wasn't that they were rich or their partner had a high paying job, more that the cost of daycare, private teacher, eating outside every day, work related stuff…

Ok, but this is still missing a very important element - where the hell are they getting finances to live? The point OP is making us these people probably need ~$2000 a month to live at an absolute minimum. No luxury, no gadgets, just getting by. How does one decide “working isn’t worth it” but still magically has these funds?

> How does one decide “working isn’t worth it” but still magically has these funds?

Most likely because even if, as GP says, their partner doesn't have a high-paying job, their partner doea have a job that clears the minimum necessary for household survival.

(Which is often less than $2000/person-month.)

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#162
post #151

Hotels should start proposing discounts for not cleaning the room every day. If I stay in a place for a couple of weeks, I’d be happy to have the bedsheets and towels changed once and the room made like every 3 days at most. I mean, most of us don’t do more than that at home. Less room cleaning would save on staff and laundry et be a net benefit for the environment.

Many Marriott hotels have been offering 500 rewards points for not cleaning your room for years now. It's all or nothing though, you can't just reduce the frequency of cleaning.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#163
post #55
post #2

In some Las Vegas hotels I no longer need to stop at a counter or stand in a line and it’s 1000x better experience. I can walk directly to my room and scan my phone. I can scan my phone for parking. I can grab extra keys at a kiosk, if I need them. I never have to talk to anyone, if I don’t want to. I also select the option not to have my room cleaned each day. I’ll ask someone in the hall for towels if I stay long e…

> In some Las Vegas hotels Not just Las Vegas hotels. Any hotel (Hilton, Hyatt, Marriott, etc.) with an app that supports digital keys via Bluetooth already have this. I still like to check in at the counter though if it looks like it isn't too busy. I have elite status at these hotels, and they typically hand out free cookies or water at the counter, and I occasionally get a free discretionary room upgrade on the sp…

Another app to install and leak my privacy. No thanks. I’ll wait in line for a key card.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The other big piece - especially to the hospitality puzzle - is that immigration was substantially reduced. First politically and then due to Covid. If you look at the number of work visas issued by year, we’re short literally millions of immigrants that would be doing much of the grunt work in restaurants and hotels.

visas are taking forever at the moment.. for any type

Yup. In many countries you're looking at a wait of over a year to get an appointment for a tourist visa interview.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#165
post #41

Some cheap European hotels are made like the expensive toilet booths where they basically just hose them down —-no fancy carpeting. All surfaces except the bedding are washable. Makes for easy cleanup and quick turnaround. It’s not for everyone of course.

Not sure why you're getting downvoted, since this is basically the operating model of Ibis Budget (fka Formula 1). Literally everything down to the soap dispensers in the shower is bolted down.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I would assume the reputable but cost-cutting hotels would still be doing a full clean between guest visits, just cutting down on the daily room cleaning while a guest is still there.

Every single hotel or motel should be doing full clean between guest visits, otherwise it should not even be allowed to operate. But if a hotel starts letting people stay weeks without checking their room, they will inevitably end up with hoarders and people that keep food lying around and then comes cockroaches and rats and odors, etc.

Even if there is some food lying around in a room on the 3rd floor, the cockroaches and rats won't just materialize out of thin air. Unless the hygienic conditions are generally bad anyway, but then the hotel has a bigger problem than one dirty room...

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#167
post #151

Hotels should start proposing discounts for not cleaning the room every day. If I stay in a place for a couple of weeks, I’d be happy to have the bedsheets and towels changed once and the room made like every 3 days at most. I mean, most of us don’t do more than that at home. Less room cleaning would save on staff and laundry et be a net benefit for the environment.

> Hotels should start proposing discounts for not cleaning the room every day. Hotels have, in many cases, just stopped having daily room cleaning, without offering a discount: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hotels-end-basic-amenities-no-m...

But that is a discount, they didn't raise your rates.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#168
post #151

Hotels should start proposing discounts for not cleaning the room every day. If I stay in a place for a couple of weeks, I’d be happy to have the bedsheets and towels changed once and the room made like every 3 days at most. I mean, most of us don’t do more than that at home. Less room cleaning would save on staff and laundry et be a net benefit for the environment.

Many Marriott hotels have been offering 500 rewards points for not cleaning your room for years now. It's all or nothing though, you can't just reduce the frequency of cleaning.

That was ended in August 2020: https://onemileatatime.com/marriott-eliminates-make-a-green-...

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#169

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> If you want to see the canary in the coal mine, try befriending someone who works in the service industry. I have a couple of very close friends in the service industry. They are less well off than others I know and it’s reflected in their lives (still renting, fewer vacations), but no signs of societal collapse (have families and community relationships) there either. What am I supposed to be noticing?

How do they support a family on a service industry income? Living paycheck to paycheck just hoping nothing bad happens?

Service industry doesn’t necessarily mean poverty wages. For hotel housekeeping and similar it probably is though.

Had a friend making about $50k waiting tables depending on the year in a city you’d likely never heard of before switching to sales.

Another working in a kitchen planning to buy a home soon.

I know a couple local bartenders who do much better than I expected for a neighborhood bar.

Met a guy years ago who was a school janitor and for whatever reason I always thought they would be poor. Turns out that’s a pretty good job.

That said, none of these people work as a cashier at McDonald’s or hotel room cleaner either. The one making $50k worked at a national steakhouse chain, not a fancy one but a step up from Applebees.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#170
post #41

Some cheap European hotels are made like the expensive toilet booths where they basically just hose them down —-no fancy carpeting. All surfaces except the bedding are washable. Makes for easy cleanup and quick turnaround. It’s not for everyone of course.

In Europe it's not uncommon (or at least, it isn't unheard of) to need to bring your own bed sheets and towels from home.

Sorry that’s absolute nonsense

Did you have some weird experience that you’re extrapolating wildly?

Post reply on HN