Doing things “with good intentions” can sometimes take up more of the staff’s time and effort, or cause inconvenience for the next guests.
Why shouldn’t you fold the blankets and pillows before checking out of a hotel?

When a guest checks out, hotel staff are required to replace all used bed linens and pillows with clean ones for the next guest.
Therefore, if you neatly straighten the sheets, fold the blanket, and arrange the pillows, the staff will have to take extra time to pull everything apart again to replace them.

On the other hand, in rooms with more than one bed, if you make a bed look perfectly neat, the staff may mistakenly assume it hasn’t been used and won’t replace the linens. In that case, your good intentions might unintentionally harm the next guest, who would end up using dirty sheets and pillows.

Similarly with towels, hotel staff greatly appreciate it when guests leave used towels in a corner of the bathroom or in the bathtub, because it makes collecting and cleaning them easier. If you fold the towels neatly, they might not be able to tell which ones are used and which are clean, leading to unnecessary washing and waste.

Now you see why you shouldn’t fold blankets and pillows before leaving the hotel, right? If you want to help the housekeeping staff, you can instead throw trash in the proper bin, turn off unnecessary devices, and remove all sheets, pillows, and blankets you have used, placing them together with used towels in a designated corner.

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What should you do before checking out?

Housekeeping staff will be very thankful if you do the following before leaving, as it saves them a lot of time and effort:

Turn off the TV, air conditioner, and electronic devices

Leaving these devices on not only wastes electricity but also makes it unclear whether the room is still occupied, causing delays as staff need to confirm with reception.

Put items back in their original place

Returning items like remote controls, kettles, cups, or dishes to where they belong helps save a few minutes of cleaning time.

Gather trash

Simply putting all trash in the bin already lightens the workload for the staff. If there is too much trash, you can place it in a plastic bag or gather it in one spot.

A tidy room not only helps the staff but also makes it easier for you to check if you’ve forgotten anything.

Separate unused items

Don’t mix clean towels with used ones. If you haven’t used something, leave it as it is. Do not refold used towels as if they were untouched.

Don’t use all the beds if not necessary

For example, if only two people are staying in a villa with three beds, you can leave one or two beds unused. This helps reduce the workload for staff and saves water, detergent, and energy used for laundry—benefiting both the hotel and the environment.