How Messy Should You Leave Your Hotel Room? We Asked Etiquette Experts

"One of the best parts of staying in a hotel? The daily housekeeping, of course. Although it's nice to have a dedicated team on hand to make your bed and take out your trash, that doesn't necessarily mean you're off the hook when it comes to cleaning. Diane Gottsman, etiquette expert and founder of The Protocol School of Texas, tells Travel + Leisure that while "housekeeping is happy to clean your room," it's important to be courteous and mindful of etiquette and cleaning standards."

"Gottsman advises guests to leave their rooms tidy so that hotel staff can clean thoroughly without having to "filter through personal items on the floor or dresser." As such, she recommends designating spaces for belongings like "dirty towels in one corner, shoes put together in a corner, [and] clothes in your suitcase, not left on the bed," so that housekeeping does not have to move anything around to clean efficiently."

Daily housekeeping is available, but guests should remain courteous and maintain basic tidiness to help staff clean efficiently. Designate separate spaces for dirty towels, shoes, and clothes so staff do not need to sort through personal items. Making the bed before checkout is unnecessary because linens will be stripped, and folding towels or meticulous bed-making is optional. Pet owners must clean up any accidents before departure. These simple organizational and cleanliness steps reduce extra work for housekeeping, speed room turnover, and uphold general etiquette and cleaning standards in hotels.

Read at Travel + Leisure