Please treat your hotel room nicely

Amen!

Furries need to show that we're just common people with uncommon interests (well, and perhaps not even that uncommon, really.) If we come in to a place en masse and avoid offending everybody else around us, we may actually gain a sort of appreciation by others who are not furs, and this improves our overall image. It's not really fair to your fellow furs if you come in to this hotel and are obnoxious or rude to random people or hotel staff, because there's a good chance that some people will see that behavior and attribute it to furries as a whole. And really, some furs can be nice, some can be jerks, but we'd like to not give everybody a bad perception to begin with; it sucks to have someone pre-emptively assume things about you because you belong to a certain group with a certain reputation.

Like, "Oh, those furries... they're just weirdos that trash hotel rooms and like to be jerks to people." Okay, that's kind of far-fetched, perhaps, but there ARE people that are quite willing to make generalizations about furries that arn't true (or maybe are only true for a few people.... I won't go into all those different things people attribute to us as a whole, many arn't appropriate for discussion here ;p)

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Yikes, I'm sorry to hear about that. If I may ask though...what sort of things were done to the rooms that brought this up?

-There is no truth

I guess that means I'll have to leave my power tools and wallpaper home, AGAIN !!

I never leave my room in a mess..I know how much work those maids have, and I don't like to give them more...So I always pick up the room, put all the towels and what not in a pile where they can just grab them, and i fold up the blankets for them to also just pick up...I hate to put more burden on people so..yeah. Keep yer rooms at least mostly tidy! -nod-

SunShadow
Mrow-a-purr

I personally don't understand HOW you can trash a hotel room..

I mean .. you sleep there in the evening .. leave your stock there and technically you should be gone all day..

I mean .. unless you jump on the beds or throw chairs across the room (which I PRAY nobody did) it's pretty hard to TRASH a room..

but in another way .. nothing surprises me anymore..

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I love you all ..

except for the people I don't like..

In mundane life, I work in the hotel industry. Housekeeping is the unsung people in a hotel. They are very important to your comfort during your stay and its a very good idea to be nice to them.

- Tip your housekeeper at the START of your stay. You'll always find some note from housekeeping in your room, whether its just a hello note or one that mentioned how to get clean towels. In the morning, as you're leaving the room for the day, leave a buck or two sticking out from under that little sign. It is something that is noticed, they tell each other who tips, who doesn't and who are slobs.

- DO NOT leave the "Do Not Disturb" on your room 24 hours a day. Nothing annoys the housekeepers more than this cause they know the room is going to be a wreck come Monday. Stow your stuff in the morning and let the maids in to do their jobs. IF you feel you need to do this, leave a BIG tip in the room when you check out.

- Leaving some returnables in the room when you check out it okay. Leaving CASES of empties is bad. If you make a major mess, clean most of it up yourself.

- If someone makes a major mess, call the front desk and let them come clean it up. They really would rather get it cleaned up while its "Fresh" than wait two days for it to set.

- As others have said, don't tape ANYTHING up in your room, not on the walls, the mirrors, the ceiling.

- DO NOT hang or tie ANYTHING to anything that isn't designated a hang point in your room. This includes the sprinkler heads, the light figures, the smoke detectors. More damage is done to rooms by people hanging or tying things to the room.

- Again, let me repeat, LET HOUSEKEEPING CLEAN YOUR ROOM!

- It is perfectly okay to set, NEATLY, trash outside your door at night. Don't do it during the day, or during the high traffic times at night. As you're crashing for the night, NEATLY set boxes and empties and such out in the hall.

- BE NICE to the hotel staff. They are working hours you won't want to work to ensure you are having a comfortable and safe place to enjoy your convention. Say 'Hello'. Smile. If they ask you something, answer politely. Co-operate with your hotel staff. They are basically an extension of the convention staff. These are people who enjoy their jobs and really are there to help you out.

- When In Doubt, ASK. If you have some questions, ask one of the hotel staff.

- Remember that the hotel staff is going to be accepting of you and the convention, but don't expect them to understand the subtle inner working of your world. They aren't the enemy but they also aren't fans. Be polite. They really are friendly.

- The best rule of thumb is treat your hotel room as if its in the house of someone you respect. If you wouldn't do it in that home, don't do it in the hotel.

- You are a guest of the hotel, act like one.

- It is VERY important to confirm and double-check your reservation well in advance of the convention. Then do it again a couple of weeks out. When you check in, CAREFULLY look over the paperwork. Make sure it is what you want before completely the checking in process. IF you have any special requests, the sooner you let the hotel know, the better your chances of getting them fulfilled. If it isn't instantly fulfilled, calmly re-ask.

- The hotel really does want to make your stay as comfortable as possible, but it is important to politely make your desires known. Also understand that not all special requests are possible.

- If you need extra pillows or towels or such, ask for them right away, at check in, or as soon as you hit the room, call down for them. Do Not be surprised if your call down at bedtime for an extra pillow on Saturday night and be told there aren't any extras available. Understand that the hotel does not have unlimited resources. They only have so many extra pillows or towels or roll aways.

The Secret to having a smooth hotel stay is to follow the rules and communication. Make sure the hotel understands your needs and keep your requests REASONABLE. And equally understand what the hotel needs from you and be REASONABLE in accommodating their requests of you.

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David M Stein, DI

"Not Unlike the Toaster, I Control the Darkness"
-- Abby Normal, "You Suck"

I've always looked at the fandom and the actions of a certain demographic within it and thought to myself "Since when does being furry have anything to do with being a slob?"

I see some furs who take the easy way out kind of attitude to excuse their behaviour with "...hey, I'm a fur. Tee hee *gigglesnort*" when asked simply why they do A, B and C.

All of the demographic of furs who have this mindset need to realize that the saying "The actions of the few speak for the many" holds true for us in everything we do that relates to others outside of our happy little grapevine community and realize that what we do and how we present ourselves to the non fur part of population reflects positively or negatively on other people and as a result, the negative stuff does a great dis service to the furs you do and don't know, and also to yourself.

As a fellow fur, I'd really like to put in my request for everyone to keep their room up to snuff. You don't have to polish every air mollecule and put it back to where you found it, but at least try to be descent about it.

Just look at it this way. Every time you leave a convention with a big mess behind and a lack of caring to clean any of it up, it reflects badly on _everyone_, even the ones who do clean their rooms up. It's as if a fursuiter ran out into a busy intersection and started a brawl just outside of the hotel. Even though you might not know that furry, it really doesn't matter because it's as if you were the one who ran out into that intersection to start that brawl instead.

If that doesn't help, then think of it this way:

There's only _one_ Anthrocon and there are only so many hotels left in PA

So yeah, respect your room!

"I would really, really hate to have to have such an uncomfortable chat with any of our cherished attendees."

Uncomfortable chat indeed. I've seen Kage angry like, twice. He's the type that you shut up and listen when he's angry though.

let me add kage, the hotel i work at if rooms are left excessively dirty you can sometimes be charged a fee and are usually talked badly about among the hotel staff long after you are gone.

As someone who works in many hotel positions I have a couple things to reinforce and to add.

When you leave your room move everything off your bed into either the closet, the drawers, or your luggage because most hotels do not allow there housekeepers to move personal objects off beds as they don't want to be blamed if you think something went missing.

Furry con goers usually come with allot of cash. Ask the front desk if they have a lock box. Lock it up there because if you say you left allot of money in your room and it's missing they aren't reimbursing you pretty much all the time. So protect yourself and lock the cash up.

There are more people in the hotel then just you. If something doesn't happen two seconds after you request it don't worry allot of hotel chains try to get things to you within 15 minuets. Also don't take all the pool towels at the pool, ask for an excessive amount of extra pillows or anything else that is a limited resource for the hotel.

If it is a non smoking room do not smoke in it, especially weed (that should be a given but it's ussualy harder to get out then normal cigarette smoke smell). A weekend of smoking in a room can take over a week and a couple hundred dollars to clean so that it is once again non smoking. All hotels will also charge you for this expense.

Definitely do not hang anything on the sprinkler heads, breaking one will either flood your room and the rooms below you or you'll ruin any fursuits with the fire suppressant foam that some sprinkler heads use.

i want to be the first to thank yall for the wonderful advice, i have an almost-phobia of offending waitstaff/help staff/service persons/ whatever they're called (btw, what is the proper term?)