That Nasty DSK Incident Might Be a Good Thing for Housekeepers Everywhere

May 23, 2011 at 2:05 PM | by juliana | Comments (3)

As the fallout from the alleged sexual assault of a housekeeper by Dominique Strauss-Kahn at the Sofitel New York continues, a silver lining seems to have emerged--folks are starting to pay closer attention to the plight of housekeepers. And it's not just about the strenuous routines making and remaking hotel beds.

In this New York Times op-ed from a housekeeping manager, Jacob Tomsky writes that housekeepers are routinely subjected to sexual harassment from guests, typically ones who can't keep their clothes on aka creepy flashers.

Tomsky also points out that everyday housekeepers are dealing with the unknown. That's because they never know what's behind door 1, 2, 3 or 14 as their room assignments don't say who is in what room, just that it's needs to be cleaned. So what housekeepers find when they open the door can often be scary (ok and a little bit funny.) Tomsky writes:

Hotel workers walk in on threesomes, twosomes and, most commonly, onesomes, and must extricate themselves as delicately as possible because, make no mistake, the guest�s opinion of the situation holds quite a bit of weight.
It might be claimed, for instance, that the housekeeper failed to knock loudly enough, hence the hotel is at fault for this terrible embarrassment. (It is never mentioned that the guest was enjoying Internet pornography while wearing noise-canceling headphones.)
So ... use the bolt lock! Housekeepers are begging you. Minibar attendants are begging you. Bellmen are begging you. Your wife is begging you. Till then, the housekeeper must simply keep her head down, apologize uncomfortably and make a quick and determined exit. No service today.

And we thought getting caught in our (tightly knotted) robes was mortifying! But seriously, that might be the best piece of advice ever. Heed it.

Some more good news for housekeepers to come out of the terrible DSK incident? Panic Buttons. Tnooz reports that Rory Lancman, a Queens, N.Y. assemblyman wants to introduce panic buttons for housekeepers that would alert hotel security or another safety monitoring station that the housekeeper needs help.

In a perfect world, housekeepers wouldn't have to deal with sexually depraved guests. Also, hotel mattresses would be lighter than cotton candy. But this world is far from perfect. Panic buttons sound reasonable. And oh, don't forget to tip. Now more than ever.

P.S. Bernard-Henri Levy? Don't ever use the word chambermaid again. Ever.

[Photo: Mynameisharsha/Flickr]

Comments (3)

Return to » That Nasty DSK Incident Might Be a Good Thing for Housekeepers Everywhere

I say right on to the panic buttons.

Let us know who cares enough about their staff to use them.

the mavin

Who needs panic buttons now?

When the issue of sexual harrassment in the workplace was put on the map in the 1990s, it had changed workplace life in many ways. For example, if a male colleague and a female colleague are alone in an office or boardroom, we don't close the room's door at all let alone lock it from the inside.

From the aftermath of the DSK saga, how are we, as hotel guests, hotel housekeeping staff or hotel management, going to change our behaviour in order to protect our reputation?

For example, if we need something from Room Service, does the housekeeping staff member stay out of the room once we answer the door? Also, do we men keep the hotel room door open and have ourselves dressed in daywear or PJs and robe if a female business colleague or housekeeping staff member is in our room? Similarly, could the practice of guests befriending hotel staff become dangerous territory for one's reputation.

Has anyone noticed any changes concerning the interaction between guests and hotel staff since the DSK saga? Have we become less friendly and more businesslike or not with our interactions between guests and hotel staff? Have we become more careful about who is in our rooms and whether we keep that door open or shut, including locking it from the inside?

This is more so as I may become a potential guest of one or more hotels through travel that I do in relation to my Website.

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