Don't Clean My Room!

Recently I stayed at a Sheraton hotel on business travel.  In many
hotels, I notice a note that says something to the effect of "Help us
save the environment: if you want your towels washed, leave them on
the floor; if you hang them up, we won't wash them."  I don't know
that the hotels always follow their own guideline, but I like the
sentiment.

Well, the Sheraton Raleigh City Center hotel goes one step further, in
what I think is a clever idea.  They have a little sign you can hang
outside your room by 2AM that says "Hey, don't have housecleaning come
and clean my room."  In return, the Sheraton will slip a voucher for
$5 every day except the day you check out.  That's plenty of money for
a latte and a banana at the coffee kiosk near the lobby, or I could
use it for a happy hour drink at the hotel's bar.

Maybe you'll think me filthy, but I don't always feel like I need the
room cleaned every single day of my stay.  This seems like a great way
to save the staff a little time, and some cleaning costs.  The five
bucks is not even really the point, although I like getting a little
cash out of the deal.  Mostly, though, what I like is that I feel that
I have a little control over the hotel's using a little bit less water
and power when it doesn't need to use them on me.

Oh, and every time I've hung their sign, they've taken the hint and
not come in to clean the room.  Nice job, Sheraton.