(Ellen here filling in for Marilyn as she leads a group of WOWees on a Croatian cruise and post-trip to Slovenia (so jealous!!).)

I did my stint as a motel maid (that’s what we were called back then) in the summer of 1977. I had just turned 14 and was excited to start my first, official job with a paycheck – a step up from the two years of babysitting that I’d done prior.

I worked at the Meadowlark Motel just outside the little Danish town of Solvang, California, nestled within the Santa Ynez Valley – my hometown from birth to marriage. The Meadowlark was the quintessential 1970’s motel – single story design, doors facing the parking lot, minimal staff, sparse amenities, and cheap rates. It was situated in an interesting location – outside of the tourist center, in a residential neighborhood, nestled amongst the Mormon Church, the Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall, and the First Baptist Church. I guess it was a good place to stay if one needed to get “prayed up” on their way through the valley! For me, it was a dream come true – a good paying job ($2.85/hour!) just a short walk across the road from my childhood home.

Meadowlark Motel, circa 1977. Check out the “Country Squire” station wagon in front – we had one just like it!

Anyone who knows my tendency to cut things close knows that I’d have my “run to work time” down to the minute!

The Meadowlark Inn (they got swanky and upgraded to an Inn!), circa 2017

Jeannette Hasley, who I knew from grade school, and I often cleaned all 12 rooms at the Meadowlark Motel in under four hours – we were quite a team. I’ve come to realize that it was probably this job that created my disdain for vacuuming and my love of hospital corners! Jeannette and I took great pride in leaving a well-presented, fresh smelling, spotless room.

Once I established my merit, the owner of the motel started “loaning me out” to her friend who owned the King Frederik Hotel in the heart of Solvang. When I think about it, I’m not entirely sure that was legal, but I was too young and too eager to question it (I DID get paid for it, just weird that they didn’t really ask if we wanted to do it). I felt like this was a promotion of sorts, since the King Frederik had 44 rooms, two stories (they even had an elevator!), ice machines, and a big lobby with a rack full of brochures. I was playing in the big leagues now!

You can see how I’d think I’d been promoted! I mean, look at that place! Illuminated vacancy sign and everything! So fancy!

I’d like to tell you that I had some wild stories from the trenches, but, unfortunately, life was pretty tame in Solvang in the late ’70’s. Occasionally we stumbled upon the usual pitfalls of the housekeeping industry – booze bottles strewn about, wet towels on the floor, wine stain on the carpet, used condom in the bed. I always hoped for a doozy – a really exciting, crazy story to tell – but my motel maid stint lasted only 10 months before I moved into the exciting, fast-paced world of bussing tables at the Mollekroen Restaurant – a bustling Danish restaurant featuring a well-stocked smorgasbord in the center of town, across from the iconic windmill!

My big step up to busgirl (yes, I wore a Danish costume just like in the photo on the left!). And Solvang looks EXACTLY the same as it did back then!

In my desire to give you some juicy motel maid stories, I resorted to the internet. There is no shortage of gory, funny, and downright disgusting hotel housekeeping stories out there! While there were a plethora of stories involving poop and dead bodies (geeze, I wonder how many people die in hotel rooms each year?), I will spare you those. Here are some of the more “unique” highlights I discovered:

• A hotel room started to stink to high hell for no apparent reason. It was checked multiple times looking for the source of the odor, but nothing was found. Finally, the smell was tracked to the table lamp. Apparently, someone had broken the ceramic lamp, put a fish in it, and glued it back together.
• A hotel housekeeper found a goat in a room dressed like Abraham Lincoln (although I’m not sure how they determined it was Abe Lincoln – was it wearing a top hat?). Apparently, the room had been rented by some guys who were going to a bachelor party – not exactly sure how the goat fit in – maybe it’s best that we not know.

• A chamber maid went to clean a guests room and found multiple cats – “cats everywhere” – with a $100 bill and a note that read, “thanks for taking care of them, I’ll be back in a week.” The guest never came back.
• A battered, old notebook was found in a room with “Why i love salad” written on the front and 40-80 pages on why salad was amazing. The housekeeper said it looked like it had entries in it spanning years. Apparently, that person REALLY liked salad!
• One maid shared this little ditty: “I was once cleaning a room which had been left disgusting (food everywhere, condoms under the bed, the usual), but what made this place stand out is I went into the bathroom and they had painted the toilet seat pink. Instead of going to the pool or the beach or the local town or driving around the countryside, they had decided to stay in and paint the toilet seat pink. Weird.” After a couple comments on the forum, the maid added, “They did also paint the table to be fair.”
• And anyone who’s ever tried to clean up glitter will appreciate this one: “I cleaned a room once after Valentine’s Day about five years ago. The occupants decided to have a glitter bath. So they grabbed those big bags of glitter and jammed them into the jets. When I was cleaning it out I hit the button so I wouldn’t have to use so much spray to clean up and a giant torpedo of glitter shot out. That tub was shooting glitter for about 6 months.” Only six months? I’d say they were lucky!
• A housekeeper found a prosthetic leg and turned it in to the front desk. No one ever called to claim it. Seems like something someone would definitely miss, doesn’t it? I can’t help but imagine some one-legged person thinking to themselves, “I wonder where I left it?”
• And then this one: “There was this guy who brought a live chicken to his room. Then he sacrificed it inside his room and left a bloody mess everywhere. We told him he had to clean it up, and he did. He was pretty nice about the whole thing.”

Since I joined The CTP Group and WOW! Travel Club in September of 2015, I have become far more aware of the importance of lodging in our industry. I see how essential the ambiance of the hotel is, the amenities, location, staff, and, quite frankly – almost at the top of the list – the housekeeping. I notice the niceties of housekeepers, like neatly placing my brush and comb on a washcloth on the bathroom countertop, the fantastic turn-down service, or the way my belongings are nicely arranged after I leave them strewn about.

Part of my turndown service in Tuscany… they even gave “me” a waist!

I am constantly reminded of how hard the housekeeping staff works, the horrors they have been exposed to, the low wages they often earn, and the lack of appreciation for their industry that they endure. Because of MY 10-month housekeeping stint all those years ago, I feel a special kinship with the ladies manning those trollies loaded down with soaps, washcloths, drinking glasses, and cleaning supplies. I always go out of my way to be especially friendly and appreciative, try to leave my room tidy, and always leave a tip for a job well done.

And to you, housekeeping staff, I say a hearty “THANK YOU!” Thank you for your hard work and dedication to your tasks. Thank you for dealing with grouchy, demanding, ungrateful guests; dealing with bodily fluids and other people’s hair and dirty towels; and whatever unimaginable “sightings” you’ve experienced. And thank you for always smiling as we pass you in the hallway or as you bring us extra towels. You truly make our stays enjoyable; thank you for that!