If you're visiting a small hotel....

and you want your host(ess) to be able to honestly say "it was lovely to have you here, please do come back" rather than through gritted teeth, here are a few pointers.

Do

• Wash all the makeup off your face before drying it with the fluffy white towels (it's very hard to get foundation and lipstick, not to mention mascara, stains out of towelling)
• order what you really would like to eat at breakfast (it gets depressing when untouched food is returned to the kitchen)
• Ask, if there's something that would make your stay more pleasant (generally we're delighted to be able to help, even if it means moving you to another room if one's available)

Don't

• sit and seethe about something and only mention it in passing as you leave when it's far to late for me to fix it
• make a hot chocolate and feed it to the pillow, or the carpet
• smoke in the bedrooms (it's illegal, could result in a hefty fine to both you and the landlord, and extremely inconsiderate of anyone staying after you)
• stomp about at 3am, waking up everyone else in the building
• demand a drink in the wee small hours because it's your "right" to have one as you're resident, and you're drunk enough not to realise that you've already had enough (no-one has a right to be served alcohol, and it's illegal for me to serve someone who's drunk!)
• take your dog to bed with you (those are stains I've never managed to remove, along with what I suspect may have been hair styling oil)

And finally
Please remember that most small businesses are struggling to make ends meet. Walking off with just two bath towels will mean that I have made no money at all on your one-night stay. Clearing the tray of breakfast cereal portions will mean I have lost quite a bit. Toiletries, bottled water, and tea/coffee etc are there to be used, though!