"Do Not Disturb" tags in hotels, how can they be improved?

Question

We've seen keys being replaced by key cards, new LCD TVs, WiFi and LAN in each room but the one thing that doesn't seem to have changed is the "Do Not Disturb" tag that can be hung on the doorknob outside the room.

In the majority of hotels I stayed, this tag was also a "Please Clean the Room" sign when turned over. These two use cases are obviously diametrically opposed to each other and it is very easy to select the wrong one. You also can't be sure that some passerby just turns the tag.

The "good" ones make turning difficult, the bad ones hang on a string and can be turned by e.g. the draught of a closing door (see image below). In very rare occasions - at least here in Europe - a hotel offers two tags, one for each use case. This seems to be the best approach so far, as this eliminates the possibility of accidentally selecting the wrong use case. But it still doesn't prevent from stealing or removing the tag.

My question: How can these simple use cases be improved for the user (i.e. hotel guest) given the following restrictions:

• solves all of the problems mentioned above (easily used wrongly, easily stolen/abused)
• does not cost a fortune (must be possible for a hotel to easily apply to each room)
• most importantly: doesn't require a user manual, i.e. instantly (more or less) clear to the user and
• does not need a new convention to learn (a new convention is e.g. "All rooms are DND by default unless a sock hangs on the doorknob")

Answer 1

Various hotels I have come across (though I remember that primarily from China) had simple lamps with the respective do not disturb and please clean room signs next to the door and accordingly labeled switches on the inside of the room to activate either of the exterior lights.

• It cannot be used by anyone other than the guest.
• It costs somewhat more than a sign (but then, it cannot be stolen that easily, at least not any more easily than any ceiling lamp in the room), though I admit that the first installation in a building that has no provisions for that (nor any other electronic connections to the outside, such as a doorbell at the room) can be somewhat more cumbersome. (Drillinga smaller opening through the doorframe might be enough, though.)
• Assuming that the buttons are placed in a conveniently findable location on the inside of the room, it can hardly be misunderstood.
• And it exactly replicates the existing convention.

An additional advantage is that the sign doesn't just fall off the door handle outside after closing the door even when the door handle is very close to the frame and thus pushes the sign off the handle.

Essentially, it is the very same solution that has been in use in hospitals for decades already, where a simple switch inside the room is used to light a sign outside of the room to call for a nurse (and sometimes, a second one with a do-not-disturb meaning while the doctor is in the room, talking to a patient).

Answer 2

I have seen indicators that are inserted into the key card slot so that keys can't be inserted until the indicator is removed. These solve the problem of being accidentally changed, since they are anchored to the door.

Pros:

• The user is almost always required to be looking directly at the tag when inserting it into the door lock, so it is unlikely to be inserted with the wrong side visible.
• Impossible to ignore. The door lock does not function unless the tag is removed.
• Cheap. This could probably be done with a pair of scissors and a sharpie, depending on the existing tags.
• Intuitive, especially if there is an arrow drawn on the part of the tag that inserts into the lock. The pictured tag also has the door handle attachment in case the user doesn't understand the door lock mechanism.

Cons:

• Easily stolen

Answer 3

There is something called Paperless Signs like below

While a passerby can still switch the action. Here the mode of turning the light on should be only available with the guest.

I guess punching the room card/keys. Whichever sign you'll punch your card on the light will glow.

Answer 4

Sliders attached to the doors can do the trick. The material used will determine the options to fix them, their appearance and their longevity. This solution seems to be consistent with your two first conditions. Here are examples :

Original wordings can then check your two last conditions. For example :

• on the left under half : "Everything is just fine. There is no need to clean"
• on the sliding upper part : "MY ROOM"
• on the right under half : "would appreciate a bit of care... Can I count on you ?"

Answer 5

A solution that seems to meet the requirements, but still doesn't seem great: a stiff piece of plastic with a profile like this:

__________________|___________________

Top down it looks like this:

[ Clean           | Do not disturb   ]

You slide it under the door, with the appropriate bit sticking out. The vertical tab in the middle stays inside the room, and prevents it being removed.

I think it works, but it seems like overkill. Does anyone really steal DND signs?

Answer 6

You could have a long U-shaped plastic tab that fits over the latch portion of the door, with one side of it labeled 'Do Not Disturb' and the other side as 'Please Clean The Room'. The occupant puts this over the door latch before closing & then locking the door.

This should meet all of your requirements:

• hard to misuse - the side of the plastic outside the door indicates the action, and cannot be flipped without a room or master key
• hard to steal or abuse - hard plastic material makes it difficult to tear or cut the tab, and as above it can't be moved easily
• reasonable cost - getting a bunch of plastic tabs for all rooms should be quite affordable
• intuitive - each side clearly specifies the action, though there might need to be some graphic to indicate how to place it over the door latch.

I remember actually using such a scheme during a family vacation somewhere, though it was a long time back so I don't remember specifics about the implementation.

Answer 7

The usual solution these days is not to have a "clean" sign at all. If "do not disturb" is not displayed, the maid may knock and ask if the room should be cleaned.

Some hotels, as an "ecological" (and cost-saving) option, will let guests preregister as not wanting full room service, or use various conventions for indicating this. They still use the "clean unless told no" policy, but restrict themselves to things like emptying trash cans unless a signal is left for them that additional service is required (towels on bathroom floor indicate replacement towels are desired, for example) or a call is made to the desk requesting a full-service pass.

Either way, I honestly don't see a need to improve the tags. The small ones are cheap enough to be considered disposable, and when presence/absence is all that matters their design is almost irrelevant as long as they can be displayed and removed easily.

(When traveling alone, I often mark my room "do not disturb" almost continuously since I don't feel any great need for fresh towels or linens. In the US, where cleaning staff relies on tips as part of their income, I'll tip upon departure for all the days, since not cleaning the room is exactly what I asked them to do and they did it well.)

Answer 8

How about a 'fridge' magnet?

Have the available options stuck to the inside of the door, or on a wall near the door. Let the user stick the appropriate one to the outside of the door.

For non-metal doors, a metal panel would need to be installed.

Answer 9

There is an alternative side to the discussion which doesn't seem to have been addressed as-of-yet. Theres an old saying among the hotel industry that goes "Dirty rooms, dirty minds". It's the same principles as Wilson and Kelling's Broken Windows theory, in that a dirty room is likely to encourage poor guest behaviour. Substantially.

So essentially, the less user-friendly this sign is, and the more prone it is to abuse, the better the User Experience will be for the customer as a whole. Perhaps not on an individual basis, but certainly as a whole :)