Ha, we need to make a little informative graphic cartoon post about this. "Rules to follow so they don't turn the next touring cyclist away." 

100% on where and how you put your bike in the room. 

We also pack our bikes in our hotel room at the end of the trip. There cannot be a big mess of cardboard or packing material lying around, tidy up after yourselves, make it look like it magically packed itself.

Yup.  And to expand on that, we will drape a hand towel or shirt over the handlebars or anything that might touch a painted surface.

I like the phrase "bicycle ambassador".

When entering a new motel room I always grab a washcloth to put between the handlebar and the wall that the bike will lean against. If I forget to do that, I wash any smudges off the wall on my way out.

My experience is that EVERY motel has a basket full of ruined towels saved for guests who need them.

When departing I scan the room to make sure I am leaving nothing behind and verify that there is no trash on the floor. During my stay I put all trash in one wastebasket to make the maid's job easier.

This all is sound advice. It feels like a new world of possibilities for me though - I don't think I've ever taken my bike into a hotel or motel room with me!

Maybe this is just differences in geography, or I've been staying in the wrong places (or it's just because I've not asked) but a lot of European budget hotels or B&Bs will be quite happy to let you put bikes in a store room, cellar or courtyard - indeed will sometimes have a dedicated room just for this purpose (how I learnt the word Radkeller in German) - but I've never actually taken the bike into the room.

Oftentimes this would have been a good idea, considering rampant bike theft in certain cities. I actually left my bike locked overnight on a central city street in Brussels, but fortunately given its general mediocrity it was still there when I got back.

* my bike was mediocre, not Brussels. Brussels is massively under-rated and a lot of fun!

I go a step further.  I wipe down the tub, sinks and work desk (if there is one) before I leave.  It would almost be like a "leave no trace" ethic for motel rooms except that I also strip the beds and pillow cases.  Sometimes I even use my own camp towel after a shower instead of the motel's towels.  I like to think I'm the housekeeper's best friend.

I never wheel a wet bike anywhere in a motel/hotel.  I carry it on my shoulder--even up a couple flights of stairs.  When touring in winter, there is no way I can wipe everything off my bike, so I carry a sheet of 4 mil. plastic to gather up the residuals.  Am I a little too anal? 

 Oh yeah, amidst all this motel etiquette talk, I forgot to reiterate that I think I'm an introvert.

I use only one towel at motel rooms, a bath towel. I don't know if that helps the maids and motel owner, though. I suspect that many maids are instructed to wash all towels, just in case the seemingly unused towels have been tampered with.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're right about that--especially in the chain motels.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure you're right about that--especially in the chain motels.  (I don't know how I repeated myself here.)

That's good information. I'm an introvert who learned to be extroverted, mostly for professional reasons. That said, depending on the setting, I can gain energy from social engagements, or they can fill me with dread and suck the life force away. With friends and in situations where I know most people or, interestingly, if I am in control of the event (at work, for example. When I worked), I can be very outgoing, funny (at least I think I'm damn funny), etc. But I can also occupy myself without social interactions very well.