Every hotelier knows that housekeeping is a vital aspect of any property’s operations, but seldom do we managers truly empathize with the issues they encounter on a daily basis.
To be blunt, slackers need not apply. Housekeeping is not an occupation for the unfit as meeting the daily credit quota at an average of 20 minutes per room can be utterly backbreaking. Even when a barely present business guest departs, a housekeeper must bend and contort to inspect every crevice meticulously on top of cleaning the bathroom, restocking amenities, vacuuming the carpet and changing the linens. All this presupposes that the clean isn’t left in a nasty condition which necessitates even more physical exertion.
With the demands on the body, the standard procedure is quite difficult to master in order to keep the times down. Importantly, housekeepers are a greater risk for injury over other lines of work.
To keep costs down nowadays, you must first look at what technologies you have deployed to help manage the team’s time more effectively. As most have mobile integration, you can now streamline processes and cut the total amount of time by, to cite two, electronically sending out new priority lists as well as reviewing cleaning time by guest type.
Next are the efforts you take to increase morale, which will ultimately play a role towards improved room cleanliness. With its physical rigors, turnover and absenteeism can both be quite high while motivation can be just the opposite. When was the last time you shadowed your housekeepers to truly understand their plight? What are you doing to help alleviate the onsite of chronic injuries? What extra efforts are you making to tell your team that you care?
Answering these sorts of questions – and indeed addressing them for all your departments and all your associates – will help you cut costs and heighten guest satisfaction.
