4 Tips to Improve Housekeeping Operations

Housekeeping is an operation that functions 24/7 and it takes pride in keeping the hotel clean and comfortable for a ‘home away from home’ experience. But this process only works when the whole department acts responsibly. Half the battle is won when the executive housekeeper provides proper direction, focus and attention to detail to all the activities carried out throughout the day. The right planning and instructions ensures that even the most challenging of tasks can be dealt which leaves very little room for guests to be dissatisfied by your services. An important element of housekeeping is pest control and guests expect a comfortable stay, so if you suspect an infestation of pests, do not wait until it’s too late.

With that in mind, here are 4 tips that will Increase Your Productivity in Housekeeping:  

#1 – PRIORITIZE

Before sending the team out, make sure you set your daily priorities. Aligning your services with the needs of guests will allow your staff to prioritize their cleaning tasks. The number of guests that check in to your hotel has a big role to play in determining how physically demanding your work may get. Many big brands interact with their guests to understand their preferences of stay better which really helps housekeeping strategize and accomplish tasks on a timely basis.

#2 – PEST AWARENESS TRAINING

If there’s one thing that could pose as a nightmare for hotel businesses, it is to receive complaints from guests about sighting pests. You do not want rodents scampering through the lobby when guests check in or for them to spot flies or cockroaches in the hallway, thus, training your staff on how to find bedbugs will prevent any embarrassing situations. Staff training is essential in improving housekeeping job performance. Here are 4 cleaning regimes your housekeeping staff should adopt:

• Use artificial indoor plants instead of natural plants to minimize chances of flies, ants and other insects from finding a home within the hotel.
  • A clean space behind cabinets, dryers and washing machines regularly is important to prevent insects from breeding.
  • Remove headboards of a bed to check for bed bugs every 6-12 months.
  • Check for leaks in the kitchen as well as in guest bedrooms that have fridges and vending machines, as well as taps and showers.

#3 – EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY

Having a list that you can refer to can expedite your everyday tasks to ensure they are carried out as planned. Using a mobile app for housekeeping will help you make sure no spot is left untouched and you stay up to date on your housekeeping duties no matter where you are. It also allows instant communication with the front desk and housekeepers will receive instant notifications when a room is assigned to them. While using a mobile hotel app ensures you have a steady stream of repeat visitors, it also helps you understand how you would prioritize your tasks. Let’s look at some other benefits that technology can help with to mitigate labor costs.

• Cost-effective Technology

Labor being the largest expense of a hotel operator, it is estimated by the CBRE Hotels Americas that labor cost and related expenses make 42.8 percent of the overall hotel related expenses. For most hotels, overscheduling of housekeeping staff is an everyday occurrence, representing a significant expense driver.  Using a labor management system to connect labor standards (the staffing guidelines that use guest volume data to determine housekeeping staff ratios) to labor plans and schedules will eliminate overscheduling and reduce overtime and contractor usage.

• Faster Employee Training

In habitats of high-turnover, the more time employees spend on training, the longer time it would take them to spend on revenue-producing duties. Less complex technology would offers easy-to-use interface that allows new hires and front desk staff to depend less on their managers for training. Today, more hotel staff make use of iPads and rely on eLearning where existing and new employees can train themselves.

#4 – SUSTAINABILITY

A lot of hotel owners have been supporting “go green” initiatives that give guests the choice to limit the amount of cleaning required during their stay. This saves the time invested by housekeeping spent on laundry as well as environmental costs. You can let guests know about these options by using fun door hangers in guestrooms that will increase its visibility and a lot of guests do actually select this option.