An article about the importance of the Housekeeping staff in Hotels.

1. Housekeeping: Unsung Heroes of Customer Satisfaction
Has it ever happened to you that you arrive at a hotel all excited looking forward to an
amazing stay, but are a little too early and were requested to wait as the room wasn’t
ready?
Well, the reason for this wait is that it takes the housekeeping team twice as much as
time to clean a departure room than for a guest who is staying over. A room attendant
may have over hundred check points for a new arrival including wrinkle free bed linen,
stationery, stain free amenity cards, spotlessly clean rooms and many more. Guest
satisfaction and cleanliness in rooms during guest stay is a critical factor in ensuring
repeat business.
Housekeeping department of a hotel probably employs the largest number of
manpower. The number of staff hours depends on the hotel and the guest type it deals
with. Staffs therefore are scheduled according to the number of guest staying. Since
most of the guest nowadays book in advance especially during peak period, the work
load is known well in advance. Although said simply, it can be very daunting for
housekeepers as they deal with high variability of task like occupied and departure
rooms, evening service, special request, staff absenteeism and host of other things
which can push any housekeeper over the edge. Good housekeepers’ find ways of
effectively/sharing the workload on a day to day basis.
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2. Housekeeping is a physically demanding job. It also gives you an eye for detail and
makes you a perfectionist. At an average, housekeeping staff services anywhere
between 10-14 rooms a day in a 9 hour shift yet, they are often invisible to the typical
guest. It is a profession that is prone to injuries therefore hoteliers must cultivate work
practices that prevent them. Proper training ensures a key role in accident prevention.
Following guidelines along with other safe practices ensures that the staffs are safe
whilst avoiding injuries to employees that can affect their performance, productivity and
morale.
To overlook the importance of housekeeping is a huge mistake since the rooms division
generates the most profit for a hotel and the cleanliness and condition of the rooms are
most important factors in customer satisfaction ratings.
Hence, the next time you visit a five star hotel and are welcomed by a spick and span
room, don’t forget to say a warm thank you to the housekeeping staff for their efforts.
-Ms. Bindu Menon
Senior Faculty, INLEAD
Images Courtesy- Google Images
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