Housekeeping Staff – Unsung Heroes

It’s no surprise to me that another survey has just recently come out that confirms that a guests’ number one priority in a hotel is cleanliness.

Sure, free internet and complimentary coffee is nice, and everyone appreciates a great bed with lush linens, but none of it matters if your room is not clean, if you look over at your beautiful bed and it does not immediately say “clean” to you, and I admit, I like it when my room smells fresh and clean as well.

And who is responsible for delivering on this imperative unspoken promise of cleanliness?  A dedicated group, made up mostly of women, who are responsible for cleaning an industry average of 15 rooms a day, each expected to exemplify, without exception, your company’s commitment to cleanliness.

And yet, I find all too frequently that the housekeeping staff are largely taken for granted.  Maybe it’s because they are largely not seen in the operation, in the same way that front office, bell and concierge staff are.

I’ve always had a soft spot for the housekeeping staff, especially the room attendants.  Maybe it’s because I worked during a strike, many many years ago, when I was first starting out in the industry, and when the staff first walked off the job, we were expecting a full house and as a result, the managers on duty had hundreds of rooms to clean.   I remember distinctly because I myself cleaned about 40 rooms during the next 16 hours after the strike broke out, and I have never worked so hard.

I don’t know if that’s what it was, I never thought about it specifically, I just know that one of the habits that I seem to have adopted early in my career that has stayed with me to this day is regularly walking the floors, from top to bottom, stopping at every room where the room attendant is working to chat for a few moments, see how their day is going, if there was anything that they needed, and so on.

Periodically, I would walk the floors with the director of human resources, on particularly hot days, and the director of human resources and I would hand out ice cream bars, or bottles of cold water.  The team was always so appreciative whenever we would do this.

But really, think about it, could you clean 15 rooms a day, in an 8 hour shift, every day, and clean them impeccably and to the standards that are required?  Not me.  I have cleaned rooms on several other occasions since that strike in the early days of my career and I am always struck with the same thought – how do they do it, every day, consistently and impeccably, and, with a smile on their face and a warm and welcoming demeanor?

Everyone works hard in a hotel, there is no denying it, but if for whatever reason you don’t find yourself in the heart of the house with any frequency, recognizing your unsung heroes, make a point of doing so today.

After all, these are the people consistently delivering on your brand promise, even when no one is looking, and a little encouragement goes a long way.

Need an experienced hospitality professional to help your property reach its full potential?  Contact me.

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Free Coffee - Yes Please

First of all, can we all agree that the majority of guests have now come to expect that there will be an in-room coffee maker in their hotel room, regardless of the brand?

That’s my belief. 

I think guests now associate in-room coffee as just another room amenity, like shampoo and soap.  They assume when they walk in their room that they will find some sort of coffee maker waiting for them, and that, depending on the brand, it may be anything from basic to extravagant, with the simplest of coffees or the addition of potentially elaborate offerings of various teas and other hot drinks.

Unfortunately, I also think the same is true of the coffee provider.  That is to say that there is a wide range of the level of attention or importance, or lack thereof, that this in-room amenity receives from hoteliers depending on whether they see this as an opportunity to elevate the level of guest service and guest loyalty, or, if it is simply viewed as an unnecessary and irritating expense.

This is apparent in many ways, not the least of which is the type and brand of coffees being offered out there in the hotel world.  As a guest, I myself have experienced everything from brown coloured water masquerading as coffee to Starbucks (which I admit to being a fan of).

You can tell a lot about the level of importance placed on the coffee service by the type and condition of the coffee maker and the coffee “caddie” and its contents.

I stayed in a hotel not long ago that offered a simple basic in-room coffee service.  Being the organizational freak that I am, (according to friends and co-workers over the years), I like to prep my coffee before I go to bed, so that I can simply push the “on” button as I stumble by on my way to the shower.  I did so in this instance as well.

When I got up, en route to the shower, I pushed the button as usual, and off I went.  When I returned to the coffee maker about 10 minutes later, there was about a half a cup of coffee in the pot, where there should have been 2 cups.  I checked the reservoir and it was empty.  I carefully pulled out the filter basket to find it filled to the rim with boiling hot water.  Obviously it was clogged or blocked in some way.

I was running behind by now, and I decided I would mention this problem to the concierge on my way out, unfortunately, when I entered the lobby, there were line-ups everywhere, so I left for my meetings, thinking I would call the hotel later, during a break.  The day got away on me, as did the evening, and I never called before returning to the hotel quite late that night.

Before bed, I gave my coffee maker the once over, I couldn’t tell if it had been replaced or not, but obviously the room attendant would have seen what happened and had it fixed or replaced, so I prepped my coffee and slid between the sheets.

Next morning, push button, have shower.  Return to check the state of my much-needed coffee.  Too bad for me, half a cup in the coffee maker, probably another half a cup spilled over onto the counter, and a basket full of boiling water.

Needless to say, I was disappointed, but what was most apparent to me, and the greater source of my disappointment, was that my room attendant obviously saw in-room coffee service as a pain in the rear, and as such was not even slightly concerned that my in-room coffee maker was malfunctioning, which left me to question both the commitment to guest service at this hotel, but also, to question what message had been passed on through the ranks with respect to the importance of providing this guest amenity with a level of commitment and professionalism that mirrored the brand commitments of this hotel.

Bottom line, if you’re going to provide a service, then it should be reflective of your commitment to your guests, and be viewed and treated with a level of commitment from you that demonstrates to your employees that EVERY aspect of a guests’ stay has the potential to create a defining moment and nothing should be left to chance when it comes to creating and providing that which has an impact on your guests experience.

There are no second chances to create a great first impression.

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Bed Linen – Do Your Guests Really Know the Difference?

I’ve just returned from a quick trip to San Francisco, during which I had occasion to stay at a couple of different hotels, in different price categories, in order to be close to the conference that I was attending on leadership.

Both hotels were clean and comfortable, and both had similar amenities and services, both within my room, and, as it relates to the additional services and facilities to be found within the hotel properties themselves, but, as you may have guessed, there was a substantial difference in the room rate.

(As an aside, ironically, as I find more and more often, it was in fact the 3.5 star hotel that included free internet access, although I was paying a significantly lower rate than at the other property, and at the 4.5 star hotel there was a significant daily charge for access to the internet).

There was one notable difference between the two hotels – one featured Egyptian cotton sheets from a major supplier of high quality linens, and the other did not.

Now, I am as you know a hotelier that has been in the business for more than 25 years, during which time I have purchased my share of linens, as well as having participated in and facilitated blind comparisons of linens, so I recognize certain names and identifying marks when I see them, and, I’d like to think that I can also tell the difference between Egyptian cotton linens, and those of a slightly lesser caliber, but can your guests?

Before you get all excited and think to yourself; “of course my guests can tell the difference,” I’d like to reiterate that I am not talking about comparing Egyptian cotton linens to those paper thin, see-through, thread bare sheets that we’ve all run into at one time or another in our career, but rather, as I said, Egyptian cotton sheets compared to those of a slightly lesser caliber.

The answer is no, so stop wasting your money.

Only the most discerning of guests can tell the difference, and even then, it is a very small percentage of those guests that can tell, and I would argue further that their recognition would largely be influenced by whether or not you are openly promoting that your hotel features Egyptian cotton linens in the first place.  If you didn’t give them a hint, they wouldn’t know the difference.

There are so many top quality linens available right now, that are not nearly as expensive as Egyptian cotton, that it is simply not necessary to spend the extra money, money that could be spent on other things – things that your guests do notice, such as higher quality towels and bath robes.  That, they do notice and can appreciate.

So spend your money where it will have the greatest impact, where your guests will both recognize and appreciate the investment that has been made on their behalf and in the interest of providing them with the highest level of comfort.

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