Hotel Intercontinental, Marine Drive, of Mumbai greets you with an interesting signboard: “Introducing Pure Rooms … the Air of Paradise”. It further says: “Ask about the Pure Experience at the Front Desk”. Rekha Mehta, Director Housekeeping, explains that Intercontinental globally offers rooms that have zero-bacteria and are ozonized completely through a process of ‘Seven Steps’.
A room that is free from 99% of pollutants, microbiological elements and bacteria is always fresh. Thus guests in such rooms would be unlikely to suffer from any kind of allergy and can breathe pure air. Intercontinental Hotels maintain uniform scientific rules to follow pure rooms where each and every inch is disinfected.
“We have 60 infection-free rooms where 32 housekeeping staff work round the clock to maintain global norms and the set rules of our international hotel chain. We don’t open rooms to guests unless it has been made germ-free in all respects.
“Even though we have carpeted floors, the cleaning methods at our end are different from other hotels. Carpets do absorb germs but we use Shake-n-Vac method that kills germs totally. We scatter specilised powder consisting of tiny granules on the wollen surface of the carpet. These granules, containing ultra-effective germ killing agents, burst as soon as they come in contact with the air. Thereafter, the area is vacuum cleaned to completely eradicate carpets of germs.
“All hotel rooms are ozoned through a process and we maintain our own PMM-module (Product Maintenance Manuel). Following is the 7-step cleaning system.
1. Deep Clean Air-Handling Unit: A PURE heating and air conditioning unit along with air clean filters results in healthier air circulating throughout the room. Coils are deep cleaned and disinfected using PURE’s advanced treatment. And finally, an enzyme-based drip-pan tablet is put in place to ensure maximum protection and minimum allergy.
2. PURE Tea Tree Oil Cartridge uses a natural substance known for its antimicrobial and disinfectant properties. A cartridge of this tea tree oil is installed in the air-handling unit to maintain sanitized conditions.
3. Carpet and Upholstery Cleaning. Intercontinental patented PURE clean solution is used to maximize the removal of dirt, bacteria and mold from all soft surfaces that traditional cleaners leave behind.
4. One Time Shock Treatment. This advanced shock treatment destroys nearly all mold and bacteria, removing any lingering odours and other contaminants, including cigar or cigarette smoke and pet pollutants.
5. PURE Shield is a bacteriostatic barrier applied to all room surfaces to repel microorganisms that cause illness and discomfort, and prevent their growth. Our advanced shield process makes it nearly impossible for bacteria viruses to survive in a PURE environment.
6. Air Purification System. The air purifier provides 24-hour defence against airborne irritants. Listed by the FDA as a Class II Medical Device, PURE is a state-of-the-art system proven to kill almost 100% of the bacteria and viruses.
7. Allergy-Friendly Bedding. Aside from air clean filters, PURE uses only micro-fibre, mono-filament mattress and pillow encasements for lesser risks of allergy.
we have the right blend of latest equipment and manpower that helps us to maintain high traffic areas efficiently. Most of the equipment is imported. We train manpower to help them increase their standards. The objective is not only to keep them updated but most importantly motivated towards cleaning and hygiene. Being associated with Indian HouseKeepers Club, we are able to train our staff at various locations in the country. We always hire freshers and do train them in accordance with our service standards.With more companies coming into hospitality, there is tough competition. Indian hotels are already on par with global standards and to go one step ahead, ‘green’ is becoming an important factor in housekeeping. Attention is being paid to explore the green as well as cost effective housekeeping methods. Guests also, now understand the importance of housekeeping and do check the standards before booking.In present scenario, there’s a lot of competition growing around. Simultaneously we have to deal cost cutting as well.
Rakshit Shetty Executive Housekeeper, The Paul Hotels & Resorts