Rising affluence, globalization and technology are some of the key factors influencing changes in the growing hospitality segment and more so in the housekeeping department. ‘Remember… No matter how good your feedback is, you always start over with the next customer.’ This is certainly true for Housekeeping. At a time when guests value experiences over mere luxuries, and the business visitors look for a comfortable stay, the role of housekeeping is challenging. However, Is housekeeping prepared for challenges and changes? What is it that would make housekeepers and housekeeping more than what it is perceived today in Asia?
In the following article based on the 2nd International Housekeepers’ Summit discussions, Anuradha Khot, hospitality consultant, summarises the solutions shared during the sessions as a guide to hospitality housekeepers.
A TripAdvisor Online Review website has been quoted as saying that cleanliness in hotels is among the top ratings. Trivago too has said that “clean hotels garner more positive online reviews”. As research proves, it is clean guestrooms in a hotel that is paramount for the success of the hospitality business. Cleanliness is essentially the forte of housekeepers, but in the changing scenario, are hospitality housekeepers restricted to the cleaning function alone? Opportunities of global exposure to enhance skills, knowledge levels and experiences have given housekeepers the proficiency to lead Rooms Division Department and even head hotels in the capacity of a General Manager. However, the need for a clear roadmap for housekeepers to hone their skills to take up the new role is essential.
Overview
Where training was initially intended to develop personal leadership, now it is an essential skill to be garnered along with a list of others to scale the heights. Teaching to build a foundation and training for performance are essential to this process of growth. Technology assisting in communication, to technology as an essential tool to improve the management of Housekeeping was thoroughly explored. Nuances of Housekeeping procurement grew from being a contributor to maintain costs to being a facilitator to increase effectiveness and efficiency of the Housekeeping department. Last but not the least, sustainability contributing to the environment, the bottom line of a business and reducing costs of operation were proven as profitable approaches for a successful business venture.
[box type=”shadow” ]The leaders of housekeeping have the prerogative to show the growth path to the next generation. The current perceived stagnation needs to be questioned, challenged and changed.[/box]
Scaling Heights – Journey from Executive Housekeeper to General Manager
The decision to take up a divisional role or to specialise in housekeeping is dependent on the natural inclination of an Executive Housekeeper. The transition requires development of an additional bouquet of skills. Giving up the comfort zone of many years in the operational department and venturing into an uncomfortable zone heralds the beginning of this journey. This transition could also come in the form of moving from a fully operational hotel to the helm of an underconstruction property and then seeing it through the pre-opening phase. Proposed Solutions & Applications
A General Manager of a hotel is required to think like a businessman displaying quick and apt decisionmaking skills while handling a broad spectrum of complexities.
A good starting point for an Executive Housekeeper aiming for the divisional role is cross exposure in Front Office to gain first-hand experience in handling revenue, followed by holding the office of Rooms Division Manager. The Rooms Division Manager is responsible for the revenue (front office) and expense (housekeeping).
Further, cross exposure in Sales & Marketing will help in developing insights into various market segments being catered to by the hotel. Sales & Marketing handles guest expectations in a larger perspective of the market segment. There is a positive correlation between value for money related to guest room facilities and customer retention. The key learning outcome of this cross-exposure is on developing financial prudence.
People skills are required in both the roles, that of an Executive Housekeeper and a General Manager, to deal with the continuous dynamic situations; but with a difference in the approach to communication. The focus of a General Manager is revenue, whereas that of an Executive Housekeeper is to present the product— guest rooms & other hotel facilities, tailor-made to guest requirement. The detailing carried out in a Housekeeper’s role to offer unique solutions comes naturally even on graduating to a General Manager.
Insights into all operational departments is essential while being groomed for the position of a General Manager. An exposure to different departments like Food & Beverage, Engineering, Finance, Sales & Marketing and Human Resource results in greater understanding of departmental functioning and brings about better interdepartmental co-ordination from the General Manager’s position. A General Manager is required to ask the right questions, be logical, listen to answers and offer course correction if required to reach the goal. This journey builds a macro perspective from the micro detailing which is the primary way of working at Housekeeping.
Key skills an Executive Housekeeper should focus on developing when paving the way to be a General Manager are:
• Financial prudence – ways to drive revenue along with excellence
• Cost Control (for the profit) v/s Value Proposition (for guest delight)
• Gauging market requirements & fluctuations – to develop a proactive approach
• A mindset to empower the team and focussing on the larger picture
Initiating the career conversation about filling the skills gaps is the Executive Housekeeper’s prerogative. He or she must also earn the confidence of the management so that they are willing to make the investment and take the risk for the change in the job role. A good intent and right platform to initiate the transition itself indicates an equal opportunity.
Long Term Focus
Considering the dynamic growth of the industry, vision and conviction are required for the journey of an Executive Housekeeper to a General Manager. Creating talent for this journey depends on recognizing the right place, right time and the right opportunity. The onus of attaining success is shared by the Executive Housekeeper setting out on this journey and the Management.
The skills required to be developed are not gender specific. Imbibing a madness to method approach using the prior experience of detailing, scheduling, developing & modifying processes to overcome the chaos. Chaos on the one hand can completely break down planning but it also has the potential to create opportunities and achieve beyond expectations. Enjoying the constant change and surprises requires opening up of the mind and an altered mindset. Passion for excellence will add value to the newly developed skill set.
Timeless Teaching, Timely Training
Definition of training by Romiszowski A. J “Training is akin to following a tightly fenced path, in order to reach a predetermined goal at the end of it. Education is to wander freely in the fields to the left and right of this path – preferably with a map.”
The hotel’s core product, the Rooms Division, has to date, received limited attention in academic research. The curriculum is slow to change as compared to the rate of changes in the industry.
There is a marked lack of excitement in the students on Housekeeping internship. The briefing and debriefing in college and while on internship centres around skills only. The intern lacks the opportunity to observe the application of management inputs received in college. A negative approach of treating interns as grunt work, using them to fill the gap in the rota results in disillusionment and takes the student further away from considering Housekeeping as a career option. In contrast, the glamour of Food & Beverage, Food Production and Front Office have overshadowed Housekeeping.
Housekeeping has also suffered as a career option due to a high employee turnover rate attributed largely to job dissatisfaction, limited career development opportunities, lack of job security, poor work-life balance, poor remuneration, higher workloads. Attracting and retaining talent remains a major area of concern. Analysis of the management’s vision of the career growth plan of an Executive Housekeeper to a Rooms Division Manager and then General Manager, will create a change in mindset.
Proposed Solutions & Applications
The students will be able to visualize their career growth through this revamped curriculum. Their growth plan in the industry will entail strategic talent management and talent management practices resulting in talent retention. Constant conversations between education and industry will keep redundancy away from the curriculum. Similarly, housekeepers interacting with students regularly, while they are still in college, will help to inspire them and build passion. These interactions will encourage the students to consider and pursue housekeeping as their specialization. Similarly, on-campus placements are the platform housekeepers have to inspire students.
Internships are an integral part of the housekeeping curriculum. This is an opportunity for the students to put into practice what is learned in the institute. Internship is also an opportunity to observe the variations implemented by the industry, in keeping with constraints of time available, costs involved, staff required to achieve optimal standards of delivery for customer delight. At the commencement of the internship, it is important that the students are thoroughly briefed and also given a guiding document on what they need to observe and note during their internship.
Regular checks on what the intern is learning, what the hotel is training the intern on, along with course correction, if required, will ensure productive internships. Efforts taken to make the Housekeeping Management more visual to the interns will serve as an additional benefit. The time invested in training the interns, will help to create a bank of human resource enthusiastic to work and grow in the field of housekeeping.
Housekeeping has many facets. Where cleaning and maintenance remains to be the core, a Housekeeper’s functions include, decorations, layout, lighting, interior design, sourcing material, manpower scheduling & management, budgeting, laundry management, pest management and staff training to name a few. The significance and frequency in which each function is demanded is property dependent. Ideally, the housekeeping curriculum should be inclusive of all the functions. Also, housekeeping has expanded beyond hotels to well-ness, retail, transport, entertainment, and facilities management sectors. The approach to housekeeping differs sector wise and a different set of housekeeping skills will be demanded depending on the sector and function of housekeeping. A change in our approach to preparing students for Housekeeping is solicited.
A few examples of the change are:
• Demonstrating the difference between Hotel Clean and Hospital Clean in terms of measurement of cleanliness based on visual appearance and infection control through disinfection and increased frequency of cleaning
• Calculating the financial implications of placing an extra towel in a guestroom and its effect on inventory management
• Estimating the cost of laundering based on occupancy levels
• Comparing the cost of room cleaning to the revenue earned
Approaching internships in an experimental format rather than a skill-based approach will help in creating curiosity in the students. Intellectually challenging the students with real life examples in college and during internship will help create and sustain their interest level in housekeeping. Training in housekeeping is inclusive of, but not limited to skills. Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) are the backbone of skills training. Ideally a departmental skill training should not exceed 20 minutes of practice per employee per session. Skills training should include ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ of the skill being imparted. The SOPs should be tailor-made to suit the brand standards requirements.
Long Term Focus
It is important to approach housekeeping in line with the millennials mindset to create curiosity and conviction in the profession. An educator’s or trainer’s role is to help the students build a vision, enabling them to see their future as a housekeeper and beyond. A few requirements of this approach could be:
• Balancing the teaching and training to imbibe confidence and competence in the students. For example, using Problem Based Learning to develop critical thinking instead of focusing merely on skills.
• Creating an awareness in students about Housekeeping related challenges at work e.g. minimal guest contact to experience visible results of work done
• Housekeeping faculty members at the institutes play a crucial role in introducing the current industry trends to the students. Being updated, therefore becomes important
• The housekeepers in the industry could contribute to bridging this gap, by collaborating with the faculty members
• Broadening the student mindset by creating opportunities to expose them to different cultures, situations, continents, organizations with a realization that education and training go beyond a certificate
[box type=”shadow” ]“Housekeepers are required to take on the role of a business manager, a strategist,” says Yogesh Deshmukh, Housekeeping Manager, Hyatt Regency, Pune[/box]
Formal training certifications will equip the housekeepers and housekeeping educators to create a change in perspective..
Predicted outcomes
Glorifying housekeeping and eliminating the reasons which discourage students from joining housekeeping. Evidence of the large number of opportunities in the field.
Bridging the gap between Housekeeping education and the industry. Ownership of sharing information between education and industry which will benefit the students and Housekeeping community at large. ( Sentence incomplete . if deliberate, we may have to give in bullet points)
Skilling the human resource based on Standard Operating Procedures ensures standard performance.
Training them will bring out optimal performance. Periodically monitoring interns and auditing feedback will ensure learning. The students will be able to connect theory to the practical / real life work. They will be able to develop a vision for the future and a changed perception of Housekeeping.
Housekeeping and Information Technology
Housekeeping and Information Technology are interfacing on many levels. These have helped to reduce a lot of manual paperwork essential for the daily operations e.g. duty or work allocations, inventories, reports, log books and records. The Hotel Operating Systems have brought reservations, cost and revenue on a common platform through real time data processing. While the human touch is necessary in Housekeeping, arrival of technology has eased operational burden to a large extent.
Proposed Solutions & Applications
There is a lot of data being generated in large and small hotels alike, which necessitates Hotel Operating Systems. Automating operations through a software eases room booking, housekeeping management, guest data management, financial reports and many other functions.
Automated rooms management
Hotel operating systems (HOS) can be interfaced with various services in the guest room e.g. pre-setting the room temperature according to the country, region, climatic conditions and number of guests in the room, to make the guest comfortable on arrival and through the stay. Reducing the time required to deliver a guest request by allocating smart phones to the room attendants, which are linked to the Guest Request System. The room telephones are used to clear the guest rooms for sale to the front office from their departure status. The room telephones are interfaced with the Property Management System (PMS), which not only reduces the time delay in change of status but also reduces the desk attendant’s job by 50%.
The HOS / PMS also have inbuilt functions of duty allocations, staff attendance, task allocations and escalation, room assignments. The functions can also be accessed on remote and portable devices. Real time updates are displayed on a dashboard for management review and timely corrective actions.
Interactive training
As reported in the Economics Times (16 Nov 2013), the payroll costs ranged between 20-30% of the average revenue of a hotel. Only about 30% of those who have studied in hotel management institutions join the hotel industry, the rest shift to other industries like banking sector, travel & tour operators, small restaurants and other industries that pay higher salaries.
Incentives to staff range from global exposure across properties, developing a variable talent pool with multi skilled employees who can play multiple roles, moving talent to a busier property in group hotels, planning and ensuring career growth, and hiring at an early stage of their career at. campus recruitment & then grooming the high potential employees on a fast track growth plan.
High rate of attrition and proactive growth plans make demands on training initiatives carried out by the hotels. While shadowing experienced staff is a widely used method of training in hospitality, some concepts are better learned through instruction.
Learning management system:
• Allows learning on a large scale using a single installation across multiple properties
• Multiple departments, locations, facilities, languages and time zones can be catered to at the same time
• Employees decide their pace of study, without disrupting customer service. This flexibility is liberating for the learners and reduces business downtime due to classroom-based schedules
• All the learners receive the same standardized material e.g. standard operating procedures, menu details, customer care policies as the guests demand standardized quality and services
• The training program’s effectiveness can be assessed with the tools provided. Likewise, the knowledge levels of the participants can be measured through assessments
• New content can be effortlessly developed & the old content updated and uploaded as the need arises
Automated laundry management
The most common application of automation in laundry is auto dosing of washer-extractors. Some other applications include tagging and billing of guest laundry garments. This point-of-system (POS) is interfaced with the PMS. Inbuild sensors in the washer-extractors to weigh the load of linen or garments to determine the quantity of water, level of detergents and running time. Similarly, residual moisture control sensors in dryers estimate the drying required and control the temperature and cycle time.
Long Term Focus
An HOS should serve as an all-in-one platform with excellent customer support and potential to provide the following:
• Guidance to management to maximize revenues
• An easy-to-use interface
• Data encryption on secure servers with the ability to restrict user privileges
• Third party integrations with Online Travel Agents
• Integrated mobile Housekeeping application
• Automatic backup
• Single click access
• Profile management
• Multi property configuration
• Multi language capability
• Global currency support
• Complete audit trial for financial transactions
The near future will see guestroom telephones paired with guest smart phones, the guests will then be able to speak to the department desired directly without having to go through the operator and waiting time for the call to be connected. The department receiving the call will be able to identify the guest without having to ask, resulting in guest satisfaction. Instant messaging services with the guests, after rendering the service will be possible.
Wi-fi will no longer be viewed as a luxury. At par wifi connectivity to guest and staff will ensure real time information dissemination culminating in seamless and timely service to the guest.
Technology will also assist in gauging the physical presence of guests in the rooms using a variety of sensors. This will eliminate the need to physically check the room for guest presence. The advantages will be reduction in the work load of hotel staff, less disturbance to the guest and also more security to the guests.
Hotels will increase their learning budgets due to broader scope of training programs, more learners and re-skilling the staff. Interactive training systems will therefore become a norm. Training budgets will be tied to organization’s growth goals converting knowledge into business outcomes.
Predicted outcomes
Technology alone can take the journey a long way, but human touch will always be the essence of hospitality. Maintaining the balance is important. Technology can capture information, but the service has to be rendered by a human. Technology can help to recognise a guest’s needs, record the time required for attending to them in his first visit. This data will be used for future visits of the guest. Technological support has the potential to trigger proactive service.
Technology can serve us on both the ends. While collecting data will be easy, harvesting it to convert it into meaningful information to be used for guest service will remain a challenge. E.g. user discretion will be required to deliver or repeat guest preferences as guest requirements will remain the same, but guest preferences may change over time.
[box type=”shadow” ]Exercising prudence while using technology will keep the human touch alive in Housekeeping operations.[/box]
Nuances of Housekeeping Procurement Globally
Procurement department is one of the major support departments of Housekeeping in a hotel. The procurement requirements of housekeeping differ from other departments. Some items are purchased through Annual Contracted Rates (ARC) for which purchase specifications are developed and followed. Developing purchase specifications could be a challenge in an owner driven, or small size hotel. The procurement and housekeeping departments need to work in close co-ordination for efficient purchase. Quotations will be invited based on purchase specifications. The actual purchase will depend on the purchasing policy of the organization. Not always will the lowest quote (L1) be effective.
In some cases, there could be a disparity between the willingness to pay and quality required. The reasons for this disparity could range from ignorance about the availability to a lack of confidence in the vendor. On the other hand, high level of comfort with the present vendor could lead to problems while developing a new vendor. Executive Housekeepers have reservations regarding new vendor introductions in terms of their supply consistency, reliability for quality and timely delivery of requirements.
The challenges of procurement for pre-opening properties are unique to an operational hotel.
Proposed Solutions & Applications
Developing purchase specifications (SPECS) for ARC items like linen, guest amenities, cleaning tools is a necessity. Ideally, this is a shared responsibility between housekeeping and procurement departments. The housekeeper develops the quality criteria, quantity requirements, and timelines for delivery where purchase supports with testing on the criteria, cost, reliability, and payment terms. An apple to apple comparison of the quotations will help in zeroing down on a vendor. The procurement manager hands over an item wise approved copy of the ARC to the housekeeper. The better the co-ordination, the more transparent the process. The more transparent the process the better the confidence between the housekeeper, the procurement manager and the vendor. The better the confidence the smoother the delivery through the year.
SPECS involves detailing of the product required. For example, for towels the development of SPECS would involve content (total fibre content by weight), construction features (content of warp and weft yarns), dimensions (length & breadth), type of cotton or fabric, type of yarn, hem, selvedge, colour to name a few.
While the above quality criteria are given by the housekeeper, the Procurement should contribute with information such as:
• Set-up charge: the one-time cost required to set up the loom for the specific design.
• Percentage of overs / unders / seconds clause: this is an industry standard, meaning the order may run a certain percentage over or under the required quantity. Here, the overs and unders are paid at the rate decided and the seconds are paid at a reduced price.
A different set of SPECS will be required to be developed for each of the ARC items. They serve as guidelines for every purchase. They are also used to check the items on receipt. Ideally, these are revisited and revised before signing a new contract.
It may not be feasible to develop SPECS for all items, as some of the items procured may be a one-time requirement, or they may be very unique and required in very small quantities or they may not be budgeted for. In this case a dialogue between the Housekeeper and the Procurement Manager is the best resolution. Recording such items separately would prove beneficial both in terms of time and energy.
Stand-alone hotels or smaller hotels have different priorities of the procurement criteria compared to the group hotels with centralized purchase. The Housekeeper, in such cases needs to be proactive, weigh and prioritize the criteria before presenting them to the owner or decision maker.
While the credibility of a vendor can be established only after using his services, the challenges of introducing a new vendor for Housekeeping can be overcome by setting strict delivery specifications, creating check points for quality adherence and conducting a market survey to verify the new vendor’s reputation.
Long Term Focus
Balancing the brand standards with market availability will result in realistic SPECS. Revision of SPECS henceforth should be a shared responsibility, where procurement and housekeeping share information and arrive at an agreement before finalizing. This will truly prove to be beneficial for the hotel.
Predicted outcomes
A collective decision for high indent items and independent decision for low indent items will smoothen operations. The interactions between housekeeping and procurement will then proceed beyond being merely transactional to a healthy relationship and simplify the procurement process.
Maintaining the Ecological Balance
Environmental damage—reducing oxygen levels and increasing carbon levels– is a reality. Hotels collectively are major contributors to this damage. March 2015, Cornell Hospitality Report, Environmental Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry, mentions “The impact of a few, focused initiatives has been significant and measurable, allowing us to showcase quantifiably significant results of implementing simple programs at multiple properties.” Corporate recognition and awards are encouraging hotels to decrease environmental footprint while controlling costs through sustainable practices.
The concept of sustainable development was introduced by a United Nations commission as “development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Each individual has the responsibility to take care of the environment, even more so the large producers and consumers of natural resources, given the fragile condition of the natural ecological balance and the limited nature of most energy sources of the earth.
This section looks at green and sustainable initiatives offered:
• Stone polishing: A crystallizer which restores and renews the stone is acidic in nature. Acid is potentially dangerous to the user, surface and environment. Using water as an alternative to acid to bring back the shine is worth considering.
• Alternative to dry cleaning of garments: Solvents are known to have a damaging effect on the user and the environment. They are harsh on the fabric as well. Perc (Perchloroethylene) most commonly used for drycleaning is banned in a few countries—USA, Denmark, France. The ill effects of Perc will increase hotel costs in terms of medical and insurance. Also, dry cleaning is only surface cleaning.
• Waste management: Segregation at source defines the success of waste management system to derive energy and compost. A study suggested that hotels in India contribute up to 30% to the generation of the overall waste. A sustainable model, framework, strategy, blueprint should necessarily contain of social, economic and environmental aspects.
Proposed Solutions &Applications
March 2015 Cornell Hospitality Report, Environmental Sustainability in the Hospitality Industry, highlighted the following initiatives:
• The Marriott Burbank Hotel, California removed all high-water need landscape and created a high-desert designed landscape, featuring foliage which needs little to no water.
• At High Peaks Resort, New York, the guests are given an option of a “Green Stay”. This reduces the water consumption for washing and cleaning. It also reduces the potentially harmful detergents used during cleaning and saves cleaning and laundering costs. The guests in turn are offered incentives on food & beverage.
A few more simple-to-execute examples which are financially beneficial in addition to being environmentally friendly are:
1. Faucet aerators to restrict water flow
2. Photocell lighting in exteriors and corridors
3. Digital review of daily reports as against printing and wasting paper
4. Motion sensors and twist timer lighting for heart-of-thehouse areas
5. Switching off all guestroom lights except one when guests are not in the room
6. Linen re-use program based on the length of stay of the guest
The Indian Hospitality business, in the long term continues to be positive both for business and leisure segments. The Indian Government having realised the potential in tourism has taken several steps to make India a global tourism Hub. Programs like ‘Clean India’, ‘Smart Cities’, ‘Make in India’ are evidence to the initiative that highlight Government’s support to skill development in Hospitality and Tourism.
[box type=”shadow” ]Housekeeping as a career is challenging, requiring multiple operational skills, communication skills with guest and staff alike. They uphold the discipline of service excellence.[/box]