Good attitudes key to effective cleaning
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On the one hand, perhaps nothing is more important to a hotel or motel guest than being impressed with its cleanliness. Even a manager's winning smile is not likely to counter the impression of a room that has been slackly cleaned.
On the other hand, finding housekeeping staff who can be consistently relied upon to do professional job is a lot easier said than done. Cleaners are almost certain to be near the bottom end of the wage scale and may not be looking at the job as a long term career.
Worrying confessions The online confessions of former cleaner Allison Rupp, who worked at Yellowstone National Park's historic Old Faithful Inn in 2004, should have managers on the alert:
"My daily list of 15 rooms (out of 325 in the hotel) consisted of DOs (due out) and Os (occupied), which in housekeeping lingo meant the guests were scheduled to check out or were staying another night. I cut corners everywhere I could. Instead of vacuuming, I found that just picking up the larger crumbs from the carpet would do. Rather than scrub the tub with hot water, sometimes it was just a spray-and-wipe kind of day.
"After several weeks on the job, I discovered that the staff leader who inspected the rooms couldn't tell the difference between a clean sink and one that was simply dry, so I would often just run a rag over the wet spots."
Rupp wrote that she often just flushed the toilet rather than cleaning it. Given her examples of the disgusting mess left by some guests, you could almost sympathise. Outsourcing the in-house work to a cleaning company is not necessarily going to help as the same slapdash mentality could apply and might well be harder for hotel or motel management to correct.
Rupp's slack approach to her job is almost certain to be quite widespread. This kind of psychology places a great deal of responsibility on the housekeeping manager of the housekeeping staff or whoever is in charge of making sure the quality standards are followed.
Team attitude essential New Zealand housekeeping managers contacted by AMG all agreed that the most essential skill they required was to make everyone of their cleaners feel a valued part of the team. Creating an enjoyable work atmosphere can go a long way to countering slack attitudes and achieving a good result.
Guests not only like their hotel rooms to be squeaky clean but smell fresh as well. That can be problematic if the previous guest has been a smoker, or in the case of a motel unit, cooked up a spicy or fishy dish where the odour lingers long after the guest or guests have gone. Someone in the inspection team needs a sensitive nose.
However, using harsh, smelly chemicals can create other the problems. Most accommodation providers practise environmental responsibility these days and surveys demonstrate that the majority of guests are in favour of sustainable methods. It is a good idea to supply gentler cleansers to employees, both for their happiness and wellbeing, and those of the guests. Recent studies suggest that chemical cleansers can have a negative impact on people's health. Stocking all-natural green products means everyone is likely to benefit from a safer and healthier environment, with the improvement of indoor air quality, a reduction in allergens and chemical gases and less exposure to toxic chemicals.
Systematic approach Housekeeping managers all seem to agree that abiding by a proven system is vital to maintaining high standards. There are many recommended ones but here is a good, basic example that experts agree will do the job:
1) Remove dirty linens, towels, and trash from the room and the bathroom. Remove the comforter/blanket. If items are scheduled to be laundered, remove them from the room. Otherwise, set them aside while changing the bed linens.
2) Put clean sheets on the bed (one fitted sheet, one flat sheet) and clean pillowcases on the pillows. Replace the blanket and comforter. Fold approximately 1/4 of the comforter down from the top of the bed, and set the pillows on the crease. Then pull the comforter up over the pillows back toward the top of the bed. This is the standard way to make the bed in many hotels.
3) Clean the bathroom. Use several rags to prevent cross contamination. Spray the bathtub and shower walls with bathroom cleaner, and wipe them down with a rag. Rinse with water if the chemical you use requires rinsing. Change the shower curtain if it is dirty. Spray the toilet and seat with bathroom cleaner, and wipe it down with a different rag.
Spray bathroom cleaner in the sink bowl and on the vanity surface. Use a new rag to wipe the vanity surface first and then wipe the sink bowl. Spray glass cleaner on the mirrors and wipe with a new rag. Replace rubbish bags, toilet paper, towels, and other amenities provided by the hotel.
4) Clean the mirrors, windows, TV, and phone in the guest room with the glass cleaner. Wipe down any hard surfaces of furniture such as the desk, dresser, nightstand, lamps, headboard and inside of drawers. Remove stains from the carpeting or upholstery with a cleaning product made specifically for carpeting and upholstery.
5) Replace rubbish bags in the room. Make sure all other items provided by the hotel are replaced, such as laundry bags, laundry slips, do-not-disturb signs, in-room guest guides, and chocolate for the pillows. Remove all rags and cleaning products from the room. Vacuum the carpet, and spray the room with air freshener.
If this system is properly followed, guest complaints should be very few. Some pundits predict that robotic vacuum cleaners will soon be playing a part in the professional housekeeping mix, but in the foreseeable future, most or all of the work will continue to be done by humans. That all gets back to a positive attitude by the cleaners, rounded off with vigilant and effective management.
