With the travel industry bouncing back, hotel owners are preparing for a busy year. However, the increase in guests also raises the risk of germ spread within the hotel.
Surfaces like luggage cart handrails, elevator buttons, and the front desk are highly contaminated and can facilitate germ transmission. Within an hour of contamination, viruses can be transferred from hotel surfaces to guests’ fingertips in over 60% of instances.
Contaminated fingertips then go on to contaminate other surfaces like door handles, light switches, and TV remotes, continuing the transmission chain. Luckily, proper cleaning and disinfecting can break the chain. To help you break it, we’ve written down two dozen hotel housekeeping tips.
How Can Hotels Improve Their Housekeeping Efficiency?
Housekeeping is a crucial department in the hospitality industry, responsible for maintaining the cleanliness and comfort of guest rooms and public areas. Efficient housekeeping management is essential for ensuring guest satisfaction and loyalty, as well as optimizing hotel operations and profitability. Here are some key strategies to improve housekeeping efficiency in hotels:
- Optimize Staffing Levels: Hotels should carefully analyze their occupancy rates and guest preferences to determine the optimal number of housekeeping staff required.
- Implement Technology: Hotels can use automated systems like HelloShift to streamline communication, reduce paperwork, and improve overall coordination.
- Standardize Cleaning Procedures: Establishing standardized cleaning procedures ensures consistency and efficiency in housekeeping tasks.
What Are Some Eco-Friendly Housekeeping Practices for Hotels?
Eco-friendly housekeeping practices are essential for hotels to reduce their environmental impact and promote sustainability. By implementing these practices, hotels can not only minimize waste and conserve resources but also improve their brand image and attract environmentally conscious guests. Here are some eco-friendly housekeeping practices that hotels can adopt:
- Reduce Water Use: Monitoring water usage through smart meters, training housekeeping staff to be vigilant about water use, improving maintenance response times to water leaks, and installing flow restrictors or aerators are effective ways to reduce water consumption.
- Replace Paper Towels: Using reusable microfibre cloths instead of paper towels can significantly reduce waste and improve cleaning efficiency. Microfibre cloths clean surfaces 25% better than cotton cloths and are bleach-safe and durable for hundreds of washes.
- Remove Single-use Plastics: Avoiding single-use plastics such as disposable water bottles, cups, and drinking straws can reduce plastic waste. Replacing them with reusable alternatives like glassware offers an upscale experience while minimizing environmental impact.
What Safety Protocols Should Hotel Housekeeping Follow?
In the hospitality industry, ensuring the safety and well-being of guests and housekeeping staff is paramount. Hotel housekeeping involves maintaining the hygiene of guest rooms, public areas, and other facilities within the hotel premises.
To effectively manage this, hotels must implement comprehensive safety protocols that safeguard the health and security of all individuals involved. Here are some safety protocols for housekeeping:
- Regular Audits and Inspections: Conduct regular audits and inspections to assess the effectiveness of safety protocols and ensure compliance with established standards.
- Personal Protective Equipment: Housekeeping staff must be provided with the appropriate PPE, including face masks, gloves, and eye protection, to minimize the risk of exposure to contaminants and infectious diseases.
- Communication and Reporting: Establish clear communication channels for housekeeping staff to report any safety concerns, accidents, or potential hazards.
24 Tips to Improve Hotel Housekeeping
Every hotel manager and owner knows that hotel housekeeping is an important department that ensures the hotel’s cleanliness, comfort, and overall guest satisfaction. For complete satisfaction, the department must run at 100% at all times. Here are 24 tips to improve hotel housekeeping:
1. Organize Cleaning Supplies in a Single Caddy
In the context of hotel housekeeping, maintaining a clean and efficient work environment is crucial. One effective approach to achieve this is by organizing all necessary cleaning supplies in a single caddy. The caddy serves as a portable workstation, allowing housekeepers to carry all the required tools and materials with them as they move from room to room.
2. Prioritize Cleaning Tasks Based on Supplies
Efficient housekeeping in hotels involves prioritizing tasks based on the availability of cleaning supplies. This ensures that time and resources are used effectively, allowing staff to focus on areas that can be cleaned with the supplies on hand.
3. Turn on Lights and Electronic Devices to Check for Issues
Before starting the cleaning process, it’s important to turn on all lights and electronic devices in the room. This helps in identifying any operational issues or areas that may require special attention during cleaning.
4. Start From the Top and Work Your Way Down
In cleaning, starting from higher surfaces and working downwards is best. The method prevents dust and debris from higher areas from falling onto already cleaned lower surfaces, making the process more efficient.
5. Use a Vacuum Cleaner Instead of a Broom
Brooms are always cheap. Vacuums usually aren’t. But they’re a good investment. Vacuum cleaners are more effective than brooms in removing dirt and dust, especially from carpets and hard-to-reach areas. They help in maintaining a higher standard of cleanliness and reducing allergens.
6. Use a Checklist to Ensure You Don’t Miss Any Areas
We’ve talked about checklists before. A checklist is a critical tool in hotel housekeeping. It ensures that all areas, especially easily overlooked spots, are cleaned and inspected, maintaining consistent cleanliness standards across all rooms.
7. Vacuum High Traffic Areas Twice
We’re back at vacuuming again. For a good reason. High-traffic areas in hotels accumulate more dirt and dust. Vacuuming these areas twice ensures a deeper clean, contributing to a more inviting environment for guests.
8. Let Cleaning Products Sit on Surfaces for 10 Minutes
When you have a lot of rooms to clean, sometimes, you want to speed things up. But if you want to clean properly, you need time. Allowing cleaning products to sit on surfaces for a set time enhances their effectiveness in killing germs and breaking down dirt, ensuring a thorough cleaning.
9. Flip and Air Out Mattresses Regularly
Mattresses are usually full of bacteria and allergens, and they require your special attention. Regularly flipping and airing out mattresses prevents uneven wear and keeps them fresh, ensuring guest comfort and extending mattress life.
10. Clean Light Bulbs and Lampshades to Prevent Allergies
Dust on light bulbs and lampshades can contribute to poor air quality. Cleaning them regularly helps reduce allergens and ensures a comfortable environment for guests with allergies.
11. Smooth Wrinkles on Linens With a Little Water
You want your linen to look seamless after you’re done cleaning. But it’s not easy to achieve that perfect look. A quick mist of water can help smooth out wrinkles on linens, presenting a neat and inviting appearance without the need for ironing.
12. Push Excess Material Inside Pillowcases for a Better Fit
The pillows in your room need to look full when the guest arrives. You don’t want your guests complaining about the look of the room compared to the pictures on your website. Tucking excess material inside pillowcases ensures they fit snugly around pillows, enhancing room aesthetics and guest comfort.
13. Avoid Hard Chemicals When Clearing Drains
Harsh chemical drain cleaners are often the go-to solution for clogged drains, but they can harm your plumbing system and the environment. A gentler and more eco-friendly alternative to harsh chemical drain cleaners is to use natural, enzymatic drain cleaners. These cleaners are made with enzymes that break down organic matter like hair, grease, and food scraps that can cause clogs.
14. Use Watered-Down Vinegar on Mirrors and Tiles
When cleaning mirrors and tiles, vinegar is an exceptional choice. Its ability to dissolve dirt, grime, and mineral deposits leaves surfaces sparkling clean and streak-free. Mix equal vinegar and water in a spray bottle to use as a mirror and tile cleaner. Spray the solution onto the surface, let it sit for a few minutes, and then wipe it off with a clean cloth.
15. Use a Wax Crayon to Fix Scratches in Wood Furniture
Wax crayons are essentially solid sticks made of wax, pigments, and other additives. They are commonly used for drawing and coloring, but their versatility extends to various practical applications, including furniture touch-ups. This simple yet effective technique offers a cost-effective solution to maintain the aesthetic appeal of your wooden furniture.
16. Consider Concentrated Cleaning Products
Concentrated cleaning products are cleaning agents that are highly concentrated and require dilution with water before use. They are typically sold in small, concentrated form and can be diluted to create a larger volume of cleaning solution. This makes them more efficient and cost-effective than ready-to-use cleaning products.
17. Use Safe Bleach Alternatives
Bleach, a widely used household cleaner, is known for its powerful disinfecting properties. However, its harsh nature can pose risks to both human health and the environment. Fortunately, there are several safe bleach alternatives like Hydrogen Peroxide, tea tree oil, and baking soda that offer effective cleaning and sanitation without the associated hazards.
18. Get Dish Soap to Remove Tough Stains
Dish soap is a common household cleaning product that is typically used to wash dishes. It is made up of a variety of surfactants, which are molecules that help to break down dirt and grease. Dish soap is also often used for other cleaning purposes, such as removing stains from clothing and carpets.
19. Use Concentrated Soap or Shampoo in the Bathtub
Concentrated soap or shampoo is a cleaning agent that is specifically designed for use in bathtubs. It is more potent than regular soap or shampoo, and it is able to effectively break down soap scum and body oils that can accumulate in bathtubs. This makes it an ideal choice for cleaning bathtubs and ensuring that they remain sparkling clean.
20. Clean the Bathroom Last to Avoid Spreading Germs
Cleaning the bathroom last during a cleaning routine is a crucial step in maintaining a hygienic environment, especially in public spaces like hotels. Bathrooms are known to harbor various types of germs and bacteria due to their frequent use and the presence of moisture. By cleaning the bathroom last, we minimize the risk of transferring these germs to other areas of the hotel, such as bedrooms or common areas.
21. Use Rubbing Alcohol to Clean Bathroom Smudges
Rubbing alcohol, also known as isopropyl alcohol, is a common household item with a wide range of uses, including cleaning and disinfecting surfaces. It is particularly effective in removing smudges and disinfecting surfaces in the bathroom, leaving a quick-drying, streak-free finish.
22. Vacuum the Bathroom Floor Before Wet Cleaning
Vacuuming the bathroom floor before wet cleaning is a crucial step that enhances the overall cleaning process. It involves using a vacuum cleaner to remove loose debris, dust, hair, and other small particles from the floor surface. Doing so eliminates the risk of these particles becoming trapped in the mop water and potentially scratching or damaging the floor during wet cleaning.
23. Utilize the 20-10 Rule to be More Efficient
OK, what’s the 20-10 rule? It’s a simple rule to help you be more organized and efficient. The 20-10 rule, working for 20 minutes and taking a 10-minute break, can improve efficiency and reduce burnout among housekeeping staff, leading to more effective cleaning.
24. Utilize Housekeeping Software to Organize Tasks
Housekeeping software is a digital tool designed to assist in managing and organizing tasks related to housekeeping operations. A tool like HelloShift offers various features to streamline cleaning processes and enhance overall efficiency. It can help you:
- Create and assign cleaning tasks to specific staff members or teams.
- Set priorities and deadlines for each task to ensure timely completion.
- Track the progress of tasks and monitor their status in real time.
By implementing housekeeping software, hotels can enhance their operational efficiency, improve guest satisfaction, and optimize resource allocation.
Improve Housekeeping With HelloShift
By implementing these tips, hotels can improve the quality of their housekeeping services, enhance satisfaction, and create a comfortable and inviting environment for guests. To keep things working at full capacity, hotels need the right tools.
That’s where HelloShift comes into play. Our all-in-one hotel app is any challenge faced by the hotel industry. It offers a unified communication system that helps hotel management run smoothly and keeps the guests carefree.
HelloShift is a cloud-based digital hotel app —- guests can text hotel, checkin on their mobile device, scan and upload documents, digitally sign hotel registration cards, receive mobile keys, and have access to all hotel amenities through a guidebook that is customized with the hotel brand.
Go digital with Guest Messaging, Contactless Checkin, Website Chat, Staff Collaboration, Housekeeping Management and more.
