Running a hotel comes with various challenges and considerations that you must take in order to successfully acquire new guests and retain them.
One of the key considerations you must take when running a pet-friendly hotel or budget air BnB is related to your housekeeping staff. Providing them with everything they need to complete their daily tasks and providing excellent customer service ensures maximum guest satisfaction.
Below, we have covered the key things to provide for your housekeeping staff for maximum success within your hotel.
Smart Hospitality Uniforms
Hospitality uniforms should be professional-looking but also practical. They should align with your hotel branding to ensure consistency across your entire business and contribute to increased brand recognition.
Whilst some hotels enable their housekeeping staff to wear their own clothes to work, it’s often better to provide a uniform for your staff members. Doing so ensures cohesion across your team and promotes a more credible and trustworthy business reputation.
Make sure the uniforms you choose are comfortable and flexible enough to allow your housekeeping staff to perform various physical tasks, such as cleaning and tidying. Provide each staff member with at least two uniforms so they always have a clean outfit available for their shifts.
Training and Education
Provide comprehensive training for your housekeeping staff to equip them with the skills and knowledge they need to perform their duties efficiently and to a high standard. Training should focus on how to complete housekeeping tasks with maximum efficiency, how to provide excellent customer service, and how to handle potentially corrosive or hazardous cleaning substances.
Train new staff members before they start their new roles in your hotel, as well as ongoing training sessions for existing staff members. It’s particularly important to provide training when health and safety protocols change, or you start using different cleaning equipment and supplies.
Cleaning Supplies
Cleaning equipment and supplies are another consideration when you’ve got housekeeping staff in your hotel. You will need to provide high-quality cleaning supplies and equipment for your housekeepers to ensure they can perform a thorough clean when guests check out of their hotel rooms.
Provide vacuum cleaners, mops, sweeping brushes, dusters, sponges, and cleaning materials (such as antibacterial sprays and furniture polish) for each staff member. Consider investing in trolleys for easy transportation of cleaning materials and maximum efficiency.
You’ll also need to consider personal protective equipment (PPE) for each staff member to ensure they stay safe when using strong cleaning chemicals. PPE may include aprons, gloves, and masks.
Health and Safety Measures
Housekeepers may work with potentially harmful cleaning substances and powerful cleaning equipment. As a hotel owner or manager, you must prioritise the health and safety of your housekeeping staff members to reduce the risk of injuries and chemical burns.
Provide in-depth training on how to use cleaning supplies and equipment safely, and inform your housekeepers of the latest health and safety protocols and effective manual handling.
Make sure your housekeeping staff have adequate first aid supplies to treat minor injuries immediately. You must ensure your staff have access to medical assistance when needed and have clear instructions on how to report accidents and injuries. Keep a record of any injuries that occur within your hotel in case you need to supply these records to an insurance company or the police.
Fair Compensation, Employee Benefits, and Career Growth Opportunities
Your housekeeping staff lays the foundations for a successful hotel. Without them, you might struggle to keep your hotel clean, tidy, and organised, and your guest satisfaction might suffer.
Therefore, providing fair compensation and a great employee benefits package for each of your housekeepers is essential for staff satisfaction.
Fair compensation ensures your hotel remains competitive within the industry and attracts top talent, so you can build a strong team of hard-working individuals. Providing incentives and benefits enables you to retain your best housekeepers and maintain a strong cohort of staff for long-term hotel success.
Offer career development opportunities for your housekeeping staff so they can progress within their roles if they wish to do so. You may want to offer courses and qualifications for your housekeepers to develop their skills and knowledge, and increase their earning potential.
Recognition and Appreciation for Hard Work
When your housekeeping staff works effectively and provides great customer service for your hotel guests, it’s important to show your gratitude and appreciation. With recognition of hard work and commitment to the role, your housekeeping staff will feel acknowledged and valued. In turn, they are more likely to continue working hard and contributing to your hotel’s success.