Operations & Strategy

The outsourcing debate is not new, but the current global situation is causing it to heat up again. The argument typically revolves around whether an outsourcing agency is capable of delivering the same quality and service levels as a hotel can with a team of their own, that they employ and thus control.

It's a very interesting subject: the quality of service delivered by the housekeeping department shouldn't be defined by the employment type of the employees. Housekeeping operations, usually only seen as a cost centre, are delivering an essential service to hotels - without this service hotels don't have their core product available: a clean hotel room.

I have had the opportunity to work with the outsourced business model (full & partial) in various countries, in my experience I don't feel the agencies are better at managing the operation, what they do bring to the table is better flexibility and availability of resources and in some instances cost savings.

There is an expectation from our guests and our team members to maintain social distancing as we carry out daily tasks in guest rooms. Therefore in order to create "peace of mind" our sanitation and hygiene protocols are communicated electronically via in-room/guest elevator information channels and social media.

The revision of cleaning standards in hotels had started immediately with the outbreak of the pandemic as some kind of panic erupted. Traditional cleaning methods and the way rooms are checked and released had to be looked at.Hotel Housekeepers who keep themselves in the loop on new hygiene practices and are pioneers in the testing and evaluation of new cleaning techniques surely could adapt quickly to new cleaning practices.In fact, infection control has been a subject for many years and should have been implemented in hotels a long time ago.

Housekeeping professionals always played an important role in delivering the guest journey: behind the scene and guest-facing. While the service delivered by housekeeping professionals in hotels is designed to be invisible - just as cleaning happens by magic, the presence of the housekeeping team as ambassadors of the hotel was always part of the role.

I have always believed that a well organized and vigilant housekeeping department could pass any hygiene test. Detailed training and record-keeping is the key and utilizing technology platforms to record this information is critical.

The sudden changes and swift momentum triggered by COVID-19 have placed many housekeepers outside of their comfort zone without advance warning. Just like other department heads, they suddenly found themselves having to deal with a situation they were not trained, nor prepared for.

Aside from skills relating to hygiene and perhaps even technology and hygiene, I believe the most important skill during this pandemic for housekeeping, but anyone for that matter, is resilience. To have resilience yourself, but also resilient leadership is vital to keep yourself, your department and your organisation going.