Internationally recognised Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, conducts in-depth study of European hotel cleaning

INTEHL – the Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship – is the centre for business incubation and development at the Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne, Switzerland (EHL). Acting as the hub facilitating knowledge exchange between EHL and the international hospitality industry, INTEHL offers a range of services adapted to the needs of each of its various clients (market research, new product development, company start-up incubation, meeting organization).

This year, Activeion joined the likes of firms such as Accor, Four Seasons Hotels & Resorts, Unilever, Nestle’ and Siemens to tap into multi-culture hospitality talent to execute its market study. INTEHL’s Student Business Projects placed a group of final semester students on Activeion’s quest for increased understanding of European four and five star hotel market cleaning practices.

The Mission: to obtain insight into hotel cleaning practices in the European market and the budget elements within hotel housekeeping.

The Findings:
Financial analyses clearly illustrate that using a technology like Activeion’s can cut cleaning costs. It can save housekeeping budgets up to 3% only related to inappropriate product cost comparisons—and a much higher percentage when illness rates, training, recycling, disposal and other costs are also considered.

Practical studies at the EHL studios, hotel rooms, common areas and kitchens, confirmed the efficiency of daily cleaning with Activeion’s ionator EXP on general surfaces.

The hotels surveyed are currently dissatisfied with their present cleaning detergent and chemical based solutions, finding them weak in sustainability. Activeion’s chemical-free solutions therefore fill a specific gap in the market.

Executive Housekeepers are consistently implicated in cleaning related decisions and purchasing. Safety for employees and guests was the number one issue in cleaning decisions. Safety levels are measured by infection risk, illness risk, amongst other variables, and impact the hotel’s overall return on investment.

For more information on the EHL INTEHL study and Activeion technology, please contact: [email protected].

Winner of the 2006 Swiss Ethics prize for its commitment to renewable energies, top ranked hotel management school EHL quickly embraced a optimization and process analysis project on the hotel industry in Europe for client Activeion.

INTEHL, EHL’s Institute of Innovation & Entrepreneurship, nurtures and rewards creativity, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Founded in 1893, EHL students now number 1,864 from 88 nationalities (2010). EHL boasts 25,000 alumni graduates in 64 chapters and 106 countries. The school employs over 350 international staff committed to transferring practical hospitality knowledge to tomorrow’s hoteliers.