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.