The novel coronavirus outbreak has placed all hotel businesses in a very critical stage. Hotels have been hit very badly by this pandemic. While many hotels are temporarily closed, many are still operating and are struggling to drive business — either they are making dramatically panic decision or either they are still operating in denial.

This COVID-19 chaos has definitely affected our daily lives, but you accept it or not, it has also reminded us of something that we all have been ignoring for a long time now — basic hygiene. And the same also applies to hotel businesses.

There are thousands and thousands of hotels around the world that doesn’t have an effective housekeeping department. These hotels don’t even seem to be maintaining proper hygiene. According to a report, a housekeeper from one of Britain’s biggest hotel chains used the same guest towel to clean entire bathrooms — including the toilet. Isn’t that awful?

You book a lovely hotel that you saw online for your holiday, you fly thousands of miles for it, but when you reach the hotel—exhausted and expectant—you see a dirty, damp, unhygienic property. Wouldn’t it ruin your holiday?

When it comes to running a successful hotel business, it’s not just the online reputation, you need to show it in action as well.

So, while people are spending quarantine times at their homes, and your hotel operations are on halt, let’s take a look at certain things and use this time to make them better. And one of them is definitely ‘Housekeeping’.

Here Are Some Top Tips To Maintain Proper Hygiene At Your Hotel

#1.Well Trained And Motivated Staff

This is the first and foremost thing to focus on. The property won’t clean itself — you need to have a staff that is not just well trained, but also motivated towards their work to ensure the hotel looks tidy and delight guests.

The staff should know how to go about cleaning the hotel. And one of the best ways to do it is by dividing the housekeeping staff into groups that would take care of different aspects.

For example, one staff would take care of the survey part, another would go for the service, the third group for disinfecting and the last would go for inspection.

Dividing the tasks among the teams would result in productivity.

Another thing to focus on staff is their ‘Training.’ Staff training is crucial to improving housekeeping job performance. Hotels must instruct housekeeping staff on how to implement safe and hygienic sanitization practices as well as provide personalized service to guests.

#2.Taking Creative Steps To Simplify Housekeeping Tasks

While many hotels have generic housekeeping procedures in place, there’s an important need for hotels to be open to improving operations. One of the ways to go about it is by having something creative and effective at the same time.

‘Cleaning With Colours’ is proved to be one of the effective ways for housekeeping departments to achieve hygiene — not just for hotels but also for medical centers, schools, daycares, nursing homes, etc.

But what exactly ‘Cleaning With Colours’ is?
It is basically a color-coded cleaning program where cleaning products such as rags, towels and cloths with different colors are used to clean different items.

For example, you can use:

• Red-coloured cleaning equipment should be used for areas with a higher risk of cross-contamination such as toilets and urinals.
• Blue for lower-risk areas such as common areas.
• Green for areas where food is handled and prepared. Or, it can even be used to glass, mirrors, etc.
• Yellow for objects and surfaces in rooms furniture.
• Having such a program in place for housekeeping would definitely prevent the risk of spreading germs and help you achieve that much anticipated hygienic hotel.

#3.Making The Best Use Of Technology

While everything mentioned above is necessary, without a doubt, it is also important for hotels to use the sought after technology that helps you automate certain tasks at your hotel and also increase coordination among departments.

A housekeeping software works in complete sync with your hotel’s frontdesk and effectively improves service efficiency and reduces paperwork. Having a robust housekeeping software would help you stay informed about every room’s status — whether it’s cleaned or yet to be cleaned.

Furthermore, this software/system also helps the housekeeping managers to assign tasks to staff effortlessly, track tasks for timely completion and also helps in avoiding work duplication.

It is very much imperative for hotels to have such a system in place to make the most out of their housekeeping.

#4.A Thorough Going-Over

Mistakes do happening, sometimes staff might forget a thing or two to clean and it’s not the housekeeping staff is to be blamed. And that’s why most of the hotels have a separate team for inspection of rooms.

Many might argue that if you have a very well-trained staff, why do you need to invest time inspecting each and every room. Well, even though that makes sense, it is imperative to go through every room. Do not take it as an opportunity to find fault, rather use this quality control checks as a session to train your new staff or trainee or someone who is still not getting a hold of their work individual housekeeping staff member.

Having such a team is a win-win — rooms will always be clean and tidy, and your staff will always be trained!

#5.Do Not Get Offended By Harsh Reviews. Rather, Take It As A Feedback!

There are times when guests are not happy with the hotel’s cleanliness, despite all the efforts by the housekeeping. Guests check out and leave reviews that are not very pleasant.

But instead of getting offended, why not take a look at what the guest has complained about. Listening to feedback and harsh complaints is an underrated tip, but this makes a really significant difference.

Not just guests, always seek feedback from your staff as well. Listen, act, and improve!

Outlook

The hospitality industry is one of the resilient ones! The industry will definitely bounce. At this point in time when business is down, it’s more important than ever for hotels to focus on things that would make a difference and better their services.

The end of this chaos is inevitable. As soon as this virus is contained, lockdowns are no more in place — travelers will have itchy feet, people would want to leave home and take a break, and this is when you have to act the best way possible.

Therefore, do not panic! Make the most out of these times and focus on strategies to take your hotel business to the next level.