The number one hit song "Where Do Broken Hearts Go?” sung by the late Whitney Houston in February 1988, begs the question, “Where Do Broken Mattresses Go?” You can’t have a hotel without beds, and beds need to be kept in read more...
From jet-lag eliminating pillows to robotic cushions, they may only cover 20% of the bed’s surface, but the latest round of pillow trends are as much of an essential as a quality mattress. A positive sleep experience is something many read more...
When I stay in a city hotel, the most important things for me are a comfortable bed, a good working shower, sockets next to the nightstand and fast working internet. I can live with everything else, when this is fulfilled. read more...
The ‘numero uno’ expectation that hoteliers and hotel employees need to deliver is cleanliness. This is an absolute must. Never mind the ‘out of this’ world design or the fabulous amenities one discovers in some of the most innovative hotels. read more...
Housekeeping in a hotel is a very physically demanding job that includes many, varied tasks. Typically, in this case study, housekeepers were responsible for cleaning 16 rooms per shift. The actual amount of work depends on the size of the read more...
New approaches, other than strictly ergonomic ones, need to be investigated. For example, action can be taken from the administrative level. Options for improvement include: job rotation job enrichment and job enlargement team work education and training on work practices How can job rotation reduce read more...
It’s about time we embraced service in our security department regardless of the role security plays. The other day my friend Barnaby attended an outdoor event hosted by a 5 star hotel. Control of foot traffic and guest access to read more...
At the very outset, there must be an understanding as to the role security is to play in the loss prevention efforts. This involves more than a mere reliance on a job description. The question is what really is or read more...
The problem with noise issues is that only a very few can be solved immediately to satisfy the guests. Hardly any of the noise problems is caused by hotel operation. Almost all of them are caused by bad design, poor read more...
How can you make your guest feel more pampered and looked after? Is turndown : the service most 5-star hotels have introduced to give their guests an extra touch that will pleasantly surprise them just before going to bed - read more...
Have you ever arrived at your hotel early and huffed and puffed because your room wasn't ready? There's a good reason for that: Preparing a hotel room for a new guest can take twice as long as cleaning a room read more...
I am certain you expect a clean room upon arrival. As you open the door to your hotel room you will not find it in shambles or already occupied by another guest, although, this can occur in a badly run read more...
Recently I had dinner in a new, stylish restaurant. In the part of the restaurant where we were seated were seats for approximately 35 to 40 people. Although there were free tables, the noise level was so high that we read more...
As part of its ongoing focus on safety, Marriot International (NASDAQ: MAR) announced it is ramping up the deployment of alert devices for housekeepers and other on-property associates allowing them to discreetly summon help if they feel harassed in any read more...
Is it a trend or is simply a heightened awareness of hotel room germs?
Long gone are the days of one general-purpose wipe. Today’s offering of individually wrapped, TSA-approved towelettes, are produced to target a plethora of needs in guestrooms making read more...
If you have checked into a Hotel in the recent few years, you have probably noticed the strange rectangular piece of fabric draped across the end of your bed and wondered, what is this? What is its purpose? This decorative read more...
Bed bugs can cause havoc in hotels, not just for guests but also to a hotel’s bottom-line.
How much does it cost to host a hotel guest? That’s a question hoteliers frequently ask themselves as they evaluate their rates and budgets. read more...
Last week, I visited a hotel of a major brand to do a technical due diligence. The condition of the FF&E was outstanding although the last renovation took place in 2009. The reason for this: preventive maintenance.
Preventive maintenance programs show read more...
Check -in to a hotel room and what do you see? At first glance, there’s the bed, two bedside tables, a wardrobe, mirror and a bathroom. Now, go down memory lane to that check - in you did, some fifteen read more...
The work of the room attendant is central to the re-instatement of guest rooms, a major profitable product in most hotels. However, by and large, room attendant work remains, both academically and empirically unseen and unrecognized.
The job of a room read more...
For most people, especially women, not having to wash the dishes, laundry and do other household chores, when staying n a hotel is as appealing as the trip itself. Fair enough, but simply assuming that the hotel room will be read more...
Ever since I mistook shaving cream for toothpaste one morning, I always put on my glasses before brushing my teeth or when shaving. I’m in my 60s now and with failing vision wear glasses – but not when taking a read more...
Hotel employees, especially females working alone in guestrooms and restrooms have for long endured the dangers of sexual abuse in an industry that is not necessarily proactive. Protecting workers from sexual assault became headline news after a housekeeper at a read more...
You get to your lovely resort hotel by late evening, unload the car and eagerly walk into the lobby, for that much looked forward to seaside holiday. You expect to enjoy good food, swim in the hotel’s pool, try out read more...
When I travel for business or pleasure, I consider getting good sleep as an important factor …because it gives me the energy I require to power through the days away from home. So, whenever, I check-in to a hotel room, read more...
If there is one thing almost all hotels provide, its soap. Some hotels place at least three pieces of soap in the guestroom bathroom thus tricking you into feeling like you’re getting a luxury worldly experience. There was this hotel read more...
Hotel operators can look to various sources for hygiene and cleaning tips. For instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued interim guidance on the ‘Operational’ considerations for COVID-19 management in the accommodation sector; Hotels Associations’ of various countries have released read more...
The industry has no choice but to spend the money to regain the trust to travel. The COVID-19 pandemic will continue to influence housekeeping for a long time. Until then, the hotel have no choice but to bear whatever costs read more...
The terms ‘Cleaning’, ‘Sanitising’ and ‘Disinfecting’ have become buzzwords in the era of Covid 19. However, they were around in the pre-Covid 19 world, albeit less prominent. One would recall the tape placed around the toilet bowl upon entering a read more...
How much does it cost to fill a hotel room? That’s a question hoteliers frequently ask themselves as they evaluate their budgets and rates. But are unexpected guests taken into account? Do operators factor-in the costs involved in getting rid read more...
Pre-COVID, when asked what I did for a living, my “brand standard, product developer and licensor role in hospitality” answer often triggered an enthusiastic response of “How intriguing. Sounds like fun!” Five months into the pandemic, when asked the same question, read more...
When you switch off the lights to go to bed, every hotel room on earth has one thing in common – they all look the same! This leads to another interesting fact; most of the time spent by guests in read more...
How often are the times hotel guests find out when arriving at their allocated guest room that the door lock stubbornly refuses to open? Other irritants can include a remote control with dead batteries, an air-conditioner that leaks water, a read more...
Numerous hotels launder towels and linen within the business. Most laundry managers are well aware of the risks of spontaneous combustion from: items received in a hotel laundry which is covered with varying levels of oils, grease, and fat. These read more...
Because it’s mostly carried out, metaphorically speaking, ‘behind the curtains’, housekeeping in a hotel essentially comes down to being an invisible task, and if a guest cannot detect any flaws in the condition of the room or service, then it read more...
How can a hotel’s housekeeping department contribute to the property’s overall environmental sustainability program? Did I hear someone say skip housekeeping? Come to think of it, doing away with housekeeping is better for the environment. No washing towels and linen read more...
Have you as a guest, ever considered reversing your role to spend a day or two learning what it takes to properly clean a hotel room? Say you're game for it…wonderful, but… let me first paint a picture of what read more...
During the pandemic many hotels stopped providing daily housekeeping as a safety precaution and… to save money. Then, when housekeeping returned, they often did less cleaning in rooms and made it “opt-in.” Hotels claimed this was to promote choice but long before read more...
Sustainability and energy efficiency technologies are not just about saving our planet. Whatever the validity is behind vendors’ claims that their particular product or service is the ‘best energy saver of all time’, the fact remains that overall they will read more...
Naval Admiral William H. McRaven when delivering the keynote speech at the University of Texas on May 17, 2014, walked the audience through Ten (10) lessons he learned from basic SEAL training. Basic SEAL training is six months of long read more...
When we think about improving a hotel's Net Promoter Score (NPS), the focus often falls on customer service, amenities, or even the marketing strategy; however, the Engineering Department plays a pivotal, yet often overlooked, role in enhancing this critical metric.
As read more...
In the hospitality industry, attention is often directed toward the guest-facing departments—front office, housekeeping, food and beverage, and guest services. These functions undoubtedly play a vital role in delivering memorable experiences. However, behind the seamless operations of any hotel lies read more...
Preventive Maintenance (PM) in hotel guest rooms is not just a routine task—it's a vital part of ensuring guest satisfaction, preserving the property's assets, and minimizing emergency breakdowns. A well-executed PM program reduces operational costs, prevents equipment failure, and upholds read more...
