Housekeeping

Redefining housekeeping in mixed-use

One of the most recent trends in the burgeoning hotel industry has been the evolution of mixed-use development projects, but the upkeep of such properties is a major challenge that housekeepers need to tackle. Vikram Kharvi explores how they manage this mammoth task

The hotel industry, in an endeavour to keep ahead of competition, is increasingly opting for the mixed-use development route, which is still at a nascent stage in India. This new avatar of development offers multiple environments to in-house guests, who may be attending weddings, conferences, as well as walk-in clients, who can enjoy an all-in-one experience of stay, wine and dine, business meetings or the convenience of shopping. A large number of future and upcoming projects are under mixed-use and more hotels are looking to integrating service apartments, retail outlets, convention centres and so on under one roof. So how does one keep the entire structure clean?

Good housekeeping

Good housekeeping plays a vital role in the upkeep of such multi-dimensional establishments wherein the first impression normally turns out to be the last impression as far as hygiene and cleanliness of the property is concerned. It is the Executive Housekeeper who holds the responsibility for the total cleanliness of the development and ensure customer satisfaction. Alternately, in some instances the housekeeping is totally outsourced with an administrative head handling facility management for that unit (inclusive of the engineering, cafeteria, transport and security). In fact now, more than ever, management in the hospitality industry is experiencing the benefits of outsourcing its cleaning needs.

Being a specialised task, there is not much difference between the housekeeping in hotels and what exists in mixed-use developments according to Supriya Malhotra, rooms division manager, Renaissance Mumbai Hotel and Convention Centre and Lakeside Chalet Marriott Executive Apartments. Malhotra, however, points out that the foot traffic and volumes at the mixed-use development projects are much higher, resulting in change in frequency of cleaning, methodology and more extensive checks.

Grand Hyatt, Mumbai, which has set up its shopping plaza spread across 1,00,000 square feet, comprising two levels around a central atrium, is a perfect example of a mixed-use project. Akshi Singh, housekeeping manager, Grand Hyatt, Mumbai, points out that the dynamics of housekeeping for a hotel and especially for a mixed-use development facility is enormous. "Traditionally, the scope was only restricted to facilities such as rooms and public areas. However, for a mixed-use facility, besides the traditional scope, the ambit also includes recreational facilities, apartments, shopping and outdoor spaces. Another key differentiator is the size of the area being handled. Housekeeping schedules are undertaken as per usage, movement of people and specific requests," explains Singh.

Hotels are not only about facilities and visible staff but also the staff that are behind the scenes. Whilst, housekeepers are rarely seen, good housekeeping is visible. Room presentation and consistent uniformity is essential and staff in this department needs to have an eye for detail. Due to the complex nature of mixed-use establishments, housekeeping is a lot more visible and need to maintain flexible schedules.

At Grand Hyatt, Mumbai for example, the residences or service apartments rarely require housekeeping services on Sundays. However, the same is not true for the shopping plaza, which is busy on the weekends. Obviously, managing the operations of a mixed-use facility requires an understanding of the business and a pragmatic approach.

The intricacies

With higher usage and concentrated times, housekeeping calls for developed specialised methods, use of machines and nominated timings for cleaning. Bulk of the cleaning then gets restricted to the night hours allowing for complete overhaul, and limited time lines for completion. Mechanisation has brought in wet and dry machines including lamello mops, micro fabric mops, jet spray machines, heavy duty scrubbing machines for larger floors, sit away scrubbing machines, vacuums with higher capacity (wet and dry), back vacs, wringer trolleys, etc., shampooing/extraction machines, marble-polishing pads and where marble maintenance is concerned it is the diamond polishing that comes into play. For the exterior there is equipment for scaffolding, road scrubbing, etc.

Larger machines with higher capacity have taken over the manual aspect of the job, where the machine’s capacity depends on the usage and area. Paging and mobile telephones have made people more accessible and easily reachable. Use of different software for computer systems helps to regulate the administrative tasks. "Over the years, the role of housekeeping has evolved, and today we have advanced in the quality of equipments to execute even the smallest task to ensure that it is flawless. There developments enable us to have access to certain chemicals that help maintain almost every kind of surface, techniques to preserve or seal fabric, floors, walls etc. Keeping abreast of new market trends and developments is a must," points out Singh.

The housekeeping team is the custodian of upkeep and maintenance of the facility. The housekeeping department is often described as the heart of the hotel and its success lies in co-ordinating with all departments to ensure that guests are provided with a comfortable and pleasant stay. But various challenges do dog the housekeeping department on a day-to-day basis. "Prominent ones are inadequate resting period, high foot traffic (for a shopping mall), timings for repair and maintenance tasks, training of unskilled labour, labour turnover and coordinating with different shops, restaurants, offices and galleries among others," says Malhotra.

As a job, housekeeping is physically taxing, requiring flexibility in character for personnel to also be fantastic people managers. The reward for those passionate about this area of hotel work is satisfaction in seeing the completion of clean and tidy, beautifully presented finished rooms and public areas. For many, this is a naturally motivating factor as the job simply appeals.

It is essential to have self-value and take pride in what one is doing. This calls for a good positive attitude and strong commitment to the task, regardless of how it is viewed by others. The traditional motto for good housekeeping which continues to be true even in case of mixed-use, is 'Setting standards to which others aspire to achieve!'