Housekeeping

Handle with care

Maintaining heritage properties has never been an easy task because its housekeeping is based on a preventive maintenance approach rather than outright cleaning. Sanjeev Bhar finds out more.

Any job undertaken with the right approach means half the job done. This is especially true with maintaining heritage properties. Housekeeping in heritage properties is based on preventive maintenance - an approach where cleaning is undertaken only as a preventive action without using any drastic measures.

Housekeeping in a heritage hotel is unique owing to the distinctiveness it wears in comparison to other properties. It is a tough task requiring a gentle hand and an eye for detail. Shilpa Kosambia, executive housekeeper of Umaid Bhawan Palace, Jodhpur, says, "The focus is more on manual cleaning inside the room where artifacts need to be either polished or cleaned in a subtle manner. Mechanised cleaning is adopted only where there is enough space and doesn't harm adjoining areas."

This makes the job extremely time-consuming. It also means an additional task of restoring treasured furniture and other bric-a-bracs. Kosambia is of the opinion that business hotels or resorts have a standard interior design and décor, whereas a heritage property has carvings, sculptures, domes made of stones, marbles, crystals, etc that make the housekeeping task very challenging. "Every area has to be given equal importance while doing routine inspection," she adds.

It is also vital to keep in mind that any cleaning inside such a property must not have any side effects. Laxman Singh, executive housekeeper of WelcomHeritage Noor-Us-Sabah, Bhopal, says, "For example, care must be taken that acids and chemicals used to remove stains must not leave any marks on floors, carpets or walls." Kosambia adds that every area needs to be covered with over-lapping shifts so that none of the areas are left unattended. "We are also following a 300-page standard operating procedure manual for housekeeping which has been especially set for Umaid Bhawan Palace considering the property structure and specifications," she reveals.

Costly affair

Maintaining heritage buildings are always a costly affair. According to Singh, they conventionally require 15-20 per cent more budget for housekeeping as compared with other types of hotels with the same number of rooms. One of the factors for this is training to housekeepers where specially-trained attendants have to be assigned for carpet shampooing, marble polishing and chandelier cleaning.

Singh avers, "Apart from budget considerations there are many parameters that give the housekeeping department in heritage hotels a whole new meaning." Noor-Us-Sabah hotel follows a strict staff to room ratio with one person covering only 11 rooms in a shift. It therefore has 25 attendants for the 47-room property. He adds, "Usually a designated housekeeping staff is scheduled to make 18-20 rooms in other hotels. But in a heritage property, the job is not necessarily done quickly but attentively, which inevitably increases the expenditure of the department."

The focus of housekeeping goes beyond cleaning routines. Kosambia says, "Eye for detail, information about the property, its history, city tours, etc are vital. The checking of rooms and areas are done in accordance to an audit checklist we prepare, and training needs are also identified from the checklist." Testing the acidity of chemicals on other surfaces is always advisable during any cleaning process. Moreover, since it is nearly impossible for heritage properties to undergo major modification, extra care is undertaken to prevent any mishaps. In fact, many heritage hotels are increasingly looking at outsourcing certain areas of housekeeping for a professional approach.