Housekeeping

From the guest, with love

Feedback flowing from a guest to the hotel is a sincere effort on their part either to improve the future experience, or to reward the staff for a wonderful one. Critically, most aspects revolve around the hotel stay and, ultimately the onus of the housekeeper, finds out Neeti Mehra.

Deconstructing a successful hotel stay is among the simpler tasks; pinning operational responsibilities on individual departments is difficult. The sum total of efforts of various departments results in a seamless guest experience. Housekeeping is the cog in the operational wheel, keeping the hotel in motion, co-ordinating and disseminating information and services. And at the fag end of a guest experience, feedback is critical to see if the delivery matched guest expectations.

Collecting the bouquets and the brickbats

Guest feedback usually follows two linear paths: verbal inputs and guest feedback forms. While the former is directed to the housekeeping department on most occasions, the forms are filled up and either left in the room for the housekeeping to collect or left at the reception during check-out. Once read and punched into the system, it is marked to indicate that it has been read, and incorporated into the records. This exercise serves in building guest profiles for future reference. While some forms have a range of questions for the guests to rate according to the experience (as done at HRH Hotels), others leave it to them to write about the experience with ample blank space in the form (like Grand Hyatt, Mumbai).

Nitin Gupta, executive housekeeper at Shiv Niwas Palace Hotel and Fateh Prakash Palace Hotel in Udaipur (both HRH Hotels Resorts & Palaces), says that ultimately, housekeeping is the backbone of the industry and shoulders majority of the responsibility. "Housekeeping makes rooms saleable, creating a hospitable ambience, ensuring standards and expectations of guests are met," he opines.

How can guest profiles help to fine-tune the hotel machinery? Serving as a starting point between set standards and the actuals, daily brainstorming sessions between the general manager and the head of each department dissect guest feedback. "Prior to the day of arrival, we review guest preferences, likes and dislikes," says Akshi Singh, executive housekeeper, Grand Hyatt, Mumbai. "For instance, if they like certain juices, we stock the mini bar, if they like flowers then we arrange it for them," continues Singh.

The brickbats

Bumps in the road are inevitable, and housekeepers have to do everything in their power to smoothen the ride. While positive feedback is more often the norm, and indirect, at the other side of the feedback spectrum, the guest in many instances picks the receiver on the housekeeping. Singh says, "In this situation, the first priority is to make contact, and the assistant manager or the team leader needs to address it immediately, as delays only heighten the guests' distress."

Complaints range from inadequate toiletries in the bathroom to missing items, which in most cases, Singh avers, is found in the rooms, slipped between nooks and crannies, or in the guest's bag, unknown to them. "Guests need personal attention," agrees Gupta, "and it is critical that complaints are addressed immediately."

Channelising negative feedback is critical. If handled improperly, it can flog the flagging morale of the team. All such incidents are narrated in team meetings held daily. Gupta says a forum needs to be given to the housekeeping team to address their queries and voice opinions. "In the morning I speak, and in the evening meetings I listen," he adds - a preventive strategy where all learnings from negative and positive incidents are shared.

The bouquets

Guests are equally effusive about a great experience. In some instances they sometimes leave a souvenir for a specific employee. In other cases, a general gift left behind is shared with the staff equally, or given by rotation to the staff after a while, a policy followed by Grand Hyatt.

Reward points to individual staff members who garner the most positive mentions are also a popular way of acknowledgement. This method, followed in HRH Hotels, rewards staff after a month. To keep the staff in touch with the tricks of trade, regular training sessions on SOPs are conducted regularly. Touching letters, job offers, and guest contacts are a few of the many rewards diligent members of housekeeping have received over the years.

Co-ordination

Be it the Earl Grey tea served piping hot or a pick-up at the right time, correct information passed on by the housekeeping leading to accurate response from the receiving department - all these ensure the boat stays afloat. While this is a result of the collective effort of all departments - be it F&B, front office, or the concierge, it ultimately results in positive feedback and a loyal customer.

However, an exception to resorting to guest profiles for guidance of their wants is when hotels surreptitiously pander to the occasion of their own accord. Guiding them are universal expectations, a move that notches brownie points for them. Falling in this category are special occasions celebrated with a personal touch, be it champagne and chocolates in the room, bathtubs filled with rose petals for anniversaries, birthdays and honeymoon couples, where all departments chip in to capture the special moment.

Conclusion

The housekeeping department, while serving in the background, also serves as the ears of the entire hotel. Critically, passing on information correctly and on time to other departments is its responsibility. Once botched, not only does it create friction between departments, but also lowers the morale of the staff. As the flow between the guest and the housekeeper ebbs and rises, the latter can endeavour to optimise the guest experience by being the homemakers of the hotel.