ONE-ON-ONE with Deepesh Pisawadia | Executive Housekeeper, The H Dubai hotel!

With decades of experience under his belt, Deepesh Pisawadia Executive Housekeeper, The The H Dubai works to excel each day. Let's take a look at his inspiring journey.

About you

I am Deepesh Pisawadia from Pune in India?and I have been working for the past one and a half decades in the hospitality industry. In 2015, my wife got a job in the UAE, and we moved here. I was very excited for her but at the same time, nervous not knowing what was in store for me.?Now, in my current position as the Executive Housekeeper for The H Dubai hotel, I work to excel each day. I love my job and my team and aim each day to overcome any challenges that come our way to achieve our desired goals and accomplish together.

Your experience and years in the industry

I stepped into the hospitality industry for the first time back in 2007 in Blackpool, UK. I worked there for a year, which was my first encounter with the operations for a property of 186 keys. I then moved back to India and worked for a couple of individual hotels with an inventory of between 100 rooms and 200 rooms. I opened 172 rooms at the IHG property in Pune, which was a career defining moment, as due to my passion, hard work & dedication, I was promoted to Executive Housekeeper in less than 2 years and continued working for a further 3 years within the same property. During this tenure, I received appreciation from the management as well as from the corporate team for various projects. On each vacation to India, I am glad to share my experience with the students of the Institute from which I graduated, thus helping them to understand the real world application of their studies.

In 2015, I moved to the UAE through an internal transfer. It was challenging to begin with, but the things I have learned since arriving in the country have made me strong and inspired me to perform better. I also had the opportunity to work with Sheraton Grand Dubai as an Assistant Director of Housekeeping, which molded me as a UAE hospitality professional. In my current role with The H Dubai, I have been given immense opportunities to excel in my career which I am grateful for.

How did you get into the hospitality industry, and how have you grown since then?

I followed and played cricket passionately and wanted to be a cricketer growing up, just like most young Indian boys did. However, my grandfather insisted heavily on me getting the right education. If I went into mainstream education, I would have had to sacrifice my cricket, and that thought scared me. I decided I wanted to study something that would still allow me the time to pursue my love of cricket. It was then that I was introduced to the world of hospitality and I have never looked back since.

My grandfather has been very supportive of my decisions and although I come from a family with humble earnings, with their help I managed to complete a 1 year internship in the U.S. From there I slowly built myself, made housekeeping my passion, learnt the tricks of the trade and gave 100% to everything I did.

What drives you and your career?

Making guests happy is my goal. Seeing the smile on their face is what makes my job all worthwhile. My biggest motivators are my team members, whom I call the scientists, as they are always passionate about going the extra mile and coming up with new ideas to make the guests stay memorable. Watching them strive every single day to accomplish higher standards makes me feel accomplished and joyful to lead this exciting team.

An accomplishment that shaped your career

Before stepping into the hospitality industry as a professional, I had completed various training courses in different hotels in Pune while I was pursuing my bachelor’s degree. I learned that you cannot learn everything in a book, but instead real-life scenarios allow you to look at things from a different perspective. For example, if there is a sudden shift in performance from a team member, instead of reprimanding if you try to reason with their situation, the result can be so much better. Being promoted to the role of Executive Housekeeper made me start thinking about the role I play as a manager. I changed my approach towards team members, and this has helped me become more successful in overcoming any situation.

The best part of your job

We are professionals, though we still learn new things every day and in every situation we face. There is always scope to improve on departmental challenges, colleague satisfaction, and improvising the services to make our guests happy. Due to social media, the connection between professional housekeepers and the guest is at their fingertips, which helps you to catch up with the new trends in the industry and compare all possible ways to bring change which can have a positive impact on the guest experience.

The most challenging aspect of your job

Cleanliness plays an important role in hospitality, and I think that housekeeping is the backbone of the hotel Industry. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the importance of cleanliness has skyrocketed and this has challenged all hospitality professionals to cope with the sudden change, which none of us had anticipated. I strongly feel that all housekeeping professionals have managed well until now and this was the success story of the hospitality industry to continuously have decent footfalls despite the restrictions.

Failure in our duties is not an option as the safety and security of the guests in terms of hygiene falls on our shoulders. We always must think outside the box to assure the guests are being taken care of. The reputation of the hotel brand is the responsibility of the housekeeping department professionals who are well trained and equipped to carry out the task at any given point in time.

The highlight during the pandemic period was when we as a hotel received the Diversey Clean and Ready Shield, which is awarded to the facilities who have properly implemented and are committed to upholding the highest levels of hygiene and cleanliness and disinfection in line with WHO and CDC guidance. The program’s unyielding message and promise of safety and wellbeing for the guests and staff of the hotel, has helped The H Dubai

Why is sustainability so important to you?

I feel that if we take care of the environment in turn it will take care of us. It is not only the responsibility of the hospitality sector, but rather everyone should be conscious in their choices to support the environment. The world is currently seeing climatic challenges and to get it under control we need to focus on the green initiatives in every area. For example, 2019 statistics showed that 11 billion plastic bags are used in the UAE annually, which is equivalent to 1184 bags per person per year compared to the global average of 307.

Housekeeping practices you live by

The housekeeping team mainly follows the correct cleaning procedures using correct tools and applications. One should know the maximum output one can get from the team members, which can help you have a proper control on the cleanliness and hygiene of the hotel. We have a deep cleaning schedule in place to make sure that all our internal and external guests are taken care of and it is safe to use the premises. The housekeeper should have an eye for detail and should take regular breaks to ensure they stay fresh and don’t miss the minute details. Here at The H Dubai, we listen to our guests, tenants and most importantly, to the housekeeping staff who have eyes all around the property 24x7.

Cleaning practices at your hotel

All cleaning should be undertaken in the right manner using the right cleaning chemicals. We also need to follow the guidelines set by the chemical company in terms of the contact time to the surface we are cleaning, especially for the common touchpoints in rooms and public areas. The H Hotel has implemented best-in-class cleaning and hygiene solutions with reinforced protocols in collaboration with Diversey .

The latest products (chemicals & equipment) that are in use

There are various companies competing in the market to have their share of chemicals for the hotel industry, however, we use Municipality approved Diversey products to sanitise rooms and public areas. Mainly since the pandemic began, we have started using Oxiver Excel and Oxiver Plus, which has a reaction time less than 30 seconds which follows the best hygiene practices. Due to the restrictions still, at The H Dubai, we emphasize using sensor-based sanitiser dispensers and auto-cut paper dispensers all around the hotel.

Training provided to the cleaning staff

We have weekly on-job training of all housekeeping team members, including our contractual team members. The training topics are chosen based on the observation and feedback received from the supervisors who are on the floor with the team. We also have a concept of self-checking and sometimes we ask the room attendants to work together to gain more knowledge and eye for detail. We have a separate training mentor as well in the department who molds the high potential talent to the next level. Diversey also conducts 2 training sessions per year where they refresh the teams’ understanding on the chemicals used. This is all supervised by the departmental trainer who actively participates and manages the on-job and online training through the Typsy portal.

Challenges you have faced

Every area has its own challenges, but I believe that everything can be managed efficiently with planning and a bit of creativity. One of the main challenges that the housekeeping department generally faces is maintaining the right manning as per the operational demands. So, during busy periods, one of the ways to overcome manning concerns is to get the contractual staff. This requires hiring the right members during the interview process and meticulous training sessions before they go into operations. Once they are on the floor, constant supervision and guidance is extended to ensure that the right standards are met all the time.

The future of the cleaning industry?

The cleaning industry will be a never-ending affair, and, in the future, it will only grow as the world has seen the importance of cleaning and hygiene. Yes, we might have new machines and more advanced chemicals, however, we will still require the personal human touch to the experiences that are offered. The way the hospitality industry is growing around the globe, I believe that a housekeeper’s role is a prime role in the hospitality sector.

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