'This Week'...Housekeeping Edition

Greetings!     

 I hope everyone had a great weekend!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK!

SOME HOUSEKEEPING CELEBRATION!

As many may know, this is International Housekeeping Week and this whole edition is dedicated to the amazing, hard-working, and dedicated Housekeeping Associates.

It is being celebrated from Sept 13-19th and is an incredible opportunity to recognize some of our hardest working associates in the hotel. This year, more than ever it's important to have some upbeat. positive, celebration and recognition. Invite some of the furloughed associates and bring them back, reinforce your culture.

Some things to consider perhaps - do you have events planned for the week? Even with limited funds and resources right now, you can still low-cost/free fun. Maybe do something (or multiple somethings) each day of the week –

Whether it’s lunches, snacks, or omelets cooked by the GM.

Or contests – bed making contests, toilet paper mummy wrapping contests, vacuum contests

Or giveaways, thank you’s, recognitions (tradeouts with local businesses or restaurants or vendors are always helpful too)

Or…even all of the above and more!

Take the time with your teams to script out the events for the week with the team. If you need help, there are some ideas below, as well as a link for the most common site where you can order some great recognition gifts from.

I would love to hear about some of your ideas and schedules, feel free to share!

SOME PERSPECTIVE!

The pandemic has changed how our businesses operate and do business. And certainly one of the most affected areas is that of the Housekeeping department. In many cases, hotels are doing away with any Housekeeping service during a stay, and are only offering upon checkout. That means many of our guests may not even see a housekeeper at all during their stay.

All the brands have come out with their various cleaning programs to provide a sense of safety and security for the guests. How we adapt to that, deliver it, and still provide high levels of customer service is key. A fully clean and sanitary facility is now just the "basic cost of doing business" and if there aren't protocols and procedures n place, it's to the detriment of the enterprise.

But, we must always remember, there is a travel and hospitality industry beyond the timeline of Covid. Guests will remember how we treated them now and what we did for them when travel comes back more significantly.

Take a look a the article below that points to the fact that amenities aren't as important right now compared to cleanliness and service.

SOME LEARNING!

Akin to International Housekeeping Week, please see this article about showing recognition to our Housekeeping team. They are typically the “heartbeat” of our hotels and it’s important to ensure there is stability and a great environment for the team. Enjoy!

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 Someone is always celebrating something…

 Today is:

Grandparents Day

International Chocolate Day

Scooby Doo Day

National Cream Filled Donut Day

Batman Day

This Week is:

Balance Awareness Week

International Housekeepers Week

Line Dancing Week

This Month is:

International Square Dance Month

National Mold Awareness Month  

Have a great week everyone!!

 Regards,

 Mike Harrison