Housekeeping
Best practices, trends and news in the housekeeping procedures and practices at hotels and resorts.
Best Western Is Latest to Partner with Soap Recycler
Best Western International has partnered with Clean the World to recycle hotel soap and bottled amenities and provide poor folks around the world with hygiene care. Clean the World is a non-profit that collects used soap products from hotels, remanufactures them and distributes them to U.S. and Canadian homeless shelters as well as missions in 45 countries. ...
Increasing Efficiency in Hotel Laundries
A hotel’s laundry room may not be thought of as the most advanced, efficient operation within the building—but why not? Laundry managers have more options today to improve this necessary function of a hotel....
Melchiorri Brings Lodging to TV with “Hotel Impossible”
Anthony Melchiorri isn’t a TV personality doing a hotel show. He’s a hotel guy doing a TV show. His resume and approach on camera make that clear from the first episode of “Hotel Impossible,” a new original weekly one-hour series premiering Monday, April 9 at 10 p.m. on the Travel Channel....
The Time Has Come for Amenity Dispensers
One of my favorite authors is Malcolm Gladwell, who among other books wrote The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. As Malcolm adeptly put it, the “tipping point” is that magical moment when an idea, trend or social behavior crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire. Another definition of tipping point is “the point at which the buildup of minor incidents reaches a level that causes most to do something they had formerly resisted.” ...
Controlling Costs & Liabilities Related to Housekeeper Injuries
Hotels continue to deliver increasingly higher levels of luxury for their guests, including now providing luxurious guestroom beds that have more than doubled in weight and thickness in just the last 10 years. Unfortunately the increase in weight has led to a dramatic increase in housekeeper injuries and associated ...
The Dangers of Third-hand Smoke in Hotels
Most of us have heard the term “second-hand smoke.” This is the smoke that comes from the end of a lighted cigarette or is exhaled by a smoker. It’s airborne and noticeable because it has a distinct odor. Some studies indicate that frequent inhaling of second-hand smoke can be as dangerous—if not more so—to the nonsmoker as it is to people who do smoke. Now a new term has emerged: “third-hand smoke.” ...
Training Academy Key to Wequassett’s Success
The Wequassett Academy, the training program of Wequassett Resort & Golf Club on Cape Cod, is so successful the founders just may spin it off as a separate business. If that happens, the 77 (and counting) hospitality classes would be available to hoteliers outside the property....
Extending the Longevity of Your Costly Carpet
Here’s an investment that is almost too good to be true: spend $1 per year to reduce periodic capital expenditures that are at least $25. At the same time the guest experience will greatly improve!...
The Service Companies Focuses on Lodging
The Service Companies is cleaning up lodging across the country. The Florida-based company is a one-stop outsourcing shop for all cleaning personnel, from housekeeping and window washing to third-shift public area cleaning and chandelier polishing. Their services help properties reduce costs and improve productivity by outsourcing some or all cleaning functions....
Homewood Suites Boosts Housekeepers, Engineers
In the modern world of hotelkeeping, the most important managers at the majority of properties are the executive housekeeper and chief engineer. As the executive committee at many hotels shrinks, housekeepers and engineers must take on additional responsibilities and, more importantly, assume key leadership roles in their hotels, management and ownership companies and even brand companies....
Housekeeper Safety in the Spotlight
Joe McInerney says he can count on one hand the times he’s heard of an assault against a housekeeper. But, says the president of the American Hotel & Lodging Association who’s worked in the industry for 50 years, two of those have come in the last two months....
Behind the Scenes June 15, 2011
Operational insight to help keep your property running at full speed...
Defenses Against Bed Bugs and Lawsuits
Running any hotel has more than its share of potential lawsuits that can emerge for any number of reasons, whether a guest falling on a wet floor, employees suing for union-related issues, and sometimes, plaintiff claims that defy the imagination. Surprisingly, in today’s environment, one of the most critical legal developments is the onslaught of bed bug infestations and the havoc ...
Why It Pays for Hotels to Be Pet Friendly
When Philip and Cherie Crouch traveled, the couple wanted to take their chows with them, but it wasn’t easy to find a place to stay. Today, Phil and Cherie are general manager and assistant general manager, respectively, of two hotels in Needles, CA, the Best Western Colorado River Inn and Rio del Sol Inn. They’ve made hos-PET-ality part of their daily business. ...
