Using technology in hotel housekeeping

Of a hospitality manager’s many responsibilities, hotel housekeeping is one of the biggest. Guests want to feel welcome and secure when they choose to stay somewhere, and that’s much more likely when your premises are clean. There have been several changes in the hospitality industry’s approach to cleaning, like making their operations more sustainable, and generally more efficient.

Hospitality technology is driving these innovations. Hotel housekeeping software and new equipment helps cleaners do more with the resources they have. Hotel cleaning tech introduces new processes and optimizes existing ones.

1. What is hotel housekeeping?

2. Hotel housekeeping equipment

2.1. Housekeeping robots

2.2. Air purifiers

2.3. Green cleaning products

2.4. Laundry machines

3. Hotel housekeeping processes

3.1. Prioritize tasks

3.2. Room scheduling

3.3. Custom checklists

3.4. Employee training

What is hotel housekeeping

Hotel housekeeping is the department in a hotel responsible for hospitality cleaning and maintenance, which includes guest rooms, public areas, lobbies, and staff areas. Cleaning these areas means wiping down surfaces, vacuuming floors, removing hazards, and eliminating any health risks.

Housekeeping staff need to pay particular attention to guest rooms, because the state of their room is the first impression they will have of your hotel. Thus, diligent hospitality cleaning practices form the backbone of the hospitality experience.

Hotel cleaning staff also need to stay aware of the latest trends in hospitality. Hotels and other accommodations are a large industry and there is always room to set yourself apart from competitors. Innovations in hospitality cleaning tech can be separated into two general categories: new equipment and new processes

Hotel housekeeping equipment

Newer technology is making hotel room cleaning and upkeep faster and more thorough. It’s also easing the amount of work for your staff, which is important given that hotels are consistently understaffed.

Housekeeping robots

Cleaning robots are invaluable hotel housekeeping partners. They clean faster than people do, and they also provide hospitality managers with valuable property data.

More hospitality businesses have been using robotic vacuum cleaners in their hotels. These devices are useful for cleaning multiple types of surfaces, including carpets. And since robot cleaners are smart technology, they can collect and transmit data so hospitality managers can refine their cleaning protocols.

Air purifiers

Hotel air quality is important, especially when businesses use chemical-based cleaning products. This and especially the COVID-19 pandemic motivated hotels to invest in air purifiers so they can keep guests healthy.

There are a lot of different air purifiers on the market, so it’s worth doing a little research into your options. HEPA air purifiers are a great option, because they remove over 99 percent of pollutants from the air around them.

Green cleaning products

A notable change in hotel cleaning is that businesses have started using more sustainable, naturally-derived cleaning products instead of standard industrial cleaners. In addition to creating less pollution, eco-friendly cleaning tech is often more effective.

For example, one cleaner derived from electrolyzed water by activating the ions in salt and used as a disinfectant works 100 times better than bleach.

Laundry machines

With bedding, towels, pillows, and more that need to be washed regularly, laundry is both an essential and an expensive part of hotel housekeeping. That’s why it’s important to look for cost and energy-efficient ways to handle the high volume of laundry.

Modern washing machines save water and time over hand-washing fabrics. You’ll also wind up using fewer chemicals and detergents when you do laundry in bulk. That saves more money on your hotel cleaning.

Hotel housekeeping processes

Hotel cleaning tech can be used to optimize management processes in your hospitality business, and improve the way your staff collaborates. There is plenty of hotel cleaning software that can help you manage teams and priorities more effectively.

Prioritize tasks

An important function of hotel cleaning technology is prioritizing employee tasks. You can sort through everything that needs cleaning and identify the most important items. Then, you can construct schedules more mindfully.

Room scheduling

You can save a lot of admin time by automating room scheduling. Hotel housekeeping software makes it easy for you to assign and reassign rooms for your staff to clean. The software also improves the way you approach room assignments by factoring in guest arrival times.

Custom checklists

Digital checklists make it easy to organize your cleaning processes. By requiring that your employees use checklists when they’re working, you can ensure that proper cleaning and safety standards are followed.

Digital checklists are also a time-saving tool. Your staff can simply download one wherever they are, and receive real-time updates when new tasks are added.

Employee training

The hospitality industry has high turnover, which means you will often find yourself with new staff to onboard. Training new employees constantly is both expensive and time-consuming, so using hotel software to develop a consistent training method is useful.

You can use checklists to provide employees with digital training materials, and to onboard them more easily. Having detailed protocols to share with employees saves you time and makes your staff more efficient.

You can improve your hotel housekeeping practices easily with Lumiform. Lumiform lets you download, create, and distribute checklists in seconds. It’s a simple way to ensure your employees are aware of their tasks.