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Why is cleaning important in hotels? We are all more wary than ever about cleaning standards wherever we go since the discovery of Covid-19, and hotels are clearly no exceptions.
Regular guest changes, different people using showers and beds every day and paying a premium to stay all add to the guest experience.
Here are some truths about housekeepers in hotels which you may, or may not be aware of.
Hotels have different housekeeping policies, but most maids are allotted 20 to 35 minutes to clean each standard room and up to an hour for a suite. Depending on the hotel, housekeepers may be assigned a list of rooms to clean or choose rooms to meet their daily quota, which typically ranges from 10 to 16 rooms dependant on the size of the hotel. Cleaning important in hotels? Let the staff have the time to clean properly then!
Although most hotels forbid housekeepers from sleeping or using the toilet in guest hotel rooms, some people inevitably break the rules. Exhausted staff who have more time than usual to clean a large suite may secretly catch a few minutes of shut-eye in a guest’s bed. “Something else we do sometimes is that we use the toilets in the guest’s bathroom, but only if we are super busy and don’t have enough time to go to the staff toilets,” a former housekeeper in Hampshire who didn't wish to be identified says. “It is something we are not supposed to do, but many do it anyway.”
Horror stories abound among housekeepers are inevitable. Most have seen (or have coworkers who have seen) drugs, blood, vomit, sexually explicit materials, fecal matter, and even sadly found dead bodies. Despite there being strict regulations around the removal of hazardous waste, many hotels still make their staff clean up the bodily fluids and excrement that remain in a room without extra protective equipment. Although housekeepers are usually given extra time to deal with this type of extreme mess, it's never a pleasant part of the job.
Besides feeling pressure from their supervisors to clean rooms quickly and keep on a tight schedule, some hotel housekeeping staff also vie with their coworkers. “The more senior [housekeeping] staff can sometimes make it stressful. They fight for the more expensive rooms or suites because better items are left behind for the taking if nobody claims them, as many hotels allow us to keep items found if not collected within 90 days” one housekeeper reveals. “They also fight to take the better trolleys, leaving myself and others with old ones that don’t have the right products or supplies, meaning a lot more running around.”
Although you’ve probably heard warnings about cups not being thoroughly cleaned and bacteria teeming on your hotel room remote control, hotel staff reveal that there’s another item in your room that's rarely cleaned as well as it should be. “Not using the cups is my number one rule that I tell everyone,” one anonymous housekeeper reveals. “I’ve definitely seen [other housekeeping staff] polishing glasses with the same cloth they just used to dust the room. I’ve never seen the toilet brush used but knowing some of the people I work with, it wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest.”
Don't let us put you off though - most hotels have extremely high levels of cleanliness. Did we mention that Green Fox Cleaning also offer support to hotels? Learn more at this link.
Why is cleaning important in hotels? Hopefully now you have a slightly better understanding of this subject.
