TECHNOLOGY
very little interest before COVID .”
Grossman thinks this reluctance was largely due to the fact that as opposed to all other services where there is a very visible difference before and after the job , that there is nothing visible in disinfecting . “ Since this pandemic began , we have received some interest in disinfecting , but still very little ,” he adds .
Renue and other providers have been offering cleaning solutions to hotels to address areas and needs like carpets , tile and grout , drapes , furniture , marble / natural stone , concrete and kitchens . “ We have measured our productivity versus in-house staff and can clean at least three to five times as many rooms per day , lowering the labor cost per room and allowing for hotels to utilize them more quickly ,” Grossman says .
The ROI on Renue ’ s cleaning methods is derived from increased guest scores , boosted RevPAR
“ SOME OF THE HIGHER-END PROPERTIES WILL CONTINUE WITH DAILY HOUSEKEEPING . MANY GUESTS PREFER LESS FREQUENT HOUSEKEEPING , SO ASSUMING THIS DESIRE CONTINUES , LESS THAN DAILY SERVICE WILL REMAIN . ONE CAVEAT IS THAT LEISURE GUESTS TEND TO CAUSE GREATER WEAR AND TEAR THAN BUSINESS TRAVELERS .”
– DAVID GROSSMAN
( through both rates and occupancy ) and deferred capital expenditures .
For Heymann at UniFocus , ROI is a two-fold issue . “ The first issue focuses on increasing the productivity of existing staff ,” he says . “ As the industry stands right now , overstaffing is not a concern , so our focus is on maximizing the productivity of our existing staff . The second ROI is the balancing of productivity with guest expectations . Our systems have the ability to survey guest experiences and examine the scores to determine ‘ the right amount of service ’ to ensure that guest experiences and value expectations are being met or exceeded . This , in turn , can lead to repeat guests and returning business .”
PERSISTENT STAFFING CRISIS The biggest challenge in housekeeping is the severe staff shortage and lack of experienced employees . Rooms are often not as clean as they are supposed to be due to the lack of housekeeping staff , which in turn impacts hotel sales . The significant shortage of employees has carried over in 2022 .
Last-minute bookings can prove to be difficult in understaffed properties and it can be challenging for hotels to have staff simultaneously supervise critical ongoing line functions like the front desk and housekeeping . In fact ,
“ ROBOTS FAIL TO DETECT STAINS ON A CARPET , WHEREAS HUMANS CAN , AND ROBOTS ARE UNABLE TO REACH TIGHT CORNERS . ROBOTS ARE ALSO UNABLE TO PROVIDE DETAILER , DEEP CLEANING OF A SURFACE ,”
– ALBERT SLEDGE
78 hotelsmag . com May 2022