WHY THE FUTURE OF HOUSEKEEPING WILL REVOLVE AROUND MOBILE
BY MARK ELLIS OF WELCOME SYSTEMS LTD
In a world full of technological breakthroughs and advancements that we often take for granted , there are still certain moments when you realise just how far we ’ ve come .
For example , a few nights ago , I spotted a particularly bright star in the sky . Curious , I reached for my smartphone , tapped a couple of times on the screen and pointed it upwards . Normal behaviour in 2017 , clearly ; I thought nothing of it .
The star , as I found out , was in fact Venus . I knew this , because my smartphone had given me an augmented view of the night sky , turning it into a virtual map of the stars and planets . I could move the device around and instantly see a textbook view of the universe .
I momentarily realised what I was doing - and it took my breath away . As it should .
Similarly , if you ’ re a Facebook user , you may have spotted the recent addition of an innocuous-looking ‘ Live ’ button that resides at the top-left of the smartphone app . Press it , and you can instantly start streaming live video to your friends and followers . Just a few short years ago , such a feat would have required a satellite truck outside your house and a remortgage to fund the broadcast .
Not any more . We can do incredibly powerful things with devices that reside in our pockets and which were once nothing more than portable telephones .
In hospitality , tech continues to advance at an equally impressive rate . Guests chart a seismically different booking journey that relies on crowd-sourced reviews , realtime social media updates and mobilised reservations and independent hoteliers can capture their attention by using management tools that were once the domain of large chains .
But where does this leave the housekeeping team ? Can one of the most traditional elements of hospitality management benefit from these significant advances in technology ?
Absolutely . In fact , above all departments within a hotel , I think housekeeping staff are perhaps best placed to latch onto the mobile revolution . It ’ ll just require a slight change in mindset .
There have long been interfaces between PMS and telephone systems that enable housekeepers to dial codes on the handset that confirm rooms as being clean . That ’ s all well and good , but in a world where you can point your smartphone at the night ’ s sky and find out which stars reside above your head , we need something a little more … advanced .
The future of housekeeping management lies in the ability for tech companies and the hotels themselves to embrace mobile . And what better tool do such staff have to hand when going about their daily business than their smartphone ?
The ability to confirm rooms as clean from a PMS-connected app and communicate with members of their team while having an ever-present list of duties on which to call , all from a device that resides in the palm of their hands , will transform this vital element of hospitality .
How far are we away from such tools being available ? Not far at all , thankfully , but the trick lies in something I alluded to a little earlier ; this kind of tech needs to be made accessible to all , not just those with massive budgets .
Just as Facebook has made live video streaming available to all for free , hospitality software companies need to build solutions for housekeepers that don ’ t require days of training and which are affordable for even the smallest of operators .
Everyone should have the chance to benefit from technology that makes a real difference in the hotel industry . I ’ ve noted just a few examples of what could be done for housekeepers in this article , but the night sky really is the limit .
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20 Housekeeping management