Housekeeping
Helps you bring more business to your hotel

Cleanliness is Next to...Profitability
Guests want clean rooms. It's that simple.

If a hotel does not look, feel and smell clean, you'll have a hard time bringing guests back for repeat stays or getting any referral business. The proof can be found in the results of our Guest Insight System (GIS) surveys, which found the most important driver of guest recommendations is the overall condition of guest rooms.

Not coincidentally, this also correlates to room rates. Hotels that earned high marks for "Likelihood to Recommend" on the GIS surveys also had RevPAR yields that were over 20 percent higher than hotels that scored at the bottom of the GIS surveys, according to a comprehensive 2005 analysis of 2,500 properties.

Perhaps the single most important component of overall room condition is cleanliness. Three items in particular seem to make big impressions on guests - carpet stains, mold and mildew, and room odor. If you can eliminate or prevent these issues, guests generally perceive their rooms to be clean. If these issues aren't addressed, you'll more than likely have problems.

To help you solve some of these issues, we asked housekeeping expert Scott Croft, director of corporate account training at Ecolab&v=cb">Ecolab, Inc., for his advice. Here are his recommendations.

CARPETS

Carpet stains should be cleaned daily for easier removal and to help ensure guest satisfaction. Leaving a stain untreated for just 24 hours can have a negative impact on guest perception. Remove solids with a spoon or putty knife. Blot up liquids with white terry rags or paper towels, working from the outside of the stain towards the center.

An effective technique for stain removal is to apply a multi-purpose spotter to the stained area. Apply just enough to moisten the area and let it sit for a minute or two. Then blot up the soil and spotter with a white towel using the same technique mentioned above. For set or tough stains, you may need to work the spotter toward the center of the stain with a tamping brush or putty knife. Then place a white terry rag over the stain and apply a steam iron at the medium steam setting. Use the iron for no more than 45 seconds. Repeat the entire process until the stain is gone.

BATHROOMS

In the bathroom, the biggest problem is usually mold and mildew. Let's be honest; it can be very disturbing for a guest to see mold or mildew on the bathroom floor, on a shower curtain, in a tub, or around a sink. Mold and mildew thrive in warm, humid areas, which make bathrooms particularly vulnerable to these problems.

A highly effective way to combat mold and mildew is to apply Ecolab's Oasis 297 or Oasis 499. These products kill mold and mildew. You can use a brush to apply these products on hard-to-reach grout lines. GelPro 50 is also ideal for spot-cleaning small stained areas in tubs and shower stalls. To prevent outbreaks on shower curtains, housekeepers should shake water off the curtains and pull the curtains out of the tub to dry. Many curtains can also be laundered periodically using oxygen bleach, but check the manufacturer's label for recommended cleaning.

If your staff has done everything possible to prevent mold and mildew on shower curtains, but stains still appear, try laundering the curtains with Stain Blaster. Stain Blaster Power Pak 1 is designed for white shower curtains. Stain Blaster Power Pak 2 is better suited for beige shower curtains because it is unlikely to cause fading.

ROOM ODORS

Of course, it's not just visual issues such as stains that can affect guest perceptions. Room odor is another major factor. Odors may have many causes. Smoking is the most obvious. Other causes include spills, perspiration, dirty linens, and more. The first step in getting rid of a persistent odor is to find the source, if possible, and remove it; then clean all surfaces, including lamp shades, draperies, air conditioning units, furniture, bathroom fixtures, carpets, walls, and ceilings. Ecolab's Oasis 137 is great for walls and ceilings.

GUEST IMPACT

One study of mid-scale and economy hotel guests found that room cleanliness was the most important attribute among 240 attributes measured. Cleanliness is one of the surest ways that owners can achieve the best results from their properties. It's easy to forget about the importance of routine cleaning when toilets get clogged, door locks won't open, or you're dealing with many other crises.

However, not only is cleanliness likely to result in higher guest satisfaction, higher RevPAR, and more guest recommendations, it can extend the life of carpets, air conditioners, and upholstery by many years. That can translate into hundreds of thousands of dollars in savings per property. By making cleanliness a top priority, you will be maximizing the satisfaction of your guests and saving money.

The bottom line is that cleanliness can help improve your bottom line!