Guest satisfaction, career development and implementation of new technology were the top talking points at this year’s Hotelier Middle East Executive Housekeeper Forum, which attracted more than 160 passionate professionals
On April 30 more than 160 housekeeping and laundry professionals from hotels across the Middle East gathered at Grosvenor House, Dubai to attend the second edition of the Hotelier Middle East Executive Housekeeper Forum, supported by platinum sponsors Intercoil and Restonic along with 17 other supplier companies.
The delegates, comprising executive housekeepers, directors of rooms and laundry managers, took part in a series of panel discussions and workshops which addressed key operational issues from meeting guest expectations and driving efficiency among teams to technology and trends in modern housekeeping.
| Advertisement |
Challenges particular to the housekeeping field were also discussed, such as how best to boost staff morale and encourage development in a department with few routes for progression.
The first panel discussion entitled ‘Meeting the Needs of the Connected Customer – Ensuring Guest Satisfaction’, was moderated by Pamini Hemaprabha, executive housekeeper at Kempinski Hotel, Mall of the Emirates. Hemaprabha was joined on stage by panellists Tatjana Ahmed, housekeeping manager at Grand Hyatt Dubai, Laetitia Lasry, executive housekeeper at The Palace Downtown Dubai, and Kathleen Knight, executive housekeeper at The Regency in Kuwait.
The panel discussed how housekeeping as a department can ensure increased guest satisfaction, loyalty and positive reviews. During the debate, the housekeepers agreed that free gifts are not generally a solution for dealing with guests complaints.
Ahmed commented that offering gifts should only be a finishing touch to resolving the complaint. She said: “In some cases it’s okay to offer a box of chocolates or a bottle of wine, but I would not say that as a practice we give out gifts.”
Lasry agreed, saying that giveaways are more “a marketing thing”. The Palace Downtown Dubai executive housekeeper commented: “If the shower isn’t working properly, the guest doesn’t need a bottle of wine. You make the guest happy by fixing the problem, and then give an extra gift if you want to as a souvenir but not as compensation.”
Knight argued that some guests expect a free gift in the event of a complaint as standard practice. She said: “I think there are some guests who may want something free and some are very good at that by complaining about a lot of things such as the room not being cleaned.”
Hemaprabha closed the discussion commenting: “Gifts don’t make up for service; most guests value the service more than the gifts.”
Room for Growth
The next discussion ‘Room for Growth – Careers in Housekeeping’ tackled a key issue for staff in housekeeping departments; that of how best to support housekeeping staff in developing their careers when opportunities for promotion are rare.
Led by Nadine O’Connor, housekeeping manager at Jumeirah Creekside Hotel, panellists said that nurturing skills, spotting potential and exploring routes for progression across departments and hotel groups was key to supporting staff growth.
O’Connor was joined on stage by Prabhat Shukla, executive housekeeper at the InterContinental Doha the City & Residence Suites, Pamini Hemaprabha, executive housekeeper at Kempinski Hotel, Mall of the Emirates and Sangeetha Bahrat, housekeeping manager at Park Hyatt Abu Dhabi hotel and Villas.
Hemaprahba highlighted that “everybody is very restless” in housekeeping departments and if they are not offered fast progression they move on quickly.
She suggested that one option hotels within large chains is to support ambitious housekeeping staff through a joint effort. She commented: “At Kempinski we actually nurture people and allow them to grow. We look at sister hotels and see where they can move. We try to give them their first choice.”
She warned, however, that a crucial factor to achieving success for housekeeping staff looking to move upward is being “mobile”.
“We also give them positions elsewhere and where they can go – the social life might not be great but that’s a decision they have to make. We try to educate our team on the real definition of challenging – if you want to grow up then you have to be mobile. If you are mobile then we have options for you,” she said.
According to Bharat, keeping staff interested when there is no step to move up into is about “keeping them occupied”. Bharat said: “I give them challenges while they wait for an opportunity in the future; I just need to keep them informed about it.”
Bharat added that often housekeepers can use transferable skills to move into a more senior role in another department. She commented: “They might have challenges in [housekeeping] that they would also have working in F&B, but F&B might bring out the best in them.”
Article continues on next page ...
web.jpg)
Search our database of more than 2,700 industry companies
