“Hotelity believes it is important to be a part of the Executive Housekeeper Forum to support the industry and show new developments in products which enhance guests’ experience.”
S Roy, managing director, Hotelity
“The event puts us face-to-face with the end users of our products, which gives us the opportunity to address issues and concerns, if any, first-hand and also provide them with the relevant solutions.”
Bharath Swamy, executive director, Lasmo
“As a major supplier in the Middle East, the Executive Housekeeper Forum is an excellent opportunity for us to meet with all the housekeepers that we supply and also meet new potential customers and introduce them to our product range.”
Robert Dupree, general manager, Pacific Direct
“It is important for suppliers to feel that they are an integral part of the hotel industry in the Middle East. To measure the pulse of the business within hospitality, it is important to maintain contact with housekeeping managers.”
Ken Wharton, regional vice president Middle East & North Africa, and Rachael Towl, regional sales manager — Middle East, Guest Supply
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09.45: PANEL DISCUSSION: Empowering Your Housekeeping Team to Shine
The first panel discussion of the day looked at how executive housekeepers can take charge of their team’s progression and training.
Moderated by Pamini Hemaprabha, Emirates Palace executive housekeeper, regional rooms specialist and master trainer, the housekeepers on stage agreed that in order to help staff achieve their own goals, it is important to first understand what that staff member in question personally wishes to achieve in the short- and long-term.
“Coaching and one-to-one mentoring is very important to develop them and to understand where they should go, and what path is right for them. You need to understand what the person wants in two to three years,” said Lakmal Mawella, executive housekeeper of The Address Hotel Boulevard, and a previous Hotelier Awards winner.
Commenting on Hilton’s practice and procedure, Hilton Dubai The Walk executive housekeeper Kishore Kumar Pemmasani noted: “We have a best practice system called Journey Map. Each person has their own abilities. You need to find where they need to go, and who are the people who need to be involved to help them get there. We have now developed this approach across all departments.”
“I have an open door policy for my staff. Trust is important. We all started as room attendants,” Pemmasani added.
Radisson Blu Residence Dubai Marina room division manager Anushya Paramasivam added that the Radisson Blu offers 30-, 90- and 120-day reviews to staff, designed to ascertain what the employee’s goals are, and then to help encourage the employee to achieve them.
Exposure to bigger hotels with more rooms, she added, presents different day-to-day challenges, which can help develop staff. “Send them on a task force. Interaction with other properties helps them to grow,” she advised.
The housekeepers also agreed that cross training between other departments within the same hotels can be positive.
10.30am: TAKE 10: How to...Prevent & Control Infection
As hoteliers focus on occupancy and earning a strong GOP, a crucial factor to ensure smooth operations is having a healthy and infection-free hotel. A large onus of that lies on the property’s housekeepers. “Today, we are not only cleaning for appearance, but we are also cleaning for health,” said Tajana Ahmed, housekeeping manager — functional specialist housekeeping, Grand Hyatt Dubai.
“We also know that protecting our employees and guests is our number one priority. So, infections in our hotel can seriously damage our reputation and cost us millions of dollars.”
She also said that the likelihood of spreading infections can originate from travellers coming in from all parts of the world, especially Asia, Far East and the Middle East.
“It is our responsibility to provide a safe environment, which includes adequate infection prevention and control procedures. Taking precaution is to have the right tools and equipment. The easiest way to prevent infections is hand washing,” she added.
She also said that bacteria can spread from hand to foot, if failed to be treated effectively. “One precaution for me, is to immediately provide anti-bacterial hand wash to the housekeeping staff, along with the others.”
Ahmed also said that the most important times to wash hands is before preparing food and while in the washroom. “Only 20% people wash hands before preparing food,” she said. “The recommended time to wash hands is 15 seconds, but the optimal time is 30 seconds,” she said.
11.30am: TAKE 10: How to...Improve Sustainable Practices
Radisson Blu Residence Dubai Marina room division manager Anushya Paramasivam suggested that sustainable practices a hotel can follow include the use of bio-degradable guest amenities, replacing tissue paper dispensers with effective high voltage hand dryers, and using recycled notepaper.
She added that waste management audit and training are also key, looking at ways to recycle as well as reduce waste.
On a higher level, Paramasivam suggested hoteliers think about integrating sustainability with loyalty schemes. For example, “if hoteliers wish guests to reduce the number of times they request towels and bed linen to be replaced during their stay, hotels can reward guests who do so with loyalty points”. This, she added, is also about “educating guests”.
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