Evangelista: Not at first, but as I continued to work in this field I realised that housekeeping in a hotel was much more complex than I previously thought and I also started to like doing it. So I stuck with it and eventually rose to my position now.
What are the main challenges that your department has to face?
Jayawardena: The most challenging work within my department is to get the staff trained with an eye for minute detail. As the rooms should be en par (or even better) with any world class hotel, our staff need to ensure that the rooms are consistently done in accordance with the set standards.
Ramzan: One of the challenges we face is to ensure that each and every guest enjoys a guestroom experience similar or better to that which they have in their living room at home - in another words, providing the ‘home away from home'. We need them to feel special and belong to the hotel.
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Khatri: Staff turnover! This is a big challenge all across Dubai, especially in light of all the new hotel openings.
We are lucky at Hilton Dubai Jumeirah, as a large proportion of our team has been here since the opening in 2000. We are like a big family and support each other in both our working and personal lives.
Evangelista: As in any other department, one of the challenges for housekeeping is effective communication, as well as managing priorities and demands. I direct and control the housekeeping operations and all the staff of the department, as well as coordinating the daily duties of housekeeping, recreation and laundry staff to ensure standards are met. Another of my responsibilities is to respond to guest requests, look after purchasing and inventory control, track maintenanceand handle hiring for the department. The challenge comes when deciding which of these to give priority and then efficiently communicating that to the staff.
Another challenge is continuing to search for cleaning products that are more effective, safe for the staff and environmentally-friendly.
Which areas of the hotel are most difficult to clean and why?
Jayawardena: I think it's the guest room bathrooms, as you need to place a great emphasis on hygiene and [creating a] sterile environment while maintaining the plush outlook.
Khatri: Outdoor areas, because of the dust from all the building work in the city as well as the sand when it is a windy day!
Ventura: The guest rooms, as our mission is to create an unforgettable stay for every guest by catering to different preferences and requirements.
Evangelista: In my experience, the back areas are the most difficult to maintain in terms of cleanliness. It is being used by the hotel staff 24 hours a day. The receiving area is also difficult to clean, because traffic there is usually heavy during delivery of hotel supplies.
Chandran: All areas of the hotel have their own unique characteristics and challenges. Organising periodic cleaning such as shampooing guest corridor carpets requires a great deal of planning and coordination with front desk. In such a busy operation as ours as we have to close floors down for a couple of days to enable us to do the work without disturbing guests.
Have you had any unusual experiences when cleaning rooms, or do you have any horror stories about particularly messy guests?
Jayawardena: Yes - once there was a couple who walked in and insisted a deluxe room, but at that time we did not had any so we provided a superior room. From that moment they started complaining without any logical reason.
At the end of their two night stay, they wanted to check out very fast and carried their own bags to the reception. We noticed their bags looked bigger than before, and at this point a room boy reported to me the miniature bottles of Bacardi in the mini-bar had been opened. Upon investigation the bottles were filled up with tap water. Another room boy ran up and said that the pillows and bath robes in the room are missing.
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