The fifth annual Executive Housekeeper Forum will return on May 3, at Grosvenor House Dubai, bringing together executive housekeepers, directors of rooms, and laundry managers from the region. Together they will reflect on how to tackle key operational challenges, meet guest expectations, and drive the efficiency of their teams.
Helping Hotelier Middle East set the agenda were experts in their field: Emirates Palace executive housekeeper and Kempinski rooms division specialist for IMEA and master trainer Pamini Hemaprabha; Grand Hyatt Dubai housekeeping manager — functional specialist housekeeping Tatjana Ahmed; The Address Boulevard Dubai executive housekeeper Lakmal Mawella; Radisson Blu Residence Dubai Marina room division manager Anushya Paramasivam; and Grand Hyatt Doha executive housekeeper Marjona Aslitdinova.
One of the first topics to come to light was about hotel refurbishment and the role housekeepers play in the region.
Aslitdinova said it would be important to discuss how housekeepers can push for refurbs in the region. “In the end, they will ask us about the condition of the room,” she said, with Ahmed agreeing with her. Hemaprabha pointed out that in such cases it was important to get different perspectives in such a debate, which would include not just housekeepers but from purchasing, engineering and even general managers.
Aslitdinova added: “The condition of your hotel is related to the average daily rate. The competition these days is very high so you have brand new hotels in awesome condition and they are able to sell at a higher rate. But when your hotel is very old, you need to compete, so in the long-run you’re losing rather than gaining [when you don’t refurbish in time].” Mawella agreed with her, adding that the state of rooms “affects guest satisfaction”.
From a housekeeping HR and training perspective, the housekeepers in the advisory panel believed there’s a lot to be discussed. One element was related to international rules and regulations around housekeeping. Hemaprabha said that it would important to talk about different rules and regulations in countries in the Middle East, the Indian sub-continent and beyond, especially as hoteliers do tend to move around the globe.
Paramasivam added that internationally, housekeepers don’t necessarily have the same experience as they would in the Middle East, and so it would be important to discuss.
There’s also the training element when it comes to safety and standard implementation. Paramasivam said: “It depends on which brand you work for. For Radisson, safety and standards are very important — we have to be Safehotels-certified, but it may not be the same for any other brand.” Ahmed agreed and added: “It filters down from the hotel company itself.” Paramasivam continued: “Every brand is so different in following standards and practices. As a community, there should be same standards and guidelines.”
The housekeepers then discussed the need for environmental & health safety officers, and how they play a role in the overall safety of the hotel.
Hemaprabha shared what she considered a win for the profession when it came to involving housekeepers in safety meetings. “Housekeeping was never invited for safety walks around the hotel; lately we’ve been invited for a bi-weekly walk-around and the engineering department is now saying that housekeeping plays a vital role [in this].”
Mawella pointed out that in-house housekeeping departments are probably one of the most highly trained teams within any hotel anywhere, and that’s when the issue of casual labour popped up — as it has over the last few years. Hemaprabha, who was a vocal debater on the topic last year, reiterated: “Casual labour is only doing harm to the industry.”
Ahmed said it would be helpful if the local authorities could first get involved with testing casual labour, and then “if they are qualified, they can be put to work”. Aslitdinova pointed out that this process is common practice in Europe where, if someone is not certified, it is not possible to work as a waiter or housekeeper, for example.
ESSENTIAL INFORMATION:
Where: Grosvenor House Dubai
When: May 3, 2017
For speaking opportunities: louby.maktari@itp.com
To attend: michael.mcgill@itp.com
For sponsorship opportunities: stephen.price@itp.com
Website: http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/conferences/housekeepers
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