Hotelier Awards 2017 shortlist: Housekeeper of the Year

Hotelier Middle East is pleased to reveal the eight finalists in the Housekeeper of the Year category for the 2017 edition of the Hotelier Middle East Awards.

This year, for the first time, we have eight finalists instead of six - to highlight the high quality of entries received.

If you'd like to meet last year's winners of all categories, click here to find out more...

Click through to find out who has been shortlisted this year... and take a look at last year's event in the video below!

Amartya Chakraborty, cluster executive housekeeper, Ramada Downtown Dubai and Hawthorn Suites by Wyndham Dubai

Amartya Chakraborty increased efficiency in manning through a more careful evaluation of team performance and merit-based increments and/or promotions. He also took on the responsibility of minibars, and successfully implemented the hotel’s launch of non-alcoholic mini bars for guests. His planning and strategy also resulted in a reduction of departmental expenses through negotiations with the suppliers without affecting brand standards. Chakraborty has also helped improve guest satisfaction scores relevant to cleanliness and room condition, and the numbers prove his success.

Chandra Illanperuma, director of housekeeping, Palazzo Versace Dubai

Chandra Illanperuma was appointed to his current role in January 2015. He was responsible of initial cleaning & snagging of rooms and public spaces, setting up and organising storage spaces, appointing various third-party service providers, setting up all housekeeping standards for the hotel, residences, laundry & uniforms, public spaces and decorations, and ordering and distributing various room amenities. He was also instrumental in the recruitment and training of the high performing housekeeping team, which has helped the hotel receive positive guest feedback related to cleanliness and orderliness of the hotel. Over the last few months, his efforts have also helped the hotel in cost saving on the property. Over the last two years, Illanperuma has developed and helped in the promotion of 19 colleagues.

Deepu Kundra, executive housekeeper, Fairmont Ajman

Deepu Kundra joined Fairmont Ajman in 2015 as a member of the pre-opening team. Currently he is leading a department of more than 70 members from 12 different nationalities, and his team is responsible for housekeeping of 252 rooms and suites, eight bars and restaurants, nine meeting and event venues, and more. He has achieved top performance results among all the Fairmont Hotels in the MENA region, and through his work raised revenue of the hotel by initiating innovative concepts, saving in-room expenses and maintain lower CPOR (Cost Per Occupied Room) rate. He also successfully initiated colleagues’ development plan for the housekeeping team to develop further in their career path. He also ensured a high involvement and motivation of the entire housekeeping team in the past year.

Hari Sudhakar, executive housekeeper, Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort

Hari Suhakar joined Le Meridien Al Aqah Beach Resort in 2004 as accommodation manager and within three years was promoted to assistant executive housekeeping manager. When the management took over Al Maha, A Luxury Collection Desert Resort & Spa, he stepped in to lead the housekeeping team. Sudhakar has successfully worked on the team housing programme, and formed the Fujairah Housekeeper Forum where executive housekeepers can come and share ideas, trends and best practices to help each other excel. 

Kishore Kumar Pemmasani, cluster executive housekeeper, Hilton Dubai The Walk

After joining Hilton Dubai The Walk in January 2011, Kishore Kumar Pemmasani is now the cluster executive housekeeper for Hilton Dubai the Walk. He has established a strong cleaning strategy and also played a key role in securing long-term business volume from long-term guests. His savings through various initiatives such as operational excellence, best practices, and maximising resouces in laundry has helped the property. This doesn't even include his achievement of increasing customer satisfaction with housekeeping compared to the previous year, along with a very low turnover.

Michele Millot, executive housekeeper, Jumeirah Beach Hotel

In 2014, Michele Millot joined Jumeirah Beach Hotel. Millot has supported small local businesses into the property as part of the hotel turndown to enhance the experience for the hotel guests. She has also improved room attendant quality work experience by introducing a customised motorized trolley - which is claimed to the a first for Dubai. As a family resort, Jumeirah Beach Hotel has an average of 400 child guests daily and so Millot came up with a special turndown programme dedicated for kids without compromising budget and providing interaction between the parents and children.

Winston Chedalada, executive housekeeper, Al Maha Arjaan by Rotana

Winston Chedalada joined Al Maha Arjaan by Rotana in February 2012 after completing his role in assisting the pre-opening team at Erbil Rotana in Iraq. During the recent renovation project at Al Maha Arjaan by Rotana, Chedalada played an instrumental role in giving the hotel a new face. He ensured he enforced quality, service standards and procedures for the refurbished product offering. He also reduced cost of amenities per room without compromising on brand policy and quality. In addition, he has empowered his staff and promoted three of them since the start of this year. Chedalada started his career in hospitality in 1976 with Bahrain Hilton.

Yahya Al Bawardi, executive housekeeper, InterContinental Riyadh

Saudi national Yahya Al Bawardi started his hospitality career as a receptionist/cashier in the front office department in 2010. He then joined the IHG Future Leaders programme, and after years of hard work, in April 2016, he was appointed acting executive housekeeper.In January 2017, he was promoted to executive housekeeper. His work resulted in an improvement in brand standard audit scores after taking charge, and passed the E-Crystal Hygiene Audit twice since January 2017. His interaction with his team gained him a 100% score in the employee engagement survey conducted by Aon. Al Bawardi is claimed to the first Saudi executive housekeeper in the Kingdom.