As journalists covering the hotel industry, we often try to spot the next big trend or often-discussed topic. For a while, that’s been labor, a topic that has so many avenues and nuances worthy of discussion and sharing solutions.
My opinion is that the next wave of conversation—and labor is a big part of it—will be housekeeping.
We’re on the cusp of a real change in how hotels approach housekeeping, driven by guest preferences, labor costs and technology, not to mention safety and security.
Just consider all those ingredients: Labor costs are high and growing, and the wage wars are on. Depending on where you operate your hotel, the people you hire as housekeepers likely can earn a better wage at Walmart or Starbucks, where they may not need to worry so much about injury or potential safety concerns.
And it’s not just wages and available labor influencing the total cost of housekeeping for a hotel—it’s linens and linen par levels and time spent going back and forth to the laundry for more linens.
Given all those factors, technology becomes a very tempting way to try to solve housekeeping issues. Now we have integrated scheduling programs, real-time communications programs, UV wands, and better-designed and eco-friendly products that cut down on injury.
Lots of companies are experimenting with and talking about cleaning robots, whether those are bot vacuums for the floors, or RLH Corporation’s AI-enabled bot that can scrub a toilet, which is in pilot testing this year, according to the company.
Another factor to add to the mix: guest preferences. At least according to informal polls around the Hotel News Now office, most of us would choose to refuse housekeeping entirely, especially if the option exists to earn bonus loyalty points by making that refusal. Many travelers today don’t want to have to be out of their rooms during certain hours; they want to build up points; they don’t want their towels changed every five minutes.
However—yes, there’s a big “however” in this conversation, and it’s the same big “however” that plagues the entire hotel industry—for every traveler out there that doesn’t want regular housekeeping, there’s one who does, and wants it to be full-on white-glove service. Like so much else in hospitality, the industry needs to be scalable and flexible enough to accommodate so many different types of travelers at different properties, in different places, at different times.
Plus, cleaning is really involved. Trust me on this one—I love to clean. It’s practically a hobby of mine, and deep-cleaning absolutely requires a person. Invent all the robots you want, but there’s no substitution for elbow grease.
Clearly the future is a hybrid cleaning model, with bots taking on some tasks while humans still provide that human touch required for real cleaning.
But what about the timing of housekeeping, and pleasing those guests who are all over the map with what they want? I anticipate housekeeping services might fall into the category of amenities hotels can personalize for guests. I can see something akin to an on-demand model: At check-in (or via the app), you’ll indicate your housekeeping preferences. Want cleaning in a certain timeframe? Check that box. Want it that day? Make sure you get your request in before 8 a.m.—that sort of thing.
Mind you, scheduling and staffing for that type of scenario would be a potential nightmare. Educating a traveling public that has gotten used to years of a standard hotel housekeeping model would be another.
I don’t think it’s insurmountable though. I think it’ll happen.
Experimenting with any interesting housekeeping models or methods? Comment below, email me at sricca@hotelnewsnow.com or find me on Twitter @HNN_Steph.
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