Introduction

Housekeeping is what gives hotels the 'wow' factor. It's the moment that guests walk into
the hotel and are impressed, then enter their bedrooms and think 'wow, this looks wonderful'.
Freshly laundered linen, fluffy towels and a welcoming atmosphere, which is all about creating a
big impression and exceeding expectations.

Housekeeping can be defined as

provision of a clean, comfortable, safe and aesthetically, appealing

environment.

It can also be defined as an operational department in a

hotel, which is responsible for cleanliness, maintenance, aesthetic upkeep of

rooms, public areas, back areas and the surrounding.

The effort that a housekeeping department makes in giving a guest a

desirable room has a direct bearing on the guests experience in a hotel.
Guests rooms are the heart of the hotel. It is rightly said that housekeeping
is a 24/7 * 365 days operation. Imagine the stacks of linen needed to make
up all the beds in a hotel; the huge amounts of bath soap, tissue and another
amenities such as shampoos, colognes and so on that must be placed in the
guestrooms; the miles of carpeting, floors, walls and ceilings to be cleaned
and maintained; the countless pieces of furniture that must be dusted and
polished and the barrels of cleaning compounds along with special tools and
equipment in order to clean them.

As important as the housekeeping department is, it also has one of the

highest staff turnover rates in the industry.

To tackle issues with staff

retention, executive housekeepers have to make sure their teams are

constantly motivated to perform and come up with new ways to foster
loyalty. Housekeeping is one of the most difficult jobs in a hotel and one of
the most important. If you dont have clean rooms or you have issues with
cleanliness, our guests are not going to come back, stresses Daniel

Kingston, director of rooms at the W Doha Hotel & Residences in Qatar.

Hierarchy of Housekeeping Department

There are different types of housekeepers, and they deliver different
types

of

services

and duties.

They also have different

types

of

responsibilities as shown in the image:

Responsibilities of Housekeeping
One of the most diverse departments in a hotel, housekeeping plays as
important a role in guest relations as it does behind the scenes.

The
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housekeeping department needs to deliver services and some of them are as

the following:

To ensure a high standard of cleanliness and general upkeep in all

areas for which the department is responsible

To provide linen in rooms, restaurants, banquet halls, conference
venues, health club, and so on, as well as maintain an inventory for the

same
To provide uniforms for all the staff and maintain adequate inventories

for the same

To cater to the laundering requirements of hotel linen, staff uniforms

and guest clothing

To provide and maintain the floral decorations and maintain the

landscaped areas of the hotel

To select the right contractors and ensure that the quality of work is

maintained as at the onset of the business

To coordinate renovation and refurnishing of the property as and when,

in consultation with the management and with interior designers

To pass background checks because they have access to guests'

private belongings, including cash and jewelry left in the rooms

To deliver additional items guests request, such as extra pillows or

blankets
To ensure training, control and supervision of all staff attached to the
department

Advantages

and

Disadvatanges

of

Outsourcing

Housekeeping
Staffing a hotels Housekeeping department with reliable personnel can
be rather difficult at times. It can require a detailed hiring process to bring
unfamiliar associates on board, and usually an entire Human Resources staff
to handle any needs or requests they may have.

Running a hotels

housekeeping department can be a very time-consuming, labor-intensive job

which is why it is becoming more and more popular to outsource. Moreover,
outsourcing allows a hotel to streamline its operations by removing tasks that might otherwise
absorb valuable in-house resources.
There are many advantages for housekeeping, and they are as the
following:

Training - no need to organize training for specialized companies.

You outsource because you can get the best talent in a highly
specialized area and not have to carry them on your payroll, - said by

Thomas Morone, principal of Warnick + Company

Cost saving - A major advantage is the monetary savings. In the
article I reference, a hotel realized a 25% savings in labor costs after
switching that department to a staffing company. Additionally, since
housekeeping has such a high turnover rate the dollars spent in
recruiting and training have been saved.

(http://bpenow.com/ways-

reduce-expenses-hotels-housekeeping-laundry-departments/)
Fully-qualified housekeeping staff trained to high standards

and who understand your brand

Allows a hotel to streamline its operations by removing tasks

that might otherwise absorb valuable in-house resources

Turns the housekeeping fixed costs into variable costs, which
allows to simplify the room servicing budgets, and avoid any

overruns irrespective of occupancy

Monthly contracts more flexibility

to

choose

among

the

competitors instead of having to re-design your housekeeping division.

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Budgeting made easy

Service quality guaranteed consistency of service

Employment risk minimized

No need to search for recruits or worry about sick days
One of the biggest advantages is to save costs. Outsourcing gives a
company the possibility to reduce investments in technology and
infrastructure.

Furthermore,

it

gives

the

human

resources

management flexibility. With outsourcing a company can save costs

and has the possibility to pick a person of outstanding ability, said
Devika Chauhan, human resources manager at the 182-room
Mvenpick Hotel & Spa Bangalore.
However, there are also disadvantages that may prevent hotels to
outsource and use those attractive advantages, and the disadvantages
are as the following:

Firing employees it could be a big problem, because it could

affect

an employee

with

resentment,

and

therefore the
company will

be

negatively
perceived.

In need of constant communication in order to keep

control of the department

No knowledge about each employee (i.e. > could create a

language barrier)
No previous knowledge about the quality service that will
be received until we receive it > could be a waste of time

and a mistake.
Loyalty of the staff Their loyalties would lie with the person
who gives them the salary and not the property where they are

working.
Tired to the financial Well-Being of another company - if
the company that we choose goes on a bankruptcy, it will highly

affect the hotel.

Increased security risk as the employees not being

screened by the hotel initially

Perceived as bad publicity and reputation Often, when it
comes to our minds the word outsource, the majority seems to

view it as a negative connotation.

Time-consuming An outsider takes time to become familiar with current
systems and organization culture.

Advantages
and
Housekeeping

Disadvantages

of

In-sourcing

Internal housekeeping is where the housekeeping department and its staff belong to the
hotel and the housekeepers are part of the hotel personnel. Internal housekeeping means all the
cleaning of the hotel which includes not only the housekeeping department and room cleaning
but also all public areas and behind the scenes areas of the hotel. Since the housekeeping
department is responsible for cleaning and maintaining so many different areas of the hotel,
planning the work of the department can seem like a huge task. The housekeeping department
works closely with the engineering and maintenance division to ensure the proper preventative
maintenance procedures are carried out effectively.
The advantages of internal housekeeping are as the following:

The internal housekeepers feel more pride and belonging to the hotel - consistent
quality service, dedication, sincerity, honesty can only be achieved if the above staff
have a sense of belonging towards the organization.

Keep

more control of

other
Fixed

departments
team number

which

reduces

the

turnover - Bisswurm (2001) reported that in the contract cleaning profession: The
average turnover rate most often used in industry conversation is around 300 percent,
but [a Contracting Profits] survey found a much lower industry average of 73 percent.
Even so, a turnover rate of 73 percent is still high. The stability offered by in-house

cleaners is a benefit to customers as they know who to contact, when, and where.
Security
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Work satisfaction is better amongst staff

Same rules for all staff
Flexibility - In-house cleaning crews can be flexible in responding to issues within a
facility such as floods, spills, stains, special events, etc. Instead of contacting a service
provider, the organization can respond with its in-house staff or those who can be called

in for emergencies at any time.

Stability - Having the same people working in a reliable manner builds up a sense of
continuity and order. Constant change causes mistakes, confusion, and concern, and in-

house custodians provide a reassurance that the work will occur as normal.
Institutional Knowledge - If employees have been in a building for numerous years,
they tend to get to know the building, its quirks, and departmental needs. This is an
incredible service to plumbers, electricians, or any trades professionals when they are
called to respond to a problem.

A well-trained and knowledgeable housekeeper is

valuable in guiding the trade worker to the problem, and in many cases, the housekeeper
may even know the cause of the problem. In-housekeepers with longevity also can assist
in anticipating maintenance needs and special event needs.
However, there are also many disadvantages for internal housekeeping that could negatively
affect the hotel, which are as the following:

Keeping costs down while wages and materials are monthly expenses that can be
budgeted, the equipment needed to start an in-housekeeping is a capital expense that
occurs all at once. This means the cost of buying equipment can be quite high depending
on the size of the hotel, which in the David Intercontinental Tel Aviv case, is quite big.
Moreover, cleaning carriages, buckets, brushes and other equipment need to be bought
regularly so as to replace the worn and torn old ones. Also, during peak season, the
increase of employees is necessary and in low season, the reduction of staff is essential;
therefore, the contracts are very varied and it is very rare that employees these days have

full contract hours due to the fluctuating nature of the business.

Competition - Internal recruitment can offer incentive for employees to perform well,
but it also can create an atmosphere of competition that can be counterproductive.
Employees may feel pressured to compete with each other to be considered for a position
during an internal recruitment process, and this can create conflict. While the potential is
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there to improve morale with internal recruitment, it could turn the other way and help to
lower morale because employees become focused on competing for jobs rather than
trying to become proficient at their current positions (for instance: to compete of

becoming supervisors)
Managing the workforce housekeepers make up a large part of the hotels staff and are
usually the largest group of employees in the hotel. This may mean that in some cases,
the workforce doubles in a short period of time. This can be difficult for the human
resources departments as the workload increases due to the influx of employees. As the
hotel grows, then the workforce must grow too. The quality has to improve and stay at an
acceptable level; which puts a pressure of workers to keep it at the level it should be. Too
many slips in the quality or bad feedback from customers could be a setback for the

David Intercontinental in question.

Not enough reliability - Cannot fully rely on internal housekeepers, because some
suitable candidates may simply not to be available internally for some vacancies (sick
days, emergencies, vacations), which in such cases, the hotel has to look for external
sources of housekeepers.

Costs of Outsourced and Internal Housekeepers

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NB:

Prices are in

Shekels. The percentages are the one from the cleaning and maintenance company MB in Israel.
To clarify, an Israeli employee of the housekeeping department will receive 25 shekels an
hour if he/she is a hotels worker and 27 shekels or more if he/she is an outsourced cleaning
company worker. The hotel will pay to the employee 25 shekels NETO but will have expenses
towards him such as social security, holidays etc. At the end of the day, even if it seems that the
hotel will pay more by employing from an outside company, it is actually the same. The
difference is that the company will take care of attributing the money to the social security,
holidays, and furthermore.
From a loyalty point of view, it is certain that an employee from the hotel will become
attached to the hotel and delivers a loyalty feeling and attachment; however by being paid the
minimum wage, it is not quite certain that he/she will give his best performance possible.
Whereas an outsourced company cleaners are paid better. Therefore, they are more likely to
invest in their job more. Outsourced or internal, the costs are quite the same, but one big
difference is that the hotel will not have to worry about missing workers and salaries (such as
paid sick days.)

Mixed Stategy Combination of Internal and External Housekeeping

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In order to avoid as many disadvantages and cons as we can, and maintain a successful
hotel with a reduced labor cost, we have decided to mix both strategies in order to ensure safety
of the business as well. A balance of Outsourcing advantages that will cut cost and project
overruns with In-sourcing advantages that lead to effectiveness which is exactly what we are
aiming for.

To begin with, unfortunately, we will need to let go of some employees (around 30% 40%), or transfer them to other departments that may be quite potential for their talents; however,
we will maintain a core team in the housekeeping department such as the manager and
housekeepers based on different criteria, experiences, and quality of their work, in order to
maintain a unity and precious members that we do not want to lose. Moreover, the goal of this
remaining team will be able to handle the situation of the hotel based on the hotels occupancy
(low and medium only.)
Furthermore, if the occupancy is forecasted to be higher, then we shall connect with
manpower companies in order to receive significant help that will meet and potentially exceed
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the guests expectations. To clarify this strategy, we will need to explain those two factors which
are as the following:
Creating three shifts A normal shift in Israel (work period per law) is eight hours
with an additional hour for lunch/dinner and tea breaks. A busy hotel (in our case,
it is the David Intercontinental Tel Aviv), would have three shifts to cover 24
hours of the day while a remote resort property may operate with one general
shift. Then there is the aspect of covering seven days a week. Employees will
also need an off day. Israel has a six day week. This complicates scheduling
further to find substitutes (relievers) during the off days. The housekeeper has the
option of hiring daily wagers; scheduling on the basis on split shifts; creating
teams for critical areas who will cover each other; or outsourcing during high
occupancy rates (usually Fridays and Saturdays; Yom Shabbat; or during big
holidays and events) to an outsourced housekeeping company.
Covering three shifts A busy city hotel (David Intercontinental situated in the
busy city of Israel; Tel Aviv) will need to have all three shifts manned as arrivals
and departures are continuous. While the normal check-out time is 12 noon,
people may check in at all different hours based on their flight arrivals, road and
train schedules, and furthermore. The housekeeper has to balance the productivity
norms, off days, relievers, and peak and trough times. The housekeeper always
factors in the expected occupancy to determine the number of people required.
By using the mixing strategy that the hotel already uses for some F&B outlets, we will be
able to reduce the labor cost (such as employees that we need to pay even with no sufficient
income, sick days, minimum number of shifts, and furthermore.) The laundry will remain
outsourced in order to keep the cost lower with no need to pay the maintenance of heavy
machinery. Moreover, we will apply a few changes in our inside strategy with low costs, such as
a rewards program to generate excitement and continuous motivation within the department.
Furthermore, the outsourced help from the company will be led by our internal team
which will create a feeling of leadership and accomplishment that will improve the bounding of
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the team and delivers the feeling of membership and belonging to the outsourced company,
which may be the solution to one of the disadvantages of the outsourced organization.

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Conclusion
In conclusion, a mixing strategy of in-sourcing and outsourcing housekeeping at the
David Intercontinental Tel Aviv will reduce labor cost and benefit the hotel in various ways that
have been mentioned earlier. During low and middle occupancy rates, the housekeeping shall
remain in-sourced; however, during high occupancy rates, the outsourcing will take place that
could ensure safety in case of (i.e. sick days), and helps the hotel to maintain its reputation as a
luxurious 5-star hotel.

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