Rooms Management and Housekeeping Report

Rooms Management and Housekeeping Report

Question 1: What are the critical issues in the case?

• The student workers lacked background training in hospitality, which made it difficult for them to perform well in their assigned tasks, which can be seen by the rise in guest complaints with regards to standards of room cleanliness.
• The fact that English was not the first language for many of the interns presented unique challenges for the supervisors, especially concerning communicating performance goals in the housekeeping department in line with Hotel International’s vision and plans.
• The approach by supervisors to keep a closer eye on the work done by the interns was not the best. It could have made the employees have low confidence in their work and not take full responsibility for what is needed of them based on the job requirements.

Question 2: The two strategies/processes that can be devised to clean the guest rooms?

Housekeeping is one of the crucial departments in the hospitality industry. Their primary task is to maintain the cleanliness standards, including in the guest rooms, public areas, and public restrooms. According to Jones (2007), there is no one universal solution to a management problem. In terms of a scientific management approach to keep the guest rooms clean, the housekeeping management team can opt to design workflow quality standards that are well defined and that all employees are expected to follow when performing their tasks.

Establishing workflow quality standards will help manage the cleanliness of the guest rooms, regardless of room types. Designing the workflow in such a way that cleaning subtasks are to be carried out in a defined sequence as opposed to performing the tasks from point to point will also ensure consistent productivity.

A behavioural approach to cleaning the guest rooms can take the form of guests filling out surveys concerning the cleanliness of Hotel International. Jones & Lockwood (2008) proposed that a bottom-up approach to management in the hospitality industry enhanced the performance of employees and guest satisfaction. As such, the surveys or questionnaires can help the hotel know whether they have met the guests’ expectations when it comes to cleanliness. The housekeeping department can then use this information to keep the cleanliness standards of the hotel.

Question 3: The two strategies/processes put in place as the Executive housekeeper to ensure that this issue with the staff does not arise again?

As the Executive housekeeper, I would put in place strategies that promote workers’ productivity and motivation at the same time. One approach, which follows the scientific management principles, would be to redefine the recruitment process to get interns who have background training in hospitality, particularly those who will join my housekeeping team. I will then set up a training course aimed at equipping and developing the interns into responsible employees. Jones and Siag (2009) argued that intensifying the number of times supervisors conduct spot checks can have the opposite effect of increasing the level of frustration and irritation among housekeeping attendants. The reaction of Julian after been told to re-clean a room could point to his increasing frustration at the workplace.

Another strategy, which follows the behavioural management principles, would be to incorporate participative management whereby the interns are encouraged to participate in discussions concerning decisions that will ultimately affect them. According to Fouad et al. (2016), determining the points of strengths and weaknesses in an employee’s performance is key to guests’ satisfaction and is essential in accommodating the different cultural influences. Besides, participation by the interns can be part of boosting their confidence and morale in their work as they get to discuss their ideas and observations with the department managers, including me, as the Executive housekeeper.

Question 4: How would I handle the situation with Julian differently if I were Marcus?

If I were Marcus, I would follow a behavioural approach and handle the situation differently by trying to understand where Julian is coming from when she appeared visibly upset and reluctant to follow my instructions. With that in mind, it would be important for me to practice restraint to avoid exchanging words with Julian in public as it presents a bad image to the guests, and it can hurt the image of the hotel. If I do not succeed in handling the situation, I would then report the case to the Housekeeping manager.