By Rashmi Pradhan
THERE WAS a time when the housekeeping department was known as ’back of the house’ but with changing times this term has become ’heart of the house’. The group discussion ’In Thrift we Trust: Living with Scarcity and Finding Ways of Beating it’ at BW Hotelier Rooms & Housekeeping Conclave & Expo 2015 saw five powerful women from the housekeeping department of hotels across the NCR sharing their knowledge, best practices and trends in housekeeping. The session was moderated by Sourish Bhattarcharyya, Consulting Editor, BW Hotelier and the panelists were Rita Chaudhary, Corporate Executive Housekeeper, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts; Gurpreet Chadha, Executive Housekeeper, ITC Maurya New Delhi; Reetha Thomas, Executive Housekeeper, Radisson Blu MBD Hotel Noida; Harinder Kishore, Executive Housekeeper, The Leela Ambience Gurgaon Hotel & Residences and Suchitra Gambhir, Executive Housekeeper, The Oberoi New Delhi NCR.
Bhattarcharyya asked panelists how corporate housekeepers ensure uniformity of standards across the group to Rita Chaudhary, who replied, ’It is not easy to maintain standards across the chain. We have a standard operating procedure and processes that ensure that each hotel follows the same. In addition, I along with my colleague personally visit every hotel and check the same.’ On the aspect of turndown service and keeping the rooms ready for the next guests. The panelists unanimously agreed that it all depends on the guest--whether they were a business traveler or a leisure traveler. A room that was occupied by a business traveler takes less time to make up compared to the leisure traveller, they said.
The aesthetics of the hotel is also a responsibility of the housekeeper and horticulture plays an important role. The horticulture department indirectly reports to the housekeeping department. As far as flowers for decorations in rooms and public areas are concerned, housekeepers prefered to use local rather than imported varieties, it in order to reduce cost. It is also the responsibility of the housekeeping department to ensure that the laundry equipment are optimally utilized, according to the panelists.
In conclusion, the panelist said that training and multi-tasking are two main focus areas of the hotel. Multi-skilling people help to save costs and multi-training ensures better productivity. New technology, according to the panellists, had really ease of operation. The new eco-friendly and guest-friendly products have really helped in increasing the efficiency and higher guest satisfaction was the common consensus.
The author is Assistant Editor of BW Hotelier.
Photo (from Left to Right): Sourish Bhattarcharyya, Consulting Editor, BW Hotelier speaks with Suchitra Gambhir, Executive Housekeeper, The Oberoi New Delhi NCR; Harinder Kishore, Executive Housekeeper, The Leela Ambience Gurgaon Hotel & Residences; Reetha Thomas, Executive Housekeeper, Radisson Blu MBD Hotel Noida; Gurpreet Chadha, Executive Housekeeper, ITC Maurya New Delhi; and Rita Chaudhary, Corporate Executive Housekeeper, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts. Photo by Sanjay Sakaria.-
THERE WAS a time when the housekeeping department was known as ’back of the house’ but with changing times this term has become ’heart of the house’. The group discussion ’In Thrift we Trust: Living with Scarcity and Finding Ways of Beating it’ at BW Hotelier Rooms & Housekeeping Conclave & Expo 2015 saw five powerful women from the housekeeping department of hotels across the NCR sharing their knowledge, best practices and trends in housekeeping. The session was moderated by Sourish Bhattarcharyya, Consulting Editor, BW Hotelier and the panelists were Rita Chaudhary, Corporate Executive Housekeeper, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts; Gurpreet Chadha, Executive Housekeeper, ITC Maurya New Delhi; Reetha Thomas, Executive Housekeeper, Radisson Blu MBD Hotel Noida; Harinder Kishore, Executive Housekeeper, The Leela Ambience Gurgaon Hotel & Residences and Suchitra Gambhir, Executive Housekeeper, The Oberoi New Delhi NCR.
Bhattarcharyya asked panelists how corporate housekeepers ensure uniformity of standards across the group to Rita Chaudhary, who replied, ’It is not easy to maintain standards across the chain. We have a standard operating procedure and processes that ensure that each hotel follows the same. In addition, I along with my colleague personally visit every hotel and check the same.’ On the aspect of turndown service and keeping the rooms ready for the next guests. The panelists unanimously agreed that it all depends on the guest--whether they were a business traveler or a leisure traveler. A room that was occupied by a business traveler takes less time to make up compared to the leisure traveller, they said.
The aesthetics of the hotel is also a responsibility of the housekeeper and horticulture plays an important role. The horticulture department indirectly reports to the housekeeping department. As far as flowers for decorations in rooms and public areas are concerned, housekeepers prefered to use local rather than imported varieties, it in order to reduce cost. It is also the responsibility of the housekeeping department to ensure that the laundry equipment are optimally utilized, according to the panelists.
In conclusion, the panelist said that training and multi-tasking are two main focus areas of the hotel. Multi-skilling people help to save costs and multi-training ensures better productivity. New technology, according to the panellists, had really ease of operation. The new eco-friendly and guest-friendly products have really helped in increasing the efficiency and higher guest satisfaction was the common consensus.
The author is Assistant Editor of BW Hotelier.
Photo (from Left to Right): Sourish Bhattarcharyya, Consulting Editor, BW Hotelier speaks with Suchitra Gambhir, Executive Housekeeper, The Oberoi New Delhi NCR; Harinder Kishore, Executive Housekeeper, The Leela Ambience Gurgaon Hotel & Residences; Reetha Thomas, Executive Housekeeper, Radisson Blu MBD Hotel Noida; Gurpreet Chadha, Executive Housekeeper, ITC Maurya New Delhi; and Rita Chaudhary, Corporate Executive Housekeeper, Sarovar Hotels & Resorts. Photo by Sanjay Sakaria.-
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