The hotel atmosphere is completed not only by the design interior, the services of the staff, but especially the overall cleanliness of the premises, and therefore the overall impression is primarily the result of the coordination of the entire team from the "housekeeping" department. What is the role of housekeeping in an environment such as a luxury hotel? We talked about all the details with the hotel manager Veronika Rajtárová, who has been working at the Zlatý Klucik hotel for three years.
In the tourism industry, maids are often overlooked or perceived as classic cleaning staff. However, this rule definitely does not apply at the Zlatý Klúčik Hotel, because maids mean much more to us. We perceive them as employees who have the most direct influence on the comfort and satisfaction of guests, because they are really in the front line of the presentation and perception of the hotel. Like every hotel, ours also has its own system, rules and standards. The housekeeping department consists of a team of five skilled maids led by a manager and a deputy manager. But let's talk more details about the progress of their work at this moment.
How does a typical day of a maid at the Zlatý Klucic hotel begin?
A hotel maid's day begins with cleaning the hotel's public areas, such as the reception, lobby bar, where dust, cobwebs, carpet vacuuming, floor washing, glass polishing, mirrors and all shiny surfaces are cleaned. It is very important not only in the morning, but also throughout the day regular disinfection of social facilities, replenishment of towels and soap. During the day, in addition to the toilets, the maid also takes care of the cleanliness of the restaurant or the cleaning of the restaurant space after breakfast.
Do you also handle exterior cleaning?
Yes, we also take care of sweeping the outdoor terrace, as well as washing the windows at regular intervals. Last but not least, the morning arrangement of fresh flowers and the hotel's outdoor areas, and the associated sweeping of the parking lot and the area before the hotel entrance, as it is the entrance that creates the first impression. Subsequently, the maid moves to the wellness center, where all glass, mirrors and shiny surfaces are disinfected and polished again, the dressing rooms and toilets are disinfected, and towels and sheets are replenished in the closets. Of course, hotel cosmetics such as soaps, shower gels, shampoos and body lotions must not be missing in the dressing rooms. The wellness center also includes a fitness center and a self-service kitchen, which also require the use of disinfectants. Before the maid moves to the accommodation part of the hotel, an integral part of the operation is the laundry room, where her duty is to wash, dry, and iron hotel linen, such as tablecloths, manuals, polishers for the restaurant or kitchen, aprons, and others.
Each hotel follows precisely defined rules and standards in terms of room cleaning. What are yours?
After the guest leaves the room, the maid automatically comes to the room. According to hotel standards, the maid enters the room only after knocking. He makes sure that the room is really empty and starts the entire cleaning process. The departure room, i.e. the room from which the guest leaves after check-out, is a room that, after cleaning, must look like new, unused. This process takes one maid about 45-60 minutes. In the first step, the maid opens the window and empties the trash cans from the room and the bathroom. Ventilation takes place during the entire cleaning period. In the next step, he will change the bed linen, quilt cover, pillows and decorative bedspreads. In the bathroom, disinfection and polishing of the toilet, drains, shower, faucets, glasses, mirrors and tableware such as glasses, cups, etc. is taking place. After replenishing the hotel's cosmetics and hygiene accessories, it's time to wipe off dust, cobwebs, and once again polish furniture, mirrors, doors, and door handles. After sweeping the terrace/balcony, the maid closes the window, replenishes bathrobes, slippers, carefully folds bath towels and towels and, if necessary, replenishes the mini bar. He vacuums the carpet, then adjusts the lighting and temperature in the room according to the standards. In the last step, he puts a live flower on the table and uses an air freshener. At this stage, however, the room is still not quite ready, because in the last step, the housekeeping manager comes, that is me, who thoroughly checks the cleanliness of the room, its smell and all, even small details, such as fingerprints, setting of lights, curtains , sail tension, how to store individual accessories and many other details. If the room is in order, it will be marked as checked in the hotel system and the reception "has the green light" to accommodate the next arriving guest.
In hotels, there is a difference between classic cleaning and general cleaning. What all falls under general cleaning?
Exactly. In addition to regular daily room cleaning, general room cleaning is also done at regular intervals, such as washing windows, washing curtains and drapes, beating upholstered furniture and carpets, cleaning ventilation and air conditioning equipment. The part of the hotel with the name also belongs to the maid "wedding pavilion", that is, a place intended for weddings and celebrations. During the wedding season, housekeeping takes care of the cleanliness of the outside and inside of this space equally, by sweeping, vacuuming the terrace, washing floors and toilets. Before and after the wedding season, there is also general cleaning of the pavilion, such as thorough cleaning of floors, washing of windows and washing of curtains.
Can you think of other duties that we haven't mentioned yet?
At the end of each morning shift, the maid must refill her work cart, arrange cosmetics, bed linen and terrycloth, and take out the separated garbage. At that time, the morning shift will be replaced by the afternoon housekeeping shift. She continues to take care of the public areas of the hotel, but also of the "background", by which we mean the sinks and cisterns. In short, they are used to store everything that the maids or colleagues from other departments need for their work. They must always be cleaned and supplemented according to the given list. However, a more important part of the afternoon maid's job is wellness care. The maid takes care of the comfort of the guests during their stay in Oriental Luxury Spa, maintaining the space in the area of the jacuzzi and saunas, takes care of cleanliness in the self-service kitchen, as well as cleanliness and regular replenishment of accessories in the dressing rooms, such as towels, sheets and cosmetics. Wash, dry and iron used linen during the change. At the end of the shift, he checks and mostly cleans the SPA, which is then thoroughly cleaned only after it cools down the next morning. However, in addition to regular cleaning, wellness also requires so-called "deep cleaning", once a week.
As you have read, cleaning and maintenance of the hotel represents a wide range of related actions and it is necessary to follow them strictly. "From this point of view, it is very important to find the right people, first of all with a positive attitude towards cleanliness, but also with a sense of detail. When hiring and training new employees, it is therefore difficult, but at the same time very important, to teach these people to unconditionally adhere to the set standards and also to be able to accept criticism, either from a superior or from guests. A great motivation for every maid should be not only the financial reward, but also the feeling of a job well done and, ultimately, the satisfaction of you, our guests. Achieving such a result is often very difficult for me as a housekeeping manager, but my three-year work at the Hotel Zlatý Klúčik gave me a lot of experience and courage not only at work, but also in my personal life." concludes the hotel manager Veronika Rajtárová from the Zlatý Kľúčik hotel.
