Whether it be due to a post-Covid interest in hygiene or due to the ease of sharing horror stories that social media now afford us, more of us than ever are giving our hotel rooms and Airbnbs a serious once over before relaxing. Hotel cleanliness is a hot topic, both online and in the minds of your customers. So what can you do to ensure that you are cleaning hotel rooms thoroughly enough? Don’t worry – we’ve got you covered.
Why does hotel cleanliness matter?
Hotels, motels and B&Bs (of the traditional and air variety) are supposed to be places to rest and relax. But with headlines shouting about every new variety of illness and the rise in bedbugs, it is hardly surprising that everyone is a little jumpy about sleeping in a bed that others have only recently vacated.
Plus, it is not necessarily the lower star rated hotels being targeted: think of the amount of surfaces there are within a hotel room, and it is the cushiony, luxurious ones with their surplus of soft furnishings that can be the worst offenders, as they are more difficult to clean. Videos of hotel room cleaning by customers have exploded on social media, with some even sharing ‘hacks’ on where to spot dirt to catch out sloppy cleaning.
Health of the guests
Naturally, your primary concern is the health of your guests. Improper cleaning leaves them exposed to all sorts of germs, bacteria and other nasty microbes left over from previous occupants. The only way to ensure that this is dealt with is with thorough and regular cleaning regimes, with periodic deep cleaning when the room is not booked up.
Good customer experience
Even just the hint of dirt – a stain that poses no threat, for example – can mean the difference between the customer returning or not. Cleanliness is as much about how the guest feels as it is about the factual level of cleaning that the room has received. While stains happen and wear and tear is natural, sometimes simply replacing or deep cleaning items can save you money down the road, when customers return time and again, and tell their friends about their positive experiences when staying with you.
To pass inspections
Outside of the beloved (or loathed) star rating system, hotels and accommodation providers have to make sure that they pass any and all inspections that they are legally required to go through. Health and Safety checks, PAT tests for electrical items and ventilation and water regulations and audits, to name just a few. As we explore further below – while they may not fall exactly under the remit of the cleaning staff, the sheer amount of time the staff spend in the rooms will mean they are the number one source of spotting issues before they develop.
To prevent future issues
As with any other cleaning or hygiene issue, maintenance and regular check-ins are what helps to prevent issues getting worse. Just taking the example of bed bugs – one room can be handled easily, a whole floor, or worse will be a lot harder to tackle! Regular cleaning not only helps keep your hotel rooms in a spotless condition, they also allow for constant up close observances of the aspects within the room, meaning that any issues will be spotted and dealt with in a timely manner.
What do we mean when we say hotel cleanliness?
A hotel is so much more than the accommodation itself. For truly great hotel cleanliness you need to look at the places that make up the rest of the building.
Hallways are one of the most frequented areas within a hotel, so will look tired long before many of the other rooms, whereas the dining room and kitchens will require an entirely different type of cleaning, with the likelihood of more regular heavy soiling. Generally, housekeeping takes on the majority of the work, with every guest room getting at least the most basic of cleaning routines: opening the windows, changing the sheets, hoovering the floors and restocking the consumables.
Combine these and the fact that hotels usually inhabit various floors, and are very rarely free of guests, and it is easy to see how cleaning can quickly become a mammoth task.
Cleaning hotel rooms: a guide
Hotels are a business and they are selling a product that needs to appear pristine. It is not enough for it to look clean; it needs to be clean. There is more to that than surface marks – odours, grease, allergens (such as dust and pollen) and even mould or mildew, are all unwanted extras that can be left behind if a surface is not sufficiently and routinely cleaned. The best way to achieve true hotel cleanliness is to combine regular daily maintenance with periodic deep cleaning, with the proper tools for each unique job.
Duplex have been providing hotels, resorts and other hospitality locations with the perfect cleaning solutions for each aspect of their buildings, from routine maintenance machines and carpet cleaners for housekeeping, to deep cleaning steam for food based areas, to battery powered models where trailing cables may cause issues. Not to be underestimated, these powerful machines make light work of even the toughest of jobs, and are generally easier to carry from floor to floor than their heavier counterparts.
Another hot topic at the moment: bed bugs They have rarely been out of the headlines in recent years, and may account for many of your guests doing a thorough inspection of their rooms before settling in. Our blog post Bed bugs And Steam Cleaners: A Match Made In Heaven will answer all your questions around whether steam can get rid of bed bugs.
As for deep cleaning, have you ever….
Considered steam for your carpets & upholstery?
Steam is perfect for carpets and rugs – something that you will find in abundance at the top accommodation spots. This is because steam is often capable of delivering results without the need for harsh cleaning chemicals. Superheated steam is directed exactly where it is needed using only the optimum amount of water which ensures quicker drying times.
Dirt and grime are extracted from the surface and sucked back into the vacuum of the Jet Vac Ultima. This water and dirt mixture is then forced through the clean water reservoir which collects the dirt and bacteria and only pure clean air is allowed to get back into the atmosphere, meaning the carpet is left clean and sanitised and the operator doesn’t have to breathe in contaminated air.
Cleaning with steam and without harsh cleaning chemicals also means that the carpet stays cleaner for longer as dirt tends to stick to any chemical remaining in the carpet after being cleaned using traditional chemical methods.
Final Thoughts
Hotel hygiene is about more than cleaning rooms, it is about creating an environment where a guest feels comfortable in, that is clean and inviting, with surfaces that they can relax touching.
Duplex machines are created to offer up the perfect solution to each of the jobs needed for properly cleaning hotel rooms. By opting for steam cleaning, you can create a cleaner, healthier, quicker and more efficient routine for your housekeepers and maintenance, as well as waving the threat of bedbugs goodbye.
Interested in upgrading your hotel cleaning regimes? Contact us today to begin.