Outsource or Insource Housekeeping

8/20/2019 Outsource or Insource Housekeeping

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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 defned as

“provision o a clean, comortable, sae and aesthetically, appealing

environment.” It can also be defned as an operational department in a

hotel, which is responsible or cleanliness, maintenance, aesthetic upkeep o

rooms, public areas, back areas and the surrounding.

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

desirable room has a direct bearing on the guests! e"perience in a hotel.

#uests! rooms are the heart o the hotel. It is rightly said that housekeeping

is a $%&' ( )*+ days operation. Imagine the stacks o linen needed to make

up all the beds in a hotel the huge amounts o bath soap, tissue and another

amenities such as shampoos, colognes and so on that must be placed in the

guestrooms the miles o carpeting, -oors, walls and ceilings to be cleaned

and maintained the countless pieces o urniture that must be dusted and

polished and the barrels o cleaning compounds along with special tools and

euipment in order to clean them.

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0s important as the housekeeping department is, it also has one o the

highest sta turnover rates in the industry. To tackle issues with sta

retention, e"ecutive housekeepers have to make sure their teams are

constantly motivated to perorm and come up with new ways to oster

loyalty. “Housekeeping is one of the most dicult jobs in a hotel and one of

the most important. If you don’t have clean rooms or you have issues with

cleanliness, our guests are not going to come back, stresses 1aniel

2ingston, director o rooms at the 3 1oha Hotel 4 5esidences in 6atar.

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Hierarchy of Housekeeping Department

There are dierent types o housekeepers, and they deliver dierent

types o services and duties. They also have dierent types o

responsibilities as shown in the image7

Responsibilities of Housekeeping

8ne o 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 o them are as

the ollowing7

• To ensure a high standard o cleanliness and general upkeep in all

areas or which the department is responsible• To provide linen in rooms, restaurants, banuet halls, conerence

venues, health club, and so on, as well as maintain an inventory or the

same

• To provide uniorms or all the sta and maintain adeuate inventories

or the same

• To cater to the laundering reuirements o hotel linen, sta uniorms

and guest clothing

• To provide and maintain the -oral decorations and maintain the

landscaped areas o the hotel

• To select the right contractors and ensure that the uality o work is

maintained as at the onset o the business

• To coordinate renovation and reurnishing o the property as and when,

in consultation with the management and with interior designers

• To pass background checks because they have access to guests9

private belongings, including cash and :ewelry let in the rooms

• To deliver additional items guests reuest, such as e"tra pillows or

blankets

• To ensure training, control and supervision o all sta attached to the

department

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Advantages and Disadvatanges of Outsourcing

Housekeeping

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(udgeting made easy

• )ervice !uality guaranteed D consistency o service

*mployment risk minimi+ed

,o need to search for recruits or $orry about sick days

• “ne of the biggest advantages is to save costs. utsourcing gives a

company the possibility to reduce investments in technology and

infrastructure. -urthermore, it gives the human resources

management e+ibility. /ith 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 /E$=room

>Fvenpick Hotel 4 ;pa Gangalore.

However, there are also disadvantages that may prevent hotels to

outsource and use those “attractive” advantages, and the disadvantages

are as the ollowing7

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

aect an employee

with resentment,

and thereore the

company will

be negatively

perceived.

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In need of constant communication in order to keep

control of the department

• ,o kno$ledge about each employee Bi.e. could create a

language barrierC

• ,o previous kno$ledge about the !uality service that $ill

be received until $e receive it could be a waste o time

and a mistake.

• -oyalty of the sta# D Their loyalties would lie with the person

who gives them the salary and not the property where they are

working.

Tired to the "nancial .ell(eing of another company = i

the company that we choose goes on a bankruptcy, it will highly

aect the hotel.

Increased security risk as the employees not being

screened by the hotel initially

• /erceived as bad publicity and reputation D 8ten, when it

comes to our minds the word “outsource”, the ma:ority seems to

view it as a negative connotation.

• Timeconsuming D n outsider takes time to become familiar with current

systems and organi!ation culture.

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Advantages and Disadvantages of Insourcing

Housekeeping

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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. "ince 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. #he housekeeping department

works closely with the engineering and maintenance division to ensure the proper preventative

maintenance procedures are carried out effectively.

#he advantages of internal housekeeping are as the following$

• The internal housekeepers feel more pride and belonging to the hotel - consistent

%uality service, dedication, sincerity, honesty can only be achieved if the above staff

have a sense of belonging towards the organi!ation.

Keep more control of

other departments

• Fixed team number &

which reduces the

turnover - isswurm ()**+ 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 3 percent!"

ven so, a turnover rate of / percent is still high. #he 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 organi!ation 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. 0onstant change causes mistakes, confusion, and concern, and in-

house custodians provide a reassurance that the work will occur as 1normal.2

• Institutional Knowledge - If employees have been in a building for numerous years,

they tend to get to know the building, its %uirks, and departmental needs. #his is an

incredible service to plumbers, electricians, or any trades professionals when they are

called to respond to a problem. 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 e%uipment needed to start an in-housekeeping is a capital expense that

occurs all at once. #his means the cost of buying e%uipment can be %uite high depending

on the si!e of the hotel, which in the 3avid Intercontinental #el viv case, is %uite big.

4oreover, cleaning carriages, buckets, brushes and other e%uipment need to be bought

regularly so as to replace the worn and torn old ones. lso, during peak season, the

increase of employees is necessary and in low season, the reduction of staff is essential5

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.

mployees may feel pressured to compete with each other to be considered for a position

during an internal recruitment process, and this can create conflict. 6hile 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 7obs 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 hotel8s staff and are

usually the largest group of employees in the hotel. #his may mean that in some cases,

the workforce doubles in a short period of time. #his can be difficult for the human

resources departments as the workload increases due to the influx of employees. s the

hotel grows, then the workforce must grow too. #he %uality has to improve and stay at an

acceptable level5 which puts a pressure of workers to keep it at the level it should be. #oo

many slips in the %uality or bad feedback from customers could be a setback for the

3avid Intercontinental in %uestion.• ot enough reliability - 0annot 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 !utsourced and Internal "ousekeepers

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/$


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9$ :rices are in

"hekels. #he percentages are the one from the cleaning and maintenance company 4 in Israel.

#o clarify, an Israeli employee of the housekeeping department will receive ); shekels an

hour if he


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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. balance of =utsourcing advantages that will cut cost and pro7ect

overruns with In-sourcing advantages that lead to effectiveness which is exactly what we are

aiming for.

#o begin with, unfortunately, we will need to let go of some employees (around /*> -

?*>, or transfer them to other departments that may be %uite potential for their talents5 however,

we will maintain a 1core2 team in the housekeeping department such as the manager and

housekeepers based on different criteria, experiences, and %uality of their work, in order to

maintain a unity and precious members that we do not want to lose. 4oreover, the goal of this

remaining team will be able to handle the situation of the hotel based on the hotel8s 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 guests8 expectations. #o clarify this strategy, we will need to explain those two factors which

are as the following$

0reating three shifts & normal shift in Israel (work period per law is eight hours

with an additional hour for lunch


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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 organi!ation.

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Conclusion

In conclusion, a mixing strategy of in-sourcing and outsourcing housekeeping at the

3avid Intercontinental #el viv will reduce labor cost and benefit the hotel in various ways that

have been mentioned earlier. 3uring low and middle occupancy rates, the housekeeping shall

remain in-sourced5 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 ;-star hotel.

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Date post:	07-Aug-2018
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Outsource or Insource Housekeeping

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