Spring has sprung at last, and for hoteliers that almost certainly means it’s time for the annual spring clean.
Indeed, spring is the traditional time of year to give your home - or hotel - a thorough and complete clean: winter is over, a new season has begun, plants and flowers are starting to grow, and it gives us a sense of starting with a clean slate – in this case literally!
Some people link the origins of spring cleaning to religious events, or simply to the fact that springtime is the first point in the year when all windows and doors can be opened to refresh rooms, without it being freezing cold.
Whatever the origin of the spring cleaning tradition, it certainly makes sense to have a set time in the year when every part of your hotel gets a thorough clean.
It’s true to say that no detail is too small when it comes to the hospitality industry: guests can and will notice everything, and your property is always one dusty surface away from either a less favourable review, or a lack of repeat business.
So here are our top tips to help you ensure you leave no stone unturned (or rather, no stain untreated) during this year’s spring clean:
- Inspect and clean infrequently used equipment: it’s easy to overlook equipment that isn’t used regularly, so it’s worth taking the time to check items like spare beds, cots, kettles, baby equipment, etc, to make sure they’re clean and in good working order ready for the moment when a guest requests them.
- Windows and window dressings: dusty curtains and blinds and dirty windows in general are all unsightly and offer a negative picture of your hotel, so ensuring that window units get deep cleaned is essential. Of course, it can be a pain to take down curtains and have them dry-cleaned, but the annual spring clean is the time to do it.
- Don’t forget to look up: although they may be up high, fixtures such as light-fittings attract piles of dust and cobwebs, and guests will notice them, especially when they’re lying on the bed looking up at the ceiling. So give those items a clean, not forgetting any chandeliers in public spaces that need to be specially cleaned by an expert. Also, go into each guest bathroom, take down the showerheads and unclog the holes.
- Check bathroom shower curtains: if you have any shower curtains in your hotel bathrooms, either give them a good clean or replace them if need be. The last thing you want is for a guest to be taking a shower and to look over and see a stained and dirty looking shower curtain. The shower curtain hooks may need attention as well, in which case you can soak them in a bucket of white vinegar or cleaner to eliminate built-up scum.
Of course, cleaning is a never-ending cycle in a hotel, and it can be tough to fit in those important deep-cleaning jobs alongside the daily housekeeping tasks.
However, if you get those jobs done now while there are less guests around, you’ll be thankful when the busy summer season arrives.
One thing that can really help your team gain some time for the more intricate cleaning jobs is to invest in a robot vacuum.
SoftBank Robotics’ Whiz vacuum cleaner takes care of the menial and time-consuming task of vacuuming so that staff can devote more time to touchpoint cleaning.
Whiz is equipped with a 3D camera and a lidar (light detection and ranging) system, ensuring it can effectively avoid obstacles, and it can be programmed to clean at any time of day.
It can memorise up to 600 cleaning routes, vacuum 1,500 sqm of carpet on a single charge, provide reports on its performance, and it’s also compact and very user-friendly.
With Whiz on your side, the annual spring clean could become a whole lot more manageable, and your cleanliness scores from guests will certainly get a boost.