New Technology Advancements For Hotel Rooms and Hospitality Areas

How is Technology Impacting the Future of Sanitation In Hotels?

While housekeeping teams used to do their jobs discreetly, since COVID their role has assumed utmost importance as travelers look for properties which prioritize cleanliness and quality.

Hotel operators have been investing in personal protective equipment, upgraded cleaning techniques and disinfecting infrastructure, and many of these new methods include adopting latest technology to ensure every corner is clean and disinfected. As the hotel industry copes with the ongoing labor crisis, these new techniques offer hotel operators an opportunity to get the work done with minimal workforce and maximum efficiency.

Are All Modern Techniques Equal?

Vacuum cleaning robots have become a common sight in many homes but now they are a trend in hotel operations and generally seen as a quick fix to get large surfaces clean. However, these machines are best suited for simpler, repetitive tasks and to some extent, guest satisfaction. Robotic technology is improving and evolving but before they can be used for daily housekeeping duties or nightly janitorial work new methodologies need to be developed.

Although they utilize less electricity, cleaning robots can be ineffective to hotel operators but at this moment they can’t compensate for human intelligence in the cleaning procedure. Cleaning robots fail to detect stains on a carpet, whereas humans can, and robots are unable to reach corners, crevices, etc. Robots are also unable to provide more detailed duties such as deep cleaning of a surfaces.

While robots fill in gaps as the industry deals with the labor crisis, the best way to manage is to automate jobs that can be automated and focus team members on jobs that require critical thought and hospitality. For example, implementing software for automatic shift scheduling and focus on optimizing staffing needs. Housekeepers can feed in information about their availability and shift preference, helping sift leaders to jump in and assist in room turnovers.

Some hotels have also installed or implemented UV-C lights to disinfect high-contact surfaces. While these lights are highly effective in helping with contaminated surfaces, this technology can be costly to implement. UV-C lights are very expensive making the economic case difficult in hotel operations.

Where it All Started: Success in Oklahoma

Hotel operators in Oklahoma recently started implementing the CURIS® System a portable, hydrogen peroxide-based pulsed fogging system capable of deodorizing and disinfecting a room or enclosed area via patented pulse technology with a measurable kill rates of 99.9999% on a range of pathogens. While most systems rely on dispensing chemicals and turning off once the desired time is achieved or depend on manual spraying, CURIS® goes a step further by focusing on a “maintained pathogen-kill zone.” Its system is designed to reduce human error with a hands-free system for remote operation that allows the operator to monitor, manage, measure, track, and report, including the ability to quickly prove, and continuously improve, decontamination efforts. Midwest Pathogend Services is a service provider and provides education and training on this unique technology being used by hospitality, healthcare facilities, military, transportation and more.

Hotel Operators Staffing Crisis

The biggest challenge in housekeeping is the severe staff shortage and lack of experienced employees. Rooms are often not as clean as they are supposed to be due to the lack of housekeeping staff, which in turn impacts hotel sales. The significant shortage of employees has carried over in 2022.

Last-minute bookings can prove to be difficult in understaffed properties and it can be challenging for hotels to have staff simultaneously supervise critical ongoing line functions like the front desk and housekeeping. In fact, some hotels have been forced to turn guests away as they lack staff members to operate at full capacity.

With the persistent labor crunch at hotels, housekeeping has become an opt-in service at hotels. Although travelers have become accustomed to hotels not providing daily cleaning services. Housekeeping will become opt-in for many brands, although normal cleaning protocols will be done every three to five days. Most likely, higher-end properties will continue with daily housekeeping. Many guests prefer less frequent housekeeping, so assuming this desire continues, less than daily service will remain. One caveat is that leisure guests tend to cause greater wear and tear than business travelers. So, some hotel managers want at least to inspect rooms frequently to minimize any major guest room damage. Eventually, housekeeping will have lower room quotas, offer higher wages and attendants will spend more time per room.

How Outsourcing Deep Cleaning is a Great Option – Reach Out Today!

Deep cleaning is required for disinfecting surfaces, as opposed to daily housekeeping, with the frequency ranging from monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually. MWP Cleaning Services has been offering cleaning solutions to hotels to address areas and needs like carpets, tile and grout, drapes, furniture, marble/natural stone, concrete and kitchens. The ROI of MWP Cleaning Services is derived from increased guest scores, boosted through both rates and occupancy and deferred capital expenditures.

Reach Out Today

Please check out our videos and articles with Tribal Gaming & Hospitality Magazine. We understand your business and understand your challenges. We also understand all of the products that are pitched to you that might not have the results that you wanted. I’m in your backyard – I’d be happy to do a review with you for your spaces – call us today at 888-505-7032.