Ask someone to think of an extra-special hotel stay they’ve had. They’re likely to reminisce about a time when towels were artfully folded on the bed, or the friendly staff went out of their way to fulfill requests and make a room sparkle. Your diligent housekeeping staff work hard to deliver thoughtful and skillful touches that elevate guest experiences. While they deserve our deep appreciation always, this week (Sept. 9-15) is International Housekeeping Week--what better time to highlight their massive behind-the-scenes contributions to the hospitality industry?
To help inspire creative and meaningful ways to say thank you to your housekeeping staff for keeping the industry running squeaky clean, here are a few ways to say thank you:
CREATE AN IN-HOUSE PROGRAM
The Hilton family of brands offers a dedicated website for its property managers to celebrate their Kings and Queens of clean. Managers can upload housekeeping staff photos to the Housekeeping Wall of Fame, download free materials to make a branded "Thank You" scrapbook and order gifts for the team. They also reshare images from social media of their properties saying "thank you" to their teams with free donuts, team meals and parties, and more.
ARRANGE FOR SOME PAMPERING
Your housekeeping staff works hard, so what better gift than relaxation? For instance, you might pay for chair massages or salon services to be on site for housekeepers as a free gift before or after their shift. You could provide gift certificates for housekeeping staff to be pampered on their own time. Or if the schedule allows, consider providing an extra day or hourly allotment of paid time off for the year, to allow staff an extra day to rest. Some properties reportedly even arrange to have housekeeping staff’s homes professionally cleaned during this week!
RECOGNIZE THEIR HARD WORK
From commemorative pins to hosted meals, there are so many ways to show housekeeping staff you see and appreciate them. Add treats or raffles for hotel stays or other prizes to the break room (bonus points for cleaning it for them this week so they don’t have to!). We offer a range of custom, quick-ship products and packages perfect for branded staff gifts. All recognition doesn’t need to be in product form, however: Include a shout-out to them in newsletters or meetings. Write a heartfelt note to your staff. These are just some of the creative ways to reinforce that their work matters.
From all of us at In-Room Plus, thank you to housekeeping staff everywhere--you keep our clients’ properties worldwide clean, inviting and special places to stay.
