What's New in Housekeeping?

Oct 01, 09 | 1:55 am

Housekeepers from all over Sydney gathered this month at the Radisson Plaza Hotel in Sydney, to hear about some of the latest trends and developments in Housekeeping. Liz Lycette from Lycette&Associates in her role as Public Officer for PHAN (Professional Housekeepers Association NSW), was MC at the event.

PureRooms was first of the mark to present their new concept. PureRooms, a new company from the US introduced the group to allergy friendly rooms. PureRooms prepare and treat guest rooms; the process removes up to 99% of pollutants from the air, to let your guests breathe easy. It also protects from irritants such as mould, viruses, bacteria, pollen, and yeast -- eliminating odours at the source and leaving the room smelling fresh. Rooms treated by PureRooms can be sold with a surcharge. The treatments include; all air conditioning units cleaned and treated witrh the installation of tea tree oil in the drip pan of the a/c unit, all surfaces in the room treated with PURE clean solution, high ozone shock treatment, PURE shield bacteria barrier, installation in every room of the electronic air purifier and allergy friendly bed encasements.

Next up was Vitric explaining the processes involved in restoring and maintaining natural stone floors. This presentation also highlighted the environmental damage of stripping and sealing natural stone floors with harsh chemicals which are usually flushed down the drain and compared this process to the long term benefits of the grounding and resurfacing of floors using Vitric's methods.

Another company, InnerScents presented an Australian invention of guest products that have an aromatherapy component to their manufacture. Ironing board covers which waft with subtle smells of herbs were demonstrated. Other products included pillow inserts, shoe bags and guest giveaways.

Finally the last to present was Optii Solutions with their new Housekeeping software system Optii Keeper, which revolutionizes the way Housekeeping operates. This is the world's first automated, intelligent housekeeping solution for hotels developed by Hoteliers for Hoteliers and with Housekeepers for Housekeepers in conjunction with Intercontinental Hotel Group. Optii Keeper has proven to save up to 20% of housekeeping payroll costs and up to 40% of Supervisor time. It eliminates 80% of phone calls between Front Office and Housekeeping and creates a motivating environment by fairly spreading workloads among team members. This helps to improve quality and staff morale and the system saves at least two hours every morning by automating the room allocation process at the push of a button. The Housekeeping management team can see in Real Time if the housekeeping team are ahead of schedule, on time or behind schedule and the system virtually eliminates the current expense of overstaffing or understaffing by forecasting staffing needs.

The Housekeepers ended the session with an opportunity to network and meet the suppliers.


About PHAN

PHAN is the Professional Housekeepers Association of NSW. PHAN President is Lalini De Silva. For more information visit: www.phan.org.au To contact PHAN email info@phan.org.au