Can Upshifters increase the service scores?

We have observed that filling hotel staffing needs is not the only benefit of Upshift. Recently, Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott in New Albany worked with Upshift to find housekeepers. Turns out, as their usage of Upshifters increased, Expedia rating went up from 90% to 93%.

In this article, we’ve broken down the costs and productivity of housekeepers. 

Housekeeping in the “New Normal”

Over the course of the past year, travelers have set a new standard of cleanliness in hotels. Organizations are having to get creative to meet the growing demand in a challenging labor market. Savvy operators are finding new ways to utilize talent by shifting duties to lower the learning curve while not sacrificing productivity.

By breaking down the cleaning process into basic functions, operators can use time and motion principles to glean new functional roles that can be performed with minimal training. The goal may always be to train full-time housekeepers to clean 17-23 rooms per day, but this may not be feasible in the current job market.

Hotels can use the following strategies to maximize talent at any skill level in the room cleaning process to deliver a timely and clean guest experience.

Cleaning Process

Cleaning a standard guest room is fairly consistent across brands and tiers. The average guest room takes between 22 and 35 minutes to clean, depending on your standards. Each step represents an opportunity to create efficiencies and pivot when circumstances dictate.

Room Cleaning Strategies

Utilizing Upshifters

Full Time Housekeeper

A new Housekeeper must be trained to clean to brand standards. This can take 60 – 120 minutes. Training combined with preparing a cart results in approximately 5 hours of productive time or 10 rooms. This increases when you bring Upshifters back.

Team Cleaning

Pairing an Upshifter with a housekeeper on your team requires much less training and can result in boards of 28 – 39 rooms. This is a great way to train while generating productivity.

House Person

A dedicated House Person can be utilized to strip 90 – 110 rooms. This is valuable on check-out days and can increase Housekeeper productivity by 3-5 min per room.

Specialist

A specialist can be brought in to perform a specific function. We recommend having an Upshifter either make beds or clean bathrooms. Both require minimal setup and training but can be significantly impactful. A specialist can make between 45 – 55 beds per day, saving between 7-10 min per room. A bathroom cleaner can clean between 50-60 per day and save between 5-10 min per room.