Daily Archives: December 11, 2012

Interview with Lorraine Castelino

Lorraine and I first met in October 1991 when I was Executive Housekeeper of the 513 room Conrad Hotel in Hong Kong. In this position I was not only responsible for the rooms, public areas, uniform and linen rooms but also the large on site laundry and the 240 serviced apartments which were part of the complex. At that time, Lorraine was Assistant Housekeeper in charge of the Parkview serviced apartments including a team of over 50 staff.

We stayed in touch over the years and Lorraine assisted us most recently with the 3-month assignment as Acting Executive Housekeeper for H Hotel in Dubai earlier in 2012. Lorraine is passionate about Housekeeping and is ready to take on other exciting assignments in 2013. Lorraine was happy to share some of her experiences in housekeeping.

What is your cultural background? Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born in Mumbai, India and grew up in a very close knit family, where open communication was encouraged.

What has been your career path to date?

After graduating from the Institute of Hotel Management and Catering Technology in Mumbai, India, I chose to specialize in housekeeping and Operations and started my career by securing a supervisory position in a 5 star hotel in India, quickly moving on to management roles. At the age of 22, I was the youngest Executive Housekeeper in the country at the time.

I moved onto management and senior management positions for properties in Iraq, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and the UAE. These included a number of project related assignments

What was your first role as Executive Housekeeper and what challenges did that bring?

Being one of the only female Head of Departments early on in my career, I was challenged from the outset in a male dominated realm. Most of my staff members were older than I which should have put me at an immediate disadvantage but to counter that, I decided to lead by example and ensure that I had the capability of doing everything I delegated the team to do.

I learnt very early in my career that building a strong team that embraced open and honest communication across all levels was not just preferable but absolutely necessary.

What is did your role as Acting Executive Housekeeper at H Hotel Dubai involve?  What were your job responsibilities at the hotel? 

The H Hotel undertook a major rebranding initiative, which primarily included an internal drive to have staff understand and deliver the brand mission.

This included a structured training regime with emphasis on timely execution. The key elements were anticipating guest needs and attention to detail.

The competitive nature of the hotel industry in Dubai required setting high standards, then meeting those standards and working on exceeding them. This was also part of the training program.

How many staff were you responsible for?
70

Can you describe a typical day?

There was no typical day. Given the severe time constraint to ensure the training regime was in place and staff members were responding to the call for higher standards, the only typical element to my day was that I started each day at 8 am and routinely finished the day at 11 pm. Each day of my short tenure at H Hotel was different from the previous one and as they passed by, it was clear that the Housekeeping department was making a positive and strong move in the right direction. The foundation laid would quite simply withstand the test of time.

What were the top three challenges over the 3 months?

1. Raising standards by ensuring grassroots expectations by staff were significantly adjusted to understand the new mission.  In short a slight twist in the mindset of the team in general yielded positive results
2. Ensuring staff responded positively to training and executed their tasks to the level that ensured meeting and exceeding the high standards
3. Improving supervisory skills and creating continuity in the overall workflow by establishing strong communication protocols.

How do you manage moving from country to country?

I absolutely enjoy experiencing new cultures and meeting new people.  New experiences help me to grow and I am able to understand people better.

How do you deal with different cultures?

I focus on the good in every culture and ensure that when recruiting there is a healthy mix of all nationalities within the department.

How does consultancy work compare with working in a full time position? What are the top 3 challenges and the differences between consultancy work and a full time position?

Full time positions are ones of ongoing strategic and tactical tasks and initiatives whereas a consultancy is time constrained with a clear scope of work within the defined timeframe.

1. Quick identification of critical issues within the defined scope of work is imperative so that the maximum amount of time is spent on addressing them and implementing corrective measures
2. Positive communication with all levels of staff involved in the defined scope of work.
3. Building relationships with all levels of staff involved in the defined scope of work – thus tearing down walls of resistance and other roadblocks

Going from Australia to Middle East, what are the 3 main differences in your management style?

I have a very simple management style which I adopt universally – open door, hands on and very direct communication – this has always worked in all countries I had the privilege to work in

What are your top 3 tips for success in Housekeeping Management?

1. Understand what the management expects- understand the vision and goals of the company
2. Work with the team to deliver those goals in the most cost effective way -  each team member must fit the DNA of the company.
3. Training must be part of the daily routine- 7days a week- 365 days a year

If you had to do it all over again what would you do differently?

My 35 years in the industry has been a constantly evolving learning curve. At this stage of my career, there is no prosthetic for the experience I have gained in all those years. The short answer is I would not do too many things differently

One thing I might make time for is to organise more team building activities for staff.

What advice would you give someone starting out in housekeeping?

Do not lose focus of your goals and work hard to achieve them.  Ensure that all your employees understand the goals and the company’s vision, share your passion to accomplish them and work alongside them to ensure this happens.  Nothing motivates staff more than knowing that they played a crucial role in the success of the department

How about your personal life? How do you balance work and home life?

I am a workaholic and still need to find that balance.

What do you do for fun?

I design my own products made from natural materials.  Working with leather is a recent passion.

How do you think housekeeping management has changed since you started?

There is more emphasis on the human resources factor. The ultimate goal is to get teams motivated to provide the best service to the hotel guest. Organisational strength through a sense of belonging has been seen to lead directly to high levels of productivity and efficiency.

Where do you think it is heading?

We are now truly a global village. Cultural borders are melting as international travel is as easy as catching a bus. The international traveler may be from a particular country or demographic but in essence is multicultural. His/her expectations have changed significantly from what they used to be. They are more sophisticated now, they demand and expect the best and in this age of the internet, poor service can very quickly become the downfall of a property.

Multicultural teams are the best solution to multicultural guests. Teams of various cultures are known to be able to break down cultural barriers more naturally and easily and communicate effectively with guests thus making it much easier to anticipate their needs and delivering the best possible service.