A Housekeeping Career that Spans 30 years and Crosses the Globe: Annelyse Dufour, Executive Housekeeper – Corinthia, London

Not many of us can boast of a career that has taken us to all four corners of the world. The experience Housekeepers gain running housekeeping departments of large hotels all over the world is remarkable. Moving from country to country and culture to culture is both challenging and rewarding. This has been the life of Annelyse Dufour, now Executive Housekeeper at the luxury Corinthia in London. I was excited to catch up with Annelyse when I was in London earlier in 2013. Our paths crossed for the first time in Jakarta in the mid nineties, when I was Executive Housekeeper at the Mandarin Oriental and Annelyse was Executive Housekeeper at the Shangri-La.

We have stayed in touch ever since. There is plenty to talk about when two Housekeepers get together. Especially when Annelyse has been working in the Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe! Here is an overview of Annelyse’s career in Housekeeping Management.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

My parents are both Belgian. I was born in the Belgian Congo and grew up in South Africa. When I finished high school in South Africa, I left to study at a hotel school in Belgium. Even before I got into hotels I was travelling!

What has been your career path to date?

My housekeeping career has spanned over 30 years.

My first role was at The Brussels Hyatt as a Floor Supervisor. I soon moved to the 250 room Europa hotel/Intercontinental in Brussels to take up an Executive Assistant Housekeeper role until I was promoted to the position of Executive Housekeeper at the age of 23. I remained in this position for four and a half years. I was quite young to be Executive Housekeeper but I learned so much. It was wonderful to be given so much responsibility as a young person.

I returned to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in Africa where I was born, it was called Zaire at the time. I worked as Executive Housekeeper at the Sheraton for a few years. Sheraton then transferred me to the Sheraton Abu Dhabi, where I remained for the next six years; I was there during the time of the first Gulf War.  Staying on in the Middle East I moved to the Swissotel in Dubai for two and a half years until I relocated back to Europe, this time to the Swissotel in Istanbul.

My next career move was to Asia, to the newly opened Shangri-La Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia. From there I was off to Brunei, where I experienced my first pre-opening, the private property belonging to the brother of the Sultan of Brunei.

Drawing on my developing pre-opening skills, I returned to Dubai to work at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel and was closely involved with the opening of the Bur Al Arab, looking after both hotels over the next two years. Following the successful opening of the Burj, I undertook a two and a half year period at the One and Only in St Geran, Mauritius, a 5 star deluxe beach resort. I then moved back to Hong Kong and re-joined Shangri-La as Group Housekeeper.

Back in Dubai I opened The Madinat Resort, which is made up of 3 different hotels in one resort. I remained there for six years before I moved back to Hong Kong to work at the Peninsula Hotel.

My last relocation saw me returning to Europe to be involved with the pre-opening and the 2011 opening of London’s newest Five Star property, The Corinthia London, where I am now in my current position as Executive Housekeeper.

It has been a career that has spanned countries, continents and cultures. I feel very proviliged to have had these amazing experiences.

What was your first role as Executive Housekeeper?

I was only 23 years old and it was at the Europa Brussels. It was a wonderful experience to have as such a young person in this industry.

What challenges did that bring?

I was working with older maids who had a lot of experience; so establishing a good rapport with them was hard because I was so young.  In the end it was about mutual respect and using the appropriate management style to get them motivated. It was actually a great learning experience for me, working with people who had been in the industry a long tome.

What is your current position and Hotel? What are your current job responsibilities at your hotel?

I’m currently Executive Housekeeper at Corinthia London; I’m responsible for the rooms, public areas, laundry, landscaping, florist, outside contractors and all the budgets that running these areas bring.

How many staff are you responsible for?

I have a team of 80 permanent staff along with agency staff for top up.

What is your typical day like?

My typical day starts at 6:45 am. At 8 am I have a briefing with the Room Attendants and at 9.30am a briefing with the porters. We have a full operations Management meeting at 10:30 am every day and at 11 am, I meet with the supervisors.

My day includes checking VIPs, spot checking rooms, talking to suppliers and contractors. We are now at the point of rebidding for contracts and as we have some staff turnover we are spending time on recruitment and interviewing. I also interview all the agency staff and spend part of my day training.  I usually leave between 6. 30 – 7.00 pm in the evening.

It is a lot of responsibility and a big workload but I have a great staff.

What are your top three challenges this week?

I think that they would have to be firstly getting consistency in our in-room cleaning, secondly getting room attendants to use their initiative and thirdly being full with a 24 hour check-in and check-out policy and always having room available for use!

How did you choose those Managers under you?  What criteria?

At this property I need Managers who have worked in London for a long time, they need to have five-star hotel experience and need to have worked in a big hotel. It is also useful if they have opened a hotel or been part of the task force doing an opening. Excellence in training is also a necessity. My number three is an internal promotion, she started at the opening as a Room Attendant and has been promoted from Junior Supervisor to Supervisor then Housekeeping Co-ordinator and finally to her current position of Housekeeping Manager. I like to see staff grow and watch their personal development within their career.

How do you manage moving from country to country?

I don’t really think about it, I just pack up and go. Each time I move I do find that my luggage gets bigger!

How do you deal with different cultures?

It’s important to respect different cultures and understand them. I never speak in a condescending way to my team. Never raise your voice, especially not in a public area. Learning the cultures and mannerisms of the country before you go is important. It is up to me as a manager to be respectful of my staff and their customs.

How does pre-opening work compare with working in an existing property? What are the top 3 challenges in an opening?

The great thing about doing an opening is that you make it yours; you are part of the “fabric” of a property. Your own concepts are crucial, as you know yourself what works. There are always restrictions with budgets that set challenges. I have found that most General Managers are not Housekeeping specialists and it’s important to be able to express your opinion. You need to be an exceptional communicator, negotiator and influencer. For example there is always discussion about reasons to work with or without a housekeeping trolley to service the guest rooms.

Going to from Middle East to Asia and then to Europe, what are the differences in your management style?

I didn’t change my management style at all. Different parts of the world have different challenges but that’s what makes housekeeping fun.

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

First of all, lots of patience! Secondly show your staff what you have done and that you can do the job yourself. For example sorting out the linen chute or stripping beds. It is important that you’re on the same page. Thirdly, make sure you have high visibility. You must walk the property and don’t just sit in your office. That was you know what’s going on but also you are accessible to your staff.

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

Nothing specifically, but I will always learn from my mistakes and try to constantly improve my standards.

What advice would you give someone starting out in housekeeping?

You need to really like and enjoy a role in Housekeeping. If you are just looking for a job you won’t survive and ultimately won’t enjoy being an Executive Housekeeper with all its challenges.

The job requires your full commitment as work does take priority.

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

You need a partner who understands the commitments this role requires, otherwise it doesn’t work.

What do you do for fun?

I try to go to the gym and spend time with my family. I also love walking in the countryside and I am trying to see more of England. There is a lot to discover here!

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

I don’t think it has changed much unfortunately. You have always needed and still need to have a strong personality, be persistent, fair and draw on all your management skills to be effective.

Where do you think its heading in the future?

Technology will help to make the operation easier, for example Optii keeper, Triton, Rex, Hot SOS are al up-and coming technologies that will continue to develop the housekeeping industry.  Advances in cleaning equipment, such as microfiber, makes the job more professional and efficient and I think advances will continue in the future.