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SEQPHA Day at the Races

Mel, Kerry and Marie

Mel, Kerry and Marie

Liz and Jenny Howarth drove down to the Gold Coast Turf Club on Saturday 13th July to attend the Day at the Races organised by the South East Queensland Housekeeper Association.  Over 75 attended the lunch and afternoon racing session. Over $3,101 was raised for the 3 charities (Ronald McDonald House, Currumbin Wildlife Sanctuary and Make it Happen) supported by the Housekeeper Association. Click Here To Read More

SEQPHA Breakfast 7th August 2013 at Emporium Hotel Brisbane

Emporium breakfastSouth East Queensland Professional Housekeepers Association will be having a breakfast and tour of the property at Emporium Hotel, Brisbane from 7.00am on Wednesday 7th August. $20 for members and $25 for non-members includes breakfast and show around. RSVP to Melissa at MelissaB@scuttle.com.au

PHAN Professional Housekeepers Association NSW Upcoming event – Trade Show for Preferred Suppliers

PHAN-logoMake a diary note – Monday August 12, 2013 at Radisson Blu Hotel,  O’Connell Street, Sydney, NSW. Time from 5 to 7pm. This is an opportunity to see and talk with PHAN Preferred Suppliers about their product range, new items and established favourites.

SEQPHA 2013 Trade Show at Intercontinental Sanctuary Cove Resort, Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia

SEQPHA trade show adAfter the great success of the past trade shows, the latest in Australia’s leading Hotel Suppliers will again be on display this year at the South East Queensland Professional Housekeeper Association Trade Show 2013. With over 30 Industry suppliers will be exhibiting their products and services for the Hospitality & Tourism Industry, this is a great opportunity to see all the products under the one roof.

Click Here To Read More

New Housekeeping Demo Lab at Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School

Students at the School practice making up rooms in the housekeeping new demo lab

Students at the School practice making up rooms in the housekeeping new demo lab

It’s great to finally see a Hospitality School get serious about designing and installing a housekeeping demonstration laboratory where students can learn what the realities of housekeeping are.

The new demo lab at the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School (BMIHMS) has all the bells and whistles.

It took 6 months from first inception till it was completed in November 2013 and incorporates the following:

  • A state-of-the-art bedroom space with a split king, allowing students to participate in demonstrations of different bed making methods and styles, and bedroom detailing.
  • Purpose built bathroom, which has 5 different sizes of tiles and surfaces with 3 different coloured grouts, 2 styles of vanity atop a marble benched polyurethane cabinet. These variations enable demonstration of all cleaning requirements. The bathroom completely opens out into the room so demonstrations are easily visible to the group of up to 20 students.
  • The bedroom area has 4 different carpets, 2 of which are tiles, along with 3 different wood surfaces including bamboo.
  • The cube shaped seats for students also use a variety of upholstered materials, so that students can view wear and tear and address cleaning issues.
  • Wall surfaces include framed textured wallpapers that form part of the décor along with painted surfaces.
  • The area also has a mini housekeeping storeroom that is built from laminate, this stores the housekeeping trolley along with various pillow types, linen and also a porta cot. There is a desk and wardrobe area, which was built using a veneer timber. This stores a rollaway bed.
  • The room features all the guest supplies and amenities one would expect in a hotel room

The room was designed and put together by Liz Boyd, Design Consultant in conjunction with BMIHMS Executive Housekeeper Vicky Jakus. Its purpose is to reflect the diversity of surfaces found in a typical hotel room so as to enable our students to learn the entire operations of the housekeeping department of a 5 Star hotel.

Students undertaking the Bachelor of International Hotel and Resort Management and Master of International Hotel Management degrees use the facilities. Their aim is to graduate with business degrees and progress to management positions with acute knowledge of hotel operations.

Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School  is very proud of their latest addition to their learning spaces and wish to thank all the suppliers who contributed to this project.

PHAN well prepared for another active year

PHAN CommitteeAs executive housekeepers come under increasingly large workloads and more stressful responsibilities, membership of, and participation in, appropriate industry bodies can prove very worthwhile for the individual’s wellbeing. That was a key message imparted by Professional Housekeepers Association of NSW Inc (PHAN) president Maureen Jolowicz at the Association’s 2013 annual general meeting.

Click Here To Read More

The Global Soap Project improving health in Malawi

Malawi_RecipientsThis is a message from  Sam Stephens Executive Director, The Global Soap Project.There is nothing like the joy we bring to people with a simple bar of soap!  Last month, I went to Malawi to visit our partners distributing our soap in the southern part of the country.  The project there is a collaborative effort between Global Soap, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the Clinton Health Access Initiative, PATH, PSI, and the local Ministry of Health.  Since becoming part of the partnership last year, we have distributed soap and hygiene education to more than 5,000 pregnant women and their families each month.
In Malawi, diarrheal diseases and pneumonia combined are the leading cause of death in children, and the second leading cause of death in adults. Research by CDC and UNICEF has shown that handwashing with soap is the most effective way to prevent those deaths.
As with most of our in-country projects, we strive to complement the work being done and the health goals already in place. In Malawi, our partnership is providing soap and hygiene educaiton through an existing network of rural clinics to increase the community’s understanding of the importance of soap, how to use it, and why it is worth purchasing for their families from the local markets.  Participants are given a free bar of soap after completing a handwashing education class at each clinic visit.  Over a period of several months, this repitition encourages behavior modification to make handwashing a lifestyle routine for the mothers, their families, and the broader community.
The program has shown early success; according to the program coordinator, diarrheal disease rates have decreased significantly, school attendance is improving because there is less illness, participant families are sharing information about handwashing with others in the community, and program participants are starting to purchase local soap – meaning the impact we’re creating will be sustained long-term. The economic and health impacts show what a bar of soap can do – and how it makes a difference.
We’re grateful for your support as we work to improve health and save lives – thank you for making all of this possible!  Over the past three years, you have helped Global Soap make a positive health impact in nearly 30 countries around the world, including the US – all while diverting thousands of pounds of used soap from landfills each week.Support is grately appreciated. To donate visit: http://www.globalsoap.org/get-involved/donate/

Professional Housekeepers of NSW visit Manly International College

manly_hospitality_college_visit_17_20130412_1392991991It was the first event for 2013 – and 22 members of the Professional Housekeepers Association of NSW accepted the invitation to inspect the facilities and surroundings enjoyed by students of the renowned Manly International College of Management.

Faculty staff, Jan Read and Melissa Roughly, presented an overview of the housekeeping component for the Hospitality undergraduate programs, to the intense interest of an august collection of Executive Housekeepers and Supervisors.  A strong vote of confidence was given to the content and relevance of the material presented.

The ethos of the college as they train and mentor international students is to foster a passion for the profession of Hotelier.  This provides freedoms and involvement in local community at many levels.  On route to achieving high academic goals – the opportunity to serve the community is a very present value.  The college manages work placement partnerships with many Sydney hotels.

Senior students were preparing for a Gatsby event the next day and the visitors were impressed at the décor and the entire event creation, management, planning, budgeting, resourcing –  a student responsibility from start to finish.  Very impressive.  We were told that Nicole Kidman and Keith Urban had their wedding and reception at the college – now that would be a fantastic milestone to flag on your college c.v.

A great start for learning, networking, getting out there for 2013.  Coming soon – a seminar on The Ageing Workforce – strategies for management of older workers. Please contact Mavis Hedrik at public.officer@phan.org.au for additional information.

More photos available on web site:  www.phan.org.au

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Guest Lecture Opportunity at Enderun College, Manila, the Philippines

enderun 001Liz was invited to Enderun College whilst she was at the Peninsula Manila for a month. This gave her a great opportunity to address some of the hospitality students from the Advanced Hotel Operations Course. Her presentation was on Management skills training through Housekeeping with new trends and innovations and a group debate.

She also shared some tips on the next Step – getting that job. The group debate on the pros and cons of using technology in housekeeping Department  was lively and engaging and provoked the students to think seriously about choosing housekeeping management has a potential career path

Lycette & Associates presented at the Housekeepers Share Knowledge Day

Share knowledge day smallThe UK Housekeeper Association invited Liz Lycette to present at the Share Knowledge Day held on Tuesday 22nd January 2013 at the prestigious Jumeirah Carlton Towers Hotel in Knightsbridge. The presentation, ‘Maintaining Quality in Guest Rooms and Public Areas’ was well received by the audience of over 60 housekeepers and general managers. Other topics presented included finance excel spreadsheets, emotional intelligence and the digital Housekeeper.

The afternoon session was an introduction into back of house design with best practice and benefits, the group then presented what they currently do with some ideas for the future.

High words of phrase came from Anne Britton, President of UKHA and organiser of the day.

“You were just wonderful. You are inspirational. I just loved your presentation you make a subject that can be boring fun but still cramming in the information, shaking us up to do better and putting us up-to-date with the latest devises. All in all a winning success. Thank you very much to have been part of our UK Share Knowledge day; your input was instrumental to that successful day.”

Lycette & Associates thanks Anne Britton and the UKHA for the opportunity to speak at the Share Knowledge Day.

 

UKHA President Anne Britton with the speakers at the Share Knowledge Day

UKHA President Anne Britton with the speakers at the Share Knowledge Day