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Two-Day workshop for Swiss-Belhotel International in Jakarta

Swiss Behotel Housekeepers from around Indonesia came together in Jakarta for a 2-Day Lycette & Associates workshop.

Swiss-Behotel International manages hotels in Asia and the Middle East including Indonesia Medan, Batam (2 hotels), Jakarta (2 operating hotel),  Bandung, Semarang, Surabaya, Bogor (2011), Banjarmasin, Samarinda, Tarakan, Palangka Raya (2010), Balikpapan (2011),  Bali (2 operating hotels, 1 hotel will open in 2011), Manado, Palu, Kendari (2010), Ambon (2010), Manokwari, Jayapura, Merauke (2011).

L&A’s Liz Lycette and Agnes Zlotek-Petit ran the 2-day course together to update the 23 housekeepers on quality control, cost control and housekeeping operations.

Essential housekeeping training for Kempinski worldwide

The Kempinski trainers in Dubai

This was a culmination of nearly 2 years of collaboration between L&A and Kempinski Hotels and Resorts. The  design, development and delivery of the global 10 module training programme for all Kempinski hotels worldwide helps the company to fulfil their mission of  “From Good to Best!”

Master Housekeeping trainers came from all over the world including Russia, China, Indonesia, UAE, Switzerland and Jordan. The 5 day programme introduced the master trainers to 10 modules of training programmes designed for Kempinski; from Room Attendant training to Supervisory skills training. Once delivered, the trainers got to practice and were videotaped for feedback, this new tool enables Master trainers to help improve operations in existing properties and to successfully open new Kempinski Hotels

The Master Housekeeping Trainers also had the opportunity for a back of house tour of the Burj Al Arab and The Address.

Burj al Arab by night

Rotana housekeeping workshop on beautiful Yas Island

L&A was back in UAE in January running a one day workshop for Rotana Assistant Housekeepers at Rotana Hotel Yas Island overlooking the newly opened Yas Island F1 Race track. Fifteen Housekeepers attended the Finance and Staff Management workshop. The lively workshop included games where teams had to mime out the actions of various machines in housekeeping including a sewing machine demonstrated here.

Strategies to Help Boost Self Confidence Work shop for the Club Managers Association of Hong Kong, Macau and China

L&A held a one day workshop for 12 Managers from various private clubs around Hong Kong at the Hong Kong Football Club in October 2009. This workshop was conducted through the Club Managers Association of Hong Kong, Macau and China following the first 3-day Club Managers workshop conducted by Ariane Lellmann in January 2009.

Participants at the “strategies to boost self confidence workshop”

Participants learned how to design a critical path for a project; they then gained skills in writing a report and had to present their winning proposal to the group. They also were taught tips and techniques on how to “Manage their Manager”. During the afternoon session, Guest Speaker, Ms Virginia Tam who is currently General Manager of Harbour Plaza North Point explained how she made her career path from Housekeeping to General Manager. Virginia’s insights into how she climbed the corporate ladder inspired the group as did the sharing of best practice which ended the session.

Training of Optii Keeper at Hard Rock Hotel, City of Dreams, Macau

Liz recently completed a training assignment with Optii Keeper for the re-launch of this great new housekeeping software at the Hard Rock Hotel in Macau.

This busy 400 bedroom casino hotel which opened in April this year, benefited immediately once the Room Attendants and Supervisors were trained in the operation of their individual PDA’s and the software. Initial results showed the Department instantly started working more efficiently to reduce rooms on vacant dirty status from 100 at 6.00pm to only 10. The reaction from Grace Chan, Executive Housekeeper at the Hard Rock Hotel after 5 days in operation;

“A Big THANK YOU to you and Optii – to help us to fix our 6pm issue within just 3 days. We love Optii”

L&A is committed to driving forward with modern solutions to Housekeeping operational issues, especially those geared towards improved productivity, better quality and environmentally friendly.

Rotana Housekeepers workshop – end Feb 2009

The 3 day Corporate Housekeepers conference for the Rotana Group was held in Dubai from 21st February – 24th February 2009

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After a welcome by Mr. Imad Elias, COO of Rotana, the topics of the workshop included project management and opening a hotel. There were many group activities and interactive exercises. Useful topics such as designing a critical path, conducting time and motion studies, setting up public areas and outsourcing were covered. Other sessions included development and presentation of a manning guide, calculating labour. The 2nd day focused on boosting self confidence and included sessions on writing a winning report, presentation skills and “manage your manager”. The final afternoon session included “new trends in Housekeeping”, problem solving and a terrific networking opportunity for all the participants.

Fiji Housekeepers – December 2008

The 3 day workshop held at the Outrigger Resort in Fiji covered topics such as financial management, Housekeeping staff management and training as well as maintaining quality products and services. The workshop was attended by Fiji’s Executive Housekeepers and their Assistants from such diverse properties as Hilton, Radisson, Warwick Resort and Spa, Mana Island Resort, Likuliku Lagoon Resort, Sheraton, Muscat Cove, Castaway Island Resort and Wyndham Hotel.

Insights into opening a 3000, all-suites Hotel in Macau, SAR, China

Venetian Macau

On consideration of the scale of the task the Venetian Macau Casino Resort called on Lycette & Associates’ reputation and resources to provide Rooms Division consulting services and undertake the initial training of all Housekeeping Supervisors and Room Attendants for their new, 3000 all-suite property in Macau.

L&A senior consultants and a team of L&A’s Chinese speaking local trainers worked with the hotel management and to a very tight programme to ensure that the housekeeping department was ready and well prepared for the opening of this unique property on August 28, 2007.

Graduation day – Room Attendants with L&A Trainers

Each L&A trainer was given a group of raw recruits from Mainland China and in 2 weeks successfully turned them into fully fledged 5 star Room Attendants.

Four months after the opening, L&A had continued its involvement with this hotel of “Superlatives” with L&A Supervisors working as Floor Supervisors and Trainers supporting the 1000+ Housekeeping team. All rooms in the hotel are at least 70m² with either 2 queen size beds or a king size bed and each supervisor takes care of all 102 rooms on each floor. Room Attendants clean 10 suites each during their shift. There are 32 guest room floors in the Hotel tower and with each corridor nearly 500metres long there is a lot of walking to be done every day!

More facts and figures about the Venetian Hotel and casino complex include:

• The complex is the largest building in Asia and the 2nd largest building in the world.
• There are currently over 15,000 staff at the complex and this is rising daily. The Venetian workforce accounts for 1 in 20 of all of Macau’s workers.
• The exhibition centre is a huge 131,000m² and has the largest pillar-less ballroom in Asia. A 5 course meal is able to be served to 15,000 guests in the Ballroom at any one time and there is a 15,000 seat stadium in the complex.
• At 51,000m² The Venetian casino floor is the biggest in the world and within the complex are 9 hectares of retail space with over 350 shops and more than 30 restaurants.
• After only 17 days of operation the 1,000,000th visitor passed through the front doors of the complex. There are now up to 75,000 visitors per day.
• The Venetian Hotel accounts for 52% of Macau’s power consumption
• With the opening of the Venetian, Macau’s Hotel room inventory increased by 25%.

Hotel suites

The future looks very bright for Macau with casino revenue already exceeding that of Las Vegas. Visitors to Macau jumped from 9 million per annum in 1999 to 26 million per annum in 2007.

There are an additional 14 hotels being planned for the Cotai strip and a total of 20,000 hotel rooms are due to open over the next 3 years including; Fairmont Raffles, Shangri-La, Hilton, St Regis, Sheraton, Marriott, Conrad and Four Seasons.

Impressive Public Areas

Housekeeping in India

Housekeepers will always be Housekeepers and it seems the challenges of our industry remain the same no matter where in the world. This was made very evident to me when in September 2006, India’s Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces Group invited Lycette & Associates to run a Housekeeping Operations workshop for the group’s Senior Executive Housekeepers.

My trip to Mumbai and then on to Lucknow in the north east of India was a great experience in itself – India is a vast country full of very different sights and experiences. The workshop was held in the fabulous Taj Lucknow, a very elegant hotel housed in an old railway station.

The Housekeepers attending the workshop were very interested and keen to ensure that their skills and practices where up to best international standards, and the workshop sessions were always very lively with lots of questions and many comments. The workshop topics covered many different aspects of Housekeeping operations, from Public Area Operations to the most advanced vacuum cleaners technologies, from the newest uniform designs and fabrics through to the latest designs in floral decorations.

The group of Housekeeping Managers was amazingly diverse; men and women from their early 20’s to late 50’s and from many different type of properties such as either Resorts or City Palaces, large operations or small boutique hotels. Most women looked fabulous and ever so beautiful in their brightly coloured, traditional saris.

Towards the end of the workshop each Housekeeper introduced one of their ideas of “best practice” to the group. Many innovative ideas were mentioned including:

• Linen inventory floor sheets are prepared in advance and printed out for each Room Attendant on the day of the inventory, only additional linen or shortfalls are noted ensuring quick calculations of results.
• One Hotel has a team of 4 “Rush” Room Attendants who start earlier than the rest of the team and pick up all rush rooms.
• At one of the Palace properties, at turndown, a tea candle placed in a special receptacle is lit and left in the bathroom on the side of the bath.
• During winter months, at turndown, a hot water bottle is placed in all beds.
• One Taj Hotel offers a “sleep pack” on the turndown tray consisting of eye pads, a padded eye mask and ear plugs.
• Public Areas which are outsourced have a numerical checklist which is completed weekly by the PA Housekeeper and scores are relayed back to the Contractor. Financial incentives can be tied to higher rating scores.
• Room Attendants are encouraged to get guest history preferences every day, those who get the most during the month are given a prize.
• During a recent festival celebrating Ganesh, the turndown shift folded the towels into the shape of an elephants head.
• Electronic diffusers used in the lobby give off fragrances; different fragrances are used for mornings and evenings.
• A flower consultant was hired to come up with ideas on use of local flowers, seasonal flowers, recycling of flowers from the gardens and foliage and material from the local area. This reduced the costs considerably.

After some days of intense learning, exchange of ideas, project setting and close networking, the workshop came to an end with a final dinner.

Many of the Housekeepers headed back to their very diverse properties; equipped with an action plan and full of enthusiasm to put into practice some of the new ideas, tools and techniques they had learned during the workshop.

The following day a few of the remaining Housekeepers decided on a bit of retail therapy. For me it was a great experience to go sari shopping with a couple of Executive Housekeepers and explore the depths of the Lucknow market, – a side of India I am sure not many foreigners get to see.

Lucknow is known for Chickan (pronounced like Chicken); the most exquisite embroidery in amazing beautiful lengths of cloth that take months to complete entirely by hand.

The next day I headed back to Mumbai where I stayed overnight at the fabulous Taj Palace Hotel. During my 5 amazing days in India I experienced incredible hospitality and the company of a wonderful group of Housekeepers. This experience will stay in my memory for ever.