Interview with Shanti Persaud-Tiwari, Director of Housekeeper – Marina Bay Sands Singapore

Meet Shanti Persaud-Tiwari, Director of Housekeeping at the Marina Bay Sands, an integrated resort overlooking Marina Bay in Singapore. This enormous resort features a 2,561-room hotel, convention-exhibition centre, retail outlets, a museum, two large theatres, seven “celebrity chef” restaurants, two floating Crystal Pavilions, an ice skating rink, and the world’s largest atrium casino with 500 tables and 1,600 slot machines. A 340m-long SkyPark with a capacity of 3,900 people atop the complex and a 150m-infinity swimming pool complete this impressive resort, which opened its doors in February 2011.

We are delighted that Shanti is able to share some of her valuable housekeeping experiences.

Q&A with Shanti Persaud-Tiwari

What is your cultural background?

I am of East Indian origin.

Where were you born and where did you grow up?

I was born and raised in an agricultural country in South America, before migrating to Canada.

What was your career path to date?

My career path spreads over three continents, four countries and 12 hotels.

What was your first role as Executive Housekeeper?

I was Director of Housekeeping for Westin, Edmonton in Alberta, Canada, which was a 416-room hotel.

What challenges did that bring?

Being head of the department in the same hotel where I had my first job as a Housekeeping Management Trainee, I had to learn how to manage change and the challenges that each role brought about.

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

I am the Director, Housekeeping Operations at Marina Bay Sands, an integrated resort in Singapore.  A primary focus of my job is to ensure that my team and I continue to be innovative and adaptable to meet the demands of today’s discerning guests. I concentrate on using resources that help us deliver the highest quality standards of cleanliness and ambience through the upkeep of guestrooms and other departments such as Wardrobe, Laundry and Bay Floral.
How many rooms/ suites are there in the Hotel and what other facilities?

Marina Bay Sands is the leading business, leisure and entertainment destination in Asia. It features large and flexible convention and exhibition facilities, 2,560 hotel rooms and suites, the rooftop Sands SkyPark, the best shopping mall in Asia, world-class celebrity chef restaurants and an outdoor event plaza. Its two theatres showcase a range of leading entertainment performances including world-renowned Broadway shows. Completing the line-up of attractions is ArtScience Museum at Marina Bay Sands which plays host to permanent and marquee exhibitions.

How many staff are you responsible for?

My team comprises of over 450 team members, of which 70 are leaders.

and what areas were you responsible for?

I oversee the operations of Housekeeping which comprise of:

-        Rooms & Suites – we have 2,365 Rooms and 196 Suites

-       Laundry – we have an external laundry operation that handles 15 tons of linen daily

-        Wardrobe – we handle the uniforms for over 9,000 full-time Team Members and 1,500 part-timers on a daily basis, with a GIMS system of 18 conveyor belts, each of which holds 620 garment bags. Each team member has an average of 9 pieces of uniforms; this means handling almost 95,000 garments.

-        Bay Floral – we handle the internal floral requirements for the Hotel, Restaurants, Casino as well as external floral requests from guests.

What is your typical day like?

A typical day for Housekeeping is 1,200 rooms checking out and the same number checking in. Our guests arrive earlier than the 3:00 p.m. check-in time, and most guests prefer to linger on past the 11:00 a.m check out time.

My day starts with a review of all-important matters for the day and going through a recap of the previous day’s statistics and operational activities, before I attend shift briefings. By this time our Daily Operations Meeting takes place, and after this, it is very convenient to catch up with all my peers on issues or outstanding items.  While it is easy to have up to four hours dedicated to meetings about planning, human resources, analysing or exploring improvement opportunities, there is always time to tour the areas on a daily basis.  Towards the end of the day, it’s time to bid a pleasant evening to the majority of our day shift Team Members. I then gather the leaders for a quick update on the day’s outcomes and plans for the next day.  When all is quiet after the team has gone home, it is time to catch up on serious issues that may require undivided attention for an hour or two.  While this may be the overall structure of a typical day, time must be set aside for emergencies, meetings with guests or attending to impromptu important situations that may occur from time to time.

What are your top three challenges this week?

1. Getting through having to turn over 1,700 check-out rooms for guest arrivals between 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. for most of the week
2. Consolidating an abundance of ideas into a smaller list for our yearly upgrades or the next year
3. Making plans to accommodate a group of guests who abide by Sustainable principles and would expect our overall property to be fully environmentally friendly.

How did you choose those managers under you?

I believe in matching talent with responsibility and relationship, besides choosing managers with the right attitude. I prefer to promote from within the department as a way to motivate my team members.

What criteria?

• A passion for all things ‘hospitality’
• Commitment to the values of the hotel
• Adaptability and resourcefulness
• Hospitality experience

How do you manage moving from country to country?

Very easy: I find the right people contacts, ask for assistance, learn the laws and regulations quickly and follow the country’s rules.

How do you deal with different cultures?

In Marina Bay Sands, we have 61 nationalities within our workforce.

Learn, adapt, respect and integrate:  sharing knowledge and experiences and learning new behaviours help to make cultural integration easier and well respected. Dealing with language barriers is not at all challenging – English is a universal language commonly used in Singapore. Besides, there’s always a ready pool of interpreters within our working teams to help facilitate discussions and sharing of ideas.

How does pre-opening work compare with working in an existing property?

In pre-opening, there is a different energy due to the newness of everything. It was exhilarating to watch a building being created from ground up; to experience the arrival of all FF&E; and to watch the teams come on board; and to ‘create’ a department – all these are not found in an existing property.  There is also the privilege of being the absolute first to establish policies, procedures and standards, and to watch all these come to fruition.

What are the top 3 challenges in an opening?

1. Not having the FF&E arrive on time, according to delivery dates
2. Opening before all team members can be fully trained, as this is the key to success
3. FF&E “punch lists” not being completed before opening day

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

1. To have a genuine passion for people and an overall positive attitude.

This will help with team member relationships as well as ensure guests enjoy a memorable experience with every visit.

1. To be flexible, resourceful and adaptable

Housekeeping means multi-tasking, despite not always having the right number of staffing or other resources. One must be able to think quickly and find creative means of addressing shortfalls

1. To be organized, task oriented and acquire excellent follow up skills

Such attributes assist any budding manager to becoming a true role model for the profession

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

I would surround myself with talented colleagues and focus on a schedule with the right work life balance.

What advice would you give someone starting out in housekeeping?

To be a good listener and have effective communication skills; to have patience and be able to multi-task and also to remain organized and systematic in daily duties. Having a positive attitude and a good sense of humour are great assets as well.

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

I am able to have a good balance because I have a skilled and talented team so there is always someone ready to step up into a higher role.

What do you do for fun?

Explore this beautiful country of Singapore and its neighbouring countries. I love to take long walks along the Bay where I can immerse myself in the greenery and lush spaces.

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

Housekeeping is becoming more technologically developed and there are less labour intensive activities, for example, there are now electronic ‘bed-lifters’ that help to make bed-making process easier. The room product have also become more sophisticated to meet the comfort and expectations of today’s well versed guests.

Where do you think it is heading?

The future of Housekeeping is no longer simply lodging. Housekeepers are moving away from traditions and becoming more technologically inclined and are finding more innovative means of providing Housekeeping duties and guestroom amenities and features.  More emphasis is placed on training and development of the teams and more measureable tools are in place to monitor success.  In Housekeeping, it is difficult to attract a workforce who favours such a labour-intensive job. As such, Housekeepers have to be more resourceful to attract the right people for the right jobs. The compensation packages for Housekeepers will become more attractive as the skills and qualifications are better developed to build a special breed of Professional Housekeepers.

 

About Lycette & Associates

L&A specialises in all aspects of Housekeeping Management including on-site consulting, training and development workshops including assistance with initial set-up of housekeeping operations at the pre-opening stage. L&A also undertakes customised operational reviews of existing housekeeping operations identifying and improving the effectiveness and efficiency of current departmental procedures. For more information visit www.lycetteandassociates.com or e-mail info@lycetteandassociates.com