Thinking Outside the Square – A Housekeeping Industry Initiative

The Housekeeping Dilemma

All accommodation hotels have one thing in common – the requirement to turnaround rooms quickly and efficiently to maximise their yields. The Housekeeping Department is sourced with doing the hard work and Hotels are using a variety of options including internal and outsourced Housekeeping workers to provide this service.

Often Hotel’s make decisions on whether to keep the Housekeeping department services themselves or outsource to third party housekeeping contractors like AHS and others based on the availability and quality of suitably qualified Housekeepers.

The ongoing task of recruiting and training Housekeepers can be a difficult and often expensive exercise whether you are a Hotel or an outsourced Housekeeping Contractor. Here is where some innovative training businesses have discovered a niche and set a new benchmark for assisting industry recruit and train suitably qualified Housekeepers.

New Industry Initiative – The innovators

Academy Hospitality Australia have teamed up with Phoenix Hospitality and Training to deliver to industry a 3 week training program whereby students are given on the job training along with nationally recognised qualifications incorporating 4 specific Housekeeping, Health & Safety and Hygiene modules. The modules also contribute towards a Certificate III in Hospitality should the students wish to continue to improve their qualifications.

Students are sourced by the training companies via a variety of job network agencies and recruitment ads and then partnering with a number of 4 and 5 star hotels on the Gold Coast and Brisbane are put to work supervised by the trainers in a real work environment physically cleaning rooms whilst learning the ways of the respective Hotels.

The 9 day, 3 week program fully integrates the students into a working Hotel/Resort in Housekeeping Operations. The program is practical and hands on and students work within real live guest accommodation areas and with the real time constraints of the industry. Generally the groups comprise of 12 to 15 people at the Hotel.

The Results & Achievements – Win/Win

After the completion of the program, the Hotel has first choice at permanently recruiting the students which gives them access to fully trained and inducted staff that already know the inner workings of their Housekeeping Departments. The other students are placed through a variety of other Hotels also participating in the program.

Phoenix Hospitality & Training Director Rachael Newberry says “We have established a great network of leading Gold Coast and Brisbane Hotels to participate in the Hotel Housekeeping Essentials program. The courses fill very quickly and the employment outcomes for the students are far greater than any other training I have ever been involved in. Industry sees this as a great win for them as they essentially get 3 weeks of free room cleaning from the students during the program and then get to recruit fully trained Housekeepers. The Job Network agencies are fulfilling their role by gaining employment outcomes for their clients and the students are learning new skills and being actively recruited into new Hospitality jobs. It really is a win/win for the industry”

“Our courses which began on the Gold Coast are now being actively sought out in Brisbane and regional Queensland areas and we are rapidly expanding the training program to continue to meet the needs of the Accommodation Services Sector”

A Strong Future

As major events scheduled in South East Queensland including the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and a general increase in tourism following the GFC bring new business to our Accommodation sector, these training initiatives will certainly help industry cope with a genuine undersupply of trained Housekeepers.

If you would like any information regarding placing trained Housekeepers or running a similar course in your Hotel please contact the team at Academy Hospitality Australia on 1300122287 or admin@acats.com.au For more information on the course or to download a PDF brochure go to  http://phoenixhospitality.com.au/hotel-housekeeping-courses/