provide instant recognition. Lastly, size does count. Make sure the bottle size is at least enough for two uses.

2. Fresh flowers make a statement. Flowers are more than just lush colors and pleasant fragrances. A single fresh flower in a bud vase indicates a degree of care for the room and a link to nature.

3. Make sure there are enough hangers. Somehow there are never enough hangers for all of the suits, skirts, pants and other items that remarkably spring out of a single suitcase. Whereas most guys will hang up

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ravel research indicates that the female head of household makes

the bulk of leisure travel decisions. So, while you’re rightfully concerned

about operating costs, beware about cutting corners that really cost occupancy and loyalty. If you are targeting premium or luxury guests or are a fully independent operator, you can easily capitalize upon these suggestions (not presented in any order of importance or cost to your operation).

1. Choose bathroom amenities carefully. Women know instantly when quality is compromised. It’s more than improved packaging – it’s what’s inside those bottles that count. Great brand names charge more for their amenity programs because they

What Women Really Want to Find in Your Guest Rooms

T

Housekeeping Best Practices Improve productivity with thesetime-saving ideas

What’s Inside April 2016Is Management Right for You? Ask yourself these questions before taking that giant step forward

Jim’s Letter Our favorite contributor provides practical steps to change your future

• Channel your inner NBA star! Just check into the Hardwood Suite at the Palms® Casino Resort in Las Vegas. It is full-court impressive, covering 10,000 square feet on two floors, with an indoor basketball court, professional locker room and NBA-sized fold-out beds, so you can sleep right on the court.

• Wellness works. If the nineties were characterized by a growth of the all-inclusive resort vacation, the 2010s will be known for its focus on health and fitness. With over 84% of American hotels boasting fitness centers (up more than 60% in a decade), wellness has become the new norm.

• Speaking of the new norm, as the hotel industry moves beyond the standard fitness center, more services are being demanded – and offered – like yoga classes, a running concierge, a minibar featuring fresh produce and juices, workout clothing purchase and rental options, and more.

• Ok, sticky fingers! In a survey of travelers taken by Hotels.com, 61% of respondents admitted to pilfering a hotel amenity. Travelers from Argentina, Singapore and Spain top the list, followed by the travelers in the U.S.

CHECK-INLike our new look? Read more inside.

CHECK-IN – Issue 04_2016 americanhotel.com

Here are a few best practices that can help you trim

the fat from your hotel’s housekeeping department.

can’t be trusted to do so without constant supervision seems fairly absurd. Industrial engineering principals tell us that properly documented random inspections produce higher quality than continuous inspection of every unit (or every room). A more efficient solution is to empower your room attendants to release their own rooms and employ a smaller quality-control team to randomly select rooms for inspection.

Keep score and pay for performance. It’s important that quality inspections be recorded and shared with the employees involved. Tallying and analyzing scores enable management to pinpoint problem areas. Documented quality scores can also be used to identify employees who may be struggling to meet standards or used to recognize and reward superior performance. In one hotel, room attendants receive an additional $1 per hour for consistently completing their work assignments on time and maintaining excellent quality scores. Another property allows room attendants to leave early and receive a full day’s pay once they’ve completed their assignments so long as they maintain a certain quality score threshold.

Source: hotelmanagement.net

pants or a suit, leaving everything else in a suitcase, women like to place things in drawers and the closet so that there are fewer fold lines and so they can better coordinate apparel for the next event.

4. Purchase high quality bed linens and ensure beds are made properly. There is no excuse for an improperly made bed, except a lack of training of housekeeping staff or poor supervision. As for bed linens, the quality is immediately noticeable. Better sheets will last longer and finish better, giving you a further return on your investment.

5. Bathrobes that fit. Too often bathrobes in hotels are one size fits all, which really means that they are one size fits nobody. What works well for a man might not fit a woman. Consider two sizes per bathroom or let guests know they can call the front desk to request different sizes.

6. Where is the tray to store jewelry? For men, this is easy – take off the watch and place it bedside. Women may wear earrings, a bracelet or two, a watch and a necklace, all of which require collective safekeeping. True, they are typically placed in a room safe when at the pool or when not being worn. But many hotels don’t offer this thoughtful amenity, which can contribute to lost or misplaced pieces in the guest room.

7. Towels have a laundering life. Don’t try to squeeze the last few uses out of an old towel. Simply replace it.

8. Provide a wet swimsuit bag. Your guests may go for a swim, and then leave the next day, but the swimsuit has not dried out yet. Thank goodness, there’s a laundry bag. Wait, that’s for dirty clothes. Where does the swimsuit go? Help!

9. Housekeeping that is flawless. Nothing is a greater turnoff than a room that is anything less than perfect in this regard. Any variation here cannot be tolerated for the simple reason that it may be a sign of deeper problems under the surface. Make a good first impression with your guest rooms and don’t give anyone a reason to doubt your services.

10. Make-up mirrors need to be illuminated and ideally magnifying. While this one requires CapEx, complaints nonetheless mount when makeup mirrors lack adjustability, magnification and illumination. There are many brands available, and costs have gone down considerably, so the choice is yours.

Source: Larry Mogelonsky, hotelsmag.com, 3/15

Level the playing field. Ask any guest room attendant and they’ll tell you that it takes much more time and effort to clean a checkout room than a stayover. A recent time and motion study of room attendants for an all-suite property observed 60 rooms being cleaned (30 checkouts and 30 stayovers). On average, it took 43 minutes to clean a checkout room, but it took just 23 minutes on average to clean a stayover room. Room attendants at this hotel dreaded heavy checkout days when their workload (in terms of time required) often increased by as much as 80%. When possible, the manager reduced the number of rooms assigned which reduced productivity. Conversely, on days with few checkouts, room attendants found themselves trying to stretch five hours of work to fill their eight-hour day. Guest room credit values were adjusted so that room attendants received twice the credits for cleaning a checkout room than for a stayover room. Daily credit quotas were adjusted to fill the standard eight-hour shift. Room attendants could work at a comfortable pace no matter what the mix of checkouts and stayovers. The shift resulted in an 11% increase in productivity.

Trust but verify. Back in the day, the average housekeeping department included inspectors tasked with following behind each room attendant to check every room they cleaned. The notion that a room attendant who has cleaned the same rooms for years

Housekeeping best practices to improve productivity

A New Look forCheck-InWe are delighted to bring you this first issue of the newly redesigned Check-In! Still full of all the content you love, including a letter from our Chairman, Jim Leahy, the newsletter is now brought to you in a bright, engaging four-color format.

We hope you enjoy it. As always your feedback is welcome – please let us know how you like it.

Continued from previous page…

CHECK-IN – Issue 04_2016 americanhotel.com

Lonely Planet’s Best Places to Visit in the U.S. – 2016

In the News

Going from doing the work to managing those who do the work is a big decision, and not only for the property.

Each individual needs to personally consider the factors before taking the leap. Here are a few thought-provoking questions for those who are considering a step up to a supervisory role:

• Will you miss the satisfaction of doing the work and knowing that you may very well have done the job better than others?

• Are you prepared to judge people solely on their performance instead of your personal relationship with them?

• Do you realize that not all your decisions will be popular with the group?

• Will you be okay with the fact that you may no longer be considered “one of the gang” and at times you will be left out of impromptu social gatherings?

• Can you handle the fact that not everyone will like you or agree with you?

• Are you prepared for the fact that some of

Special guest problems were no problem for these properties. Valuable lessons we can all learn from…

Donna Shurwin, the owner of Mountain Haven Inn in Pinetop, AZ, writes:

“An elderly guest’s breathing was especially affected by our town’s 7,200-foot elevation. Though they had booked a one-week reservation, they had forgotten to bring a prescribed oxygen tank, and were in an uncomfortable – and potentially life-threatening – situation. I had them phone their doctor to get a prescription called in to our local oxygen supplier, then arranged for oxygen tanks to be delivered during their stay. We were blessed to have these lovely folks stay with us, and they were grateful that they could enjoy our great weather without having to return home.”

Is Management Right For You?

We Love Hearing From YouFrom Our Readers

Focus on Human Resources

JULIE BAKER

your direct reports may appear to resent your promotion?

• Can you imagine that your understanding of people’s abilities and shortcomings may change from when you worked alongside them?

• Can you enforce rules even when you may have broken those same rules in the past?

• Are you prepared to manage the work and to lead people? These are two entirely

different skill sets than doing the work, and you will need to thrive

at both to be successful.A promotion to a

management role, in which you are supervising people you once worked with as

an equal, brings about social change. It’s not just about a title

or additional income, it is about taking on an entirely new role with

new challenges and new working relationships. It’s an important decision, and one not to be taken lightly.

Source: mranet.org, 4/13

Thank you for the great stories – and for providing outstanding service to your guests.

Merrick Johnson, Guest Services Director at the Holiday Inn St. Louis Downtown – Convention Center, offered this story:

“A guest and her two children stayed with us over a long weekend. One night, she parked her car away from the hotel and it was broken into. The windshield was smashed and the car could not be driven. Naturally, she was really upset, but that’s when our staff started to shine. Our security supervisor helped her file a police report and arranged for the auto glass to be repaired. Our front desk agent also jumped into action, extending the guest’s checkout time, and then helping entertain her kids while their mom tended to the crisis. Later, the car was returned good as new, and after a meal (on the house), they were on the road. The guest was so grateful to us, and I couldn’t be prouder of our helpful team.”

Trina Shaner, General Manager, Vernon Inn and Suites in Viroqua, WI, also contributed a funny story:

“We had a great group of construction workers that stayed with us for over a year and a half. They usually kept their rooms neat and tidy, but one night, they decided to party in one room and left it a mess the next day. They removed all the light bulbs and put everything they could think of in the bathtub! When they checked back in the following Monday, I made sure the guy who held the party received the same room minus towels, toilet paper, shampoo, etc. I also left a box of light bulbs, with a note that said: ‘You’re an electrician, I am sure you can light things up! (I don’t get mad, I get even!)‘ He never asked for a thing the whole week, and believe it or not, we became great friends.”

1. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania2. Natchez, Mississippi3. Yellowstone National Park

(Montana, Wyoming, Idaho)4. Birmingham, Alabama5. Alaska6. Somerville, Massachusetts7. Northwest Arkansas8. San Antonio, Texas9. Southern New Mexico

10. Milwaukee, Wisconsin Source: lonelyplanet.com

CHECK-IN – Issue 04_2016 americanhotel.com

Dear Friends,You have a future ahead of you. You may love it. It may disappoint you. The choices you

make now will create that future.Far too many talented people today are not achieving their potential. And it’s not always bad

luck, but because of choices they make.We each choose our habits, our friends, our goals, what we read or hear, how we spend our

time, and where we put our money. We choose our attitudes: about people different from us, about who we would like to marry, about what car we’d like to be seen in, about what makes a real “man,” about God, death, money, and a thousand other things.

Our habits, our friends, and our attitude are our choices. We choose them and they shape our personalities and the hours of our days.

If you’re not happy about where you are headed in life, figure out what you will change to create a different future. Ask older people you respect how they became the men and women they became. Listen to what they say. Ask them “why” and “what if…”

If you’re afraid of talking with people who look older and successful, overcome that fear. Politely ask if he or she has a few minutes to talk to you. If they can’t, respect it. If they have time, ask how they created their future – what worked? What did they do that had the most impact on their lives? What do they wish they had done differently?

Take courses to improve yourself, your language, your writing ability, and your knowledge of your job.

Write down what you want from life, what would make you happy and how you’d like to change yourself. What about yourself do you enjoy and makes you feel good about yourself? Keep that in front of you as a reminder of your goal, so you know if you’re getting closer to achieving it.

Practice politeness and respect. They’ll get you a long way. If you struggle with fits of sudden anger, get rid of that. Otherwise, it will destroy anything you try to do.

You are blessed to be working in hospitality, where you will be given encouragement, training and demanding work. You will learn discipline, communication skills, and personal grooming. Your manager cares about you and your development.

You have the power to make a difference in this world of ours. Choose to do great things!Best wishes to you on your life’s journey!

Love,

We hope you’ve enjoyed this issue.Your feedback, suggestions, stories, and ideas make our newsletter interesting and useful. Please take a moment to send us your thoughts.

EMAIL: check-in@americanhotel.com

MAIL: American Hotel Register CompanyAttn: Check-In100 South Milwaukee Ave.Vernon Hills, IL 60061

NOTE: Submitted photos and information are not returnable. Submissions may be edited. CHECK-IN is published four times a year by American Hotel Register Company.

EDITOR: Lynda Jeppesen

DESIGNER: Aaron Jensen

From the Chairman

JIM LEAHY

SHARE YOUR STORIES – WE’LL SEND YOU $25

A child on a farm sees a plane fly overhead and dreams of a faraway place. A traveler on the plane sees the farmhouse and dreams of home.

– Carl Burns

“”

Spring/Summer 2016Find out what’s new and what’s happening in the industry by attending these upcoming trade shows or conferences:

April4/17 - 4/202016 SPATEC Spring North AmericaAustin, TX; spatecevents.com

4/20 - 4/2212th Annual Hotel Technology ForumLaguna Niguel, CA; hospitalitytechnology.edgl.com

May5/1 – 5/5ARDA World: The Global Timeshare EventHollywood, FL; arda.org

5/4 – 5/6Hospitality Design Expo & Conference Las Vegas, NV; hdexpo.com

5/21 – 5/24National Restaurant Association (NRA) Show Chicago, IL; show.restaurant.org

June6/20 – 6/23HOTEC DesignNaples, FL; hotecglobal.com

6/20 – 6/23HITEC 2016New Orleans, LA; hftp.org/hitec

Attention, pet-loving properties!Let us know how you handle issues relating to messes, noise and all things pet-related.

EMAIL TO:

check-in@americanhotel.com*All entries must include your full name, property name, address and a photo of you.

Send your answer to our next question along with a photo and we’ll send you $25.

CHECK-IN – Issue 04_2016 americanhotel.com