Home Cleaning & Maintenance News Around Housekeeping Never Ends and Justifiably So

News Around Housekeeping Never Ends and Justifiably So

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Glenn Hasek

Housekeeping was highlighted in the news prominently the last few weeks. First, the Los Angeles City Council in late June passed a measure to limit the daily workload of housekeepers, offer overtime pay under certain circumstances, provide “panic buttons” to protect their workers from sexual harassment and do away with policies that automatically forgo daily cleaning. Many hotels and hotel companies across the nation did away with daily cleaning when COVID-19 first struck to reduce the spread of the disease and because of labor shortages.

The measure, according to the Los Angeles Times, was strongly supported by Unite Here Local 11 and was easily passed by the City Council. It was opposed by business and hospitality trade groups, which told the Council that the law would lead to higher labor costs, higher room rates, and a drop in tourists at a time when the industry is still rebounding from the pandemic. A representative of the Hotel Assn. of Los Angeles, which opposed the measure, said that by reintroducing daily room cleaning the measure would force hotels to use more water in a time of “unprecedented drought.”

Daily housekeeping is one of those topics that can be discussed for hours and is like walking a tightrope for a hotel owner—encouraging and even incentivizing the foregoing of housekeeping—while balancing housekeepers’ schedules in a fair manner.

It will be interesting to see if hotel owners in Los Angeles and other communities where identical measures have passed can find the people to clean hotel rooms daily. According to a press release issued by AHLA this past week, nearly all hotels are experiencing staffing shortages, and half report being severely understaffed. Ninety-seven percent of survey respondents indicated they are experiencing a staffing shortage, 49 percent severely so. The most critical staffing need is housekeeping, with 58 percent ranking it as their biggest challenge.

A Real Pain in the Back & Elsewhere

Wherever you happen to land on this issue—the side of the owners or the unions, or somewhere in the middle—I think we can all agree that a housekeeper’s job can be a real pain, literally, for them. This past week I posted an article detailing some innovations that ease or eliminate the need to lift a mattress.

I spoke with Yonatan Guy, CEO of Beddingo, whose system eliminates the need to lift a mattress. A key part of the Beddingo system is the Beddingo base, an elastic band placed on the mattress before the first use. The base positions Velcro at each corner of the mattress. The specially made Beddingo Sheet, which also includes Velcro within each corner section, attaches to the base. In addition to removing the need to lift the mattress, the Beddingo system prevents the mattress cover from moving off the mattress and helps keep the mattress cleaner. It also saves time and worker’s compensation costs associated with ergonomics-related injuries.

“It is a game changer for the industry,” Guy told me. “We finished the pilot three months ago with the Waldorf Astoria in Jerusalem.”

The maintenance of the Beddingo system is simple. The elastic band requires no regular cleaning and the Beddingo (fitted) Sheet, flat sheet, pillowcases, and duvet covers that also come with the system are handled and washed just like other linens. The system is made for all sizes of beds.

Beddingo’s system joins others available to ease or eliminate the lifting of mattresses. Be sure to check out the Bed MadeEZ mattress lifter and the MattressJack lifting solution. The Bed MadeEZ mattress lifter, available online at sites such as Amazon is simply a hand-held wedge that lifts a mattress 4 to 5 inches to make sheet changing easier. The MattressJack is an inflatable product placed between the mattress and its foundation. When inflated by an electric pump, MattressJack lifts the entire mattress 10 inches to a comfortable working height. MattressJack deflates within 60 seconds, remaining invisible and in place underneath the mattress until the next use.

Beddingo’s Guy told me a housekeeper typically changes 20 to 25 mattresses a day. Mattresses gain weight and become thicker over time as they absorb dead skin, colonies of dust mites (which feed on dead skin), oil and moisture. Yikes! You owe it to your housekeepers to do anything to make their jobs easier and safer.

Green Lodging News Adds Green Hotel Cards to Product Directory

Green Lodging News has added Green Hotel Cards Inc. to the “Key Cards” section of its Green Product & Service Directory. Every day, 35,000 pounds of plastic cards are discarded by hotels and their guests, ultimately ending up in landfills across our country. How long will it take for our Earth to digest this plastic waste? At least 200 years. Don’t underestimate the impact of a key card. It is small, but it’s the first product you pass to your guests. Why not impress them from the very beginning? From recycled to paper or natural wood, you will always find an ideal match from Green Hotel Cards. Each paper or wooden key card is supervised by FSC with a unique identity to guarantee its sustainability. The cards are compatible with all locking systems. Call now to receive 100 percent biodegradable sustainable key card samples at no cost. Call (718) 952-7899 or e-mail info@greenhotelcards.com.

Who is Your Sustainability Champion?

Green Lodging News is always looking to profile sustainability champions in our Personnel Profile section. If you would like to nominate someone for this section of Green Lodging News, contact me at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Looking for Guest Columnists

Every two weeks Green Lodging News posts a new guest column on its website. (Click here for examples.) The guest column also appears in the weekly e-newsletter. Green Lodging News is currently in need of industry experts to contribute occasional guest columns. Experts may include consultants, architects, designers, suppliers, and those who own or operate green lodging establishments. Columns may be articles that take a stance on a particular subject or be strictly educational in nature. Columnists benefit by having their photo included along with a one paragraph description of their company. Interested in writing a column? Contact Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor, at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

Get in the Green Suppliers Spotlight!

Green Lodging News, lodging’s leading environmental news source, publishes Green Suppliers Spotlight, an e-blast to 21,846 subscribers that features the lodging industry’s leading green products and services. The e-blast features multiple vendors—unlike the current Green Supplier Spotlight that allows one supplier to “own” the Green Lodging News subscriber list for one e-blast. (Click here for a Green Suppliers Spotlight sample.)

Green Suppliers Spotlight is published weekly on Thursdays to general managers, owners, management companies, directors of sustainability, directors of engineering, facilities managers and many others who are either in purchasing positions or who influence purchasing decisions. Suppliers of green products and services throughout North America and beyond are invited to participate in the e-blast. (Minimum two suppliers per e-blast.) Green Suppliers Spotlight was created to give vendors an opportunity to reach a high number of industry purchasers at a very low cost—as low as $200 per e-mail. (Click here for rate sheet.)

Those advertising in Green Suppliers Spotlight can include up to 100 words, one image, contact information and multiple links to their website in their ad. At the end of each week, a report will be sent to each supplier with information on delivered e-mails, opens and click-throughs.

Planning Advertising for the Remainder of 2022?

Green Lodging News is accepting reservations for advertising spots for the second half of 2022. Many excellent spots are available on our website and in the weekly e-mail newsletter. Many Green Supplier Spotlight dates are also available. Interested in receiving a 2022 media kit? Be sure to contact me as soon as possible at (813) 510-3868, or by e-mail at greenlodgingnews@gmail.com. A media kit can also be accessed by clicking here. Thank you to all those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.

Newsletter & Green Supplier Spotlight Circulation

The circulation of our weekly e-newsletter and Green Supplier Spotlight currently stands at 21,846. Thank you to our new subscribers for signing up. Be sure to encourage your colleagues to do the same. There are “subscribe” links on the Green Lodging News home page. You may also e-mail greenlodgingnews@gmail.com to be added to our list.

Green Lodging News & Social Media

Green Lodging News now has 1,749 Twitter followers. Thank you to all of those who follow our tweets. In addition to following us on Twitter, be sure to bookmark the Green Lodging News Blog in your browser. More importantly, participate with your comments. Green Lodging News is also on Facebook. Be sure to “Like” us there. Green Lodging News now has 988 Facebook likes.

As always, I can be reached at greenlodgingnews@gmail.com.

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