Hygiene-driven efficiency: a value-driving benefit for hotels

The last two years have been a turbulent period for hotel operators. Some hotels have struggled to bring customers in, while others have adapted their operating models and have prospered. Those hotels that have struggled must now ensure a laser-sharp focus on efficiency.

When hotel operators think about efficiency, hygiene is not necessarily the first driver that comes to mind. But in an uncertain economic landscape, how can a focused approach to hygiene facilitate positive change for a hotel’s bottom line?

A complex operating environment

Today’s operating environment presents a trifecta of challenges for hotels – labor shortage, inflationary pressure which impacts consumer willingness to spend on hotels, and fluctuating gas prices which impacts consumers’ willingness to travel. Compounded by the aftermath of the pandemic, hotels are forced to make do with less, requiring them to be hyper-focused on efficiency.

The labor market conditions present challenges for hotels. America has more than three million fewer people participating in the workforce today compared to February 2020. [1] For hygiene, the implications of this are two-fold. Firstly, finding willing cleaning staff and the budget to recruit and train them is more difficult. Secondly, hotels struggle if staff are out sick when their workforce is already lean.

Now consider the expectation that hotels will do more when it comes to helping prevent the spread of illness-causing germs. Hotels that do not meet these expectations risk lowering guest and worker confidence, and potentially even losing them.

Against this backdrop, a more intelligent approach to hygiene can hold the key to improving efficiency.

Clean smarter, not harder: three steps to more intelligent hygiene

With a more targeted approach to tackling the spread of germs, hotels can ensure their resources are focused on disinfecting high-traffic and high-touch surfaces. The adage work (or in this case: clean) smarter, not harder, has never rung truer.

First, hotels must understand the science behind how people move and interact within their environment, and the surfaces they touch throughout the day. Second, they must understand what these surfaces are made of and therefore, what products work best to clean and disinfect them. And third, they must analyze timing and frequency of cleaning efforts and develop an approach that targets hotspots appropriately throughout the day.

Research[2] demonstrates that the germiest hotspots in a hotel are often surfaces we don’t always think of as being higher risk for contamination, even though they are frequently touched, such as elevator buttons and luggage cart handrails in common areas, and TV remotes in guest rooms. These are the areas that need extra attention from cleaning teams.

Analysis suggests that uneven surfaces such as elevator buttons and TV remotes can be difficult to clean and disinfect, so product selection needs careful consideration, bearing in mind that the product used should be suitable for that specific surface and effective at killing germs.

When it comes to timing and frequency of cleaning, a hotel should consider traffic patterns in conjunction with high touch areas – for example, shared surfaces in a lobby during the busy morning check-out period. As it is not pragmatic nor efficient for cleaning staff to clean the lobby repeatedly during this period, disinfection products placed in the lobby can empower guests to disinfect high touch areas, and help protect themselves and those around them from the spread of germs.

Bottom-line benefits

A more targeted approach to cleaning and disinfection can potentially yield key bottom-line benefits:

• Labor efficiency where hotels can direct their cleaning staff with greater agility and focus on the key hotspots at a frequency that reflects risk of germ transfer (less when less busy, for example, more when there is high traffic) in the facilities that tend to allow most germ transfer.
• Efficient product use where hotels can optimize the dosage of products used without indiscriminately spraying large areas without consideration for science, efficacy, and cost. In the longer-term, utilization of the right product in the right way at the right time can help the hotel preserve asset life, maximizing value for the business.
• Worker and patron confidence
  through instilling worker confidence in the environment and potentially reducing sick days through a reduction in the spread of germs and patron confidence in the hotel to boost repeat business.

What can hotels do to make hygiene more efficient?

A hotel looking to drive efficiency via hygiene can implement a three-pronged approach:

1. Partner with innovative, trusted hygiene specialists such as Lysol Pro Solutions, who can offer comprehensive solutions and programs for any size of hotel.
2. Equip cleaning staff with an understanding of the high-touch areas within a hotel so that added attention is given to surfaces that harbor the most germs.
3. Empower guests and employees with products so that they can play a role in disinfection. This not only augments ongoing routine cleaning efforts but also elevates the overall levels of hygiene of the hotel.

• [1] U.S. Chamber of Commerce, “Understanding America’s Labor Shortage” 15 July 2022
• [2] Hotel ATP assessment prepared by Richard Shaughnessy, Ph.D., Eugene C. Cole, DrPH, Mark Hernandez, Ph.D., Ulla Haverinen-Shaughnessy, D.Sc (February 2021).

ABOUT LYSOL® PRO SOLUTIONS

Reckitt's Lysol Pro Solutions harnesses the power of Lysol to help protect businesses and public spaces from the spread of germs. In today's world, consumers have increased hygiene expectations which makes germ-protection more critical than ever. The comprehensive approach from Lysol Pro Solutions incorporates science-backed protocols and training, EPA-approved Lysol products and Lysol branded marketing materials and signage. Lysol Pro Solutions empowers businesses to demonstrate to their staff and customers a commitment to providing a trusted standard for protection.

ABOUT RECKITT

Reckitt* is driven by its purpose to protect, heal and nurture in the relentless pursuit of a cleaner, healthier world. We fight to make access to the highest-quality hygiene, wellness and nourishment a right, not a privilege, for everyone. Reckitt is proud to have a stable of trusted household brands found in households in more than 190 countries. These include Enfamil, Nutramigen, Nurofen, Strepsils, Gaviscon, Mucinex, Durex, Scholl, Clearasil, Lysol, Dettol, Veet, Harpic, Cillit Bang, Mortein, Finish, Vanish, Calgon, Woolite, Air Wick and more. 20 million Reckitt products a day are bought by consumers globally.

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