Trends and Opportunities in Housekeeping: Marriot Hotel Analysis

This report examines current trends and opportunities within the housekeeping department of hotels, with a specific focus on the Marriot hotel. The study explores the role of housekeeping in the hospitality sector, emphasizing its importance in maintaining cleanliness, hygiene, and guest satisfaction. It delves into various trends such as technology adoption, outsourcing, and green initiatives, alongside the impact of COVID-19 on housekeeping operations. The report includes an introduction, literature review, research methodology, data collection and interpretation, and concludes with recommendations. The analysis highlights the significance of housekeeping in enhancing guest experience and achieving competitive success in the hospitality industry. The report provides insights into how hotels can adapt to changing environments and leverage opportunities for improved performance and customer satisfaction.

Trends and opportunities

Abstract
Current research is based on trends and opportunities in housekeeping. The housekeeping
department is responsible for specific work in hotel spaces, with the goal of providing a
clean, comfortable atmosphere for hotel guests to enjoy. Furthermore, housekeeping
operations are gradually becoming an important aspect of hotel operations, ensuring the
cleanliness, security, and aesthetic appeal of the hotel. Along with this, project is also based
on different trends and opportunities that needs to implement by hotel in day-to-day
operational activities as it provides assistance in attaining competitive success. In addition to
this, Marriot hotel is considered for analysing the same as it is one of the famous hotels that
provide accommodation services to its customers as per their needs and wants. Furthermore,
different chapter like introduction, literature review, Research methodology, data collection,
data analysis, Conclusion and recommendation. With the assistance of this, investigator can
easily undertake overall research in reliable way and make it more authentic.

Contents
INTRODUCTION...............................................................................................................................3
LITERATURE REVIEW...................................................................................................................4
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.......................................................................................................8
DATA COLLECTION AND INTERPRETATION........................................................................11
RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION...............................................................................24
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................24
Recommendation.............................................................................................................................24
REFLECTION AND ALTERNATIVE METHODOLOGY..........................................................26
REFERENCES..................................................................................................................................27

Title: Trends and Opportunities in the housekeeping
INTRODUCTION
The term housekeeping is referring to the cleanliness but it includes as a broad
importance in hospitality industry. As it is also play a significant role in maintaining
cleanliness and hygiene within the hotel so that guests can get positive experience. In relation
to this, hotel housekeeping is one of the important and backbone among all the departments,
in this, housekeeping department performs a detailed work in hotel areas in which it focus on
providing clean, comfortable environment for hotel guests to enjoy. In addition to this,
housekeeping operations are also increasingly becoming a major part of hotel that ensure the
cleanliness, safeguarding and aesthetic entreat of the hotel (Lan, and et. Al., 2020). As per
current and competitive scenario, maintaining hotel is very tough and at the same time
satisfying its guest is even more tougher. This is the reason the department of housekeeping
is important because it focus on preparing clean guestrooms as per timely basis but as per
current environment, enormous changes have been also made in hospitality industry. As new
trends and technology is providing strengthen to hotel day to day operational activities. A
hotel lives on the selling of rooms, food, drinks and other minor facilities, such as health club
spa, laundry etc. The selling of rooms and facilities constitutes at least 50 per cent of all
revenue, making this main component of the profit margin of the hotel. Today, the
housekeeping department's commitment and hard work in giving its customers a coveted
experience also has a direct impact on the guest's stay in the hotel. The heart of a hotel are the
hotel rooms and suites. In this present time, its focus is laid on the innovating, training,
creativity and use latest equipments in the housekeeping. The trends and opportunities
involved in hospitality sector are go green, technology savvy housekeeping, outsourcing
services and many others.
Additional the cleaning routines are being implemented throughout the industry, consisting
remote controls, light switches and key cards. Rooms as well as public areas should never be
too clean, so the rotas and procedures can be checked. During cleaning, housekeeping
workers can wear gloves and use the alcohol hand rub before and wearing gloves. Having
hand sanitizer available, particularly but not limited to lobby as well as restaurant, on entry to
each area is also a great way to minimise spread and risk This department is also responsible
for bringing in the latest share of profits and revenue to the hospitality sector. Apart from this,
COVID-19 is also a biggest issue that faced by the entire world as it also affects the
hospitality industry. Under this pandemic situation, many hotels are already closed that hits

pause on numerous cash outflows. This is the reason that housekeeping department takes care
of guest and also maintain cleanliness at the time of providing services.
Background of Research
Housekeeping is related to management of chores and duties included in running of
house like cleaning, home maintenance, bill payment, cooking and shopping. These all the
tasks are may performed through household members or through persons hired for purpose.
London Marriot is hotel that is located on the Park Lane overlooking in exclusive Mayfair
District of the London (Chétrite and et. al., 2017). The housekeeping duties in London
Marriot consists maintaining hotel to better possible state in context of cleanliness.
Rationale of Research
The present investigation is mainly conducted to examine the issues and the key
trends in housekeeping in the hospitality sector. This research helps in enhance in skills and
the core competencies for perform the investigation in significant manner (Fortes and et. al.,
2016). The main purpose of undertaking this research is to explore the trends and
opportunities within the housekeeping and at the same time also determine the impact of
COVID-19 over the housekeeping department of hotel. This study provide vast information
towards the specified area that help investigator to enhance its skills and knowledge. With the
assistance of this, researcher can easily make proper decision and also improve the
possibilities of attaining positive outcomes. Along with this, current investigation is also
assist in determining current trends and opportunities that help hospitality industry to improve
their performance at market place.
Research aim
“To analyses the trends and opportunities in the housekeeping and impact of COVID-
19 on housekeeping.” A study on Marriot hotel.
Research objectives
• To examine the role of housekeeping within hospitality sector.
• To determine the trends and opportunities in the housekeeping.
• To identify the impact of COVID-19 on housekeeping within the hospitality
industry.
Research questions

• What is the role of housekeeping within hospitality sector?
• What are the different trends and opportunities in the housekeeping?
• What is the impact of COVID-19 on housekeeping within the hospitality industry?
LITERATURE REVIEW
This section play a significant role in undertaking research activities as it help in
gathering detailed and in-depth evaluation towards the specified topic and area. Mainly, it is a
survey that is related with the scholarly knowledge on a particular topic. It also used to
determine the gap that present in the research. Along with this, it also includes various
sources such as books, journals, articles, newspapers, online materials and many more. All
these are effective and also based on previous evaluation. As it also provide comprehensive
overview about the research topic that contributes in improving the possibilities of attaining
valid and reliable results at the end of the investigation. Furthermore, it also includes the
detailed information on the basis of research questions to effectively address the issue present
in the research.
Role of housekeeping within hospitality sector
According to Jiang and Wen, (2020), Housekeeping is a division in the hospitality
industry that ensures hygiene, hygiene and a perfect environment in every sector except the
kitchen. Housekeeping is also regarded as the cornerstone of the hotel business. The hotel
company is up to the guest. A regular guest is conscious of the difference between a positive
and a negative hotel. In a world of global competition, the customer would prefer an
accommodation in which they stays safe. Guests like more than just wine and dine.
Housekeeping is the department within the hospitality industry that could be responsible for
getting the guest back to the apartment again and again. The Marriot hotel's housekeeping
manager maintains the cleanliness, security and aesthetic attractiveness of all rooms and
public areas. The housekeeping department of Marriot hotel not only renovates (needs to
prepare and maintains guest rooms clean) in a reasonable time, but also cleans and maintains
everything in the hotel such that the property is as new and beautiful as the day it opened for
business to the company. The commitment that housecleaning creates to give a guest a
comfortable room has a direct effect on the guest's satisfaction at the hotel. There are three
more workers employed in the housekeeping staff compared to any other hotel department.
Housekeeping is refers to the operational department within the Marriot hotel as it is

responsible for maintenance, cleanliness, upkeep of rooms and surroundings. Mainly, the
efforts that housekeeping department make in providing better services to guests in order to
improve their positive experience. It has been analyzed that housekeeping department play a
significant role within the hospitality sector as it is also responsible for managing as well as
coordinating all the essential activities within the hotel to keep all the guests satisfied.
In hospitality industry, housekeeping play a significant role in maintaining cleanliness and
hygiene within the Marriot hotel so that guests feel more comfortable at the time of
consuming services. On the other side, poor housekeeping is also put negative impact over
the guests experience as they get less satisfied towards the services
As per current scenario, COVID-19 is major pandemic situation that affect entire activities of
people and organizations as well. In hospitality context, it also affect each and every
activities of housekeeping that can reduce experience towards the services that they offered.
It is important for hospitality sector to used all the safety measures in the housekeeping at the
time of COVID -19 pandemic situation. This can be contributes in managing positive
customers experiences within the Marriot hotel and its services
Sales of rooms represent a minimum of 50% of these sales. As a result, the bulk of the
hotel's profitability comes from room sales, since a room when made can be sold over and
again. The progress needed by the housekeeping staff to give the customer a comfortable
room has a significant impact on the customer's satisfaction at the hotel. The guest rooms are
at the centre of the Marriot hotel. The housekeeping manager not just to provides clean guest
rooms in good time for visitors to arrive, and also maintains or preserves everything in the
property so that the building is as new and appealing as the day it started operating.
Housekeeping is therefore an ancillary division that adds a great deal to the overall credibility
of a company. Apart from hotels, professional housekeeping services are very much in
competition in hospitals, on cruise liners, in offices and more. Because most of these
organisations tend to outsource these tasks, contractual housework is becoming more and
more common around the world. Apart from this, there are some major role of housekeeping
department within the hospitality industry:
• To reach the best possible productivity in maintaining the support and treatment of
the visitors and the smooth operation of the Marriot hotel.

• To build a warm environment and to ensure courteous, efficient service from all
the workers of the department.
• To make sure high levels of cleanliness and routine upkeep in all areas for which
the agency is responsible.
• To make coordination among renovation and refurnishing within the hotel along
with proper management of staff members and with interior designers rooms.
Different trends and opportunities in the housekeeping
According to van der Velden and et. Al., (2020) The hospitality industry is a service-oriented
industry whereby guest satisfaction and loyalty are uncompromising. It is also very critical
that high standards of safety, safety, hygiene and sanitation are preserved to ensure the total
customer satisfaction. In order to execute as well as perform necessary function there are
various skills that are important for housekeeper within the hotel. By this, housekeeper can
easily provide better experience to its customers that improve their satisfaction level.
Hospitality industry is refers to the service oriented sector in which the experience and
satisfaction of guests are uncompromising. This is the reason that it is quite important for
hotel to maintain high standard in terms of security, hygiene, cleanliness in order to provide
highest level of customers satisfaction. It may assist Marriot hotel in improving their
customers base and also enhance its positive brand image.
The housekeeping is important to the success of the Marriot hotel, because it not only
improves each aspect of the hotel's face, but is also the highest revenue producer. With
advances in technology and innovation, the image of housekeeping has evolved and is no
longer be considered a back-of-the-house hotel agency. The housekeeping division was
assumed to be accountable for ensuring basic cleanliness and management of the premises,
and much less focus was put on research – documents, technology, professional development
related to the latest developments in the field of housecleaning. Over the last few years, and
while a great deal of attention has been paid to creativity, creativity, training, the use of latest
knowledge and tools and software in the household sector. In this regard, there are some
different trends and opportunities that consist in the housekeeping in today’s modern world:
Go Green: Going green is considered as a new trend and housekeepers are using eco-friendly
facilities, irrigation and energy-saving goods. Gradually concentrating on tourism
development and environmental policies, there is far more to be ecologically sustainable than

the re-use of bath towels. For an example, the Marriot hotel energy storage system involves
analysing data from large energy-intensive equipment such as compact fluorescent and
overhead motion detectors used in conference rooms, meeting rooms and public spaces to
minimize the energy consumption.
Technology savvy housekeeping: Many hotels invest heavily in information technology (IT)
technology and networking that deploys the latest technological advancements in their
operations. Technological innovations such as Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity), Radio Frequency
Recognition, GPS (Global Positioning System), VOIP (Internet Protocol Voice), Portable
Networking Devices and WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networks) are advancing quickly. It
has really increased the adoption of items such as air conditioners, wireless curtains, 8-10-
inch mattresses for maximum sleep experience, large thread count linen, fluffy pillows,
shower cubicle and bathtub combinations, personalized amenities, bath salts, aromatherapy
and flavouring items. Many forms of software with robust housekeeping software are
currently being used in hotels. With the aid of technology, the client's role in the delivery of
services has been enhanced.
Outsourcing of services: Housekeeping is an employment department, but most restaurant
chains see restructuring as an efficient business model. Outsourcing is the perfect solution for
many various tasks, since it is massively expensive and is a strong business technique to meet
the requirements of customer's specifications. It also aims to limit manufacturing problems
such as filling in the gaps due to reduction of personnel, unavailability of required staff and
skilled manpower. However, the retention of workers in the Marriot hotel is a major
challenge due to a lengthy work schedule, less pay, physically challenging jobs, an increased
atmosphere as well as an unpleasant working environment. Usually, people say that house
cleaning is an incredibly hard work, which results in a lower morale among workers. The
household sector also must concentrate on formulating and implementing complex
recruitment strategy to minimize the turnover of employees. In this case, educating and
empowering workers is a crucial method for strengthening new staff.
Housecleaning is about more than just maintaining cleanliness it is also about keeping
that the Marriot hotel is maintained regularly by implementing creative policies and
developments in housekeeping. Therefore, in order to remain ahead of the curve, unique and
innovative innovations must be applied and integrated into the housework of hotels.
Impact of COVID-19 on housekeeping within the hospitality industry

According to Davahli and et. Al., (2020), As a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, the
global economy became shut down almost immediately. The hospitality industry was faced
with an unparalleled threat by the pandemic. Strategies to flatten the COVID-19 curve, such
as community lock-downs, social distances, home-stay orders, travel and mobility limitations,
have resulted in the temporary closing of many hotel companies and dramatically reduced
demand for companies that have been permitted to keep operating. Just about all businesses
were asked to restrict their processes to take. In addition to this, COVID-19 is a pandemic
situation that directly affect the housekeeping department of Marriot hotel in negative way as
manager of this department is responsible for maintaining proper hygiene and cleanliness at
the time of providing services it guests. This will assist in improving positive experience of
customers towards its services and at the same time also assist in providing higher
satisfaction. For attaining the same, maintain flexibility is also important aspect that focus on
providing flexible environment to its staff members so that they give their best efforts for
managing entire activities of Marriot hotel in an effective manner. With the assistance of this,
hospitality industry can serve quality services to its customers as per their demand and at the
same time also keep them loyal towards its services. This will directly contribute in attaining
competitive success in market place. Limitations on travel and home-stay orders imposed by
the authorities have led to a rapid decline in hotel occupations and revenues. Although the re-
opening procedure has starting position and the authority have started to relax constraints, for
example allow restaurants dining to be reopened at a limited level with rigid moral distance
requirements and progressively reduce constraints on domestically and abroad travel.
Although the restaurant business is steadily improving, the COVID-19 crisis continues to
have a significant effect on the way the hospitality sector operates. Hospitality companies are
required to make significant improvements to their operations in the market climate of
COVID-19 in order to protect the survival and safety of staff and consumers, and to increase
the customer's desire to sponsor their competitive. The pandemic is also expected to have a
major effect on the research agenda of hospitality marketing and management scholars. With
unprecedented challenges faced by the hospitality industry in the COVID-10 era, tourism
scholars are expected to turn their research emphasis to developing solutions for the industry.
Marriot hotel would now intend to do a smooth of one or two floors, with only the requisite
facilities and staff. Critical services will include housework, a kitchen area, a coffee
shop/dining room, a bar, technology, a front counter and safety. This would mean that there
are fewer citizens.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
In order to undertake entire research activities, research methodology is considered as
an important activity. It is a contextual frameworks for the study that provide a coherent and
logical analysis on the basis of values, beliefs, choices and many more (Awan, Shamim and
Ahn, 2020). These can be helpful in gathering relevant and reliable information towards the
particular research area. It includes various methods and techniques that applied by
researcher with the aim of gathering authentic information. Thus, it is important for
investigator to select appropriate one so that the can easily acquire authentic information to
draw a valid conclusion at the end of the study. In this regards, there are different methods
which can used by researcher to undertake a study:
Types of investigation: At the time of undertaking investigation, there are various
method that can be used by investigator to collect reliable data and information about the
particular research topic and area. It can be classified into two methods such as Qualitative
and quantitative method of investigation (Brown and et. Al., 2020). In this regard,
Qualitative: it requires the selection and evaluation of terms. Now this data gathered is
focused on non-numeric data, but provides some in understanding and awareness of the
concerns for which the study is also being undertaken. On the other side, Quantitative: it is
then analyses on the basis of quantitative form, and the presentation of details remains simple
and desirable. Furthermore, the researcher used mixed approach technique, which indicates a
mixture of that to carry out this study. Interconnected viewpoints would also offer a clearer
picture of research that contributes in drawing a valid conclusion at the end of the
investigation.
Research approach: Although activities of research are carried out, there is a need
for a strategy and a process which would include some efforts to address the goals and
objectives that can be achieved. Generally, the research framework requires a detailed
process of data collection, supported by the analysis component and ultimately the
explanation. In addition to this, the research approach is divided into two parts, namely the
deductive: this approach helps the researcher to think about the aims and priorities. It is
primarily used in the first phase of the study. Inductive: using this method the researcher tries
to find ideas and collect knowledge (Epstude and Harsch, 2020). Thus the, observing here is
the very first thing that must be done later which allows the researcher to find good results.

Hence, In the consideration of this study, the investigator utilized "deductive method"
with its tendency to include a large number of details over a particular period of time. Later,
the data obtained can be viewed in a quantitative form in order to explain the same in a
generic way.
Research design: It is known being an overarching model that combines and
researching the different elements in a rational manner. It is therefore defined and used as a
blueprint for collecting, measuring and, eventually, requirements refer. There are usually
three types of validity research designs: focus on the situation-related case study.
Experimental: this study is carried out in a space where necessary tools and techniques are
included that contributes in analyzing the particular research topic. Exploratory: the key
objective is on the researcher's observations and suggestions, or the same topics are being
investigated. In the regard of this study, the investigator has followed an exploratory
approach to the research design because of its potential to use inventory methods to
understand and resolve issues.
Research philosophy: This is assumed to be the manner in which data and significant
details that are significant for analysis are obtained, processed and used to take right decision
within the study. Therefore, using the required research philosophy, the variable used in this
study his/her expertise in the formulation of hypotheses. Reaching at the study problem, there
are different sorts of positivism: that is highly organized, and that knowledge is based on
facts of investigation activities. That can be used on sample sizes and it is possible to collect
both qualitative and quantitative information. From the other hand, interpretivism: presents
in-depth details, but is being used in a relatively small sample as well as the inquiry is largely
qualitative (Pai and et. Al., 2020). When carrying out the research, the investigator would
suggest a positivist philosophy since it will lead more rationally and logically to the data
collection and knowledge.
Data collection: It is considered as an important process within the research that used
by researcher to gather as well as measuring data on the basis of specified variable of
research topic in an effective manner. Along with this, it is also used as an appropriate way
that enables one to answer the stated question in order to evaluate the final outcomes. Thus, it
is important for researcher to effectively analysis the particular research topic so that valid
and reliable outcomes can be easily evaluated. Mainly, it is classified on the basis of two
methods such as primary and secondary source of data collection. Both are effective for