ECJ EUROPEAN Cleaning Journal

ECJ’s Lotte Printz on a successful venture in the hospitality industry in Denmark that may sound too good to be true.

When the Christmas period is over and until March sets in, the quiet period, the cleaners at AC Hotel Bella Sky Copenhagen spend the exact same hours at the hotel as they do on a working day during the peak season. But instead of spending their entire day with their housekeeping trolleys cleaning rooms, they now keep their heads in the books at the hotel as well taking Danish lessons.

These lessons are one part of the housekeeping strategy that Heidi Axelsen took the lead on after she joined Bellagroup (running three Copenhagen-based hotels with a total of 1,600 rooms) as a housekeeping specialist in 2022. She had met cleaners in the industry crying under the strain of struggling to keep pace and having to clean up to 50 rooms a day and knew some things had to change on her watch.

More time

“It’s no secret that cleaners are not paid well. If, on top of that, they are treated badly, that’s downright unfair. So, I said it wouldn’t be a job for me if that was the way to do things,” Heidi Axelsen says speaking to ECJ.

The Bellagroup management was sympathetic, so she met up with a network contact, Kasper Willemoes, CEO of The Ellen Group, a cleaning company with the ambition to offer what they call worry-free hospitality services.

“If money isn’t an issue, how can we make the coolest housekeeping unit ever?” That was the starting point for their brainstorm, and Heidi Axelsen’s face lights up speaking about its outcome.

The housekeeping strategy now prevailing at Bellagroup, who consequently outsourced most of the housekeeping to The Ellen Group, is unlike traditional housekeeping practices in various ways. The amount of time granted for cleaning a room for new arrivals has nearly doubled since the introduction of worry-free housekeeping, from the 16-minute industry norm to 30 minutes. Where they really stand out, though, is in terms of onboarding procedures.

New employees get four weeks of training during which time the ‘rookies’ do not have to clean on their own but have an experienced housekeeper to help. At the end of the training, they take a practical and oral exam with 56 questions about everything from what to do if there are small blood stains on the sheet, to how many rooms the floor mops can be used for.

Safe environment

“Do we really have time for this?” is often the first reaction from employees who come on board this way. But they are generally pleased that they do.

Explicit checklists for how to set up a trolley and when to do what, as well as an atmosphere where they can safely say if they feel too much pressure, are also key to keep the housekeepers happier. Job satisfaction is also achieved through contracts that all cleaners have enabling them to attend Danish lessons during working hours in the quiet period.

Worthwhile investment

Usually, the contractual working day for housekeeping at AC Hotel Bella Sky Copenhagen does not exceed six hours, typically covering 10 ‘check-out’ rooms and five ‘stay-over’ rooms, but cleaners can accept more during particularly busy spells. And if, say, a single mum needs to work full time to make ends meet, she may ‘top up’ working in the hotel breakfast area or reception.

On the face of it, this venture does seem like a costly affair. Nevertheless, the Bellagroup management decided to invest in the worry-free housekeeping ambition, and it has paid off. Today, housekeeping costs are more or less the same as before, considering money saved on sick leave and employee turnover, not to mention hotel guest complaints and compensation, Axelsen explains.

The initiative received attention when Axelsen spoke at a seminar for the Danish cleaning industry earlier this year and several of her peers have already stopped by for inspiration. Heidi Axelsen is happy if she and Bellagroup can set new standards in hospitality services, including a unique and transparent partnership with Kasper Willemoes and The Ellen Group.

“We have access to all of The Ellen Group’s prices, what they make from this deal and other numbers related to efficiency and extra hours. Transparency to the last digit. In return, they can access key aspects of our logistics system to operate as smoothly as possible. I haven’t heard about anybody else who has had the nerve to collaborate like this,” Axelsen proudly points out.