Your complete guide to understanding housekeeping labour hire in the accommodation industry

Have you ever come across the term ‘labour hire’ but scratch your head trying to understand what it really means? In simple terms, it is where companies engage with a specialised service provider to connect them with experienced people who will deliver the skilled labour they need support with. Within the accommodation industry, labour hire is often required in the housekeeping department thanks to its versatility to provide support to properties across many instances where cleaning is required. In this blog, we will delve into the many scenarios where it is beneficial to engage with a housekeeping labour hire service and the kinds of accommodation properties where they can lend an extra set of hands.

How housekeeping labour hire works

Housekeeping labour hire can be used on any occasion where a property requires expert cleaning support at any time throughout the year. To receive the right kind of service, the property will need to first engage with the housekeeping labour hire service provider to outline the specific cleaning requirements needed. This includes understanding the type of clean that is needed, the timeframe of requirement, shift durations, and the number of people they may require. Once all that is agreed upon, the housekeeping labour hire agency will then ‘on-hire’ the housekeepers they have trained to perform cleaning duties at the assigned property.

As the accommodation provider has arranged for housekeeping and cleaning support through an agency, all they are paying for is the labour component of the service provision – making it a cost-effective solution. The housekeeping labour hire agency remains responsible for the recruitment, training and renumerating the housekeeper.

Where housekeeping labour hire can be used

Many types of properties can benefit from housekeeping labour hire. If it occupies a space that needs to be cleaned well and kept maintained to a specific standard due to regular guest turn over, housekeeping labour hire is very useful. The types of properties where housekeeping labour can be used include:

Holiday Parks: Housekeepers can efficiently clean park cabins after guest departures and have them clean and presentable for the next guest. They can also ensure that camp kitchen and laundry areas are kept maintained and replenished if required in addition to the scheduled cleaning of toilets, floors, and taking out the rubbish.

Student Apartment Complexes: Housekeepers will ensure common areas and facilities are kept to a clean and hygienic standard on a daily basis. This includes regular cleaning maintenance of lounge areas, outdoor areas, corridors, public restrooms and stairwells.

Motels, Hotels and Resorts: Housekeepers can provide and deliver all round cleaning tasks to support the daily operations of the property. Depending on the size and nature of the property and the number of areas and rooms that need to be regularly cleaned and maintained, a team of housekeepers will be assigned specific roles including Public Area Assistant, and Room Attendant with directional support from a Housekeeping Manager. Duties the housekeeping team can perform include making beds, vacuuming floors, clearing rubbish, and removing used amenities and replacing with them with clean ones ready for the next guest.  

When housekeeping labour hire can be used

While housekeepers can be available to perform regular cleaning duties within any accommodation property, they can also provide cleaning support at a larger scale. As the accommodation providers are already partnered with the housekeeping labour hire agency, they also have access to a large cleaning workforce for situations where additional cleaning support is needed. Situations where this is often the case includes:

New Hotel Openings: A housekeeping labour hire team can support with getting hotel rooms and public areas ready for guests when doors open from day one. As they are experienced housekeepers, they are also equipped with the knowledge, experience and skills to train internally hired housekeeping team members and put processes in place within the housekeeping department to ensure smooth housekeeping operations continue.

Mass Departures: At times where the property experiences higher than usual or anticipated guest departures due to large events, having a partnership with a housekeeping labour hire service provider becomes very beneficial. The property can engage with the housekeeping agency to assign additional skilled housekeepers to fill in the gaps without causing any guest disruption, time delays or compromise cleanliness quality. Assistance that can be provided include, changing linen, replenishing amenities, vacuuming floors, wiping surfaces, and ensure rooms and public spaces appear clean presentable for the next guest.

Property Closures or Renovations: When the property is closing down, whether permanently or for renovation, a labour hire housekeeping team can be called in to provide a complete clean up. This often involves cleaning, disinfecting all surfaces, removing furniture, emptying the trash, and itemising and packing up items ready for storage or transfer.

Overall, there are no limits to engaging with housekeeping labour hire when expert cleaning and regular cleaning maintenance is required. As housekeeping labour hire agencies have trained their housekeepers on how to effectively keep areas clean and tidy, these skills can be transferred to any kind of accommodation property to help you keep your accommodation property in a great condition and guarantee a positive experience for your guests.

If you are in need of partnering with a housekeeping labour hire service provider, ahs hospitality is here to provide a helping hand. To learn more about how we can help, please explore our page that outlines our labour hire solution and fill out our enquiry form where one of our friendly team members will reach out.