Mr. Meek

Security & Safety

How Important Is the 'Free' Shampoo and Towel Cart?

By Frank Meek, International Technical & Training Director, Orkin, LLC

Hair on the pillow, lipstick on the glass, cockroach in the bathtub. They're three scenarios of which hotel urban legends can be made. But which one bothers guests most? To find the answer to this question, Orkin, Inc. fielded a poll to consumers and hotel insiders to learn their perceptions of housekeeping issues and uncovered some interesting attitudes in the process.

When it comes to regular hotel users (i.e., those who spend at least one night a month in a hotel), they may not be the most forgiving lot if their bathroom is dirty: they rated bathroom cleanliness as a top concern, and when asked to select conditions that might cause them not to return to an establishment, more than nine out of every 10 (92 percent) chose "visibly unclean bathtub."

Orkin found that pests aren't far behind in their ability to turn off guests. Eighty-five percent of regular hotel-goers reported they might never return to an establishment if they saw or heard a mouse, while 80 percent indicated they might never return to an establishment if they found a cockroach in the bathroom.

On the other hand, linen cleanliness is not as great a concern for hotel guests, though half (51 percent) of regular hotel-goers said a hair on the pillowcase of a "freshly-made bed" might stop them from returning to an establishment.

Perhaps the most important point for chain hospitality brands is that a bad experience at one hotel in the chain has a ripple effect. Over 70 percent of all poll respondents reported that housekeeping problems at one hotel would impact the way they felt about its sister hotels.

Insiders and Consumers Agree on Bathroom Cleanliness but Not on Pest Control

So how do the industry's housekeeping priorities line up with guests' concerns? When asked to prioritize five housekeeping concerns - linen cleanliness, bathroom cleanliness, dishware cleanliness, chemical safety and pest control - the results revealed some interesting differences in perception.

Given guests' deep aversion to an unclean bathtub as revealed by the consumer poll, one might say the hospitality industry has its priorities straight. Two-thirds of hotel insiders (67 percent) rate bathroom cleanliness in their top two concerns and 87 percent rate it in the top three.

Pest control is a different story. While pest control issues cited in the poll can stop more than four in five regular hotel users from returning to an establishment, only 19 percent of hotel insiders rate pest control as their top housekeeping concern.

But the consumer poll leaves little doubt that pest control needs to taken seriously. While, pest control might not always be the top priority for hotels, it's important to have ongoing pest management efforts that help prevent pest infestations and quickly curtail existing problems. If a hotel's pest management provider is doing its job, neither the hotel staff nor the guests should even be aware of the program.

How Common Are Pests in Hotels?

Though Orkin treats hotels for pests year-round, we also wanted to ask hotel insiders how often they see various pests in and around their establishments. It looks like these non-paying "guests" continue to try to gain access to hotels. Here are a few highlights:

Since pests may try to "check in" to your hotel this year, work with your pest management professional to develop an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) program that focuses on proactive, non-chemical techniques to help prevent pests. In some cases, these techniques will work hand-in-hand with your other housekeeping efforts. Make sure to incorporate the following tips into your program:

Whether it's double-checking to make sure the bathtub is ring-free or installing fly light traps in the foodservice kitchen, hotels need to keep housekeeping high on their list of concerns. The end result will be more satisfied guests. Who can argue with that?

For complete poll results and methodology, visit: www.orkincommercial.com/apps/pressmanager/ARFiles/HospitalityPollResultsOnline.pdf

An industry veteran, Frank Meek has been with Orkin since 1986. In 2003, he was named among the future leaders of the pest management industry in Pest Control Technology magazine’s “40 Under 40” ranking. Currently, as the International Technical and Training Director, Mr. Meek provides technical support and training in both sales and service to Orkin's international franchises, helping them grow and develop in their specific markets. As a board-certified entomologist, Mr. Meek teaches Integrated Pest Management principles and can explain how to use all available methodologies to prevent pest infestations in various commercial settings. Mr. Meek can be contacted at 404-888-2898 or fmeek@rollinscorp.com Extended Bio...

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