“Seriously, how long does it take to clean a room?” said every penny-pinching guest who’s tried to haggle with a hotel for an early check-in or late check-out. Well, you’re about to find out what actually goes on to get your room ready, and then some.

We get the housekeeping staff at So Sofitel Singapore to spill the beans. Among them is Carren Ho (pictured), a 22-year-old team leader on the housekeeping team that ensures the 134 guest rooms are in pristine condition for guests. So Sofitel Singapore is among some 40 hotels taking part in the third edition of Open Hotels Weekend this month, where job seekers interested in a career in hospitality get a sneak peek at what goes on behind the scenes in the hotel industry by way of tours and demos, as well as get a chance to apply for over 700 job vacancies on the spot.

Each day, there’s a maximum of 10 staff on the team on duty, and each room attendant cleans about 20 (!!) rooms a day, including post-checkout cleaning and some sprucing up during turndown service.

“For a suite like this (pictured), it takes at least an hour to clean. Smaller rooms take about 35 to 40 minutes, Carren tells us. If it’s a turndown service, it’s a shorter amount of time we need, about 20 minutes. For turndown service, the main thing is to clear the rubbish, change towels and straighten out the bed while the guests are out. We’ll also place the bedroom slippers by the side of the bed.” There is an extensive list of protocols and checklist that room attendants have to get through when they clean each room. “For most of us, the first thing we do is to clear the rubbish, so you can ‘see’ the room better. Then we’ll wash the toilets, make the bed, clean dusty areas, and finally, vacuum and mop,” she says.

“We start cleaning from 8am to 3pm, and it’s usually a race against time,” says Carren. “The front office needs the rooms by 3pm for the next batch of guests to check in. I come to work at 7.30am and I assign rooms to everyone, and they’ll proceed with the cleaning. After that, I’ll have to check the clean rooms, not just for cleanliness but also for defects. If there are any, I have to report it to the respective departments to fix it before I can release the room for the next batch of guests to check in. If we’re lucky, guests will check in later, and we won’t have to rush. But if guests insist on checking in early or checking out late, that means we have less time to do up the rooms. But if there’s no choice, we just have to do it.”

Think housekeeping staff just clean? Nope, they also take note of what type of, say, coffee or tea you’ve been drinking, okay? If they notice that they’ve been having to top up your supply of chamomile tea, they may just put it in the system so that front office or the F&B team knows what beverage you like with your breakfast the next morning. Now, who doesn’t love a surprise?

You’ve probably seen these viral online tutorials and videos espousing the wonders of hotel hacks, such as using the kettle to cook instant noodles. Newsflash: There are people who actually do it (“when I opened the kettle, there wasn’t much water inside, but there were still strands of noodles left”). But it’s not just instant noodles that guests are cooking in kettles — Carren has come across a guest who’s used it to heat up satay sauce. Yes, really.
Photo: Screenshot

“It took me quite some time to learn how to make a nice bed. The duvet was too heavy, so I couldn’t pull it properly, but over time, you just learn how to deal with it. I don’t have a secret method,” she quips. But we’re also told that other room attendants swear by this method: spray water on the sheets and quickly pulling them taut to straighten it out. Perfecting this, however, requires a lot of practice. Now you know why you can never get it quite like hotel standards when you try at home.

Some guests love their rooms at So Sofitel Singapore so much, they’ve tried to take a part of it home with them. We’re talking ornaments in the rooms of the design-centric boutique hotel, such as Eiffel Tower ornaments displayed in rooms, or intricate trinkets boxes that are usually placed bedside. The latter is among the most commonly nicked item, so much so that the hotel stocks up on extras (not that that makes it okay for you to take it, tsk tsk). Because you wouldn’t get away scot-free, okay? There may be many ornaments in the room, but housekeeping knows exactly what’s meant to be where, and will report missing items. The hotel will then contact or approach guests (nicely, of course) to request for the items to be returned. We hear that someone once took an iPhone placed in the room for guests to use during their stay here, and upon receiving an e-mail from the hotel, apologised for accidentally placing it in his suitcase… and returned it via air-mail.

“There are some people who generally keep all their things in their luggage [throughout their stay], so the room really isn’t messy at all. All you have to do is to clean the bathroom and do the bed. They don’t touch the mini bar or bother much about the amenities. Most of the time, these are business travellers. The worst are party rooms (laughs). There’s usually a lot of balloons and alcohol, and the rubbish is everywhere. And it takes 20 to 30mins just to clear rubbish,” says Carren.

“It’s trickier to clean up the room when there’s stuff strewn all over, just because you have to clean around the mess and not touch or mess up their things. But if they throw a lot of clothes around, we do fold it for them. We’ll also arrange their make-up nicely on a towel. It’s not a standard protocol, but most of us do it. We also will arrange guests’ shoes neatly,” Carren explains. “I’m a very messy person at home, so when I first started working here and saw guests shoes lying around, I thought it didn’t matter. It took me some time to learn that (laughs).”

Open Hotels Weekend is on Mar 1-2 and 8-9 at various venues. More info at http://workforahotel.sg.
Photos: Kevin Lau