Hotel Cleaning: 5 Best Practices

If you didn’t know, before the pandemic, there was already an abundance of the “best” hotel cleaning practices and guidelines, and not just from anyone! A number of institutions, governmental organizations, and regulatory bodies have long been interested in (at least) trying to provide the public with cleaning and safety guidelines. While this is great, those resources – some having been published less than two years ago – seem like fossils now!

The reality is that the pandemic changed everything in the hotel industry, especially its cleaning and safety guidelines and protocols. Not to say that the previous resources are useless; they’re just more like ancestors to today’s guidelines. You don’t even need to read past the title of some of these recently published official resources to understand that even the hotel industry’s authoritative systems changed their perspective. The AHLA (we’ll spell it out later) added “…in response to COVID-19” to theirs. Jokes aside, they do provide the gold standard, so here are 5 of the best hotel cleaning practices:

Disinfecting is (Now) King

Disinfecting is the #1 best practice in hotel cleaning. It’s also the most frequently performed hotel cleaning task now. No surprise there – disinfecting surfaces (especially high traffic touchpoints), as it happens, was one of the most effective ways to combat the spread of COVID-19. Check out the American Hotel & Lodging Association’s cleaning and safety guidance for more on where, when, and why to disinfect.

Laundry = Hot as Possible

In the event your hotel uses cold or lukewarm water when doing laundry, you need to know that it’s considered a poor practice. The CDC recommends washing linens with the highest temperature permitted by linen labels, and dry linens on the highest possible setting.

Air Systems & Air Quality

The prerequisite to great air quality in your hotel is a clean, functional HVAC system. Make sure you have your hotel’s air systems routinely inspected and serviced. While this is the bare minimum, there’s more to air quality. Consider investing in air filtration devices that specifically target viruses and bacteria. Also, open hotel windows and increase the flow of outdoor air!

“Sealing” Rooms

This one is short and simple. To ensure that rooms that have been cleaned and prepared for future guests remain clean, consider “sealing” the room. In other words, close off access to everyone right after cleaning is finished so no one can potentially re-contaminate.

Cleaning Staff Considerations

This hotel cleaning “best practice” doesn’t refer to the cleaning practices or actual cleaning performed by cleaning staff. Rather, it focuses on the practices and protocols that your hotel cleaning staff should adhere to. It shouldn’t come as a shock that hotel cleaning staff should maintain the same heightened standard of clean in back of the house areas only they have access to. Additionally, hotel cleaning staff should practice good hygiene, like washing hands before and after every task or personal need. Finally, they should wear the appropriate PPE, replacing PPE after cleaning tasks are finished.