What to check before you outsource hotel housekeeping

Handing your housekeeping to a contractor means trusting someone else with the rooms your guests judge you on, and the cleaning is only part of it. Before you sign, it’s worth knowing who will run the team day to day, what the contract covers, where the linen comes from and what happens when your needs change.

We look after housekeeping for Edinburgh hotels, B&Bs and serviced accommodation. Here are the questions we’d ask in your position, and how we answer each one. If you’d like to see the service first, it’s on our hotel cleaning and housekeeping page.

Who supervises the housekeepers when you outsource?

The contractor should, with its own supervisors and team leaders, so your managers aren’t left running someone else’s staff. A placement service gives you extra pairs of hands, but the supervising stays with you.

So ask who checks the work, who the housekeepers answer to on each shift, and who you speak to when something isn’t right.

At GreenLeaf we provide the people as well as the cleaning: management, supervisors, team leaders and housekeepers, all trained by us. We take responsibility for how your housekeeping runs. Our team wears a distinctive GreenLeaf uniform, so guests see a consistent, reassuring presence and your own staff can focus on them.

What should a hotel housekeeping contract include?

Every area the team looks after, written down, and who supplies the equipment and cleaning products. Room turnarounds are the obvious part; corridors, reception, lounges and public washrooms are where a contract can go vague.

With us, you choose the areas you need and we build the service around them. That can include bedrooms and communal areas, en-suites and public washrooms, hotel kitchens cleaned around your service times, and deep cleans for carpets, soft furnishings and hard floors. We bring the equipment and the eco-friendly cleaning products with us, so ordering and storing supplies is off your list.

How is linen handled when you outsource housekeeping?

Either your housekeeping contractor supplies it or a separate laundry does, and it’s worth knowing which before you sign. With two suppliers, your housekeepers rely on deliveries they don’t control, and there are two firms to chase when a room can’t be made up.

GreenLeaf offers linen hire and laundry alongside housekeeping. Both the bed linen and the bath linen are 100% cotton, and they’re handled through our professional laundry partner. Housekeeping and linen then come through one supplier rather than two. There’s more on our linen services page.

How are changes handled in a housekeeping contract?

Through regular reviews with you, so the service changes with your property instead of staying fixed to the day you signed. Ask how often the service will be reviewed, before you sign rather than after.

We build a housekeeping plan around your property’s needs and brand standards, then review the service with you monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly, whichever suits you. Our office is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm.

A quick checklist before you sign

• Who supervises the housekeepers, and who do you call when something isn’t right?
• Which areas are covered, in writing?
• Are the equipment and cleaning products included?
• Who supplies and launders the linen, and is it the same company as your housekeeping?
• How often is the service reviewed with you?
• Who plans the contract?

Talk to us about your hotel

Arron and John, our directors, plan every hotel contract personally, with 15 years of experience in the cleaning industry behind GreenLeaf. Send us the details of your property and the areas you need, and one of them will come back to you with a clear, no-obligation quote.

See our hotel cleaning and housekeeping and linen services, or get in touch.