How your housekeeping team can shape the guest experience & influence smarter renovations
In the fast-paced world of hospitality across Australia and New Zealand, small to medium accommodation providers are constantly looking for ways to stand out. While guest surveys and online reviews offer valuable feedback, these are often received long after the guest has departed, if at all; with many properties’ management of guest reviews undertaken without any defined strategy. Some of the most powerful insights come from a team that is often overlooked - your housekeepers. Their observations are undertaken in real-time, with the ability to quickly identify what is working, what’s not, trends and individual guest behaviour.
Housekeepers are the only staff who consistently enter guest rooms during a stay. They see how your guests are using the space: from noticing which amenities are used (or ignored), to observing how guests rearrange furniture, use power points and what other requests they are making during their stay.
Consider this potential scenario:
Scenario: through housekeeping feedback, a boutique property discovers that guests are frequently moving the bedside table to unplug the lamp to charge their mobile device.
Action: while upgrading the existing power outlet to incorporate USB-C charging ports, the number of outlets was increased to allow for the lamp, while accommodating the guest’s needs; and repositioned to sit above the bedside table: providing guests with easier access.
Outcome: improved guest satisfaction and a reduction in damage to furnishings due to reduced movement by guests.
Personalisation Begins with Observation
By creating an effective communication system with your housekeeping team, you can:
Understand which amenities guests truly value: such as extra pillows, USB-C charging ports, an additional blanket, herbal teas.
Identify patterns in guest preferences based on travel type – corporates, families, couples, solo travellers and mature-aged travellers.
Identify small touches that can make a big difference: including blackout curtains, power point location or softer lighting.
These insights can help to tailor your accommodation experience to ensure you are not only meeting the needs of your guests, but exceeding their expectations: resulting in better reviews, more repeat bookings and improved word-of-mouth recommendations.
Action Plan for Hotel Managers
We have put together our implementation check list that will allow you to start using housekeeping insights to improve your accommodation experience through inclusion within your continuous improvement program.
1. Create a system for housekeepers to share their insights:
Set up a simple system for housekeepers to report their observations daily or weekly.
Use a checklist or digital form to track and easily identify any recurring patterns.
2. Empower your housekeeping team:
Encourage open communication between housekeeping, operations and management.
Include housekeepers in renovation planning or upgrade discussions.
Recognise their important role in shaping the guest experience.
Ask for their input on room layout, storage and amenity placement.
3. Train for observation
Encourage housekeepers to look beyond cleaning – to notice how guests use the space.
Provide examples of useful observations – for example, when furniture is moved, have guests brought their own tea, are guests repeatedly asking for an additional pillow or blanket, what amenities remain unused.
4. Empower, recognise and reward
Celebrate their useful feedback that contributes to higher guest satisfaction and review scores, less wear and tear on furnishings and improved financial performance.
Offer incentives for ideas that enhance the guest experience and operational efficiency.
5. Use insights to guide room layout and renovations
Prioritise upgrades based on actual guest behaviour, not assumptions.
Placement of power outlets, lighting and storage.
Design bathrooms that better accommodate guest behaviour.
Focus on amenities that are consistently used and appreciated, while removing those that are taking up valuable space.
In the tourism and hospitality landscape, it is often the small details that can make a significant difference. And no one knows those details better than your housekeeping team. By empowering, listening and letting their insights guide you, you are also creating a positive work culture. As identified by ahs hospitality, a leading provider across Australia and NZ, housekeepers who feel valued and supported are more likely to stay, regularly contribute ideas and go the extra mile for your guests.
Published: September 2025
Source: ahs Hospitality
