February 24, 2025
A Complete Guide to Hospitality Maintenance Best Practices
Hotel maintenance is not just about general building upkeep. It entails a wide range of needs specific to hospitality. In this article, we'll show a guide to hotel maintenance. This will help you understand maintenance applications, certifications, and the benefits of a computerized maintenance management system (CMMS).
What is Hotel Maintenance and Why is it Crucial for Hospitality?
Hotel maintenance involves the continual supervision and management of various systems and components essential for the smooth operation of hospitality establishments. These include:
- The intricate workings of HVAC and electrical systems.
- The network of plumbing.
- Lighting fixtures, every aspect requires meticulous attention to detail.
How Preventative Maintenance Enhances Hotel Operations
Hotels require a lot of preventive maintenance (PM). At this point, let's remember the importance of this type of maintenance.
⮚ Extend asset lifespan. Think of the simple example of auto oil changes. What happens if you never change oil? Eventually, the amount of oil decreases through wear and tear or leakage. What remains doesn't work as well because of the amount of accumulated contaminants, dirt, grit, and other debris. Soon, the auto may experience engine problems long before you'd expect it to.
⮚ Safety. You conduct many PMs to check for safety hazards. Early detection saves money and the health of workers and guests. Driveway and walkway cracks, lighting, and carpet issues on stairs.
⮚ Optimal operation. PMs help keep equipment working at an optimal level. Routine cleaning, lubrication, and replacement parts ensure the asset functions as it was designed.
⮚ Compliance. Especially for hotels, you can't overstate the importance of this aspect. Many machines and other assets have regulatory requirements. PMs help to stay up to date on those regulations. As we'll see later, a CMMS can document these activities to show to regulators and auditors.
⮚ Guest satisfaction. How often have you visited hotels/motels where the staff neglects PMs? It shows, right? Hallways and rooms look old and tired. You have chipped or crumbling foundations in the bathroom. Sinks look unclean. Ceilings display the results of water damage. Scratches and chips mar the furniture.
PMs and proper repair keep the room and the establishment attractive for guests.
What assets would you include in your PMs? On the list include: Elevators, cable TV systems, phone lines, personal computers. room furnishings, and lighting fixtures.
How Poor Hospitality Maintenance Impacts Your Bottom Line
If we use a room rate of $130 per night, this means revenue loss for any issue that negates room rental. If repairs require shutting down multiple rooms during a peak season, this loss escalates rapidly. For instance, a water pressure problem affecting twenty rooms on a floor could result in a staggering $2,600 loss per night.
Other issues might involve replacement purchases. That adds to the cost. Delayed purchases extend the time when the room is available.
Industry-Specific Hotel Maintenance Needs
The hospitality industry encompasses diverse establishments, each with its distinct needs.
Hotels: They require a broad range of maintenance. Examples include HVAC. Plumbing and lighting. Grounds keeping and electronic equipment.
Serviced Apartments: These include residential hotels with longer stay durations. They have the same needs as hotels but often will have issues akin to apartments.
Resorts: Their needs often consist of the upkeep of additional amenities. Golf courses. Skiing facilities. Casinos and restaurants.
Serviced Apartments: These establishments cater to guests with longer stays and require maintenance similar to hotels. However, they also encounter issues typical of residential apartments.
Resorts: Maintenance responsibilities extend beyond the main facilities to include additional amenities. Golf courses, skiing facilities, casinos, restaurants, swimming pools, and spa facilities.
Timeshare Rentals: Maintenance obligations often fall on renters, who contribute to property upkeep during their allocated time slots.
Casino Hotels: These require meticulous maintenance for gaming machines, food service areas, entertainment venues, and accommodation facilities.
Bed and Breakfasts: Owners must have a proper maintenance plan since they employ a small staff. Owners take responsibility for everything in these places. Think about guest satisfaction on a neglected B&B.
Moreover, other hospitality establishments such as boutique hotels and hostels also require specialized maintenance tailored to their unique offerings.
Certifications and Training for Hotel Maintenance Professionals
The American Hotel & Lodging Educational Institute (AHLEI) and the Hospitality Training Action Center (HTA) offer comprehensive certifications and training programs. These enhance the skills and knowledge of maintenance personnel in the hospitality industry. Programs include:
AHLEI Maintenance Employee Certification: Designed for employees working within the hospitality sector to develop their maintenance skills and expertise.
Certified Chief Engineer Training (NAHLE): Focuses on training hotel engineers and maintenance workers in management, operations, and building systems to ensure effective maintenance management.
These certification programs are instrumental in equipping maintenance professionals with the necessary tools and knowledge to meet the unique challenges of hotel maintenance.
Using CMMS Software to Optimize Hotel Maintenance
A Computerized Maintenance Management System (CMMS) plays a pivotal role in organizing and optimizing hotel maintenance operations. With expansive properties and numerous assets to manage, a quality CMMS software solution becomes indispensable. It serves as a centralized repository for recording maintenance activities. It facilitates easy access to reports and Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), enabling data-driven decision-making and proactive maintenance strategies.
Review the above information on the applications of hotel maintenance. You can see the benefits of quality CMMS software emerge. With the amount of property to manage, especially resorts, you need organization in all aspects of maintenance management. From assets to inventory, from work orders to purchasing.
How CMMS Improves Hospitality Maintenance Operations
A CMMS acts as a central database for records of the above. It allows you easy access to reports, including Key Performance Indicator reports (KPIs).
With a CMMS, you create your list of preventive maintenance, noting the cycles, priorities, related inventory, and labor availability. Then as with other work orders, you can drop the work orders onto the CMMS scheduler.
Asset Management: CMMS aids in the meticulous tracking of hotel assets, optimizing maintenance schedules, and reducing downtime. You'll know critical equipment, costs, equipment readings, and depreciation values.
Inventory Control: The CMMS helps you with the layout of your stockroom and storage areas. You assign a spot for each item. Inventory lists show quantities, costs, vendor distribution units, stock-keeping units, critical spares, and repairable parts.
Work Order Management: Easily process work requests and generate work orders with relevant details. For additional clarity, add attachments of documents, images, and checklists.
Preventive Maintenance: CMMS enables the implementation of PM schedules, identifying and addressing potential issues before they lead to significant downtime.
Make Hotel Maintenance a Priority for Long-Term Success
You invest time and effort to follow a guide to hotel maintenance. Organization is the key. To have that organization, you'll need good communication from everyone, a trained and skilled team, and quality leadership.
Use CMMS software for your maintenance activities. It improves efficiency and productivity and over time, reduces costs.
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