Located in southeast Australia, The Remington Orange is a new generation of hotel, conferencing, and regional accommodation offering a level of service and luxury rarely found outside the city. Besides the 82 rooms that fulfill the needs of business and leisure travelers, it also has ultramodern event facilities onsite, making it the perfect work-and-play space for any event. The Remington Orange is the ideal starting point for exploring the region's excellent local produce, impressive vineyards, and fine dining restaurants.
Road to success: empower housekeeping teams with a productivity-boosting platform
The Remington Orange team identified three main issues in the housekeeping department which were impacting staff organization, motivation and communication. We spoke to the Room Division Manager Alex Tran about how they have transformed their operations with smart tech thanks to Flexkeeping‘s Hotel Operations Platform.
»I can’t imagine working without Flexkeeping. It’s such a time saver and the most significant improvement we have seen in our daily operations.«
— Alex Tran,
Room Division Manager at Remington Orange
Before Flexkeeping: frustrations and inefficiencies
The biggest problem was chaotic communication that impeded the whole team's efficiency. Like most hotels that haven't yet switched to hotel management software, we organized housekeeping using a traditional paper board. Front office and housekeeping communicated via WhatsApp chat, with tons of messages left unseen, which translated to no accountability. Our staff had to go to each room physically to check it. More chaos ensued when someone couldn't get an urgent answer straight away. They had to go on a frantic chase for information.
Improving cleaning quality and time management were the key aspects of our new strategy.
We realized that without a strong housekeeping team, we would have no rooms to sell. Unfortunately, housekeeping is often relegated to the background, which is not a way to treat such a vital department.
»I knew that this was going to be the perfect marriage between what we need and what you guys can provide. I'm very happy with what I've seen so far - you have me as your biggest advocate!«
— Alex Tran,
Room Division Manager at Remington Orange
After Flexkeeping: automation and collaboration
After introducing Flexkeeping, communication has immediately improved. Instead of splitting tasks on WhatsApp, they are now automatically assigned by the platform. Everyone knows exactly when the tasks have been completed, so there's no need to second guess if someone has seen them and if they will be able to complete them on time. Our group chat is finally getting back to normal. Now we have the time to build the community!
Front Office no longer wastes time on ineffective communication and background checks. They also have instant feedback about room status that feeds directly into the PMS. Now I can pull my team members from the front office to do pre-arrival checks and trust they can produce the same level of reporting very easily using Flexkeeping checklists.
No matter where I am, at home or in the office, I know that I can glance over the platform and know precisely what's going on. To me, that’s huge because my workload is constantly evolving.
»My Front Office team now has absolute confidence that what they see in the system is true and can focus on creating a flawless arrival experience for our guests. The goal is to wow them before they enter the room, where they are wowed again because the space is spotless.«
— Alex Tran,
Room Division Manager at Remington Orange
Seamless onboarding and support
The onboarding process went great because the Flexkeeping team was very attentive to our needs. Most of The Remington Orange staff have never experienced a system like this, so it was a huge WOW moment for them.
As soon as we went live, I had one-on-one sessions with each team member. We also had group chats where I explained there would be a regular catch-up every fortnight to go through individual results. I emphasized that we will celebrate the wins (the things each of them has done perfectly) and point out two improvement suggestions.
»Now we can show our staff that there is a career beyond just the job of cleaning a room. Housekeepers know that someone is tracking their results and developing a training plan for them to improve.«
— Alex Tran,
Room Division Manager at Remington Orange
Boosting productivity and the guest experience
Flexkeeping collects data from filled-out checklists and brings an overview of the quality offered at Remington Orange. No more huge stacks of paper and infinite pre-arrival checks. Instead, my management team and I now have access to powerful insights that help us ensure the upkeep of the highest standards of guest service.
We can now pinpoint any improvements that need to be made. I love how any small detail that could affect guest satisfaction is reportable and trackable in an easy-to-see dashboard. We also use Flexkeeping to minimize guest complaints. Preventive maintenance insights let us track how many of them were reported by the guests. That’s a great additional asset in our digital toolbox.
Where once was uncertainty and frustration, now there is trust. The key to having housekeepers accept Flexkeeping with enthusiasm? I clarified that anything captured in reports will be given back to each team member as a constructive criticism tool and used to develop a training plan. The Remington Orange staff finally know that their work is being looked at constructively, which has boosted their productivity.
It proves that showing your team you care will make them care about their jobs. And that’s an excellent lesson for anyone looking to motivate their team and reduce turnover in the hospitality industry.
»I heard my team’s calls for a less stressful and better-organized workload. By embracing Flexkeeping, we brought our operations into the 21st century with the help of modern hotel tech.«
— Alex Tran, Room Division Manager at Remington Orange
Becoming more strategic
The power of having all the hotel's data in one place is immense. I can see the top failed checks and who was responsible, streamlined daily reports, etc. Armed with this information, I can quickly identify our strengths and weaknesses to optimize quality control. It gives me a sense of trust that I would not have otherwise. The entire management team is very passionate, and we know we need a strong housekeeping team to fulfill our ambitious goals.
Flexkeeping is my most powerful weapon in communication with a housekeeping supervisor. She now takes more and more control of operations, and I can dedicate myself to overseeing based on what I see within the platform. There is also a question of sustainability. A 100% paperless communication means that our hotel operations have become more green and efficient.
