Last week I wrote about Best Western International’s new “I Care Clean” program and its use of UV (ultraviolet) wands, black lights and paper wraps during housekeeping. (Click here for that column.) A few days ago I had an opportunity to chat with Ron Pohl, Best Western’s senior vice president brand management and member services, about “I Care Clean” and how the program is progressing.
“It is going extremely well,” Pohl says. “Without any promotion of the concept, customer satisfaction and overall satisfaction scores have increased 13 percent.”
Research conducted for Best Western Customer by IDEO highlighted guests’ increasing concern about guestroom cleanliness. “Customer expectations have changed completely,” Pohl says. “It is what the customer cannot see that is most concerning.”
UV wands and black lights are not replacing any existing housekeeping practices; they are supplementing them. The wands are used to disinfect high-touch areas such as toilet seats, clock radios, thermostats, etc. One of our readers, in response to last week’s column, doubted the effectiveness of UV wands in a guestroom. Pohl told me, however, that if used properly—about five to seven seconds within five to seven inches of an item—they are 99 percent effective at killing bacteria and viruses. The black lights are used more as part of an inspection process to catch areas that have been missed. Again, it is high-touch areas that are targeted for inspection.
Pilot Began in 2010
The pilot for I Care Clean began at the end of 2010. Last year was spent on training. Today, more than 700 hotels throughout North America have implemented the program. All 2,100-plus Best Westerns in North America will have the program up and running by the end of this year.
Pohl says Best Western has not promoted the new service at each hotel but guests are seeing the housekeepers with the inspection wands and black lights and asking about them. The wands and lights are two more tools housekeepers can use to improve the quality of work that they do. “We have created a sense of pride and ownership with housekeepers,” Pohl says.
The wand and light inspection adds from three to five minutes to housekeeping cleaning.
Interestingly, Pohl said one guest at a Best Western hotel complained that her allergies were aggravated after staying in a room. A UV wand was placed on a stand in the room for two hours when the guest was not present. The guest later commented that she felt much better in the room after the treatment.
Also as part of I Care Clean, the TV remote, and extra pillows, blankets and towels are wrapped with a single-use paper wrap to let guests know the items have been cleaned.
Optional Housekeeping Offered to Guests
Perhaps the most impactful part of I Care Clean from an environmental perspective is Best Western’s rollout of an optional, a.k.a. “collaborative service” housekeeping program. Guests can choose to opt out entirely or just have a portion of housekeeping services. Pohl says that at properties where this is offered, 40 percent of guests are participating. Some of the participating hotels are rewarding guests with 250 loyalty program points for opting out of housekeeping—similar to what Starwood has done at many of its hotels.
“As someone who travels a few times a year and has to make a hotel room my ‘home’ for seven to 14 days at a stretch, I appreciate Best Western’s efforts to provide a clean, sanitized ‘home’ for me,” one of our readers wrote.
It will be interesting to see how the rest of our industry responds to I Care Clean. Has Best Western raised the bar of expectations when it comes to guestroom cleanliness? We shall see. What Best Western has done for now, at any rate, is give itself one more competitive advantage in a highly competitive hotel market.
Green Lodging News Adds American Standard Case Study to Website
Green Lodging News has added a new case study to its website. The case study focuses on the 403-room, LEED-certified Atlanta Airport Gateway Marriott and its use of high-efficiency plumbing fixtures from American Standard. Among the American Standard products featured in the Marriott guestrooms are Cadet 3 FloWise water closets, Town Square faucets and spouts, Cambridge Americast bathtubs, and Studio undermount lavatories. Other high efficiency fixtures installed on the property include the Afwall 1.28 GPF water closet and AllbrookFloWise .5 GPF urinal. To read the complete case study, click here. For more information on commercial products from American Standard, visit www.americanstandard.com or call (800) 899-2614.
Green Lodging News Adds Cintas Corp. as Directory Partner
Green Lodging News welcomes Cintas Corp. as a Green Product & Service Directory partner. Cintas recently introduced its first air-conditioning (A/C) coil cleaning service for the hospitality industry. Certified as a “Green Process” by the Green Clean Institute, ChemTron Coil Cleaning by Cintas enables hoteliers to lower their energy bills, extend the life of A/C units and improve indoor air quality. Users of the PTAC cleaning service increase air flow by up to 28 percent and reduce energy consumption up to 17 percent. To learn more, click here, e-mail leahym@cintas.com, or call (800) 864-3676.
Looking for Guest Columnists
Every two weeks Green Lodging News posts a new guest column on its website. (Click here for examples.) The guest column also appears in the weekly e-newsletter. Green Lodging News is currently in need of industry experts to contribute occasional guest columns. Experts may include consultants, architects, designers, suppliers and those who own or operate green lodging establishments. Columns may be articles that take a stance on a particular subject or be strictly educational in nature. Columnists benefit by having their photo included along with a one paragraph description of their company. Interested in writing a column? Contact Glenn Hasek, publisher and editor, at (440) 243-2055, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
Planning Advertising for 2012?
Green Lodging News is accepting reservations for advertising spots for 2012. Many excellent spots are available on the website and in the weekly e-mail newsletter. Many Green Supplier Spotlight dates are also available. Interested in receiving a 2012 media kit? Be sure to contact me as soon as possible at (440) 243-2055, or by e-mail at editor@greenlodgingnews.com. A media kit can also be accessed by clicking here. Thank you to all of those companies that consistently support Green Lodging News.
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As always, I can be reached at editor@greenlodgingnews.com.
