Daniel Took, Head of Professional Product Marketing at Kärcher UK (www.kaercher.com/uk/), discusses the importance of cleaning in hospitality settings and how to ensure your business achieves positive hygiene ratings.
The importance of hygiene in hospitality cannot be understated – a fact which has become more apparent in recent years. If businesses receive a poor rating from independent bodies, such as the Food Standards Agency, then the effect can be incredibly damaging for a businesses’ reputation. Resulting in a slew of bad press and turning off potential customers, hygiene ratings play a crucial role in ensuring the success of a hospitality venue. In in an era when staff shortages and budgets are being squeezed tighter than ever before, such a negative effect cannot be given the opportunity to ripple through a business.
For any venue seeking to survive and thrive in the current climate, hygiene must be prioritised. And with data from the Food Standards Agency showing that in 2023 one in 16 takeaways across the UK fell below legally required standards, it is clearly a matter that many venues need to address. So, how should businesses ensure they are set up for success?
Investment in Hygiene
Customers expect quality when they enter hospitality venues, from the moment they step inside to where they will eat or sleep.
That pressure to deliver quality inevitably impacts margin. Whilst the current challenging climate often means management look to maintenance costs as a first choice for budget cuts, this is a nonsensical approach. The cost of not investing in cleaning can have an adverse long-term effect on budgets: deterring customers and negatively impacting profitability. It is imperative the industry looks beyond upfront costs and embraces investing in hygiene.
Training Staff
Hospitality settings can be complex and require varying levels of cleaning dependent on the situation and the product required.
Therefore, regular and consistent staff training is a necessity. Only by ensuring everyone in the team is bought into the importance of hygiene, can businesses expect to see results. What’s more, with the hospitality sector seeing a high turnover of staff, it’s vital that this training is done each time a new staff member joins the venue.
Ensuring Quick Turnarounds are Effective
The nature of the hospitality sector means that quick turnarounds are imperative. However, the ticking clock must not impact the effectiveness of cleaning. Moving to battery-powered solutions can greatly increase time saved cleaning, as there is no longer the need to unwind and rewind cables to plug machines in. Instead, cleaning machines can be powered at the touch of a button, allowing users to easily get started on the task at hand.
Battery-powered models such as Kärcher’s Battery-Powered Upright Brush-type Vacuum Cleaner CV 30/2 Bp, are well equipped to deal with the speed and agility required in hospitality venues. In fact, opting to move to battery power can save up to 20% work time compared with corded models, offering more time for cleaners to spend making the final touches to the venue, to help deliver the customer-first approach that the industry is renowned for.
The Right Product for the Job
Every hospitality venue has its own challenges regarding hygiene and, as such, it is imperative businesses find the right product for their own requirements.
For example, for those venues that feature a lot of textile surfaces, it will be key to select products that are effective in tackling those types of surfaces. Kärcher’s Puzzi 8/1 spray extraction cleaner is one such product that delivers outstanding cleaning results and high efficiency. The compact spray extraction machine sprays the cleaning solution deep into the textile fibres and then removes any dislodged dirt. This back suction performance also ensures quick drying and means that the textile surfaces can be used again quickly – ideal for the high demands of cleaning professionals in the hotel and hospitality sector.
However, for those venues that are driven by the need to improve operational efficiencies, steam cleaners’ ability to reduce downtime may be a better option to turn to. Steam cleaners, such as the compact SG 4/2 Steam Cleaner from Kärcher, even feature on-board water tanks that are specifically designed to help cleaning teams work non-stop for longer.
Ultimately, in a climate where businesses are under more scrutiny than ever before, hospitality venues must evaluate their cleaning practices with a microscopic lens. From products to staff to investment, hygiene can have a direct impact on business success and must be prioritised by all.
