The art of recognition: How ahs hospitality celebrates housekeepers
Housekeeping Appreciation Week celebrates and shows gratitude for hard work and dedication of the housekeeping team
At ahs hospitality, housekeepers are not only an integral part of the team, they’re also at the heart of what the company does.
Although their hard work is appreciated every day, Housekeeping Appreciation Week, held annually in the second week of September, provides an extra opportunity to celebrate and show gratitude for hard work and dedication of the housekeeping team.
This article was originally published in the latest AccomNews print edition. [Read it here.]
In recent years, this celebration has evolved into what is now known as the Housekeeping Olympics, a week of activities that not only recognises the achievements of housekeepers but also provides a platform for fun, creativity, and camaraderie. According to the team at ahs, the idea for the event stemmed from a desire to create something memorable and unifying.
The inspiration behind the Housekeeping Olympics was to create a fun and memorable Housekeeping Week that united all our housekeepers across Australia and New Zealand,” ahs hospitality General Manager People and Culture ANZ Ben Kazakoff said.
“We traditionally celebrated housekeeping week by having games and lunches at the various hotels we support, however this was done at each site. We thought it would be great to ramp it up a notch by not only continuing the games at each site but then getting the best of the best together at our state-based towel art and bed making championships to have some fun and enable our teams to realise that they are part of a much bigger organisation.
“As housekeeping week is a week to acknowledge and appreciate the hard work of housekeepers in keeping our client hotels looking its very best for guests to enjoy their stay, by hosting our Housekeeping Olympics the same week, it gives our housekeepers something to look forward to, inspires their creativity and the opportunity to meet their fellow team members who work at other hotels.”
The Housekeeping Olympics officially started in 2022, and the event continues to grow each year, with more than 500 photo submissions making their way to the judging team in 2024 alone. The towel art contest is a standout event of the Olympics, with swans, elephants, teddy bears, seashells and flowers all lovingly crafted by the housekeeping teams.
The Housekeeping Olympics not only serves as a platform for fun and games but also reinforces the values of teamwork, something Mr Kazakoff said was always a highlight.
“A highlight of our last Olympics would have to be a tie between the towel art competition and seeing the incredible creations, or watching our Victorian bed making champion make a bed in just over two minutes, with excellent quality whilst maintaining safety throughout,” he explained.
“During the bed making championships, it was wonderful to see the housekeepers cheer each other on, give words of encouragement and also learn from each other. And during the towel art competition, we loved seeing how proud they are of their works of art, adding special touches like flower petals and googly eyes to give it that extra creative flare!”
The culture at ahs hospitality has always prioritised staff wellbeing, recognition, and engagement, and the Housekeeping Olympics plays a key role in enhancing this culture. The activities encourage team-building and provide opportunities for housekeepers to showcase their skills in front of their peers, which has a tangible impact on staff morale.
“Our staff look forward to getting together and celebrating our fantastic teams, and their amazing talent. Although we do give out prizes to the competition winners, we have found that it is the peer recognition that is most sought after,” Mr Kazakoff said.
“Year on year the standard, quality and effort have increased. Our teams take it pretty seriously which we love. We have also found that the focus on recognition and team building throughout the week, whether that be taking the time to celebrate their achievements as a team at a morning tea, creating towel art together, or participating in our housekeeping week quiz is what makes the culture of each housekeeping team thrive.”
This commitment to fostering a positive culture has also contributed to ahs hospitality’s impressive staff engagement rate of 92 percent, a figure that Mr Kazakoff said the company was incredibly proud of.
Client hotels have also embraced the Housekeeping Olympics, supporting their on-site housekeeping teams to participate in the Olympics and celebrating them throughout Housekeeping Appreciation Week
Mr Kazakoff said: “Our hotel partners have been fantastic, assisting with space to hold the events, catering and even participating in the competitions. The feedback we have received is that our teams love that management attends to support them and they love seeing their colleagues from other hotels, having some food and some fun.
“They say it makes them feel valued and recognised. It is truly the level of collaboration, enthusiasm and involvement from everyone that makes the Housekeeping Olympics a successful event every year.”
Sarah is a freelance journalist with experience across print, digital and audio. After working for Multimedia Publishing as a contributing writer, she has recently joined the team in a part-time capacity for School News AU and AccomNews.