Quality Inn & Suites Thompson housekeepers competed in a variety of fun and work-related competitions Sept. 14 in honour of International Housekeeper Appreciation Week.
Events included bed-making and towel art competitions as well as a guest room scavenger hunt to help staff hone their job skills, as well as others than were just for fun, like a challenge dancing on a newspaper that gets smaller and smaller each round as it is folded in half as well as a toilet paper mummy making competition, in which housekeepers wrapped their partners in toilet paper from head to toe. Following the competitions, the hotel treated the housekeepers to a free lunch.
Quality Inn general manager Akanshu Popli said he put on the event to help keep his staff motivated and to let them know that their coworkers appreciate the effort they put in.
“The more we do and appreciate our team it’s going to definitely create a big difference for them, for the hotel, for the business and, of course, make them feel good and continue to be here,” said Popli, noting that all his housekeepers are Canadian residents. “We have no overseas employees right now. That’s a huge achievement in this tough labour market.”
Popli demonstrated his personal appreciation for his housekeepers by washing some of their cars in the hotel parking lot on Sept. 13 and 14.
Towel art created by the housekeepers was displayed in the hotel lobby so guests could vote for their favourite. The winner of that competition and each of the winners of the other competitions received $25 gift cards for their efforts.
Being a hotel housekeeper can be a tough job, Popli said, particularly over the last few years as a result fo the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s more challenging,” Popli said. “They have to wear protection gear and use more special and tough chemicals to kill those viruses. We are fortunate with the people we have. We are blessed and they are doing a fantastic job. They work really hard.”
