Keeping it clean

It's not just tables and beds that need to look immaculate in a hotel; laundry managers are also responsible for making sure guests look up to scratch, as Hotelier Middle East discovers.

How long have you been working in your present role?

Nizar Al Mohammad: For the past eight years I have been working as a laundry manager, and I joined the team at Jumeirah Emirates Towers in October last year.

Noel Gnanaprajasam: I have been working as a laundry manager at the Sheraton Dubai Creek Hotel and Towers for the past four years.

Mario Barretto: I first joined The Diplomat Radisson SAS Hotel in 1999, taking on my current role of assistant laundry manager in July 2007.

Loy Dizon: I have been working at Le Méridien hotel for 19 years but only sixteen and a half years in the laundry department. Now I am in charge of the whole department but my title is senior laundry supervisor.

Maula Bakhsh: I have been in the present position for the past five years, but I have been working in the laundry department in several positions since opening of the hotel back in December 1980.

Raj Kapoor: I have been working in my present role since April 2004.

What experience do you have in the hotel industry?

Mohammed: My career started when I joined Express Service Laundry in Beirut, Lebanon. After four years with Express Service Laundry I moved to Le Meridian Commodore Hotel as assistant laundry manager and worked there for another four years.

I then moved to the United Arab Emirates and managed the finest dry cleaning in Abu Dhabi - ‘Jevess of Belgravia'- before joining the pre-opening team for Al Mahara Rotana Suites, Abu Dhabi, as laundry manager. I also worked as laundry manager at Radisson SAS Sharjah before joining Jumeirah.

Gnanaprajasam: I started my career in 1979 at Sheraton Abu Dhabi in charge of the hotel laundry. After 10 years, I moved back to Sri Lanka for a short while before moving to Kuwait. In both countries, I worked as a laundry manager in two independent laundry companies.

In 1991, I joined the Sheraton Jeddah team as the hotel's assistant laundry manager - in this capacity, I had the opportunity to undergo chemical-handling training at Ecolab's office in Germany.

Barretto: My first laundry position was with the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in Dubai in 1993.

Dizon: After duty hours when I was still a room-boy, I used to fill-in at the laundry department when someone was sick or on vacation, then when the linen attendant resigned I was moved to there. I got the experience first hand; I learned how to press, wash, dry clean and remove spots.

Kapoor: I got basic operational training from Le Meridien Hotel in New Delhi, where I started my career. After joining Renaissance Dubai Hotel in 1997, I did several supervisory and management label training courses like essential skills, service excellence, correspondence and empowerment.

What does your position entail?

Mohammed: My position entails a variety of responsibilities; however my main responsibility is to oversee the ashing process, everything from sorting the laundry to storing it. In order to be able to manage this job perfectly there is a need for extensive knowledge about the quality of water and detergents, as well as knowledge about common washing methods and the finishing process.

It is also important to continuously establish clear standards and procedures, as well as training programmes, to achieve a consistently high standard of work. It is also of high importance to maintain efficient and effective communication with both internal and external guests, because providing the best service to the guest is the core of our business.

Dizon: I supervise everything. Early morning is when all the major work happens. We get the staff uniforms ready for housekeeping. I start my shift at 6am and finish when the work is finished, so I don't have anything pending for the next day. I make sure the place is clean - I help my colleagues and we work together.

Gnanaprajasam: As a laundry manager, I need to supervise the day-to-day operations of the laundry department. This includes sharing relevant and crucial hotel information with the laundry supervisors such as hotel occupancy, special guest requests, and linen demand. I also ensure that the laundry machines are utilised properly and that chemicals are used accordingly.

Bakhsh: Being a laundry manager, I supervise the department shift operations, ensuring a consistent workflow to minimize peaks and valleys in production, supervise staffing levels to ensure that operational needs and financial objectives are met, look into details of daily laundry jobs such as the washing or ironing/pressing processes to make sure that we do not get any complaints from our guests as well as from banqueting, F&B outlets, and our staff.

Barretto: As a support to the laundry manager my main role is to help him oversee the smooth running of all aspects of the laundry operation covering house laundry, uniforms and guest laundry. I also have to be very "hands on" and help the team in the various areas of the operation on a daily basis.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

Gnanaprajasam: The most challenging aspect of my job is to train my team to multi-task so they are able to gain additional knowledge of the various sections of the laundry, making them more versatile.

Mohammed: The most challenging aspect of my job is to make sure that we always surpass the guests' needs and that the guests are always left with a smile on their face when they receive their laundry from us. Working at Jumeirah Emirates Towers gives me an opportunity to work with business travellers a lot, as they represent the majority of the guests that are staying with us.

Business travellers are a particular type of traveller as their time is very precious, jumping from meeting to meeting and time zone to time zone. This means that their laundry has to be perfect at all times and ready within a shorter period of time.

Barretto: Since the opening of our new Residence Apartment block earlier this year the volume of work for the laundry team has increased greatly and we are now processing 1500kg per day.

Balancing the demands of the various departments of the hotel, along with ensuring our guests are fully satisfied with the services of our guest laundry section always keeps me on my toes, but I am proud to say my team meets the daily challenges involved. We are currently in the process of recruiting a new laundry manager, which has meant a bit more responsibility rests on my shoulders at this time - but that's something I thrive on.

Bakhsh: Since we have an express laundry service, I have to make sure that the deliveries of such laundries are delivered with complete satisfaction within the specified time mentioned by the guests. It is really challenging especially when we have high occupancy.