You did your Zoom interviews months ago and you have four chamber maids coming from a foreign country to work in your department. During those interviews you did your best to give them a clear picture — the work environment, the training they would receive (because many candidates simply do not apply if they have no prior experience), the work itself, the housing arrangements, the distance from the hotel, and the areas they could visit and enjoy on their days off. You completed the paperwork. You know you need these chamber maids.
If you follow these simple instructions, you can absolutely train them and keep them. If you take it lightly, prepare yourself for the consequences — absences from maids who cannot cope with the excess workload and the very real possibility of being left short-handed at the worst possible moment. In the end, it all comes down to you.
When I had chamber maids arriving from abroad, I would have them picked up by taxi and brought directly to the hotel. We handled the HR paperwork together — I escorted them personally. Then I would take them to their apartment, show them the area, and explain how to get to the hotel the next morning. In a few words: I took them by the hand and only let go once they had completed their basic training under my supervision.
People coming from abroad to work need more attention. The environment is completely new, and the first week is almost always critical — it will determine whether they stay or leave. Usually during that first week there will be an HR orientation day with other newcomers, but sometimes they will be sent directly to work before that happens.
On their first day, the trainer is the Housekeeping Manager — no one else. The basics are your responsibility, not your supervisor’s, not a senior room attendant’s. You set the standard from day one. Devote three to four hours to showing them the basics and you will not regret it. Try to do the training in one go — for example, a team of four new maids trained together at the same time. It saves time and creates a shared reference point from day one.
Cover the essentials in a logical order. Start with a full hotel tour — entrance, lobbies, guest rooms, floors, public areas, guest and staff toilets, the clocking-in area, and the waste disposal area. Then introduce the basic detergents, how to dilute and fill them correctly, and hand them written cleaning instructions they can refer back to. Show them the cloths and sponges assigned to each area and explain what each one is used for.
Then take them into a dirty departure room and show them the full cleaning process from start to finish. You can have an experienced chamber maid perform each task while the new maids watch — then have them practise. Walk them through the sequence: removal of dirty linen, application of bathroom detergents, application of room detergents, correct use of cloths, balcony cleaning, bed making, and vacuuming. The complete process of turning a departure room into a clean, inspectable room.
Finally, show them what you look for when you inspect a room that has been passed as clean by the maids. They need to understand the standard from the very beginning — not discover it when they fail an inspection.
Of course, this is a lot of information for one day, and by no means should you hand them full responsibility for room cleaning on their own from the second day. Once they have received the basic training, you follow the “Train the Nelly” process — you pair them with an experienced maid for a week to ten days so they can see the full cleaning process over and over again before you assign them their own floor section. Make sure you pair them with positive and friendly co-workers so they are well treated and learn correctly. Also pass the message to experienced chamber maids about the importance of treating newcomers exceptionally well — and do not hesitate to reprimand or give feedback if you receive justified complaints about negative behaviour from certain colleagues.
It is strongly recommended that the key trainer and the person supporting newcomers during the 2–3 month transition period is a friendly, approachable supervisor with a positive attitude. A smile and a calm presence go a long way — they make the difference between a newcomer who settles in and one who quietly decides to leave.
By following this simple procedure, we achieved a staff retention rate of over 90%.
Before the season starts, make sure you have enough linen, cleaning trolleys, vacuums, and cleaning equipment for every maid on your team. Everything must be in working order before the first new hire walks through the door. If you are not prepared, get ready for quarrels and drama — chamber maids fighting over a functioning vacuum or a cleaning trolley is not a rare occurrence. It happens every peak season in properties that did not plan ahead.
Of course, the above is a general overview of the basics for training newcomers. For more detail, check the Housekeeping Department Training System and the Room Cleaning Procedures Toolkit — both available in the product directory below.
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