Earlier this month the Chicago Sun Times ran a story titled "Hold the Ice: What's in your glass might surprise you".
The article revealed failed results of an 'ice cube test' from 49 fast-food and casual-dining restaurants and hotel bars in the city. The Chicago Sun-Times found that more than one in every five samples contained high levels of bacteria.
Today I discovered a hidden camera video story exposing some awful housekeeping techniques in Chicago at an Embassy Suites property, a Holiday Inn, and a local Sheraton. Housekeeping room attendants were seen using dirty face towels to dry glasses that were sanitized with Windex, and handled with gloves that just came out of the toilet.
This is terrible press for any hospitality operator, but if proper (sanitary) cleaning procedures are formalized, trained and re-iterated, this should never happen in a reputable establishment.
Unfortunately, some operators aren't so diligent in their procedures. While its true that room attendants are doing more work in guestrooms than ever before, but glassware sanitation isn't the place to cut corners.
The hotels in the video might easily have exposed their guests to harmful viruses and bacteria. For their effort, they got to star in this hard-hitting video blog:
Hotel Housekeeping Disaster
Dirty Drinking Glasses
Trend Themes
1. Hospitality Sanitation - There is an opportunity for hospitality operators to implement more rigorous sanitation procedures to prevent harmful contaminants in guestrooms such as with glassware.
2. Housekeeping Training - There is an opportunity for the hospitality industry to train housekeeping staff on proper cleaning procedures for guestrooms to prevent harmful bacteria and viruses.
3. Transparency and Exposure - There is an opportunity for the hospitality industry to become more transparent and willing to expose their sanitation procedures to the public to encourage trust and confidence in their establishments.
Industry Implications
1. Hospitality - In the hospitality industry, there is a need for more rigorous sanitation procedures to be implemented to prevent harmful contaminants in guestrooms.
2. Housekeeping - In the housekeeping industry, there is a need for more thorough training on proper cleaning procedures for guestrooms to prevent harmful bacteria and viruses.
3. Media and Journalism - In the media industry, there is a demand for increased transparency and exposure of hospitality sanitation procedures to keep the public informed and encourage establishments to improve their standards.