Smarter Week

How to automate it

How to automate “report maintenance problems and chase until they are fixed”

Here are 2 ways to spend less time on this, best first. Each comes with steps you can follow today.

30 min
typically, every day
55%
of the time can be automated
Easy
to set up

Fix 1 of 2

Software featureBest fix

Inspect rooms on a phone checklist that sends maintenance tickets

Inspect on a phone with a standard checklist and photos; anything broken becomes a maintenance ticket automatically, and you can see when it is fixed instead of chasing by radio.

Typically saves about 40% of the time2 h to set up
  1. 1Build your inspection checklist in your housekeeping app or a checklist tool (Optii, Flexkeeping, SafetyCulture).
  2. 2Inspect on the phone and take a photo of each problem.
  3. 3Let issues create a ticket for maintenance with the room number.
  4. 4Review open tickets at the morning meeting, not by walking the halls.

Tools: Optii · Flexkeeping · SafetyCulture · Quore or your maintenance app

Fix 2 of 2

Software feature

Send updates once in a team app instead of texting people one by one

A team chat for frontline staff lets you post once, see who has read it, and keeps work out of personal text threads.

Typically saves about 50% of the time30 min to set up
  1. 1Check what your company uses: the messaging in your scheduling app, Microsoft Teams, Connecteam or Beekeeper.
  2. 2Create a channel per store or shift.
  3. 3Post changes once and pin key info (rota, menu changes, promotions).
  4. 4Ask staff to react or tick to show they have read it.

Tools: Messaging in 7shifts, Deputy, Homebase, When I Work, UKG or Harri · Microsoft Teams · Connecteam · Beekeeper

Quick wins

Have you tried…

Do room inspections on your phone send maintenance tickets automatically?
You tick the checklist and photograph the problem, and the app creates the maintenance ticket and shows you when it is fixed.

Who does this task

Roles in our library that list this as one of their common tasks. Each guide covers the rest of that role’s week.

Hotel housekeeping / rooms operations lead

HourLeak · the 8-minute work audit

How many hours does this cost you?

The free 8-minute check works out where your week goes and gives you your top fixes. The team scan does the same for everyone and adds it up, so you know which leaks to fix first.

Take the free check Scan my team, $49

Answers are anonymous. Leaders only see team totals.

Other common tasks for Hotel housekeeping / rooms operations leads