According to an article by USA Today, hotels are ditching those giant maid carts that block the hallways.  This is a story near and dear to our hearts as our Service Experience Analysts are often blocked by a giant maid cart as we roam the hallways of our hotels.  We also can’t count the number of times we’ve seen a housekeeping associate ramming a giant cart into the wall or elevator door.  It is exciting to see some potential innovation on the horizon.  According to the article:

Big, rolling housekeeping carts are disappearing from many hotel hallways, just like the floral polyester linens they used to carry.

Hotels say they’re replacing cumbersome carts with smaller ones sometimes akin to golf caddie bags out of necessity, in addition to convenience and even appearance.

Here are some great points mentioned by hotel general managers in the article:

Hotel general managers say there are a number of reasons why smaller is better.

• Hotels don’t use duvets and bulky linens anymore, so there’s no need for large carts, they say. Plus, storage space is at a premium, and smaller carts don’t take up much space.

• The bags are small enough to take into the room and leave the hallways clear and safe. They also don’t nick the walls of elevators and corridors like the large carts did.

• But more important, the guests prefer them, says Rich Hotter, general manager of the Staybridge Suites Times Square.

“The smaller rolling carts hold fewer items and therefore do not get cluttered, so they offer a better presentation in the eyes of the guests,” he says.

We have yet to a new, smaller cart in action yet but look forward to the innovation.  Suite hotels that often have large cleaning equipment like mops and vacuums stored in each room can really benefit.  Of course, there is a little downside:

One more reason he believes that: “Items are not exposed to people walking through hallways so theft of amenity items or towels is greatly reduced,” he says.

Diane Daniel, a freelance writer in Durham, N.C., says that’s actually why she will miss the large carts.

When she travels for work, she nixes the daily visit from the housekeeper because she often leaves paperwork strewn about her room that she doesn’t want touched.

She has a self-service cleaning method. “If I run out of toilet paper or anything,” she says, “I can just pluck a new one from the cart.”

Of course, regular travelers like us are already up to our ears in tiny bottles of shampoo so we should be ok.

Source:  USA Today Article