Housekeeping Week unites Hilton Seychelles properties for a week of celebration and learning |18 September 2023

The Hilton Seychelles and Hilton Worldwide celebrated the annual Housekeeping Week from September 10-16, 2023 with daily activities for their housekeeping teams.

These included yoga, hiking and barbeques, as well as beach cleaning and tree planting as part of their commitment towards a sustainable environment.

One of the events was a whole day of exchange between the housekeeping teams from Hilton Northolme and Hilton Labriz.

Last Thursday, the former travelled to Silhouette Island to meet with the latter where they exchanged ideas, shared best practices and tips about their profession as well as engage in a towel folding workshop and other fun activities.

It is important to note that Hilton Seychelles does not celebrate their teams once a year, but rather on a monthly basis where each hotel plans special events to thank the housekeeping teams for their hard work and commitment.

However, this year’s Housekeeping Week was different with a special treat that allowed them to relax and unwind.

Hilton Seychelles is renowned for its positive work culture and was recently awarded ‘Great Place to Work’ certification – a title the resort certainly lives up to.

Moses Muema Woie, the executive housekeeper of Hilton Northolme, who works daily with a team of 30-40 staff, attested to that who expressed his appreciation to the resort for recognising their work.

Mr Woie’s responsibilities include daily planning for the housekeeping department, budgeting and looking at the general cleanliness of the rooms.

He has welcomed such a week, which he said highlights the important role of housekeepers all over the world to make hotels safe and decent for the occupants.

“It is a way to say thank you to the team for all that they do because often at times we do not appreciate the housekeepers. We see them as just there to clean but in the national Housekeeping Week, it is an opportunity where we go and say thank you for what you do. Thank you for keeping the place safe!”

Hilton Northolme has various ways of rewarding their housekeepers including certification, the ‘Shining Star’ award for the teams performing above expected levels at the end of each month. In addition, big events such as outings are organised every three months, to celebrate the success of the outstanding team.

When asked what he thought was necessary to make a housekeeping team run as smoothly as possible, Mr Woie stated that there were two things that should always be present. Firstly, motivation for the team. “You need to motivate and appreciate them in whatever they do,” he stated.

The second one is a clear career path. “They need to know that today I am doing this, then after one year, I am moving to this level. So that keeps them moving, keeps them energetic and it keeps them growing.”

Mr Woie got his first exposure to Hilton as a student for training and returned to the establishment after university. He has spent 21 years with the hotel, with ten at Hilton Seychelles.

For his part, Jayachandran Syamala, housekeeping manager of Hilton Labriz, said that the housekeepers are the ones ensuring that the guests are happy with their stay and should therefore be recognised and celebrated.

He welcomed the idea to bring them together to exchange ideas, and share knowledge and skills especially with regard to room decorations and the art of towel folding.

“So now that we are clubbed together, we can do both and offer the different experience,” he stated.

The accompanying photos show highlights of the activity on Thursday on Silhouette.

Text & photos by Sunny Esparon