You know those hotels that are just, well, cool? Volkshotel is one of them. 

Set in the former headquarters of liberal Dutch newspaper De Volksrant, the architect-designed Volkshotel is home to 196 rooms—5 specially designed by local creatives—a coworking space, a nightclub, a restaurant, and a rooftop sauna. In other words, it’s a hotel that’s very hard to leave, even in a city that’s got as much to offer as Amsterdam. 

Do you know what else is cool about Volkshotel? It uses Sweeply Task Management for its Housekeeping and Maintenance teams. In just four months, it’s experienced some pretty special results: 

More efficient processes for the Housekeeping team

Speedier repairs from the Maintenance team

Faster, easier staff onboarding 

We sat down with Marion Le Tiec, Volkshotel's Housekeeping Manager, to find out more. She started working at the hotel six and a half years ago as a Room Attendant and now oversees the Housekeeping team and its operations. Naturally, she knows a thing or two about what good looks like and has been working closely with Sweeply on a daily basis to get the results Volkshotel needs. 

Volkshotel’s challenge

First things first - why did Volkshotel need a new task management system for housekeeping? 

The catalyst was the introduction of a new PMS, Mews. The hotel’s task management system wasn’t compatible with the new tech, so Marion started to look for a replacement. 

She took this opportunity to find a tool that was “easy to use for the whole company” and would improve communication between different departments - and that’s where Sweeply came in. 

“We chose Sweeply for its ease of use, as well as the visual aspect, which helps to make room status clear for everyone - regardless of language barrier.”

– Marion Le Tiec, Housekeeping Manager at Volkshotel  

For a hotel with 33 different nationalities on its team, accessibility for all is important. Otherwise, the team will not work to its full potential. 

Marion also hoped for more efficient communication between departments - particularly the Front Desk and Housekeeping teams - and a more streamlined way of processing stayover cleaning requests. 

Let’s find out how Sweeply measured up. 

Sweeply’s solution

How would Marion sum up the benefits of Sweeply in one sentence? 

“We’ve seen great progress in our daily operations.”

More specifically, great progress involves more efficient processes, improved repair processes, and a smoother onboarding experience for new hires. 

Before we get to that, how did the setup go? Marion explained that the team was happy about the new technology being introduced - which, in our experience working with hotels worldwide, is crucial to efficiently introducing a new technology. Strong change management principles make the transition far smoother for a team - and Volkshotel knocked it out of the park. 

Marion also noted that in the first few weeks, Volkshotel requested some adjustments to the reports generated by Sweeply. Team Sweeply jumped on this customisation request so the hotel could see the data that made the most sense for its unique setup. 

Now, let’s look at those three main benefits we mentioned earlier. 

More efficient processes 

Stayover cleaning requests used to be operationally difficult for Volkshotel. Marion would have to go to every single room - yes, all 196 of them - to see whether each one had requested one. 

Now, they’re processed by the front desk rather than the housekeeping department - which is easier and quicker for everyone involved. 

Faster repairs 

Marion is a particular fan of Sweeply’s Issues feature, which allows every worker in the building to report defects and issues. 

Giving every worker the ability to report issues means they will likely be caught faster. By being able to access the requests all in one place, the Maintenance team can add the repairs to day-to-day operations and make them as soon as possible. This new method results in a better guest experience and a smoother working day for the team, too. 

Improved onboarding 

“The onboarding of new housekeeping staff using the app's training is much faster and shorter than before. This is down to the ease of the app” explains Marion. 

Giving each team member the appropriate training is key to setting them up for success - but when your team numbers over 150 people like Volkshotel, it’s got to be done efficiently, too. An easy-to-use, intuitive app makes all the difference, which does wonders for staff confidence and engagement. 

Slick operational processes, an improved experience for guests and staff, and better onboarding? It sounds like a success to us. If you’d like to streamline housekeeping operations in your hotel, you can try Sweeply for free for 30 days. Not ready yet? Find out how Íslandshótel saved 6,400 hours in 4 months with Sweeply.