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Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

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Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#441

Post by ghaff »

andrewla wrote: post #435
ghaff wrote: post #375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You also have the lever demonstrated in this article. You institute more automation, self-service, and cut back on services (like daily room cleanings) that a lot of customers don't really value.

Yes, agreed, this method can work, but it isn't magic. I kind of lumped that in with "cost cutting", because in almost every case it results in a lower quality of service. Supply and demand operates on the margins; even though a lot of customers don't value the services, enough might to cut into your income, at least over time, and risk sacrificing some customer goodwill.

Oh. I agree self-service, for example, can either be generally better than dealing with a person (e.g. getting cash at an ATM) or something of a mixed bag (self-service checkout). However, cutting back on room service seems like a general win especially if you'll service rooms on request. After all, there's such a thing as serviced apartments that explicitly only service once a week unless you pay for more.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#442

Post by cudgy »

nly wrote: post #268
emptybits wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> But if a hotel starts letting people stay weeks without checking their room, ... Yet I think people regularly stay for weeks with Airbnb/Vrbo without any host inspection or cleaning. I agree with your conclusion (filthy guests who stay weeks invite pest problems) ... so if the big bad old hotel industry needs to market their advantages, maybe there's an Institutuionally Clean angle.

With Airbnb you're on the hook for cleaning costs..at a hotel the assumption is the hotel will clean up your mess (as long as it's not extreme or unreasonable)

Hotels are certainly charging the guests for cleaning up; it is just not broken out as a separate charge. Of course, Airbnb’s do not have the economies of scale that a hotel has and in some cases for short term rentals charge more for the cleaning than the rented space. I stay with the pros and avoid Airbnb’s for both cost and convenience reasons.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#443

Post by dashundchen »

trevyn wrote: post #426
dashundchen wrote: post #320

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you know what life was like 100 years ago in the US? 35% of households had access to electricity. About 20% had some sort of indoor plumbing, running hot water would be even rarer. Most people heated their houses by shoveling coal or feeding wood fires. Society was even more racially segregated and legally codified and brutally enforced by the government. In warmer rural areas it wasn't uncommon for hookworm to be…

We have electricity, plumbing, literacy, low hookworm rates, and rapidly declining human fellowship, companionship and participation. Strange times indeed.

> rapidly declining human fellowship, companionship and participation

What is the evidence for this?

This just reads like the eternal conservative lament that society is going down the tubes.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#444

Post by typest »

cudgy wrote: post #434
typest wrote: post #429

There is a take that consistently comes up in discussions like this (and indeed is prominent several times on this post), which says "the problem isn't a shortage of workers, it's that employers don't want to pay workers enough." This seems somewhat limited to me, and there is an alternate explanation I would like to explore. It seems to me rising cost of labor, while good for the people being paid that rising cost,…

Seems like you are forgetting about laborers getting more of the profits of companies and the inverse of non-profitable or barely profitable companies surviving on artificially low labor rates. You mention “society” as if it is distinct from the laborers, but society consists of these laborers.

I think this makes sense with what I'm saying.

Laborers get more of the profits of companies and in turn get wealthier. However, the costs of services in turn go up (due to rising cost of labor), so those laborers (society) cannot actually afford more services (provided by people). Workers can more easily purchase goods which benefit from increasing automation and technology.

So, these workers which are capturing more of the profit can afford to buy fancier kitchen appliances and cook themselves better meals. But, can they all then afford to go out to eat more -- when going out to eat is primarily an endeavor dependent on the labor of others (and thus it becomes more expensive)?

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#445

Post by Mezzie »

redox99 wrote: post #135
thinking4real wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, but this is still missing a very important element - where the hell are they getting finances to live? The point OP is making us these people probably need ~$2000 a month to live at an absolute minimum. No luxury, no gadgets, just getting by. How does one decide “working isn’t worth it” but still magically has these funds?

I think the only 3 possibilities are A) Their partner or family works B) Welfare C) Informal economy There's also the 4th but unlikely in this case D) Investments

C can make up for a lot depending on your network and skills. I'm not particularly well-embedded in my local community and if necessary I could get at least the following things free:

* Car repair work

* Basic healthcare (luckily I have state insurance so I don't need it, but if I did it's possible)

* Home/apartment/other home repair or improvement

* Tailoring/alterations/well-fitting clothing (including free clothes if I ask - even if I don't, I get given clothing on a semi-regular basis)

* Cooking equipment

Now, in return I need to offer some skills (mostly technical, academic, or navigating bureaucracies - skills that are in fairly short supply on the lowest part of socioeconomic ladder), but like I said, I'm not particularly involved so people with more history and social credit can get more stuff taken care of.

I also at one point paid like...50% of market rate for rent because I was willing to be free, on-call childcare for 3 children under the age of 7.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#446

Post by cudgy »

ghaff wrote: post #281
MarkPNeyer wrote: post #255

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We had a mouse problem once. The ended up being a small hole drilled in the side of the house to install a cat5 cable for a security camera. The hole couldn't have been more than 1.5 cm in diameter, and it had a cat 5 cable running through it - but apparently this was enough space for a mouse to squeeze through.

Living in a couple hundred year old house in the country, I find the idea that you'd actually keep mice out of a house like this somewhat hilarious.

All you need are some outside cats roaming the spacious yard to discourage the small cute furry little rodents from “cozying” up in your house. When living in an urban dwelling with 50 other families, other strategies are needed.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#447

Post by [deleted] »

notwokeno wrote: post #388
themitigating wrote: post #112

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People were working harder for even less a hundred years ago and society didn't collapse.

Tradition, nationalism, religion etc. were much stronger a hundred years ago. IE there was a society worth working to participate in.

[deleted]

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#448

Post by cudgy »

typest wrote: post #444
cudgy wrote: post #434

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Seems like you are forgetting about laborers getting more of the profits of companies and the inverse of non-profitable or barely profitable companies surviving on artificially low labor rates. You mention “society” as if it is distinct from the laborers, but society consists of these laborers.

I think this makes sense with what I'm saying. Laborers get more of the profits of companies and in turn get wealthier. However, the costs of services in turn go up (due to rising cost of labor), so those laborers (society) cannot actually afford more services (provided by people). Workers can more easily purchase goods which benefit from increasing automation and technology. So, these workers which are capturing mor…

No. I am suggesting that laborers get more of the profits and prices do not rise. Business owners actually get less profit. You keep assuming that business owners can and will just raise prices and the markets will bear it, but this is not always the case.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#449

Post by lotsofpulp »

dawnerd wrote: post #438
lotsofpulp wrote: post #311

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All the hotel brands offer best price guarantees where they will give you a discount if you are able to reserve with a lower price elsewhere. The reservation systems are setup so that the pricing that goes out to priceline and Expedia is higher than what is on the hotel brand’s website. https://www.marriott.com/look/claimForm.mi https://www.hyatt.com/info/best-rate-guarantee https://www.hilton.com/en/p/price-match-gu…

The problem with that is they don't honor most of the deals. A lot of the OTAs do the 'member only' 'mobile only' etc style deals which are not covered. That said I would book direct from Hilton but every time I do they only allow pay later which in certain currencies, I'd rather not risk (Looking at Japan right now). I'd rather pay now and lock in the rate.

Can you give an example?

I have never been able to find an Expedia/Priceline price that is lower than the Hyatt/Hilton/Marriott/IHG/etc rewards member price. And being a rewards member is free, so effectively you get cheaper prices directly.

I also do not see how it would be technically possible. The hotel brands’ reservations systems are surely set to offer a discounted price on their own website than they send out to Expedia/Booking.

> they only allow pay later which in certain currencies, I'd rather not risk (Looking at Japan right now). I'd rather pay now and lock in the rate.

Hiltons are usually individually owned and managed. I would try emailing the front desk and see if they will accept a prepayment from you. I was able to prepay a Hilton in Hawaii earlier this year by contacting the front desk.

Re: Hotels turn to robots and room cleanings every 4 days to ease staffing shortages

#450

Post by Mezzie »

factsarelolz wrote: post #439
Mezzie wrote: post #416

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Zero breaks, for one. And no ability to take sick days/stop doing it if you're injured. Doing work for 1-2 hours a day or a few hours a week is very different from doing it for 20-40 hours a week. (Much like there's a difference between taking on a project or two for a small team that requires some programming and being a full time dev). Oh, and you can't sit. That's like saying anybody who mows their lawn would have…

> Zero breaks C'mon man. At least have a serious argument. You act like a person cleaning a hotel room can't stop to use the bathroom or take a few moments to collect themselves before starting on the next room. Have you ever stayed at a hotel? The staff moves at a normal rate, there doesn't appear to be a rush, they aren't sweating through their clothes. I've seen staff in their phones, texting, changing their music…

...I worked at a hotel, thanks.

Not in room cleaning - I was a dishwasher - but yes, I know how it works.

If you think 3 minutes in the bathroom is the same as an actual break, it's not. They appear not to be in a rush because they have to set a sustainable pace. That doesn't mean it's not difficult, especially for females. Many things that are easy for males physically are a PITA for us.

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