Hilton Worldwide, Marriott, Wyndham Hotel Group, Choice Hotels, Starwood, Best Western and IHG share a lot in common even though each property provides different levels of guest services. What is it that they share in common? These big brand properties all have employees to outfit with image apparel commonly known as uniforms. Hotels support 8 million jobs and contribute nearly $600 billion to the U.S. economy. And with more than one billion guests staying in American hotels every year, building a brand image through hotel associates and property décor is critical to their success.
Why a uniform?
Whether you need help locating fine dining in a resort, or requesting extra towels being placed in your room, who do you look for? The man or woman in a uniform. Actually, the hotel associates in many situations greet you upon arrival. Think about it. You drive up to the lobby and the valet or bell person opens your door to handle your bags and park your car. They even walk your belongings with you up to the front desk where another associate makes sure you are checked in quickly so that you can get to your room to unwind. Once in your room you call housekeeping to request extra towels and then transfer to the concierge to get the low-down on a new restaurant. During those 15 minutes you have encountered five hotel staff that all require, yes you guessed it, uniforms. Gosh, even Mr. Obvious wears a uniform in his commercial.
Hotel properties create a desired look to build their brand.
Uniforms play a vital role in creating the desired look and feel of the hotel property and completing the identity of the brand. Creating the right merchandise including the style and color of the garment is a key element in your messaging. Whether the property is sophisticated, modern or a beach resort, the fashion that associates wear completes the ambiance for the guest. Brand aligned uniforms and their colors also represent the properties vision for their staff personality and engagement. Fashion that makes you feel well dressed and comfortable is likely to increase staff confidence and the service they provide to guests. Providing excellent guest service is the mainstay of hotel properties and feeling good about what you wear reaffirms the value of great uniform. Ultimately the uniformity of uniforms make it easy to identify staff and reinforces the sense of team within the property.
Know the hotel associates roles.
When approaching a hotel manager regarding their uniform program, knowing the roles of the employee who will be wearing the uniform is important. You need to know how many job functions will be included in the program, meaning, is it just the front desk of the hotel property or will it include housekeeping, valet/bell and maintenance too. If the property has a restaurant component, will those associates also be a part of the uniform program. The key is to understand what each employee does throughout their day or night, in order to recommend the right garments for the position. For example, the valet or bell person may do a lot of bending and reaching throughout their day. A pant that offers extra stretch in the waist band (an easy fit) may be critical for their comfort. Perhaps the front desk associate requires a jacket or sweater over their shirt or blouse to stay warm while the front door opens and closes in the cold weather. These seem like simple solutions, however to the associate who is wearing the garments they are a definite necessity.
Do your homework and know your limitations.
If this is your first time working with a hotel property, take it slow. Talk to the manager about their back of house uniforms for their housekeeping staff. Many times this is the best place to start because you have a good idea of their job function and what they do throughout their day. Develop a quick visual presentation that you can share with the manager to see if what you have in mind is aligned with what they need. I always recommend that you select three collections that you want the property to review, and then suggest that staff try them out in their daily job function to see how they perform. Check back with the manager after they have worn them for a few days to learn the results. Gaining buy in from the staff on a new uniform is key to the selection process and having them work in the garments ensures that they will embrace them once the program is put into place. Allowing the associates to work in the garments to “test drive” them communicates volumes about the serviceability that you will provide the property. It really states that you care about what you do and the type of service you as a distributor provide.
Understand the Manager’s pain points when launching a uniform program.
Ask what you can do to make the program run smoothly. I think you would be surprised with the response. Most will tell you that their pain points include making sure the garments fit each associate well, function and maintain their shape and color over many launderings, are decorated with the corporate logo and that the distribution of the garments to their employees is easily handled. The manager will tell you that they are extremely busy with making sure their guests are taken care of and they do not want to spend their day inventorying and distributing uniforms. Knowing that these are the manager’s pain points, then make sure that you address these issues as part of your service commitment.
Work with your supplier.
Research the supplier that you want to work with. Remember you are looking for a supplier partner in this program to make sure that the program runs smoothly. Look for a supplier that not only provides quality garments that hold up to the daily demands of the job function, but also offers additional services to address your clients pain points. A supplier that offers a fit line, decoration services, bag-by-person garment identification and direct drop shipping to your client should be high on your contact list. Just like your clients rely on you, you need to interview the supplier to ensure that they can support the uniform program over the next 2-5 years. Ask questions about inventory levels, decoration services, garment sizing, bag-by-person identification and direct drop ship services. Additionally you want to know what guarantee will the supplier provide you to continue producing the styles and colors you require for the duration of the program. The last thing you need to deal with is a supplier who does not maintain deep stock levels and or does not provide you with the services you require.
It’s Showtime.
You finally received the order and now you go to work. Contact your supplier partner to establish a fit line of all the garments selected, set up a room at the property for fittings and place the order with the supplier you selected based on the criteria you established. Make sure that supplier completes the decoration, bags and identify each grouping of garments by person prior to direct drop shipping to your client. Track the shipments as they leave your supplier warehouse and then contact your client to let them know when associates will begin receiving their garments. Once the uniforms are delivered check in with the hotel manager to see how the new program is working. Discuss what went right with the implementation of the uniform program and what areas could be improved upon.
Check in frequently to measure the program success.
Understand the continuing needs of the hotel manager is key now that you have completed the initial program roll-out. We all know that employee turnover occurs and how quickly you can get a new uniform to that client will determine your success for repeat orders. Checking in periodically lets your client know that providing excellent customer service is what separates you from other distributors.
Success builds confidence.
Now that you have successfully completed your first hotel program look for other properties within your geographic region to create a program for them. Or, work with your client to outfit other job functions within the property. The hotel manager knows and appreciates how you approach putting a uniform program together and trusts that you will continue to execute the vision for the property.
