Automated cleanings, also called cleaning automation, is an additional feature in Flexkeeping that allows properties to create custom and complex housekeeping cleaning schedules based on a number of parameters, for example the reservation data from your property management system, or PMS, the room status and the room type. The article is for Flexkeeping users who manage housekeeping at the property. Cleaning credits are the value that Flexkeeping assigns to each type of cleaning to measure the housekeeping workload. The rules and conditions for the automated cleanings are set up by the onboarding specialist, based on the data that you provide during the onboarding session, and you then enter the cleaning credits under My Hotel in the Flexkeeping web app. You see the scheduled cleanings on the room page in the Flexkeeping web app and in the Flexkeeping mobile app, and on the Housekeeping page in the Flexkeeping web app. Cleaning automation boosts productivity and efficiency in a world where sustainability and guest personalization are increasingly crucial. If you want to change how often occupied spaces are cleaned in Mews Operations instead of Flexkeeping, go to How to change the cleaning period or interval? in Mews Operations.

 

In this article, you can learn about:

• What are automated cleanings in Flexkeeping

  • How to enter cleaning credits in Flexkeeping

  • How to see the scheduled cleaning on the room page in Flexkeeping

  • How to view automated cleanings on the Housekeeping page in Flexkeeping

    • How to see allocated credits in Room Allocation

    • How to check housekeeper workload in the Week view for housekeepers

    • How to see future cleanings in the Week view for rooms

    • What the side panel shows for an automated cleaning

    • What the credits breakdown shows

    • What the reservation lines in the Room View mean

    • What the cleaning type colors mean

  • How to manually override a cleaning in Flexkeeping

  • How to get automated cleanings in Flexkeeping

 

What are automated cleanings in Flexkeeping

The cleaning automation is an additional feature in Flexkeeping that allows properties to create custom and complex housekeeping cleaning schedules based on a number of parameters. The cleanings can be scheduled based on:

• Reservation data from your PMS: for example the length of stay, the room rate and the number of guests.

• Room status and attributes: for example arrival, stayover, which is a room whose guest stays another night, and departure.

• Room type

 

Cleaning automation boosts productivity and efficiency in a world where sustainability and guest personalization are increasingly crucial.

How to enter cleaning credits in Flexkeeping

The setup of the cleaning rules and conditions is created by the onboarding specialist, based on the data that you provided during the onboarding session. When the cleaning schema is activated, an additional editor for cleaning credits becomes available in the Flexkeeping web app, which allows you to enter the cleaning credits for each type of cleaning.

1. In the Flexkeeping web app, go to My Hotel > Rooms.

2. Select the rooms you want to set the cleaning credits for.

3. Click the Credits button. 

4. Enter the cleaning credits for each type of cleaning.

The screenshot shows the cleaning credits editor that opens from the Credits button. 

How to see the scheduled cleaning on the room page in Flexkeeping

With automated cleanings, the room status view in Flexkeeping includes an additional line that presents the scheduled cleaning type for the current day, together with the assigned cleaning credits. This line is displayed both in the Flexkeeping web app and in the Flexkeeping mobile app.

The screenshot shows the web version of the room status view, with the line for the scheduled cleaning type and the cleaning credits of the current day.

How to view automated cleanings on the Housekeeping page in Flexkeeping

The Housekeeping page in the Flexkeeping web app shows the automated cleanings in the Room Allocation view, in the Week view for housekeepers and in the Week view for rooms. 

How to see allocated credits in Room Allocation

When automated cleanings are activated, an additional tag appears above each room in the Room Allocation view, showing the allocated cleaning credits for that specific room on the current day.

1. In the Flexkeeping web app, on the Housekeeping page, open the Room Allocation view.

2. Click the credits tag of a room to open a detailed breakdown of the credits for that room.

Additionally, the Room Allocation view can be filtered by the cleaning types. The screenshot shows the credits tag of a room and the detailed breakdown of the credits that opens when you click the tag.

How to check housekeeper workload in the Week view for housekeepers

The Week view for housekeepers on the Housekeeping page in the Flexkeeping web app includes a visual indicator of each housekeeper's workload. A red indicator means the housekeeper is overworked, and a green indicator means the housekeeper is on or below target. The indicator signals whether a housekeeper has been assigned too many cleaning credits, as determined by the value entered in the Credits per HK/day field, where HK stands for housekeeper. This indicator provides a quick and clear assessment of the workload status of each housekeeper.

The first screenshot shows the Week view for housekeepers with the red and green workload indicators.

The second screenshot shows the Credits per HK/day field that sets the target for the workload indicator. 

How to see future cleanings in the Week view for rooms

With cleaning automation, the Housekeeping page in the Flexkeeping web app has a Room View tab that presents a matrix of rooms, dates and the various types of cleanings. The Room View helps you understand your future cleaning needs and consequently the number of housekeepers needed to perform those cleanings.

1. In the Flexkeeping web app, on the Housekeeping page, click the Room View tab.

2. At the top of the page, select the week and the day that shows the start of the week.

3. To view only the list of rooms that require cleaning today, click the For Cleaning button on the right. Flexkeeping then displays the rooms scheduled for cleaning today first, followed by the rooms with a cleaning planned for the following day.

The screenshot shows the Room View tab with the matrix of rooms, dates and cleaning types, the week selector at the top and the For Cleaning button on the right.

Note: The order of rooms in the Room View tab follows the same order that was defined on the My Hotel > Space page. If no specific order has been defined, the rooms are organized by their ID, which is determined by the order in which the rooms were created.

What the side panel shows for an automated cleaning

When you click an automated cleaning on the Housekeeping page in the Flexkeeping web app, the side panel opens with the following details:

• Cleaning and its credits: the details available include the credits per assignment on that day, the attributes and the cleaning type.

• Reservation details connected to the cleaning on that day: the reservation details summarize the same details as on the Status view: the number of guests, the length of stay, the attributes and the traces, if present. A trace is a note attached to the reservation. 

The screenshot shows the side panel that opens when you click an automated cleaning, with the cleaning credits and the connected reservation details.

What the credits breakdown shows

When you hover over the total credits in the calendar header on the Housekeeping page in the Flexkeeping web app, the credits breakdown opens. The breakdown includes:

• The number of cleaners required, calculated based on the credits per housekeeper per day and the total cleaning credits.

• The overall count of cleaning credits.

• The total count of cleanings and associated cleaning credits for each cleaning type.

• The total number of tasks and credits linked to those tasks.

The screenshot shows the credits breakdown that opens when you hover over the total credits in the calendar header.

What the reservation lines in the Room View mean

In the Room View tab on the Housekeeping page in the Flexkeeping web app, the lines represent reservations and come in three variations:

• The blue line represents a currently checked-in reservation, which is a stayover.

• The light blue line indicates a future reservation, which is not yet checked in.

• The dotted gray line indicates a reservation that is made for a room type, where Flexkeeping virtually assigns a room of that type based on the availability on the schedule. Keep in mind that the dotted gray line is currently supported only for properties that are integrated with the Apaleo PMS.

The screenshot shows the three reservation lines in the Room View tab: the blue line, the light blue line and the dotted gray line.

What the cleaning type colors mean

All the cleaning types in the Room View tab on the Housekeeping page in the Flexkeeping web app are visually represented with the following colors:

• White: No clean

• Light Blue: Light Clean

• Green: Full Clean

• Yellow: Deep Clean

• Purple: Room Check

• Orange: Departure Clean

The screenshot shows the Room View tab with the cleaning types in their colors.

How to manually override a cleaning in Flexkeeping

The manual override function allows you to manually adjust the automated cleaning for the current and future days if needed. The manual override is useful when, for example, a guest asks for the cleaning to be done on a different day than planned.

1. In the Flexkeeping web app, on the Housekeeping page, open the Room View tab. 

2. Right-click the cleaning you want to remove, or the day on which you want to add a cleaning. A dropdown list with the cleaning types and attributes appears.

3. Select the option you want.

4. Click Confirm.

How to get automated cleanings in Flexkeeping

Automated cleanings is an additional feature in Flexkeeping, and the cleaning rules are set up by the onboarding specialist. 

 

Once automated cleanings are activated and the cleaning credits are entered in Flexkeeping, Flexkeeping schedules the cleaning type and credits for every room each day, you see the workload of every housekeeper on the Housekeeping page, and you can override a cleaning manually whenever a guest asks for a different day.