The success of a hotel or extended stay accommodation depends on the entire staff’s ability to work as a team to produce a quality experience for guests. Each role plays a contributing part in ensuring guests leave their stay safe and happy. Those roles with the most guest interaction include the front desk as well as management and even housekeeping staff who often interact with guests during their stay.
While the role of a maintenance technician isn’t often guest-facing, much of what they do daily contributes to that positive guest experience. Those positive experiences happen when guests feel safe throughout their stay and enjoy time spent in areas that are kept updated, clean, and furnished with fixtures that work.
Guest (and Staff) Safety
Probably the biggest way a maintenance tech impacts the guest experience is safety. It’s absolutely critical that hospitality organizations keep both guests and staff safe at all times. Maintenance techs are responsible for identifying potential safety hazards or unsafe conditions throughout all areas of a hotel or extended stay accommodation, including:
- Guest Rooms
- Common Areas (lobby, laundry facilities, hallways, stairwells, etc.)
- Conference Rooms and Event Spaces
- Front Desk & Reception Areas
- Building Exterior and Parking Lots
Safety hazards arise for a number of reasons, including general wear and tear on furniture and fixtures. Hotels get a lot of foot traffic, and with that comes natural damage to spaces and the fixtures within them. A maintenance tech regularly inspects all areas for safety concerns, addressing them as needed and documenting those efforts alongside management to ensure a safe experience for guests and employees. An unsafe experience for guests is a negative experience, so keeping the facility safe and in working condition is a top priority for ensuring a positive stay.
Responding to Guest Complaints, Questions, Concerns
Maintenance technicians don’t regularly interact with guests as often as other hotel positions, like the front desk team or hotel management. However, it isn’t uncommon for guests to approach techs with questions or concerns, especially when it comes to safety or hotel conditions. Even the quickest guest interactions require a positive attitude and excellent communication skills.
When interacting with hotel guests, maintenance techs need to approach conversations from a listening perspective first. Often a concern or question can be resolved quickly, with some additional context provided and not much need for further action. However, if an issue is identified, it’s important to seek a quick resolution. That might mean quick implementation of a fix on the tech’s end, or consulting with management to identify and implement solutions as a team. Either way, quick and appropriate resolution of guest questions/complaints is critical to ensuring they enjoy their stay.
Ensuring the Facility Remains Aesthetically Pleasing
Not every duty of a maintenance technician is solely protecting the safety of those inside the facility. A big part of maintenance is keeping areas looking good in addition to keeping them safe. Often, maintenance technicians take on responsibilities such as painting hotel spaces, removing rubbish or debris, and even changing out lightbulbs. Some of these tasks impact safety as well. Abandoned objects in a parking lot can cause safety concerns for those entering or leaving the premises. A burnt-out lightbulb might make a space potentially unsafe if it affects visibility when walking through. While safety is one aspect of it, handling these issues also makes an establishment look nicer. Guests enjoy staying in spaces that are both safe and aesthetically pleasing, so the role of a maintenance tech in ensuring a good experience is multifaceted.
Finding a Role as a Hotel Maintenance Technician
Maintenance technicians are in high demand in the hospitality industry. The role offers a great opportunity to gain experience within the industry and potentially move up into management roles over time. But how does one find technician opportunities? We try to make it as easy as possible. In fact, we keep a current database of opportunities within our organization, easily filtered down into openings specifically within the maintenance function of the organization – with locations across the country.
To know if you might be qualified for a role as a maintenance technician, answer the following questions:
- Do you have any previous maintenance experience? Note: experience doesn’t always come from a previous professional role. Maintaining a home structure often requires much of the same knowledge that maintaining a guest accommodation would require.
- Do you have any knowledge of general tools/equipment, including lawnmowers or other landscaping equipment? Landscaping requirements for a maintenance technician vary by property, but nearly all have some aspect of outdoor space that requires ongoing maintenance.
- Can you operate independently, with minimal direction? Maintenance technicians generally report to a General Manager or maintenance supervisor, but often carry out tasks daily without supervision.
- Are you committed to providing guests with a safe and enjoyable place to stay?
If the majority of your answers to the above questions were yes, a role as a maintenance technician might be a great next career move. For those with several years of maintenance and hospitality experience, potentially a supervisory position might be the next step. Either way, the maintenance opportunities available currently are plentiful, and organizations are eager to bring folks on board in these roles that are highly committed to collaborating with the rest of the team to provide a stellar customer experience. To see what options are out there or to learn more about what the role of a maintenance technician includes, check out our current maintenance opportunities today!