By Karla Dougherty, Chief Customer Officer, Xclusive Services
In hospitality, demand is anything but predictable. Occupancy shifts, banquet volume changes, restaurant covers fluctuate, and guest traffic can move from quiet to overwhelming in a matter of hours. General Managers and Executive Chefs live this reality every day.
And yet, many outsourced janitorial and overnight kitchen-cleaning programs are built on contracts that are surprisingly rigid. With fixed scopes, fixed frequencies and fixed costs they don’t offer the flexibility and leeway that successful and nimble operations require.
Today’s most effective cleaning programs aren’t defined by how much they cost but by how well they are structured to adapt and change as the situation demands. Contracts that allow for flexibility, the smart scaling services down during slower periods, and ramping up during peak demand are the ones that truly align with changing operational realities.
When a hotel is running at lower occupancy, cleaning seven days a week in every public space may not be necessary even while adhering to the highest brand standards. When occupancy spikes, those same spaces may need more frequent attention to meet and exceed guest expectations. Too often, contracts dictate the service when in reality, service should adapt to the hotel, not the other way around.
The question isn’t just whether you’re paying too much for janitorial; it’s whether your contract reflects what’s actually happening and changing on your property.
All hotels understand the importance of cleanliness. What’s less visible is how often cleaning programs are misaligned with actual operational needs.
When contracts are inflexible, hotels are left with two bad options:
Neither supports the guest experience or the bottom line. Static cleaning programs in a dynamic environment will inevitably fall out of sync. When they do, the impact is immediate and means operational friction, wasted labor costs, and ultimately, guest dissatisfaction.
From my many years working on properties and now helping them optimize staffing, I know what we all know: cleaning a hotel isn’t the same as cleaning an office building or commercial space. The difference comes down to one thing: expectations of cleanliness.
Every guest-facing space—lobbies, corridors, restrooms, dining areas, fitness rooms, spas, business centers—is part of the brand experience. Guests don’t evaluate cleanliness in isolation, they interpret it as a signal of overall quality and brand-promise delivery.
A slightly dated space can still feel premium if it’s spotless and well-maintained. But even a newly renovated property can feel subpar if cleanliness slips.
That’s because cleanliness directly impacts:
In today’s environment, where online reviews are public, immediate, and now summarized by AI, the margin for error is smaller than ever. A dirty lobby can go viral in seconds with an impact lasting weeks and months.
For years, janitorial has been treated primarily as a cost center. But forward-thinking brands, management companies, and owners are beginning to view it differently: as an essential form of brand protection.
Every missed detail, unclean restroom, window smudge, and poorly maintained floor isn’t just an operational oversight. It’s a potential negative review that is public, persistent, and aggregated across social platforms.
AI comes into play here, with tools that summarize guest sentiment, meaning patterns in cleanliness quickly become part of your property’s reputation. And once unleashed online it is very difficult to alter. In this context, the goal isn’t just to clean, it’s to consistently meet expectations at scale, even as conditions change.
Beyond a contract feature, what flexibility delivers is strategic advantage. Hotels that align cleaning frequency with real-time demand are better positioned to:
This requires a more consultative approach where cleaning strategies evolve alongside occupancy, traffic patterns, and seasonal shifts. This consultative approach is why partnering with an agency is an important consideration that ensures consistent results.
For example, reducing service frequency in low-traffic periods can create immediate cost efficiencies while increasing coverage during high-demand windows protects the guest experience. The key is balance and the ability to adjust without friction. Both of these need to be clearly delineated in the contractual terms of service.
Many hotels operate with a blend of in-house and outsourced janitorial services. And that’s often the right approach. The real differentiator isn’t the mode, it’s the flexibility and alignment within that model.
Whether services are internal or external, successful programs share a few core characteristics:
Hotels frequently shift between models due to leadership changes or past experiences. But the most effective operators focus less on structure and more on performance.
We began this article with a simple question: Are you paying too much for janitorial? A better and more important question is: Do you have a cleaning program—and a contract—that’s built to flex with your operation?
Do you have an overnight cleaning program–and a partner–who understands your operation well enough to build a program that flexes with it?
Because in today’s hospitality landscape, rigid contracts create misalignment, leading to wasted spend, inconsistent standards, and missed expectations.
The hotels that get it right aren’t just spending smarter. They’re building cleaning programs that adapt in real time that support and protect their brand and deliver the premium experience guests demand.
About the Author
Karla Dougherty is Chief Customer Officer at Xclusive Services, where she leads customer experience strategy and service innovation. With more than 20 years of experience spanning hospitality operations and outsourced services, she brings a unique operator’s perspective to helping hotels elevate performance, efficiency, and guest satisfaction.
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