Q&A: New Approaches to Janitorial Services in Hospitality

The use of contingent or outsourced labor in the hospitality industry is well-established and increasingly specified by hotels and properties across the United States. Cost-savings, quality-control, and flexible-staffing models are seen as major benefits when placing room attendants, dining room stewards, banquet waiters, and kitchen professionals. 

Following the same model, a more recent entrant to the hospitality industry is janitorial services. Hotels are finding all the benefits of outsourced staffing in this newer (to them) area, one that is crucial to smooth operations and enhanced guest satisfaction. 

How does outsourced janitorial staffing work in hospitality? To learn more, we recently sat down with Gisela Gomez, Senior Vice President of Outsourcing at Xclusive Services. She brings a deep background in staffing and workforce management, allowing her to approach outsourcing differently—focusing on scalability, flexibility, and ultra-consistent service delivery. 

Why are hotels different from other facilities when it comes to cleaning?

Answer:
Hotels are just on a completely different level. The expectations are much higher because you’re dealing with guests, brand standards, and health inspections all at once.

In a typical commercial building, the tolerance for cleanliness are often more flexible. In hospitality, you really can’t have cleanliness inconsistency. Everything is under a microscope, especially kitchens. If sanitation isn’t up to par, you’re risking failed inspections, which is a huge deal.

On top of that, hotels operate around the clock, so a lot of the work happens overnight, and you’re covering both areas of first impression and employee spaces or back of the house. It’s just more complex and requires a lot more consistency and expertise.

What are the essentials every hotel should have from a janitorial standpoint?

Answer:
At a minimum, every hotel needs a really clear and well-defined scope of work. That sounds simple, but it’s often where things fall apart. Without a roadmap and frequency, cleaning goes off course quickly. 

Essentially, you need consistent coverage of all the key areas—kitchens, public spaces, restrooms, and employee areas. Floor care is a big one that’s often overlooked but makes a huge difference.

You also need structure. Cleaning schedules, defined frequencies, and some form of quality control. Ideally, that’s digital, so you actually know what’s getting done instead of relying on Old School paper checklists that no one really tracks. It goes without saying that at Xclusive we are pioneers in digital quality control with live time data reporting.

And then there’s compliance—making sure the right chemicals, equipment, and trained staff are in place. In hospitality, especially in kitchens, there’s no room for error.

At the end of the day, it’s about consistency, visibility, and making sure nothing slips through the cracks. And that all begins with a comprehensive first walkthrough and onboarding process.

What is your walkthrough process and what does it capture?

Answer:
It really starts with an initial assessment call where we try to understand what the client actually needs. Many times, what they think they need and what they actually need are different. Once we establish that and confirm they meet our minimum service level, we’ll schedule a walkthrough, either virtually or, ideally, in person.

That walkthrough usually takes about one to two hours, and we go through everything—front-of-house, back-of-house, kitchens, restrooms, public areas, and amenity areas such as gyms and spas. One thing we often uncover is that areas like floor care haven’t been properly scoped, so the need is actually bigger than expected.

What we’re really capturing is the full scope of work, how often things need to be cleaned, and how these different spaces operate day-to-day based on kitchen and restaurant volume. From there, we build something that’s realistic and scalable, and we can always add more later once the basics are in place.

What types of clients do you work with?

Answer:
We’re currently employed by the major brands, by franchisees, and by management companies to provide janitorial services in addition to our traditional room attendant and food and beverage staffing. In fact, we recently announced two major partnerships with two of the largest GPO’s (Group Purchasing Organizations) Avendra and Hilton Supply Management. These are two organizations with rigorous standards. We’ve met and exceeded those standards and are very proud to be approved vendors ready to provide janitorial services across the country to their thousands of member companies.

We also understand that many properties are operating under a “if it’s not broke, why fix it?” janitorial model. What we have found is that during transitions from one ownership or management company to another is when we are able to successfully make our case. That’s usually a great opportunity to introduce a more modern, flexible solution to a new and receptive audience.

Once you get that new audience, what do you tell them?

Answer:
There are a few big things that really set us apart.

First, we are able to save any property money on their janitorial staffing. So, that opens the door.

But what really differentiates us is that we’re a staffing company at our core. What does that mean? That means we’re very strong when it comes to labor—finding people, scaling teams up or down, and dealing with shortages. A lot of traditional janitorial companies struggle there, but that’s actually our strength.

Local or small janitorial companies don’t often maintain in-house specialists for services like floor care, exterior cleaning, or upholstery. This is typically due to investment required in specialized equipment, chemical expertise, and trained technicians. As a result, those services are frequently sub-contracted, adding layers of costs and coordination, along with additional margin. When you partner with a full janitorial services provider like us, you gain access to those specialized capabilities under one roof, we’re able to deliver those services without outsourcing keeping both quality consistent and costs more controlled.

The other big piece is technology. Everything we do is tracked digitally—attendance, quality checks, before-and-after photos–all live data reporting through our app. We can even create customized digital checklists that map out exactly what needs to be done and share that with the client in real time. There’s just a level of transparency that you don’t usually see.

Another huge benefit is flexibility. A lot of our competitors lock clients into a fixed monthly cost no matter what’s happening. We don’t do that. If occupancy drops or operations change, we adjust with them. It’s a much more partnership-driven approach.

Finally, we don’t subcontract our labor. Everyone is part of our team, which helps with quality, accountability, and reducing liability.

Any closing thoughts?

Honestly, the biggest thing is that we work as a partner and not just a vendor. We take a more consultative approach, help identify gaps, and build something that actually works for their operation—not just a one-size-fits-all solution.

Equally important, we don’t stop at implementation. We measure success through consistent quality audits, clear performance benchmarks, and ongoing accountability. When those standards are met or exceeded, we reinforce that performance through recognition, celebration, and incentive-based programs that keep our teams motivated and aligned with delivering excellence every day.