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Desislava “Desi” Petkova, came to London from Bulgaria, where she had a career as an environmental health inspector. Realizing that her qualifications wouldn't translate in the UK, she began looking for a new career path. Once Desi set foot in a luxury hotel, she absolutely fell in love with hospitality. After working her way up in some of London's finest luxury hotels, she found her home at the Hyatt Regency London –– The Churchill, where for the last five years Desi manages a team of 120 housekeepers from 12 different countries. Her passion for excellence shines in our conversation where Desi shares how she attracts and motivates her team in the current competitive labor market, plus her personal housekeeping hacks! Here's herstory....
Hi Desi, great to meet you! I am obsessed with hotel housekeeping so this is exciting for me! First, where did you grow up?
I grew up in a small town called Kyustendil, located in the far west of Bulgaria. My hometown is a well-known destination, as it is a national balneological resort with more than 40 mineral springs.
What was your first job?
My first job in Bulgaria following my degree was Health Hygiene Inspector (the equivalent to an environmental health officer in the UK). I was in this role for seven years and it came with a huge amount of responsibilities. I looked after a large area of the town and the surroundings, controlling the health and safety, and hygiene of schools, restaurants, hotels, factories, supermarkets, hospitals, offices and SPAs among others. Additionally I was also monitoring and checking the quality of water supply and nutrition.
How did you get into hospitality and housekeeping?
I came to England many years ago to join my husband. In the beginning, I was looking after our daughter, who was seven at the time. I then attended college to study English, as my knowledge was equivalent to zero back then. It was a total leap of faith!
Unfortunately, I quickly found out that it would be challenging to find a job based on my degree, because of the difference in legislation and education between Bulgaria and England. So, I made the decision to find a new path.
I first worked in a private company before starting a job in the hotel industry as an agency supervisor at the Mandarin Oriental Park Lane. As soon as I set foot in this hotel, I simply fell in love with the industry and I knew that it would be my future. Hospitality ticks all the boxes for me––mostly the opportunity to work, meet and interact with people from different backgrounds, cultures and nationalities. I thoroughly enjoy the dynamic and fast-paced environment, where demands and expectations are high but the job satisfaction is even higher.
Quite often, in my role, you have to deal with the unexpected, but the possibilities to make the service more unique and personal are endless – and that’s the true reward of the job!
Hospitality is also a creative industry, where I am responsible for designing a product that contributes to delivering an unparalleled customer experience.
Quite often, in my role, you have to deal with the unexpected, but the possibilities to make the service more unique and personal are endless – and that’s the true reward of the job!
You’ve worked in some of London’s finest luxury hotels that have the absolute highest standards for housekeeping. How do you train for that?
I actually believe that I was born with housekeeping in my blood! I am a perfectionist and I have always had extremely high expectation of cleanliness from an early age. I remember very clearly one day when I was only four years old and I decided to rearrange my bedroom and wardrobes to my taste. Unsurprisingly, it did not go so well – let’s just say that my mom did not share my excitement…
Housekeeping is more than a job, it’s a mindset – you may think that it’s just about cleaning and tidiness; but in reality, it’s a combination of many components. Behind the sparkling clean rooms, there is deep knowledge and competence, commitment, discipline, hard work, great attention to detail and teamwork.
To be a housekeeper, you must be resourceful and innovative and simply put, you need to make things happen. You must be willing to not only deliver immaculate rooms and a great product, but also (and most importantly) to deliver excellent customer service and exceed guests’ expectations. Providing a spotless service, while knowing that you are responsible for the guests’ satisfaction is a great feeling, and training others to excel and be recognised by guests is an enormously rewarding experience.
It’s no secret that there’s a labor shortage in hospitality, specifically in London luxury hotels. How have you been attracting talent?
The last two years have been challenging in terms of finding the right candidates. In these unprecedented times, I have had to completely revise how to attract new talent. To appeal to them, and most importantly to retain them, we are now expected to go beyond offering a competitive salary and package. From the very moment I interview the candidates, I really try to get to know them, understand what drives them and what exactly they are looking for in their career. I communicate the company culture and values during the interview, I arrange a trial shift and as much as possible, I accommodate flexible shifts, hours and days.
To retain the candidates, I put a lot of thoughts and efforts in the onboarding process, including the creation of the welcome pack for new colleagues, specific training plans according to the position, appointing training buddies, etc.
We are also fortunate to be working in partnership with various charities such as The Marylebone Project, for homeless women, and Prince’s Trust, which helps young people get career training. Through these organisations, we have been able to facilitate the employment of vulnerable women and young people, who may not have had the right opportunities in life at the right time. This all supports our company’s purposes, which is to ‘care for people so they can be their best’.
How wonderful that you’ve been able to transition women and young people from partner charity organizations into positions with the Hyatt. Do you plan to hire more people this way?
So far, I have hired two colleagues who have come via partner charity organisations. I firmly believe that everyone deserves a chance of a better and brighter future, and we as a company are in the position to help those women rebuild their self-esteem and to learn to re-engage with society. What better place to do this, than our industry?
Humanity comes before anything else, and I am so glad that I can help – even on a small scale – these women to move forward with their life.
Humanity comes before anything else, and I am so glad that I can help – even on a small scale – these women to move forward with their life. In the future, I would love to see more colleagues join our family through these charities, so watch this space!
What do you do to keep your team motivated?
Motivation is a key element to any employee performance, definitely - happy colleagues means happy customers. I am aware that I am fortunate as a Head of Department, because my team is truly amazing. I get to work with so many creative and talented people, who I care for from the bottom of my heart. I will always support, guide and coach them, and my door is always open for them.
To keep everyone motivated and engaged, I make sure to keep my team well informed at all times; together we learn from mistakes and celebrate our successes.
To keep everyone motivated and engaged, I make sure to keep my team well informed at all times; together we learn from mistakes and celebrate our successes.
Rewards are also crucial in lifting up team spirits, so I have introduced various awards in my department, such as ‘employee of the month’ for each position, and ‘employee representing a Hyatt company value’ – the team loves it. Nothing beats a bit of healthy competition as well, so I have recently implemented a ‘guest satisfaction weekly race’ per floor. The result is amazing; the team is engaged and everyone is willing to go above and beyond.
You have team members from 12 different countries, which sounds exciting, but also might pose some challenges in terms of communication or team building. Does it? If so, how do you create harmony and team spirit?
Having team members from 12 different countries is a very enriching experience. There have been a challenging moments over the years, as you need to find the right balance for everyone to work cohesively. But, there have been some truly amusing moments too; especially immediately after the pandemic when I recruited so many new people at the same time, and some of them had a limited understanding of English. At that time, I had several people around me translating my words during the morning meeting – it felt a bit like a press conference!
My team is stronger than ever now; we trust and support each other; we do not fear healthy conflicts and we do hold each other accountable, which helps us strive for excellence.
All my team here including managers gave a hand with providing basic English classes to the people who came with very limited English at first, and it is so rewarding to see the progress they make. I am so proud to see what they achieved and some of them have been promoted since then. I am happy to say that my team is stronger than ever now; we trust and support each other; we do not fear healthy conflicts and we do hold each other accountable, which helps us strive for excellence.
Are you doing anything new in terms of scheduling or using technology to help in the workflow in housekeeping? (offering more flexibility perhaps?)
All my team members use digital devices to help them with cleaning schedules, the ‘releasing’ of rooms, reporting maintenance issues and completing inspections. We also have a digital lost property system. In terms of cleaning equipment, we definitely have the best on the market, be it hoovers, steamers, ozone machines, carpet machines, etc.
Anything new you are seeing post-pandemic in terms of guest trends or requests?
Guests generally have higher expectations in terms of service and product, following the pandemic. Guests are also more savvy; they want value for money and many of them shop around before committing to a property or brand. We have also noticed an increased demand from guests in terms of sustainability. They want to know what companies do to minimise their impact on the planet and how they can clearly demonstrate a positive social impact. Here at Hyatt in the UK & Ireland, we are lucky to be working with Clean The World, a social enterprise that recycles our hand soaps and bottled amenities – giving them a new lease of life and benefitting communities in need.
What is the craziest mess you have ever seen in a hotel room (at any property)?
I have seen it all I think! One that comes to mind was when a guest hid a small kitten in the suite they were staying in, and let it trash the entire room, including inside the furniture… Their children also drew with permanent markers on the bespoke carpet and curtains. We had to replace all the furnishing, carpet, curtains, beds, and we also had to re-upholster the furniture and repaint the walls. Basically, we had to build a brand new suite after they had left!
What do you think is the best way to make a bed and do you have any other tips readers can use at home to make their bedrooms more restful?
There are many ways you can make a bedroom more restful. First and foremost, the bed itself is very important: I highly advise to invest in a good quality bed, mattress and bedding.
Then think pure cotton, high-thread count linen, and complete the look with stylish throws and cushions. A natural finish will make your bedroom peaceful haven; that includes wall colours, bedding colour, blackout blinds and gentle lighting – and forget the TV!
Quickfire with Desi
What is your morning routine?
My morning routine is quite simple really, but it just cannot start until my very spoiled dog (a little Yorkie) wakes up and leaves my bed. Once he has officially started his day, then I can start mine. I shower, empty the dishwasher, make the bed, open all the windows to let some air in, and then last, but not least: coffee! You will also never see me leave the house without my red lipstick.
What do you do for self-care or exercise?
Yoga and stationary bicycle training
What is your favorite shoe brand for work?
There are too many to choose, and it would be a betrayal if I picked one! Overall, I love Italian shoe brands, but they need to be stilettos and they need to match my dresses.
What is your top housekeeping hack for home? I am a super thorough cleaner, and not sure this would work for everyone but here is my routine....
I usually create a cleaning plan (tried and tested at work!) I always start with the difficult parts such as the kitchen and the bathroom first. Then, I move on to the bedding, dusting, polishing and I leave the floor for last.
A tip to freshen your mattress is to use baking soda. Hoover your mattress and apply the soda, leave it for few hours and hoover it again – the mattress will be fresh and odour-free.
For kitchen counters and cupboards, I use some more heavy-duty detergents.
I also use a bleach pen for the bathroom grouting.
Microfiber cloths are the best for cleaning because they catch and retain dust.
I also recommend cleaning silver tarnish with toothpaste; it works wonders.
