2.1 Hotels in South Karelia
In the south eastern part of Finland, especially in the Imatra and Lappeenranta
area there are more than 15 hotels, most of which are the normal type of family
hotel. Included in the amount are also a couple of spas and one spa resort. In the
hospitality industry employee turnover is generally high by comparison with other
industries (Tesone & Pizam 2008, p.198). This is due to the long working hours
and more importantly the rush hour stress caused by the large workload when
peak season is on. According to Mullins (1992) in (Tesone, Pizam 2008, p.198)
hotels and guesthouses had the highest turnover rate with 86%.
The hotels used as part of this research were all in the Imatra and Lappeenranta
area. The reason to choose the hotels in this area is that they all have different
ways to take care of their housekeeping departments. The hotels in question are
Holiday Club Saimaa, Imatra Spa and Hotel Lappee.
Holiday Club Saimaa
Holiday Club Saimaa opened in November 2011 and is the largest spa resort in
northern Europe. Holiday Club Resorts Oy is owned by the management of the
company, Varma, Finnish Industry Investment Ltd, Fennia Group, Ilmarinen and a
group of private investors (Holiday Club Resorts). Holiday Club Saimaa started
with an internal housekeeping department but then outsourced their housekeeping
department to the professional cleaning company in December 2012, before that
they had an internal department for a little over a year. As this is a relatively young
spa resort it is interesting to find out why they made the decision so early on in the
hotel’s life to outsource their housekeeping department. Holiday Club Saimaa has
221 hotel rooms and numerous holiday homes and villa apartments.
Imatra Spa (Imatra Kylpylä)
Imatra Spa is on the shore of Lake Saimaa a stone’s throw away from Holiday
Club Saimaa. The Spa started its business in April 1985 and is celebrating its 30 th
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Anniversary this year. The Spa was at first well known for its rehabilitation of war
veterans but over the years they have changed from a rehabilitation place to
become a full grown holiday center. Today after lots of investments and still more
in the pipeline they are striving for a well balanced approach to holidays that offer
lots of opportunities to relax and try new activities. (Imatra Kylpylä Juhlalehti 2015.)
Imatra Spa has a little different approach to housekeeping as they spent a long
time with an internal department 1985-2009 but then outsourced the hotel and
public areas to a professional cleaning company but their cottages and holiday
apartment cleaning is still internal. The author would like to know why they made
the choice to only outsource half of their workforce and how these two separate
approaches work together. The Spa has 159 hotel rooms and numerous holiday
apartments which are for rent.
Original Sokos Hotel Lappee
Sokos Hotel Lappee is situated in the heart of Lappeenranta, near shopping
possibilities, restaurants and get-together places. Original Sokos Hotel Lappee is
also only a walk away from Lappeenranta harbour. The hotel comprises of 209
rooms and is a favourite for business travelers in the area. (Original Sokos Hotel
Lappee 2015.) Hotel Lappee’s housekeeping department was outsourced many
years ago but during the last year they have made the decision to have an internal
cleaning company. It interests the author to find out what the choices for that
decision were and how the change back has impacted on their housekeeping
department.
2.2 Types of hotels
2.2.1 Budget hotel
Budget hotels are known in the world as one star hotel. They are the lowest
category of hotel; they offer virtually nothing else other than a room to sleep in and
some meals. These properties focus on meeting the most basic needs of guests by
providing clean, comfortable, and inexpensive rooms. (Nitschke & Frye 2008, p.4.)
Budget hotels usually have a small staff working for them and in some areas they
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are not highly educated in the hospitality industry. The staff of small budget hotels
generally consists of a property manager, several room attendants, front desk
agents and sometimes a maintenance person. (Nitschke & Frye 2008, p.5.) Budget
hotels have grown in popularity over the years as travelers seek to travel with
smaller budgets. This has increased the number of budget hotels being opened in
recent times. For some tourists the pull of the cheap hotel is more important than
other amenities, such as pool, room service and 24 hour reception.