“Now, more than ever, it is vital that your venue’s focus on cleanliness and hygiene shines through to reassure your customers.”
High-quality food and excellent customer service are natural priorities in hospitality – but don’t let a smelly bathroom devalue the experience that you’re trying to create. Not only is it off-putting, but it is a distraction from the fantastic food your venue is serving up.
A good bathroom leaves an impression…for the right reasons. Some bathrooms dazzle to the point that they become an actual drawcard for the venue, just ask London teahouse Sketch, which has one of the world’s most Instagrammed bathrooms.
Before you start considering how to make your venue’s bathroom Instagram-ready, it’s important to first make sure you’re getting the basics right. And by basics we mean hygiene. Bathroom hygiene has always been important but now, more than ever before, it is vital that your venue’s focus on cleanliness and hygiene extends beyond the kitchen.
So before you start scrolling Pinterest for inspiration to transform your bathroom decor, it’s time to consider some simple but hugely effective ways to raise the bar on bathroom hygiene at your venue.
With over 16 years’ experience, we’ve seen the do’s and dont’s firsthand. Through our free cleaning and hygiene audits, we’ve helped dozens of venues breathe fresh life into a space that doesn’t always command attention. To help you get started, here are some of the core bathroom hygiene lessons to consider.
Touch-Free Soap Dispensers
Gone are the days when patrons were content to touch their fingers to a soap dispenser, or even more unthinkable – reach for a block of hand soap. Covid has changed how a lot of us view hygiene, and with a greater understanding of how germs and bacteria spread, we’re far less willing to touch bathroom surfaces. Touch-free, automated soap dispensers are the answer to this changed perspective. Not only do they keep patrons and team members grime-free, but they also keep the soap dispensers themselves tidy. Less mess means less clean up, which is better for venues and their patrons.
Hand Soap Formula
The formula of the hand soap you use in your venue’s bathrooms matters more than you may realise. When we audited the bathrooms for our wonderful friends at the Montalto Restaurant and Cellar Door, we resolved an issue that was causing regular maintenance. The hand soap previously used in both the bathrooms and back of house was an olive-oil based product. On the surface that might not sound like an issue but when oil-based products are washed down the drain and cool, they solidify. Over time, these oils build up around the insides of the pipes and lead to clogs. Clogged drains produce unpleasant odours and cost venues thousands of dollars in callouts to plumbers. We installed a new automated soap dispenser that’s filled with our gentle foaming and oil-free silk hand soap. The end result? Montalto Restaurant and Cellar Door now uses a hand soap that gently disinfects hands and won’t cause any more clogged drains.
Fragrance
The right fragrance makes for a great first impression. One simple way to achieve this outcome in your venue’s bathroom is by installing an automated air freshener to keep the room smelling just how you’d like it. This fix quickly and easily elevates the bathroom space. Another simple way to bring an appealing scent into bathrooms is by selecting a lightly scented hand soap. Our foaming silk hand soap comes in bright and refreshing fragrances, like orange and lemon myrtle.
Sanitary Bins
It’s not uncommon for venues to outsource hygiene sanitary bins for female bathrooms but not only can those bins cost thousands of dollars in service fees but they’re also bulky and unsightly. One of the most impactful ways to raise the standard in your venue's bathrooms is to install new hygiene bins like the smart motion-activated, Pod Petite Auto bins. The wall-mounted, modern design brings a hint of class to an essential but too often neglected fixture of female bathrooms.
Cleaning practices have been at the forefront of everyday Aussie’s brains since the pandemic began and in a recent investigation conducted by Zeller, 83% of surveyed Australian diners expressed that COVID safety and hygiene policies are the most important factor when deciding where to eat. If there were ever a time to take bathroom hygiene seriously, it’s now. Really want to raise the bar on bathroom hygiene? There’s one surefire way to do it: contact our team to organise your no-obligation venue cleaning audit.