Some hotel guests may be getting a better night sleep these days, but at the expense of the housekeepers who clean their rooms. In what has been called an “amenities arms race,” many hotels now use luxury mattresses that weigh more than 100 pounds. Multiply those 100 pounds by the 16 to 25 beds the typical housekeeper must make up daily. Add to that the extra pillows to be fluffed, thick duvets and decorative bed skirts to be changed, without any reduction in the number of rooms each worker is required to clean. It’s not hard to see how this workload can lead to debilitating, often permanent, back, arm and shoulder, and rotator cuff injuries.
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Read MoreCutting Back on Housekeepers' Heavy Lifting
By Donald Cohen
Read MoreSome hotel guests may be getting a better night sleep these days, but at the expense of the housekeepers who clean their rooms. In what has been called an “amenities arms race,” many hotels now use luxury mattresses that weigh more than 100 pounds. Multiply those 100 pounds by the 16 to 25 beds the typical housekeeper must make up daily. Add to that the extra pillows to be fluffed, thick duvets and decorative bed skirts to be changed, without any reduction in the number of rooms each worker is required to clean. It’s not hard to see how this workload can lead to debilitating, often permanent, back, arm and shoulder, and rotator cuff injuries.