Fondly known as Ms Green by her colleagues, Melbourne Marriott Hotel executive housekeeper Monique Russell is leading the way in sustainable housekeeping practices. As winner of Melbourne’s first green hotel award in 2006, the Marriott has implemented energy reduction and water-saving strategies that have enabled it to become one of Australia’s first green five-star hotels.

The list of changes that the Melbourne Marriott has implemented to achieve this status is extensive and includes: changing all room lighting to low energy consumption bulbs; reducing overnight hallway lighting by 50%; installing restriction valves on all taps; installing new showerheads in guest bathrooms; and placing a strong emphasis on recycling.

However, a driving force behind this ‘green’ initiative has been Monique.

A member of the Marriott environmental committee, she has developed and designed the ‘how green are you?’ sticker, that is available in all guest rooms and implemented recycling bins in all guest rooms and recycling bins on staff trolleys.

“We have always been very focused on making the most of our resources, with the huge focus in the world today on the environment,” Monique said.

“Marriott world wide is driven to use and be proactive in sustainable energy.

“I think in the hospitality industry we should all embrace how much our businesses impact the environment and by having an environmental committee this is being proactive in environment issues…and in my personal life I only use green cleaning; natural chemicals, I also have a sustainable garden,” she said.

Earlier this year the hotel introduced the Ox biodegradable plastic bags for its guests’ laundry bags. The hotel now uses products incorporating TDPA (totally degradable plastic additives) that are designed with a controlled lifetime. The laundry bags feature the environmentally friendly logo promoting the use of the Ox biodegradable plastic bag.

The Melbourne Marriott Hotel is also part of the City of Melbourne ‘Savings in the City’ program that encourages Melbourne businesses to adopt sustainable business practices.

“As part of the program, the hotel was audited by Earth check to assess its performance. The audit determined that the Melbourne Marriott Hotel had performed significantly higher than average in areas of low consumption of water, energy and electricity,” Monique said.

For the past 14 years Monique has been in charge of housekeeping at the Melbourne Marriott, and has almost three decades experience within the housekeeping industry.

“Before the Marriott I started at Rockmans Regency Hotel as a room attendant. I worked my way up to be a supervisor then I left to go to the Hotel Como as a linen room supervisor for the pre opening. I then went back to Rockmans as assistant housekeeper for six years,” she said.

Attracted by the Melbourne Marriott Hotel’s strong culture, Monique is now in charge of 50 staff, of all ages and nationalities including Indian, Malaysian, Australian, Sri Lankan, and Filipino.

“The cultural diversity of the team and the fact that many of the associates have been with the Marriott for over several years really does set us apart from other housekeeping departments in Melbourne,” Monique said.

Two of Monique’s longest serving staff have been with the Marriott for 17 years.

“Our staff remains at the hotel because it offers a working environment they like,” she said.

“As leader, all my associates are treated equally and this provides an equal playing field for anyone in the department to achieve job satisfaction,” Monique said.

Hiring the right “people to put on the right seats of the bus” according to Monique can be challenging at times. And as a result, her multi-skill’s all her staff in the different aspects of the housekeeping department.

“To have multi skilled associates has a two pronged effect, the associates feel more valued as they are able to multi task, which means when shifts may be quiet in one area of rooms division they can work in the front desk as porters also room attendants are able to work in the public areas…the business benefits from the versatility of our associates,” Monique said.

“Honest communication, fair and equal treatment for everyone, positive attitude is really important when motivating staff. Setting up our associates to win not fail and be inspiring them to be better is critical, while focusing on their strengths to improve their weaknesses,” she said.

Monique’s department attend to the 185 room, 10-storey complex, on the corner of Exhibition and Lonsdale Streets. Their housekeeping motto is one team one dream.

The Melbourne Marriott Hotel is a stylish boutique hotel located in the heart of the Melbourne CBD. The hotel features six flexible meeting rooms. Two of the executive boardrooms that were recently renovated, offer a private space for conferences or meetings and can be utilised as a dinner venue for smaller groups. All rooms are available with the latest technology and state of the art audiovisual equipment.

With the choice of function rooms as well as the unique ambience of Essence or Elements Bar, packages can be tailored specifically to suit guests’ needs.

The hotel also features a heated saltwater pool, spa and fully equipped fitness centre. Additional services include: Babysitting, concierge desk, evening turndown service, foreign exchange, laundry on-site, limousine service, newspaper delivered to room, room service, safe deposit boxes, front desk, and valet dry-cleaning just to name a few.