For the last 26 years, the Las Vegas chapter of IEHA has been celebrating the hard work of individuals in this industry with an annual Housekeeping Olympics celebration. In honor of International Housekeeping Week, the chapter joins the staffs from 17 different hotels in the area — Bally's, Ceasars, MGM, NYNY, Excalibur, Luxor, Flamingo, SLS, Monte Carlo, Mandalay Bay, Circus Circus, Wynn-Encore, Venetian, Stratosphere, Cromwell, Cosmopolitan and Sam's Town — for a friendly cleaning competition.
The annual event brings roughly 260 housekeeping contestants together for competitive events such as bed making, vacuum races, mop races, buffer pad tosses, a spirit team competition and a special executive challenge. The event was held at Mandalay Bay Events Center in August and attracted almost 6,000 spectators.
When asked why the Las Vegas chapter spends the time to put on such a large event, a spokesperson said, “It brings all the properties together in a fun competition. It allows us to recognize those members of the hospitality industry that truly make a difference in a guests experience in our city. We are a world-class destination and our GRA's work very hard to maintain that high standard. They deserve this recognition.”
Winners of the events include:
• OVERALL: Gold – Wynn/Encore, Silver – Monte Carlo, Bronze – MGM
• BED MAKING: Gold – Venetian and Wynn/Encore, Silver – MGM, Bronze – NYNY
• VACUUM RACE: Gold – Excalibur, Silver – MGM, Bronze – Wynn/Encore
• MOP RACE: Gold – Monte Carlo, Silver – Wynn/Encore, Bronze – Venetian
• BUFFER PAD TOSS: Gold – Monte Carlo, Silver – Stratosphere, Bronze – Cromwell
• EXECUTIVE CHALLENGE: Gold – Cromwell, Silver – Mandalay Bay, Bronze - NYNY
• SPIRIT: Gold – Circus Circus (center), Silver – Luxor (right), Bronze – Monte Carlo (left)