The Details Matter

Kelly Brown loves cleaning. She says people may think that’s crazy, but it’s her thing. As one of 26 room attendants at the Inn, she makes sure her 12 rooms (549-565) are cleaned from top to bottom daily, and that’s not a figure of speech! From dusting in those hard-to-reach high places to working on her hands and knees cleaning the bathroom floor, she gets the job done exactly as you would expect.

“When I walk out of a room, it’s a room I would stay in,” she says. “I make sure of it.”

A self-inspect attendant, Kelly checks her own work. Kelly earned this designation after several months of earning a score of 90 or above on inspect sheets the Inn uses to assure quality. Kelly must maintain that rating to keep her self-inspect designation, but she says so far, so good. She is exactly where she wants to be.

“I love working where I am. All the employees are great; it really feels like family,” she says. “But it’s also a hard job physically, in my opinion it’s the hardest job at the Inn.”

Kelly squats dozens of times each day making beds, cleaning bathrooms and picking up – she jokes her best friend is her heating pad. And sometimes there’s a time crunch to get it all done, depending on when guests leave their room. Each attendant has 12 rooms to clean between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m.

“We never want to disturb our guests, so sometimes it’s 10 a.m. or so before we can get into a room. When that happens it can be challenging to finish in time,” she explains.

And yes, Kelly does make beds every day. She keeps bedding tucked in using the hospital-corners technique and makes sure each bed is finished with the sheet folded over the duvet at the top.

Kelly makes it her business to know the names of guests staying in her rooms and she speaks to them by name. She always asks about their stay and if they need anything, continuing Biltmore’s signature hospitality.

“Hospitality is the culture and legacy of Biltmore, and I’m proud to continue that tradition. It’s wonderful to work in a place where I can see Biltmore House from some of my rooms, and know I am part of this.”

About the photo

Kelly Brown inspects her work while putting the finishing touches on a guest bed at the Inn.