When many hospitality students imagine their future careers, they picture themselves running the show at the front desk, planning grand events, building high-powered marketing strategies or leading hotel operations as a public face of the brand. Few imagine themselves falling in love with Housekeeping. That certainly wasn’t Andrew Rohrbach‘s plan.
Andrew grew up around the hospitality business and enrolled at AIHM with the goal of being the third generation in his family to enter the prestigious world of luxury hotels. He dove headfirst into hospitality leadership from his first week on campus, consistently going above and beyond with each task he took on.
During his degree studies
Andrew took advantage of the numerous opportunities studying at AIHM offered to him. By his final semester, he’d completed internships with both Peninsula and Four Seasons, won an election to become the President of AIHM’s Student Committee, and served as Project Manager for integrated hospitality projects with Minor Hotels—including both the Anantara luxury hotel and resort brand and the MJets private aviation company.
After finishing his Bachelor of Business Administration in Global Hospitality Management at AIHM, Andrew obtained a highly sought-after management traineeship with Mandarin Oriental as a Rising Fan Leader in Training. The 18-month leadership development programme rotates participants through different departments while exposing them to management-level projects, leadership training, and operational decision-making.
During his rotations
Andrew worked across Front Office, Concierge, Guest Service Centre, and Housekeeping at Mandarin Oriental hotels in Bangkok and Geneva. Each department contributed to his understanding of luxury hospitality.
Yet one rotation changed his perspective more than any other. Today, Andrew sees Housekeeping not simply as one department among many, but as the foundation upon which exceptional hospitality is built.
“I thought guests mainly come to a hotel for service,” he reflected. “But I realised something just as important: the room itself is the experience.”
Discovering the Hidden Side of Hospitality
Before entering Housekeeping, Andrew admits he had only a limited understanding of what the department actually did.
Like many guests, and many hospitality students, he largely saw the finished product: clean rooms, tidy public spaces, and smooth operations. He’d briefly studied housekeeping operations during his first semester at AIHM, but that came at a time when the deeper facets of the industry were new to him and he was just taking his first steps to truly learn the hospitality business.
What he discovered behind the scenes at Mandarin Oriental as a Rising Fan was something far more complex.
Housekeeping teams are responsible not only for preparing guest rooms and maintaining standards, but also for managing staffing, scheduling, quality control, operational planning, inventory costs, and guest satisfaction. The scale and importance of Houskeeping teams’ operations are massive but largely invisible. Great housekeeping, including the more advanced tasks of hospitality leadership, makes or breaks a hotel.
Most importantly, Andrew began to understand how seemingly small details combine to create powerful emotional impressions.
“How you position a chair, place a pen on a notepad, or arrange the pillows—guests may not consciously notice these things, but together they create a feeling.”
The room, Andrew noted, is where guests spend most of their time. “The room is the heart of a hotel guest’s experience,” he said. “More than anything else, it shapes how they feel about their stay.”
The Five Senses of Hospitality
As his understanding deepened, Andrew began viewing guest experiences through a different lens.
Luxury hospitality, he came to understand, is built through hundreds of details working together.
Sight
Sound
Smell
Touch
Atmosphere
Every element contributes to the guest’s perception of a stay. “If even one element is missing or inconsistent,” Andrew explained, “it impacts the overall impression the guest receives.”
This philosophy fundamentally changed how he thinks about hospitality. Excellence isn’t merely delivered at check-in or through a memorable conversation with a guest. While these highly visible service touchpoints are very important, overall excellence is created continuously through consistency, preparation, and attention to detail.
The Backbone of the Hotel
Andrew now describes Housekeeping as the backbone of hotel operations.
Front Office teams rely on rooms being ready. Guests rely on spaces feeling comfortable and welcoming. Managers rely on operational standards being maintained every day. Without Housekeeping, none of it works.
“You can have great service at the front, but if the room is not perfect, the experience falls apart,” said Andrew.
Housekeeping management is about far more than cleaning rooms, he pointed out. He explained that key aspects of leading housekeeping operations include planning rosters, managing time and people, controlling costs such as amenities, and ensuring standards are consistently met. “Housekeeping management,” he clarified, “is operational, detailed, and highly strategic at the same time.”
Many of the core skills required to lead housekeeping for a luxury property are the most important skills required to be a hotel general manager. General managers often rise through the ranks of operational departments, and housekeeping is one path among several considered an excellent route to top hotel leadership positions.
For the final stage of his traineeship, Andrew transferred to Mandarin Oriental Geneva and worked as a Housekeeping Supervisor. Leading teams, inspecting rooms, coordinating operations, and maintaining luxury standards under pressure gave him a new appreciation for the leadership side of the department. It also helped shape an unexpected career direction.
A New Path Forward
Perhaps the most surprising outcome of Andrew’s management trainee experience is that he discovered a career path he never originally intended to pursue. The department he knew least about became the one that inspired him most.
Having recently completed the Rising Fan programme, today Andrew is continuing his career with Mandarin Oriental as a Housekeeping Supervisor at Mandarin Oriental Savoy Zürich. He already has a management progression clearly in his sights, with plans to spend at least the next few years building his leadership within this hospitality department.
Looking back, the biggest lesson he carries with him is simple. Hospitality excellence is rarely built through grand gestures. More often, it is built through numerous details guests may never consciously notice, but will always feel.
Find Your Path to Leadership
AIHM builds future leaders in the global hospitality industry and beyond.
Find your path to leadership with the high-calibre training and unmatched special opportunities you gain as a student in AIHM’s Bachelor of Business Administration in Global Hospitality Management:
- Connect with industry leaders.
- Study in the world’s only campus set inside an operating luxury hotel.
- Access the world’s best internships and trainee programmes.
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