WASHROOMS
WHAT DO WE WANT FROM AN AIRPORT WASHROOM?
What are the chief requirements of airport washrooms? And how important are they to passengers? As the holiday season begins, Lee Radzki from Tork manufacturer Essity, poses these questions and looks at systems that are designed to improve the facilities for travellers.
Airport washrooms are used by hundreds of people every day. Moreover, many passengers will be obliged spend several hours in the terminal building.
Most airlines these days expect travellers to arrive at least an hour before their flight, and delays are all too common.
When faced with a lengthy wait passengers are likely to decide to while away the time in a café or bar. Here, they will be consuming drinks – which will inevitably lead to trips to the washroom.
Meanwhile, airports are becoming busier. According to the International Air Transport Association the number of passengers globally rose by 10.4% in 2024 compared with 2023 levels.
An increase in passenger numbers leads to more pressure on the airport washroom. And busy toilets are a challenge to maintain, which means they often attract criticism.
Around 71% of people who frequent high-traffic venues – including transport hubs – claim to have had a negative washroom experience according to a recent Essity white paper on airports. And one in three survey respondents said they are likely to limit the amount they eat or drink to avoid having to visit the washroom.
This spells bad news for airports where an estimated 50% of the revenue comes from activities such as shopping, eating and drinking.
Customer satisfaction levels tend to decline dramatically when cleanliness standards are poor, and the converse is also true. Recent research has revealed that an increase in customer satisfaction of just 1% can lead to a 1.5% growth in airport revenue. In other words, happy passengers spend more money than unhappy ones. And study after study reveals that the state of the washroom has a significant effect on people’s overall satisfaction with the facility in question.
However, keeping a busy washroom both clean and well stocked can be a major challenge for staff. Cleaners need to stay ahead of the game and anticipate situations where soap and paper supplies are liable to run out or a mess is likely to occur. But many airports take an inefficient approach to cleaning, according to a recent quantitative study commissioned by Essity.
A total of 70% of cleaners questioned said they regularly found themselves cleaning unused washrooms, while a similar number often came across soap and paper dispensers that had run out of product when they checked them. And more than 50% said they were likely to have
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more time for other tasks if the washroom dispensers were quicker and easier to refill.
Tork Elevation washroom dispensers are designed to be quick to refill and easy to open either via a push button or a universal key. Cartridges for Tork foam and liquid soaps can be snapped into place in seconds, and the high-capacity Tork PeakServe Continuous Hand Towel Dispenser holds up to 2,100 towels. And the fact that a new bundle of towels can be inserted at any time means it is highly unlikely to run out between maintenance checks.
Technology can also help to ensure that dispensers remain filled during busy periods. As part of the Tork Airline Hygiene Package, Tork Vision Cleaning allows cleaners to remotely check on washroom usage and dispenser refill levels via a smartphone or tablet. They can then target those facilities where a top-up of soap or paper is required.
Aggregated data from sensors in Tork hygiene dispensers show that 91% of physical dispenser checks prove to be unnecessary. This adds up to a significant amount of wasted time – particularly in an airport that might have 6,500-plus dispensers.
"Around 71% of people who frequent high-traffic venues – including transport hubs – claim to have had a negative washroom experience"
Queues will quickly form where supplies of soap and paper are absent. While technology can help staff to track dispenser status, long-lasting supplies of soap and paper will also help to reduce the number of runouts that may occur.
For example, a continuous and long-lasting supply of toilet tissue can be ensured by installing the Tork SmartOne Twin Mini Toilet Roll System. This reduces consumption by up to 40% compared with jumbo roll dispensers since it delivers one sheet at a time, while a second roll may be inserted into the unit to fit in with the cleaner’s schedule.
A long-lasting soap supply will also help to streamline washroom usage. Tork Foam Soap works well in a busy airport because each cartridge serves up to 1,650 visitors between refills.
There are other ways in which airport washrooms can be designed to reduce the cleaning burden and cut down queues.
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