Cleaning management of owner‐operated real estate

Abstract

Purpose

The costs of cleaning owner‐operated office buildings amount to an approximate 20 per cent share of the operating costs. As a result of their cost relevance and the growing cost pressures on real estate divisions, cleaning costs are increasingly coming under focus. This interest manifests itself in the search for cost indicators and their drivers to be used as a basis for the management of real estate. This paper seeks to address this issue.

Design/methodology/approach

A study of the specialist literature revealed, from a theoretical perspective, the relevant drivers of cleaning costs. The empirical study is based on cost and property information collected, on a uniform basis, from over 100 owner‐operated office buildings in Switzerland, with the analysis of cost drivers being carried out using regression analysis.

Findings

The cleaning cost indicators of the examined properties revealed a median of 41 CHF/m² usable floor area and year. With regard to cost drivers, it was established that both building characteristics and usage determine the costs. However, the decisive drivers are, above all, the management strategies and the owners' main objectives.

Research limitations/implications

The management strategies proved to be specific to the individual project partners. The causal relationships between strategies (e.g. outsourcing strategies) and costs may be considered to be well‐substantiated hypotheses, which require verification by means of future analyses.

Originality/value

The study identified both indicators and relevant drivers of cleaning costs. To this end, this study collected data from over 100 owner‐operated office buildings within Switzerland and examined these data using regression analysis. As a result, the cleaning costs of the examined properties were ascertained.

Citation

Stoy, C. and Johrendt, R. (2008), "Cleaning management of owner‐operated real estate", Facilities, Vol. 26 No. 3/4, pp. 131-143. https://doi.org/10.1108/02632770810849472