Hawai'i hotel executives point proudly to their housekeepers as the backbone of the visitor industry, but with an average age of close to 50, managers are worried about finding quality replacements when many of today's staffers begin to retire in 10 years.

Outrigger Enterprises group, which includes the Ohana and Outrigger Hotels & Resorts, has about 600 housekeepers in Waikiki alone, with an average age of 51 and average length of service of 15 years.

"It's by far the largest segment of our workforce," said David Carey, Outrigger president and chief executive officer. "And it's the part of the workforce that touches the customer, the guest, every day.

"We have this wonderful era of employees that have really defined hospitality," Carey said. "As they all retire who will come in behind them? Will they have the same work ethic? Will they have the same warmth and energy? We're not sure."

Assistant housekeeper Carnita Encomienda, a youthful 47, who has been with Outrigger for more than 26 years, said her eldest child is majoring in nursing and working part time at the front desk of the same hotel where Encomienda works.

The younger generation of workers see hotels as a good place to work but are open to other careers, Encomienda said. Without an immigrant background, her children and their friends may not think to look to hotels for a career, she said.

One way to attract younger workers may be to "create a job that is more flexible" than the traditional separate roles of bellman, front desk or housekeeper, said Ernest Nishizaki, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Kyoya Co., whose hotel properties include the Sheraton Waikiki, The Royal Hawaiian, Sheraton Moana Surfrider and Sheraton Princess Ka'iulani hotels.

Kyoya has begun looking at restructuring jobs, realizing that a worker doesn't want to spend the whole day polishing banisters. The company has tried having a bellman who could also check the guests in and then follow them up to the room, Nishizaki said. The employee could continue to be attached to that guest throughout his stay.

'I NEVER WAS ASHAMED'

One of the reasons that housekeepers are so important in the hotel industry is — after registration — they are often the only hotel employees with frequent contact with the guests.

Outrigger is considering a different approach aimed at keeping its current staff as long as possible. The company may modify jobs so they are less physically demanding for aging workers while still striving to be fair in distributing the work among employees, Carey said.

Carey said another part of the solution may be educating the community about what jobs in the visitor industry are like. And industry officials are reaching out to the community and schools to try to show "these are important things to do and they can be fun if it's structured right."

Housekeeper Kathleen Moon, 45, has worked for the Outrigger chain for 12 years, and is typical of her generation of workers.

Moon said her father worked in housekeeping for 37 years. "I was proud of him. I never was ashamed," she said.

She left for 20 years to raise her children. With both in high school she returned to Outrigger three months ago.

Moon snaps the clean sheets onto a bed at the Ohana Maile Sky Court in seconds, neatly making the bed as efficiently as she stripped it. She vacuums, cleans the bathroom, hangs up fresh towels.

A LOT OF WORK — AND FUN

Moon, who was born in Korea, got her first job when she was 17. She usually works from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Over the years, she's seen other people work their way into other jobs and that's what brought her back to the hotel. "I was thinking of my future. I feel I want to be in a better position," she said.

Encomienda, the 26-year Outrigger veteran, works at the 596-room Maile Sky Court and helps schedule the housekeepers and handle other administrative jobs.

Over the years, she has traveled to Maui and the Big Island. She first got the job when she was 21, shortly after she had moved here from the Philippines. At her current hotel, housekeepers clean an average of 21 rooms each day, but that number changes from hotel to hotel.

Encomienda said an aunt worked for a hotel and suggested she could find a job in Waikiki. She interviewed one day and started work the next.

Over the years, she got to know guests from all over the world, some who would return and ask to stay on her floor. And she's worked with people from many cultures.

Encomienda said she found it an interesting job that changes every day, has allowed her to travel and be promoted as she learned different skills. "We work, but we have a lot of fun," she said.

And she said her loyalty to Outrigger is matched by the company's past commitment to the workers with a record of not permanently laying off workers even after tourism dropped.

"After 9/11, they never even laid off," she said. And when redevelopment prompted the chain to close four hotels, they offered early retirement and still no layoffs, she said.

Candice Kraughto, who works in regional communication for Kyoya's Starwood hotels in Waikiki, said the four hotels have about 435 housekeepers. She said the company is looking for ways to keep workers happy, reduce workloads and increase training.

Both Kyoya and Outrigger routinely offer English as a Second Language classes to workers as well as other training and classes.

Kraughto said adding programs such as one called "Work, Weight and Wellness" helps retain workers by helping them lose weight and eat healthier. "A happy, healthy employee will continue to stay on the job," she said.