You get good at it.
Different people did different parts of the job, with only one in a room at a time. For example, one person removed all the bedsheets, cleaned surfaces, polished mirrors, replaced toilet rolls etc and tidied things that were out of place including the resident's items. Another brought in and fitted clean bedsheets and placed clean towels. Another went around with a vacuum cleaner after them.
The total time per room when you count each person probably exceeded 20 minutes.
When not cleaning rooms I worked in the kitchen.
I was 17 at the time, and this job helped pay my living expenses subsequently at university, because the government grant was sufficient for rent, but no food.
On the other hand, there are lots of motels and franchised hotel operators trying to squeeze 20min per room from housekeepers at low pay, and I would not believe they can keep that pace up and delivery a quality product for 13+ hours in a day.
And cleaning 40 rooms in a day is disgusting, no way a hotel room gets properly cleaned in 15 min or less and laundry gets properly washed or protocols are followed.
Edit: nevermind, I read more of the article and Marcus is a $15 per hour employee, not a salaried “manager”.
> While Marcus used to complete “every single step” while cleaning rooms, they now sometimes skip dusting and mopping. But they worry that slacking off too much will only backfire on their colleagues, who would be the ones left to clean up the mess. “That’s the only thing that holds me back,” they say.