After capturing millions of views, breaking into mainstream media and making its ESPN8: The Ocho debut in August, one of the cleaning industry’s most spirited competitions, the ISSA Housekeeping Olympics, is headed back to Las Vegas—and this year, the entire industry is invited to get in the game. 

The 36th Annual ISSA Housekeeping Olympics, hosted by the Indoor Environmental Healthcare and Hospitality Association (IEHA), a Division of ISSA, returns Monday, November 16, 2026, from 6 to 9 p.m. PST at Michelob ULTRA Arena at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. 

The Housekeeping Olympics brings the entire cleaning and facility solutions industry into the action. Hospitality, healthcare, building service contractors, and other cleaning and facility teams are invited to assemble a team and compete, while manufacturers, distributors, and other industry organizations can join the excitement by sponsoring the event or supporting a team’s participation. Competitors will go head-to-head in fast-paced challenges that transform essential cleaning skills into spectator competition, all for industry pride and the coveted Housekeeping Olympics championship trophy. 

From Industry Tradition to Viral Sensation 

For more than three decades, the Housekeeping Olympics has celebrated the professionals whose skill and dedication help keep facilities clean, safe and welcoming. In 2025, that celebration reached an entirely new audience. 

The 35th annual competition in 2025 generated more than 50 million estimated views and 750,000 social engagements, with more than 165 media and social coverage placements. Highlights of the competition appeared across mainstream news, sports and entertainment platforms including Inside Edition, CNN, Fox News, Yahoo, House of Highlights, Bleacher Report, and beyond. 

Videos showcasing the competitors’ speed, precision, teamwork, and enthusiasm traveled across Instagram, TikTok, and other social platforms, introducing millions of viewers to the talent behind professional housekeeping. 

That momentum continued in August 2026, when the competition made its ESPN8: The Ocho debut at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Walt Disney World Resort as part of the network’s 10th anniversary celebration of unconventional sports and competitions. 

“Last year showed us just how powerfully this event resonates with people both inside and outside our industry,” said IEHA Executive Director Michael Patterson. “There is something incredibly compelling about watching these professionals take the skills they use every day and bring them into an arena filled with cheering teammates, colleagues, and fans. The attention has been exciting, but what matters most is that it gives cleaning professionals a stage where their expertise, teamwork, and pride can be seen and celebrated.” 

The Competition Returns to Las Vegas 

The 2026 Housekeeping Olympics will build on that momentum with teams putting their skills, speed and teamwork to the test through a series of high-energy cleaning challenges, including precision bed-making, mop relays, rapid vacuum races and other competitions. 

And you don’t have to work in a hotel to compete. 

IEHA is calling on organizations from every corner of the cleaning and facility solutions industry to build a team and join the competition. Hospitality housekeeping departments, healthcare environmental services teams, building service contractors, in-house facility teams, other industry organizations are all encouraged to participate. 

Whether competitors perform these tasks every day or are ready to find out how their skills stack up against the professionals, the Housekeeping Olympics offers an opportunity to bring colleagues together, represent their organization and experience one of the industry’s most energetic traditions from inside the arena. 

The competition takes place alongside ISSA Show North America 2026, Nov. 16–19 in Las Vegas, the premier event for the global cleaning and facility solutions industry. 

The 2026 ISSA Housekeeping Olympics is supported by Staples Business as Presenting Sponsor and Rubbermaid Commercial Products as Platinum Sponsor, helping bring the competition to life while celebrating the skill, teamwork and dedication of cleaning professionals across the industry. 

Think Your Team Has What It Takes? 

Get your colleagues together. Represent your company. And get ready to compete on the Housekeeping Olympics stage. 

Organizations from throughout the cleaning and facility solutions industry are invited to enter a team, cheer on the competitors, or support the event through sponsorship. 

For sponsors, the event offers opportunities for visibility before, during and after the competition through onsite branding, digital promotion, event announcements and other activations. Following the extraordinary media and social attention generated by the 2025 event, the Housekeeping Olympics provides an opportunity for organizations to align their brands with a highly visible celebration of the people and skills that power the cleaning industry. 

Ready to get in the game? 

For team registration, sponsorship opportunities and additional information, visit issa.com/housekeeping-olympics. 

About ISSA 

ISSA is The Association for Cleaning & Facility Solutions, representing more than 11,000 member organizations and professionals worldwide, including manufacturers, manufacturer representatives, wholesalers, distributors, building service contractors, in-house service providers, residential cleaners and associate service members. The association is committed to elevating the built environment by providing its members with the business tools they need to promote cleaning as an investment in human health, the environment and an improved bottom line. Headquartered in Rosemont, Ill., USA, the association has regional offices in Milan, Italy; Toronto, Canada; Sydney, Australia; Seoul, South Korea; and Shanghai, China. For more information about ISSA, visit issa.com or call 800-225-4772 (North America) or 847-982-0800. Follow ISSA on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube. 

About IEHA 

The Indoor Environmental Healthcare and Hospitality Association (IEHA), a Division of ISSA and part of the ISSA Healthcare Platform, focuses on the healthcare and hospitality sectors of the cleaning industry. This 1,300-plus-member professional association was founded in 1930 and merged with ISSA in 2017. IEHA supports environmental services and housekeeping professionals responsible for programs in commercial, industrial and institutional facilities and provides members with resources and opportunities for personal and professional growth.  

For more information, contact ISSA Senior Director of Marketing Jill Nuppenau at [email protected].