HOUSEKEEPING INTRODUCTION

Hotel Housekeeping Tutorial

What is Housekeeping?

Housekeeping means performing all the duties towards cleaning, maintaining orderliness, and running a house or a business property. In case of hotels, the housekeeping duties involve maintaining the hotel to the best possible state in terms of cleanliness, and keeping it at highly desirable ambience.

Objectives of Hotel Housekeeping

The main objectives of hotel housekeeping are −

• To maintain overall cleanliness of the entire hotel at all times.
• To perform cleanliness duties most efficiently and effectively.
• To use good quality, safe cleaning equipment and chemicals.
• To manage laundry and linen.
• To control pests.
• To keep up the hotel with classy interior decoration.
• To take care of the furniture, fittings, and fixtures of the entire hotel.

Divisions of a Hotel

There are various divisions (or departments) of a hotel. They are given below.

Front Office

It is responsible for guest check-in and check-out, mail and information services, and concierge services such as tour booking, reserving theatre and restaurants, providing airport taxi service, etc.

Food and Beverage

Food and Beverage department is responsible for preparing menus, foods, and managing inventory of food and beverage items. It includes food and beverage preparation and service for restaurant, lounge, coffee shops, bars, parties, and room service.

Uniformed Service Department

It includes parking and door attendants, drivers, porters, and bell attendants.

Housekeeping

Housekeeping includes the duties of keeping the areas of the hotel clean, tidy, hygienic, and pleasant. It also performs the duties pertaining to decoration of hotel premises.

Sales and Marketing

All sales, services, advertising, promotions, and public relations are taken care of by this team.

Security

Security manager and security workers work to keep the property safe and secured from external hazards.

Accounts

It conducts all financial activities like producing bills and receiving payments, computing employees’ compensations and delivering payments. They also carry out the activities such as compiling monthly and annual income statements, depositing and securing cash, and controlling and monitoring assets.

Maintenance

The Maintenance department is responsible for the maintenance of the property. It takes care of repairing furniture and fixtures, and painting the required area. When the hotel is small, these works are contracted from an outside agency.

Engineering and Technology

It is responsible for keeping all of its equipment operational. The duties include maintaining telephone, hotel management software, internet etc. It is also responsible for implementing any new changes required such as upgrading the software and hardware.

Human Resource Department

Human Resource department is responsible for interviewing and recruiting qualified staff to be placed at appropriate positions. They also conduct exit interviews for the employees who wish to quit the work. HRD works to set wages and salaries based on regional market rates and ensures that the hotel business meets safety and health administration standards.

In all these departments, the efforts of housekeeping department are overt. They are directly visible to the guests even before they try food or avail other amenities. Housekeeping creates the first impression about the hotel in the guests’ minds. Hence this department can be said as the heart of the hotel business.

Housekeeping Department Layout in Hotel

The layout of the housekeeping department depends on the total number of Guestrooms, Outlets, and Required Staff. The following areas of the department are the most prominent ones −

• Office of the Executive Housekeeper − The administrative work of the department is carried out here.
• Housekeeping Control Desk − It is accessible and operational 24 hours a day. The housekeeping staff reports at the start and end of the shift here. There are notice boards, storage shelves, registers, lost and found cupboard, and key-hanger matrix.
• Laundry Area − Washing, ironing, dry cleaning, folding of linen and staff uniform takes place here.
• Linen Room − Here, the linen of the hotel such as bed-sheets, towels, pillow cases, etc., are stored, collected, and carried to the required places in the hotel.
• Uniform Room − The staff uniforms are collected, stored, and distributed from here.
• Tailor Room − Here, stitching and repairing of linen and uniforms takes place.
• Housekeeping Stores − It is a storage area where the cleaning equipment and items, and guest supplies are securely stored.
• Flower Room − It is an air-conditioned room with worktables, sink and water supply, cupboards to store vases and stones, and a counter.
• Lost and found − stores all the items left by the guests. It directly communicates with the front office desk, as there the guests tend to first enquire about their lost articles.

Line Store Room	Tailor Room	Uniform Room	Laundry Room
Corridor
Executive House keeper office	Housekeeping Desk	Lost and Found	Housekeeping Supplies Store	Flower Room

Housekeeping − Areas of Responsibility

The housekeeping department is responsible to keep the following areas clean and tidy.

• Guest Rooms
• Guest Bathrooms
• Public Areas such as Lobby and Lifts
• Banquets and Conference Halls
• Parking Area
• Sales and Admin Offices
• Garden

Apart from the cleaning task, the housekeeping is also responsible for handling keys of each floor. In addition, it manages the laundry, which is often at some places considered as a sub-department of housekeeping.

Structure of Housekeeping Staff

The general structure of housekeeping staff is as shown below −

Executive Housekeeper / Manager of Housekeeping

The Executive Manager is the chief of housekeeping department. The Deputy Housekeeper and Assistant Manager of Housekeeping report to him. Their responsibilities include −

• Ensuring overall cleanliness and aesthetics of the hotel.
• Ensuring overall sanitation, comfort, and ambience of the hotel.
• Training the new joiners and motivate the existing employees.
• Modelling and establishing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for cleaning and decorating.
• Monitoring regular inventory of guest supplies and linen.
• Monitoring housekeeping equipment and hotel property.
• Evaluating employee performance, and handling their training, promotions, and transfers.
• Organize flower arrangements for events.
• Presenting the estimate of the required budget to the General Manager of the hotel.

Supervisors of Housekeeping

The supervisors report to the Assistant Housekeeper. Their positions and their respective responsibilities include −

Floor Supervisor

• Issuing keys to the room attendants.
• Coordinating floor operations and tray clearance with room attendants.
• Inspecting rooms for readiness and reporting to the front office for the same.
• Catering for VIP facilities and providing special supplies such as hot drinking water, baby-sitting provision.

Public Area Supervisor

• Ensuring that cleanliness is maintained at all times in public areas such as lobby, lifts, parking, swimming pool, coffee shop, conference hall, banquet hall, and restaurant.
• Ensuring banquet and conference halls are well kept and ready.
• Ensuring the concerned operating staff is available as per the schedule.

Night Supervisor

• Ensuring provision of guest supplies such as water, extra bed, fans, or towels.
• Ensuring the operating staff working at night is following all cleaning SOPs.
• Supervising hotel area at night and ensuring cleanliness in all areas of hotel.

Uniform Room Supervisor

• Providing clean, ironed, and fresh uniforms to the hotel staff.
• Suggesting procurement of any uniforms required.
• Checking repaired linen from tailor room.
• Keeping track of number and condition of uniforms.

Linen Room Supervisor

• Inspecting linen and sending it to the laundry.
• Checking linen from laundry and sending it for ironing.
• Maintaining linen influx and out flux register.
• Checking repaired linen from tailor room.
• Suggesting linen replacements if required.

• Operating Staff / Attendants

  The positions and responsibilities of the Operating Staff/Attendants are explained below.

  Uniform Room Attendant

  • Collecting uniforms of staff at the end of every shift and maintaining them to be used for the next time.
  • Maintaining the shelves of uniforms and linens clearly.
  • Giving and taking back the uniforms from the staff.

  Linen Room Attendant

  • Segregating the dirty linen according to its type and sending it to the laundry.
  • Keeping the track of linen count before and after laundry.
  • Stacking towels, bed sheets, pillowcases, table napkins separately into different sections of shelves.

  Guest Room Attendant

  • Reporting to the floor supervisor.
  • Cleaning the guest rooms, guest bathrooms, and the corridors.
  • Changing the linen of the guest room and guest bathrooms.
  • Topping up the guest supplies.
  • Making guest-room beds.
  • Replenishing the hotel cleaner’s trolley with supplies and linens for the next shift staff.

  Storekeeper

  • Reporting to the floor supervisor.
  • Keeping the count of cleaning equipment and items such as cleaners and detergents.
  • Generating requisition to purchase the required material.

  Public Area Attendants

  • Reporting to public area supervisor.
  • Keeping the parking, lobbies, guest rooms, lifts, and corridors in best maintained status.
  • Keeping these areas smelling fresh and clean.

  Night Shift Attendants

• Reporting any hotel safety issues to the night supervisor.
• Performing housekeeping duties during night.

• Qualities of Housekeeping Staff

  There are certain professional qualities the housekeeping staff is required to possess −

  Personal Hygiene and Appearance

  The housekeeping staff on duty must −
  • Be well-groomed with high degree of personal hygiene.
  • Have trimmed nails and hair, and clean uniform.
  • Have a clean and pleasant appearance.

  Communications skills

  The housekeeping staff must −
  • Conduct themselves with a cooperative attitude.
  • Speak in a friendly but sincere tone.
  • Speak clearly in audible voice of moderate pitch.
  • Maintain polite eye contact while interacting with the hotel guests.

  Interpersonal skills

  For serving the guest and working for cleanliness, the housekeeping staff must
  • Possess right attitude.
  • Have good listening skills to avoid any miscommunication.
  • Be a good team player.

  Personal skills and Traits

  The housekeeping staff must −
• Be able to retain and pursue the demand of the guest until it is fulfilled.
• Be sincere and physically fit.
• Respect each hotel guest they are dealing with. They must conduct themselves confidently and courteously.
• Have high integrity.

• Advantages of Housekeeping

  Here are some prominent advantages, the housekeeping department offers to its guests −
  • Clean and hygienic atmosphere
  • Comfortable and convenient stay
  • Privacy
  • Safety and security
  • Provision of amenities
  • Making guests Feel good
  Having seen the advantages, let us see the principles of housekeeping towards providing these to the guests while working safely.

• Purpose of Cleaning

  Cleaning is conducted to remove harmful bacteria present in the dust deposited on the hotel property because of air pollution. This may cause unhealthy effects on the working staff as well as the guests. Cleanliness reduces the threat of any infections and offers comfortable stay to the guests in the hotel.

  Cleaning and Hygiene Principles

  The worker must follow the given principles while cleaning −
  • Carry out the cleaning procedures in sequence. Say, sweeping → Dusting → Mopping/Suction Cleaning → Disinfecting → Air Freshening.
  • Must take care while cleaning and polishing; not to damage various surfaces and hamper their appearance.
  • Should start cleaning from extreme inner end continuing towards exit.
  • Should park the chambermaid’s trolley such that it leaves space for corridor traffic.
  • Must take proper precautions while handling cleaning equipment, detergents, and guest luggage.
  • Must remove hard water stains and spider webs as soon as they occur.
  • Must never use guest room linen for cleaning or blocking room entry.
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    Safety and Security Principles

    The workers must follow the safety rules mentioned below −
    • Protect their body from harmful chemicals by wearing thick gloves.
    • Protect their eyes by wearing masks or goggles if required.
    • Must use caution sign to mark wet floors.
    • Clean spilled liquids immediately to reduce chances of slipping.
    • Handle cleaning chemicals carefully while transporting, disposing, or refilling the containers.
    • Mix any chemicals required in the presence of proper ventilation.
    • Must not open unlabeled chemical containers.
    • Use swivel head mops to avoid inappropriate body posture while cleaning.
    • Wear close toe-non slip footwear while working.
    • Use appropriate body postures while working to avoid cramps.
    • Request for peer assistance while moving heavy loads such as furniture.
    • Report to the supervisor in case of any accident due to mishandling of flammable liquids or otherwise.
    • Keep the guests safe with the help of security department.
    • Keep the guests’ documents, ornaments, or other articles safe.

    Comfort and Privacy Principles

    The housekeeping staff must follow the given principles with regard to comfort and privacy of the guest.
  • Always remember comfort and privacy of the guests always comes first.
  • Clean the premises or rooms in the least destructive and disturbing manner.
  • Enter the guest rooms by following appropriate procedure.
  • Work towards the guests’ satisfaction.
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  • Knowing and Handling Small Fire Hazards

    The housekeeping staff needs to know various types of fires and fire extinguishers. The staff must be trained to handle small fires.
    Fire is classified into the following types −
    • Class A − Class A fire consists of ordinary combustibles such as wood, paper, trash or anything else that leaves ash behind. It needs water under high pressure to extinguish this fire.
    • Class B − This fire occurs in inflammable liquids such as oil and grease, and needs blankets or sand to extinguish.
    • Class C − This fire occurs in electrical equipment. Use of non-conductive agent is required for extinguishing this fire.
    • Class K − Class K Fires are fires that involve cooking oils, grease or animal fat and can be extinguished using Purple K, a typical agent found in kitchen or galley extinguishers.

    Fire Extinguishers

    Soda Acid extinguisher is used to put out class A fire. It sprays the compound with gaseous pressure. Only good for small intensity fires. For large intensity and widely spread fire, water must be sprayed directly on the affected area with high pressure through the hoses.
    For putting out class B fires, Carbon Di-Oxide extinguishers are used. Carbon Di-Oxide fog extinguishers are well-places in case of small class C fires.
    The housekeeping staff must place appropriate extinguishers near the fire prone areas and must know to operate them under challenging conditions.

    Importance of Decor in Housekeeping

    The housekeeping staff is responsible for creating pleasant ambience in the hotel. This needs aesthetic sense and an eye for detail. A guest is keen to visit the hotel if he finds classy and catchy ambience with fresh air.
    Housekeeping staff must intelligently use artificial waterfalls, large vases with neat and eye-catching flower arrangements, paintings, wall pieces, murals, lighting with appropriate luminance, candles, electric lamps or any rare antic pieces.
    The housekeeping staff is required to know various materials such as wood, organic and artificial fibers, stone, sand, glass, plastic, and pigments to maintain the expensive hotel property.
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  • Hotel decors can be conducted thematically depending on the local/international prominent festivals and cultures. Décor is yet another important task that elevates guests’ experience with the hotel.

    Rules for Housekeepers

    The housekeepers represent the hotel staff and create an image of the hotel by working towards keeping the hotel at high standards plus conducting themselves well while on job. There are certain rules the housekeepers need to follow.
    The housekeepers must −
  • Enter the floor with clean and tidy uniform, in a properly groomed manner.
  • Only use the service lifts.
  • Speak to the other working staff only when necessary.
  • Not walk by stamping the feet, run, or jump in the hotel premises.
  • Eat only in meal hours, not while cleaning.
  • Stand outside the guest room while speaking to the guest to respect their privacy.
  • Always keep the room doors open while cleaning.
  • Greet the guests with smile according to the time of the day.
  • Never answer the guest room phone.
  • Never use guest room phone of floor desk phones for making private calls.
  • Never use guest bathrooms.
  • Familiarize themselves with the faces of guests. This is especially important for the security purpose.
  • Never use a guest room for unauthorized person.
  • Not accept any gift from the guests and politely deny them. If the guest insists to take and feels offended on denial, then mention the gift to the floor supervisor who can permit the attendant to take the gift out of the hotel.
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