HOUSEKEEPING

ASSIGNMENT
Tutor: Ms. Lorraine Farrugia

Danielle Demanuele
1st Year Bachelor In International Hospitality Management (Hons)
In today’s world where guests are well travelled and know what they want, it is
of utmost important to make a good first impression. From the moment they
step into the lobby and up to their way into their room, guests are looking and
absorbing all that is around them. At this stage, their first impression is already
made up and this will determine the rest of the stay and their decision on
whether to come back or not. Guests are the ambassadors for any hotel, both
by word of mouth and online. So, keeping this in mind is crucial.

Housekeeping might not be the first thing that comes to mind when one
measures the success of any hotel. However, a good hotel with a positive
review from their guests, has a good housekeeping team in place. This is
irrespective of the class or type of hotel. Guests enjoy a clean environment, be
it in the lobby, in their rooms, pool area and any communal space in the hotel.
The secret to a good housekeeping team is in the strategic planning and
efficient implementation of the day-to-day activities.

A hotel's survival depends on the selling of rooms, food, and beverages, as well
as on the provision of ancillary services such a gym, laundry, clubs, health spa,
retail centres, sightseeing, etc. As a result, the sale of rooms accounts for a
sizeable percentage of a hotel’s revenue because a room once operational can
be sold multiple times. Yet, if the rooms remain unsold, there is a severe loss in
revenue. It follows that it is evident that rooms are more perishable than even
food. The work that the housekeeping service puts in greatly affects the guest
experience in a hotel. As a result, a hotel's guest rooms represent its strength.
If the decor is unappealing, the air does not smell fresh, and the furniture and
amenities are not comfortable, the hotel can lose a client as a possible guest.
(Bhatnagar & Dheeraj, 2019)

“The housekeeping department is the backbone of a hotel. It not only looks

after the cleanliness of the whole hotel, but large contributes towards many
other activities in a hotel as well. Keeping an inventory and upkeep on all the
accommodation and public areas is a challenge in itself which makes it as one
of the crucial departments of a hotel”. (Bhatnagar & Dheeraj, 2019)

Good planning is the backbone of all the systems which will help accomplish
the day-to-day activities in the hotel. These need to be tailored to fit in the day’s
priorities on what needs doing first. A well-trained team is like a well-oiled
machine. Everything works well, efficient and on time. This is a win-win for the
hotel, it terms of time management and job satisfaction for the employees.

Finding and keeping the correct employees is a challenge, where the job is
physically demanding and the turnover high. However, with careful planning
and good training the hotel’s housekeeping can provide a safe and orderly
working environment.

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Maintaining a reward scheme, periodically assessing the work of the staff, and
keeping them motivated will keep your staff stimulated. If they are not
performing well, invest in their retraining rather than dismissing them. They will
increase their productivity and maintain their motivation at work in this way.
(Joshi, 2022)

Time is money in the hotel industry. Hotels are constantly reviewing their
procedures in an effort to achieve quick and effective housekeeping. Here are
three strategies recommended by experts to improve this division.

The first important strategy is Prioritisation; what needs to be done first and
why. This is a plan which needs to be set up daily by the housekeeping
department. This will ensure primarily that guests who are checking in to their
room or suite will do so on time. This will prevent guests lingering in the lobby
area; with front office having to deal with disgruntled guests especially when
they would have travelled all day to arrive. Cleaning of rooms is top priority for
any hotel since sale of rooms is the most revenue generating department.

With IT (Information Technology) playing a significant role in any hotel

operation some hotels have embarked on tools to help them know more about
their guests prior to their arrival.

One such tools is Hotel Property Management System (PMS).

PMS is a collection of hotel management software, used to manage hotel
operations by centrally organizing bookings, online booking availability,
payments, and reporting. The Hotel PMS streamlines procedures for front desk
workers and guest services in a hotel business, enabling them to check in and
out customers, view room availability, modify existing reservations, and even
include back-office capabilities to schedule housekeeping or maintenance. This
enables hotel management to effectively manage and keep an eye on the
crucial metrics required to run their business with a central system. (Hollander,
2023)

The second important strategy is Preparation. This includes seeing that

sufficient stock holding of cleaning material is available, to giving aid in the form
of robotic vacuums to the room attendants for a faster cleaning process.
Investing in equipment like handy vacuum cleaners, floor scrubbers and dryer,
automatic room fresheners and more can be expensive to implement initially
but will work out to a faster work routine for the room attendants. Anything that
helps make the work easier and faster should be implemented.

The Housekeeping Department is essential in choosing of material for the

hotel’s fixtures and soft furnishings. This is crucial for the aftercare and cleaning
which is needed by the said department. An example is moving away from
fitted carpets to hard wood flooring or tiles and removing fabric headboards to
wooden ones just to mention a few.

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Hotel consumers who are informed and want to see a change in how hotels are
run daily, are driving the trend toward green incentives in hotels. Sustainability
is therefore another strategic consideration.

Sustainability can be defined as the ability for something to continue, sustain

itself, continue, and remain forever. From a human perspective, sustainability
for our planet entails that it can continue to supply the pure air, clean water,
food production, and high quality of life that were part of its original design. We
currently find ourselves in an unsustainable situation. (FZE, 2023)

Hotels use a considerable number of resources be it in electricity and gas; this

is to ensure that guest are warm or cool and comfortable at any time they walk
into the hotel. Using several alternatives to produce and conserve energy can
play a significant part in energy conservation: both solar and wind energy.

Hotels are providing guests the choice to support ecological initiatives; for
example, by not changing the towels and sheets daily and limit the cleaning
that takes place in the rooms this will help with the water conservation.

To lessen the chance of evaporation in hot weather, watering gardens should

be done either early in the morning or later in the day. Harvesting rainwater
should also be considered to reduce water use.

Other practices can be implemented, energy conservation. Lights and

appliances to be switched of when not in use through the use of automated
timers and light sensitive switches.

The usage of eco-friendly cleaning products. By using eco-friendly cleaning

products that are biodegradable and non-toxic. These products have a lower
environmental impact and are safer for both the guests but also the staff.

Encouraging guests to recycle, by providing them with recycling bins in their

rooms. Guests will comply and can easily recycle items such as paper, plastic,
and glass.

Another way to reduce waste is to refill dispensing bottles (for shower gels,
shampoos etc) of toiletries, thus avoiding single-use plastic items. Amenities
such as shower caps, shoe wipes, toothbrushes should be available on
request. To protect the environment, bamboo-made toothbrushes should be
available to the guests. It is essential to point out to your guests that these
measures are part of the hotel’s plan to sustainability as this would then
become part of the marketing communications strategy of the hotel.

By cutting expenditures for resource acquisition, use, and disposal, good

biodiversity practices can lower a hotel's operational expenses.

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Involving guests in green initiatives not only helps hotels lessen their
environmental impact, but it may also improve customer satisfaction and the
guest’s experience. Some hotels even make this incentive fun by offering a
prize or reward to whoever participates.

In conclusion, integrating visitors in green initiatives can help hotels lessen

their environmental footprint while simultaneously improving the overall guest
experience. (FZE, 2023)

“Housekeeping staff do an important job and face difficult conditions. We

believe that employee’s motivation and acknowledgment is one of the most
important issues that hotel management is required to focus on, as they are
absolutely linked to work performance. This is an important reason for hotel
managers to realize that they need to apply incentive systems and
remuneration policies if they want to have efficient and capable employees who
are motivated about their work and ensure that the Hotel business is
competitive and viable”. (Konstantinos, 2019)

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Bhatnagar, E. and Dheeraj, N. (2019) “Impact of housekeeping services and
practices on customer satisfaction and repeat business,” Prabandhan: Indian
Journal of Management, 12(8), p. 46.

FZE, B.B. (2023) The importance of sustainability in hotels, UKEssays. UK

Essays. Available at: https://www.ukessays.com/essays/environmental-
sciences/the-importance-of-sustainability-in-hotels-environmental-sciences-
essay.php (Accessed: 10 March 2023).

Hollander, J (2023), PMS in Hotels: Everything You Need to Know About

Property Management Systems. Available at: www.hoteltechreport.com
(accessed: 25 February 2023)

Joshi, S (2022), 9 Best Practices to Optimise Hotel Housekeeping Operations.

Available at https://www.ezeeabsolute.com/blog/optimise-hotel-housekeeping-
operations (accessed: 6 March 2023)

Konstantinos, S. (2019), Hotel Management in Focus on Housekeeping

Department: An Associate Opinion Survey, International Journal of Economics,
Business and Management Research, (Vol.3, No. 09;2019). Available at:
https://www.ijebmr.com/uploads/pdf/archivepdf/2020/IJEBMR_446 (Accessed
15 March 2023)