TOPIC No. 1.

2 :

OVERVIEW OF HOUSEKEEPING

June 2021
 Housekeeping management ensures
that employees keep rooms in hotels
clean and sanitized for guests.
Housekeeping managers must ensure
that they have enough employees to
clean all of the rooms daily. In
addition to basic duties, hotel
housekeeping employees change
sheets and make beds in the guest
rooms. They keep the rooms stocked
with the clean cups, coffee supplies,
towels and other bathroom items, such
as shampoo.
 The Role of the Housekeeping Department

• The housekeeping department is responsible for the daily and

periodic cleaning of guest’s rooms and in most cases public
areas.
• This department has in its care, linen and furnishings, carpet and
furniture, beds and beddings and sometimes laundry work for
guests and the department. The housekeeping department must
maintain high standards of housekeeping practice or the guests
will not be satisfied.
 Six board areas of the Housekeeping Responsibilities.

 The cleaning of guest rooms

 The cleaning of public areas
 The upkeep and exchange of linen and
uniforms
 The maintenance of external landscapes
and gardens as well as internal flower
arrangements
 The management of the laundry
 Communications through the Control Desk
 Medium Hotels: 25-100 rooms
 Large Hotels: 100 rooms and above
Classification as per facilities and service
 2 Star: Minimum 1 food and beverage outlet, service till
2200 hours, intercom and limited room service etc.
 3 Star: Minimum 2 foods and beverage outlets, 1 bar, 24
hours’ room service, currency exchange, postal services and
elevators etc.
 4 Star: Conforming 3 star standards, more comfortable
rooms and restaurants including a coffee shops, mini bar,
elevator, banquet, seminar, meeting facilities and parking
lot etc.
 5 Star: Conforming 4 star standards plus health club, 24
hour reception desk, valet parking, butler services,
doorman, mini bar etc.
 Duties and Responsibilities of Housekeeping Personnel

• Executive Housekeeper • Uniform Room Supervisor

• Assistant Housekeepers
• Floor Supervisors
• Control Desk Supervisor
• Room Attendants
• Housemen
• Linen Room Supervisor
• Tailor/Upholsterers
• Public Area Supervisor
• Laundry Manager
• Horticulturist
• Florist
• Gardener
 Housekeeping Attendant Characteristics

 Smile
 Grooming and Hygiene
 Basic Etiquettes
 Orderliness
 Teamwork
 Attitude
 Self-discipline Courtesy
 Intrapreneurship
 Continuous Education
 Customer Orientation
 Physical Fitness
 Eye for Detail
 Relationship between Housekeeping and Other Departments

 Housekeeping and the Front  Housekeeping and Accounting

Office

 Housekeeping and  Housekeeping and Security

Engineering/Maintenance
• Housekeeping and Human
 Housekeeping and Sales Resources

 Housekeeping and Food and

Beverage
 Different Departments of the Hotel

 Personnel (Human Resource) Division

 Marketing Sales Division
 Finance Division
 Food and Beverage Division
 Rooms Division
Personnel (Human Resource)
Division Marketing Sales Division
• Sales and marketing staff help
 Help other division with sell rooms, conference and food
and beverage services. They are
recruitment, selection and
also involved in promotions,
the training of staff. It also
advertising and publicity
administers wages, medical
activities.
and all personal related
matters.
Finance Division Food and Beverage Division
• This division is responsible for
 The division headed by a all food and beverage products
provided in the hotel.
Chief Accountant or Finance
Controller, is responsible for
various accounting and record
keeping functions, income
collection and purchasing
control.
Rooms Division Sections under Rooms Division:

 Front Office
 This division is responsible for
 Housekeeping
the front desk and all of its
check-in and check-out Other key areas within rooms division include:
activities. It is also responsible
for reservations, telephone  Telephones/Switchboard/PBX
systems and porter/concierge  Business Center
duties. Housekeeping usually
falls into this division.  Reception
Housekeeping provides  Concierge/ porter/ bell desk
cleaning services for all public
areas of the hotel and some
back of house areas.
Engineering Division Security Division
• This division helps protect
 The engineering division is guests, their property and the
responsible for repairs and hotel’s employees.
maintenance of the hotel
building and its contents, as
well trying to anticipate
problems which may occur with
the facilities and equipment in
the hotel; also to ensure that
change do not break down and
maintain them in a constant
state of goo repair.
Front Office/ Reception • Security Division

• This division helps protect

 Front office is a key area within guests, their property and the
rooms division and, in many hotels, hotel’s employees.
manages the interface between, on
the one hand, guests and on the
other hand, the various areas which
together go to make up the rooms
division. Good communication
between the housekeeping and the
front office is essential: the
Housekeeping department’s primary
communications are with the front
office departments, specifically the
front desk area.
 Sections under Housekeeping Departments includes:

 Housekeeping Office  Tailor Room

 Control Desk Room  Upholstery and Furniture Yard
 Uniform Section  The Linen Room
 Lost and Found section  Flower Room
 Linen Room  Green House
 Housekeeping Store  Horticulture Equipment Store
 Heavy Equipment Store  Laundry

Housekeeper’s Office
 It is the main administration
center for the department.
Control Desk Room
• It is the main communication
center where relevant
housekeeping information is
sent and received. It is the nerve
center for co-ordination with
the front office, banquets, etc.
The Control Desk Room is the
point where all staff report for
duty and check out at the end of
duty. It adjoins the
Housekeeper’s Office.
 The Linen Room
Lost and Found Section
 It is a secure area in the • It is the room where current
Control Desk Room to store linen is stored for issue and
misplaced guest belongings receipt. The linen room must
that may be claimed later. adjoin the in-house laundry for
smooth and speedy exchange of
fresh and soiled linen and
uniforms.
 Housekeeping Store
The Uniform Room
 This room stocks the uniforms • It is to stock the linen and
in current circulation. materials. Larger hotels may
Exchange counter for have an independent store for
employees who come to linen and another for uniforms,
collect and deposit their based on the volume of
uniforms. Exchange counter materials in circulation and the
with the in-house laundry. hotel’s policy to stock such large
numbers.

Heavy Equipment Store
 This is a store to stock bulky
housekeeping equipment like
vacuum cleaners, carpet
shampoo machines, ladders
for chandelier and window
cleaning, etc. It is securely
locked to prevent pilferage or
thefts, as they constitute
substantial capital investment.
Tailor Room
• This room is for in-house full-
time tailors who stitch and
mend damaged linen and
uniforms. The room has sewing
machines at matching stations
based on the number of tailors
employed.
Upholstery and Furniture Yard
 This is a space provided to
store damaged upholstered
furniture. Tailors specialized in
re-upholstery work in this
yard. Since furniture takes
space, it requires adequate
space, to store them.
The Floor Linen Room (Pantry)
• It is the housekeeping nerve
center for the floor. It maintains
a complete turnover of fresh
linen to service all rooms on the
floor.
 Green House
Flower Room
 This room is used by the in- • This is an external facility to
house florist who prepares grow exotic plants that need
flower arrangements for special climatic conditions.
display at various parts of the
hotel. Flowers are supplied to
restaurants for table
decoration and buffet displays.
Horticulture Equipment Store
 There are a number of garden
equipment such as lawn
mowers, spades, rakes, pots,
etc. that is essential for
gardening operations. These
need to be stored safely. The
store is an external facility
easily accessible to gardeners.
END.