Chapter 12

Cleaning Public Areas

Hotel Housekeeping All rights reserved

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 Objectives
To be able to
• understand the meaning of public areas and list out
the public areas in a hotel.
• realise the importance of cleaning and maintenance of
public areas.
• list out the daily, weekly, and periodic tasks for
cleaning public areas.
• elaborate the cleaning process of the various public
areas.
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The public areas in a hotel comprise the front of
the house areas such as entrances, lobbies, lounges,
front desk, guest corridors, elevators, restrooms;
functional areas such as restaurants, banquet halls, bars,
and waiting rooms; and leisure areas such as swimming
pools, spa, and health clubs. In other words, the areas of
the hotel that are in constant guest view and frequented
by guests are referred to as public areas.

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© Oxford University Press, 2015
The Areas inventory lists and Frequency schedules play
a vital role in the cleaning of public areas. Entrances,
lobbies, and front desks may have to be attended to by
housekeeping staff several times a day, depending on
the inflow of guests and the occupancy of the hotel.
These areas need to be cleaned at low peak hours of the
day, since taking them out of service is impractical

Hotel Housekeeping All rights reserved

© Oxford University Press, 2015
Elevators need to be taken out of service while
cleaning and therefore should be cleaned at night
or early morning. While cleaning all public areas,
appropriate signs should be displayed indicating that
cleaning is in progress. In dining rooms, housekeeping
assists in cleaning on a weekly or periodic basis for
removal of stains from carpets and walls, polishing of
furniture, and pest control.

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© Oxford University Press, 2015
Leisure areas include swimming pools and spa,
health clubs, saunas and solariums, and the
related changing areas. Health club cleaning
entails cleaning of health equipments, floors, and
mirror panels on walls. Maintenance and
cleaning of swimming pools primarily entails
maintenance of water clarity and water chemistry
control.

Hotel Housekeeping All rights reserved

© Oxford University Press, 2015