The Rooms Division

• Departments under the Rooms Division: 1. Front Office 2. Reservations 3. Housekeeping 4. Concierge 5. Guest Services 6. Security 7. Communications
• The Rooms Division Director is held responsible by the General Manager for the efficient and effective leadership and operation of all rooms division departments.
• Housekeeping - It is the largest department in terms of people. - Headed by the Executive Housekeeper - Provides cleanliness and service the guest rooms and public areas - Operates the department according to financial guidelines - Manage the inventory control – control costs for supplies and equipment - It is a cost center of the hotel.
• The four major areas of responsibilities for the executive housekeeper are as follows: 1. Leadership of people, equipment, and supplies 2. Cleanliness and servicing the guest rooms and public areas 3. Operating the department according to financial guidelines prescribed by the general manager 4. Keeping records
• When a housekeeping department is effective: 1. Guest satisfaction is high 2. Employee morale is good 3. The hotel is profitable When a housekeeping department is not effective: 1. Their work quality is below industry standards 2. Guest complaints soar 3. Staff in other departments question the commitment of management 4. Profits suffer
• Room Status: The up-to-date (actual) condition of each of the hotel’s guest rooms (for example; occupied, vacant, or dirty.)
• Clean and Vacant: The room is vacant, has been cleaned, and can be assigned to a guest. In some hotels, the designation used is “Clean and Ready”
• Occupied: The room is registered to a current guest
• On-Change: The room is vacant but not yet cleaned. In some hotels, the designation used is “Vacant and Dirty”
• Do Not Disturb (DND): The room is occupied but has not been cleaned due to the guest’s request not to be disturbed
• Sleep-out (sleeper): The room is reported as occupied but was not used (bed not used; no personal belongings in the room), and the guest is not present
• Stay-over: The guest will be staying in the room for at least one more night
• Due-out: The guest(s) have indicated this is the last day they will use the room
• Check-out: The guest(s) have departed
• On-premise Laundry (OPL): The area within the hotel where the cleaning of fabrics takes place.
• Mislaid property: Items the owner has unintentionally left behind. Common examples include laptop computers, jewelry, and clothing
• Lost property: Items the owner has unintentionally left behind and then forgotten. Common examples include robes, slippers, hairdryers, and cosmetics.
• Abandoned property: Items the owner has intentionally left behind. Common examples include newspapers, magazines, foods, and beverages.
• Blood-borne pathogen: Any microorganism or virus that is carried by blood and that can cause a disease
• CPOR: Total costs incurred for an item or area, divided by the number of rooms occupied in the hotel for the time period examined
• Turndown Service • Hotels that have been rated four stars or above are required to offer their guests turndown service • This is a process by which the guest room is made warm and inviting for the evening, which is normally conducted between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. • A turndown agent should be able to complete 40 turndowns in those three hours • The turndown service can entail many things and be a very detailed process at the finest hotels
• Biohazard Waste Bag: A specially marked plastic bag used in hotels. Laundry items that are stained with blood or bodily fluids and thus need special handling are put into these bags for transport to the OPL
• Laundry Operations: Washing Ozone system (laundry): A method of processing laundry that utilizes ozonized cold water rather than hot water to clean and sanitize laundry items
• Terry: Generic term for the bath towels, bath mats, hand towels, and washcloths washed and dried in the laundry area.
• Linen: Generic term for the guest room sheets and pillowcases (and food and beverage department tablecloths and napkins) washed and dried in the laundry area.
• 5S is simply a tool that represents the basic principles of housekeeping and workplace organization. It is more than cleaning and painting. It is a disciplined approach to keeping the workplace efficient and effective.
• Benefits of 5S Achieve work standardization

  Improve efficiency, quality, and productivity

  Increase profitability

  Simplify work environment

  Improve safety and enhance morale and pride of employees

  Benefits of 5S

  
  

  Sales

  Savings

  Standardization

  Satisfaction

  Safety
• Security/Loss Prevention - Is responsible for maintaining security alarm systems and implementing procedures aimed at protecting the personal property of guests and employees and the hotel itself.
• The Main Security Functions of the Front Office is protecting the Guests and Property. 1) People: guests health, comfort, or wellbeing. Employees & others. 2) Property - Hotel Equipment, machinery, Hotel Room, Supplies, fixtures & fittings, software, revenue, reputation, etc.
• The Executive Housekeeper is the head of the hotel’s housekeeping department. In some small hotels, villas, or resorts, the position of the executive Housekeeper is impossible to see. Because the hotel is small, the amount of work done differs from that of a large hotel, so instead of Executive Housekeeper, a title like Housekeeping Supervisor is used. But the position of an executive housekeeper can be seen in star-class or luxury hotels. Nevertheless, the executive Housekeeper has a valuable amount of work to do. Therefore, it is appropriate to ask about it.
• The main officer after the executive housekeeper in the housekeeping department is the Assistant Housekeeper. In the absence of the executive housekeeper, the assistant housekeeper acts as the acting head of the housekeeping department.
• In the Housekeeping department, more responsibility is assigned to the Floor Supervisor regarding the room floors and the condition of the rooms. Floor Supervisor should report to Executive Housekeeper and Assistant Housekeeper.
• A room attendant is a person in the housekeeping department of a hotel who is more concerned about cleaning the rooms and their condition
• The public area supervisor is more responsible for the cleanliness and condition of the hotel’s public area. The public area supervisor reports to Executive Housekeeper and Assistant Housekeeper.
• A public area attendant is responsible for cleaning a hotel’s public areas and the cleanliness and safety of those areas.
• The housekeeping desk attendant provides excellent service to the housekeeping department and the hotel. Some small hotels do not have a desk attendant, and those duties are performed by a housekeeping supervisor or a person who is more suitable for those duties.
• The linen room supervisor is responsible for the condition and cleanliness of the linen in the hotel. There is no linen room supervisor in small hotels, and a person suitable for the linen room works there. Other hotels do not have a linen room or laundry, and there are cases where the clothes to be washed are used. Therefore, this rank varies from hotel to hotel.
• The seamstress is responsible for sewing and knitting in the hotel. Report to the seamstress linen room supervisor, laundry supervisor, laundry manager, and executive housekeeper. Some hotels do not have this position and are outsourced when things like tailoring are required.
• The florist is responsible for designing and arranging flowers in a hotel. They provide their latest flower arrangement ideas and designs to other hotel departments, such as restaurants, housekeeping, the front office, spas, etc., based on their needs.
• Laundry Manager - assumes primary responsibility for the operation of the hotel’s in-house commercial laundry.