CHAPTER 4 HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT

• A hotel that fails to provide clean rooms to its customers would lead to less business received by the hotel
• Housekeeping department


  Maintains the cleanliness of guest rooms and public areas in such a way that reflects the hotel's commitment to standards of excellence
• In many hotels, the housekeeping department is the largest in the hotel
• Housekeeping operations


  • Responsible for cleaning and maintaining the guest rooms, public areas, office spaces, and back of the house areas in the hotel so that the property is as fresh and attractive as its first day of business
  • For both business and leisure travelers, having a clean room is the basic requirement for their staying in a hotel
• Key roles of the housekeeping department

  • Guest Areas
  • Public Areas
  • Staff Areas
  • Other Utilities
• Guest Areas


  • Guest rooms
  • Corridors
  • Service lift and floor storage areas
  • Guest self-serviced laundry
• Public Areas


  • Lobby and lifts
  • Public restrooms
  • Recreation facilities, e.g. tennis courts, swimming pools, gymnasiums, club centers
  • Business centers
  • Food and Beverage operations, e.g. restaurants and bars
  • Meeting rooms and banqueting halls
• Staff Areas


  • Offices of different departments
  • Staff canteen
  • Changing and locker rooms
• Other Utilities


  • Laundry services
  • Linen and uniform control
  • Gardening
  • Pest control
  • Flower shops
  • Concierge areas
• Organization of housekeeping department

  • Headed by an executive housekeeper, who is often assisted by an assistant and several supervisors
  • Streamlining organizational structures and employing casual employees may sacrifice set standards and require staff to assume larger responsibility
• Housekeeping department sections


  • Laundry department
  • Uniform and linen room
  • Housekeeping office
  • Guest floors
  • Public areas
  • Health club
  • Floral and plant arrangement
• Laundry department


  Provides laundry, dry cleaning, and pressing services to guests. Some hotels maintain their laundry, while others rely on commercial operators
• Hotel linen


  • Towels
  • Blankets
  • Sheets
  • Pillowcases
  • Mattress Protector
  • Tablecloths
  • Napkins
  • Cleaning Cloths
• Executive housekeeper


  • Interviews, selects, and engages staff
  • Training
  • Deployment
  • Prepares work schedules, work procedures, and job descriptions
  • Compiles duty rotas and holiday lists
  • Personnel records
  • Arranges supervision
  • Staff welfare
  • Orders and controls equipment, materials, and linen
  • Handles complaints
  • Key control
• Assistant executive housekeeper


  • Assists executive housekeeper in day-to-day operations
  • Assumes responsibilities of executive housekeeper in his/her absence
  • Revises daily work schedule depending on the occupancy rate
  • Inspects work to ensure the prescribed standard of cleanliness
  • Inspects rooms, lobbies, and restaurants for cleanliness
  • Determines need for renovations and makes recommendations
  • Coordinates with the front office to screen applicants, train new employees, and recommend disciplinary actions or dismissals
• Floor Supervisor


  • Checks staff on duty
  • Supervision of staff
  • Checks and completes the room inspection list
  • Conducts induction and general training
  • Orders and issues cleaning materials
  • Linen checks
  • Maintenance checks
• Assistant Housekeeper


  • Assists executive housekeeper in day-to-day operations
  • Dispatches room attendants and floor supervisors to assigned floors
  • Checks equipment and recommends new purchases
  • Inspects guest rooms, lobbies, and backstairs
  • Keeps records of extra work performed by the housekeeping department
  • Takes inventory
  • Prepares attendance records
• Room attendant


  • Cleans rooms, bathrooms, and suites
  • Handle dirty and clean linen
  • Provide turn-down service
  • Reports faults, maintenance, and peculiarities
• Public Area Supervisor


  • Inspects public to see whether cleaning is adequate
  • Creates maintenance reports for items in need of repair
  • Supervises cleaning of public areas, corridors, and offices
  • Train cleaners, advise executive housekeeper if performance is not satisfactory
  • Liaises with other departments regarding the cleaning schedule
• Cleaner


  • Maintains the cleanliness and order of the hotel premises
  • Keeps corridors dust free
  • Moves and arranges furniture
  • Carries out special work assigned by the public area supervisor
• Linen room attendant


  • Sorts and counts dirty linen and uniform
  • Checks and counts clean linen and uniform
  • Issues and receives linen and uniform
  • Assists in inventory taking of all linen/uniform
• Tailor


  • Alters and repairs linens, uniforms, curtains, and drapes
  • Distributes and measures uniforms for new employees and keeps a record
  • Keeps records of all discarded items
  • Prepares inventory
  • Repairs guest clothing
• No matter what the type of hotel or the category of traveler, hotels are in the service industry and their goal is to meet the guest's expectations
• To help achieve this goal, all hotel staff must work as a team to provide consistently high-quality service that promotes guest loyalty
• If housekeeping cannot provide clean rooms quickly enough to the front office for sale, especially in peak season, the result will be a loss of sales and guests
• Room cleaning


  Cleaning tasks of all guest rooms on hotel property. It is the responsibility of the room attendants to follow the proper procedures of room cleaning so suitable rooms can be provided to guests during their stay in the hotel
• Briefing cleaning times


  Most hotel room attendants work the a.m. shift as check-outs usually happen before noon. Before the commencement of their duties, attendants are required to attend a morning briefing conducted by the executive housekeeper or the supervisor
• Information provided during the morning briefing


  • How many rooms are required to be cleaned for the day?
  • Will any large groups or tours arrive early and request rooms?
  • Are there any special cleaning requests, such as the setting up of extra beds before guest arrivals?
• The time taken to clean a standard check-out room is around 30 minutes
• Less time is required for cleaning an occupied room, this should be considered by supervisors in room assignments to ensure workloads can be fairly assigned to all room attendants
• Prioritizing room cleaning order

  • 1st priority - Occupied rooms with 'first service' request
  • 2nd priority - Check-out rooms that have been blocked for arrivals
  • 3rd priority - Check-out rooms
  • 4th priority - Occupied rooms
• Room cleaning procedure


  1. Entering the guest room

  2. Having a first check and opening up the room

  3. Making the beds

  4. Cleaning up the trash and dusting the room

  5. Cleaning the bathroom

  6. Vacuuming

  7. Final checking and returning rooms to inventory
• Public area cleaning


  Cleaning of all front-of-house and back-of-house areas inside the hotel property. Floor plans are subdivided into sections that help assign job duties to cleaners or public area attendants
• Front-of-the-house areas cleaned by public attendants


  • Lobbies
  • Elevators and escalators
  • Restrooms
  • Parking areas
  • Restaurants
  • Banquet and meeting rooms
  • Gymnasiums and swimming pools
  • Business Centers
• Back-of-the-house areas cleaned by public attendants


  • Staff changing rooms
  • Service elevators
  • Canteen or Cafeteria
  • Kitchens
  • Departmental offices
  • Stairways
  • Store rooms
  • Laundry and uniform rooms
• Areas such as restaurants, kitchens, and banquet rooms are always cleaned by their waiters, waitresses, chefs, and banquet servers, respectively
• Departmental staff is responsible for maintaining a clean and safe environment for their guests and other staff members
• Housekeeping would usually take a supportive role in cleaning these areas
• Lobby cleaning


  1. Conducted on the overnight shift when traffic is low

  2. Public area attendants can only perform minor and routine cleaning during the day to avoid disturbances to hotel guests
• 'Front-of-the-house' Areas Cleaned By Public Attendants


  • Lobbies
  • Elevators and escalators
  • Restrooms
  • Parking areas
  • Restaurants
  • Banquet and meeting rooms
  • Gymnasiums and swimming pools
  • Business Centers