Housekeeping MBA

Housekeeping is an important and integral part of the guest

experience and satisfaction.

What guests really want is to feel at home, to feel

comfortable.

Although the staff providing this service do not

necessarily interact directly with the public, the quality of their work is critical in shaping guests’ pleasant memories of their stay.

Good housekeeping is the foundation of good infection

prevention.

 The general cleanliness and hygiene of a facility are vital

to the health and safety of guests, staff, and visitors.

Pleasant work environment contributes to staff members' satisfaction, making them to be more productive.

A more pleasant environment improves guest satisfaction and can increase guest’s use of services and frequent visits.

1.2 HOUSEKEEPING

In general, the housekeeping crew is responsible for the daily

cleaning of public rooms (lobbies, corridors, meeting rooms), private bedrooms and public washrooms.

In addition, it handles the laundering of linens and in some instances, guest laundry.

Housekeeping also performs a minor security function by providing a “first alert” to potential guest problems while staff undertake daily guest bedroom cleaning.

1.3 IMPORTANCE OF HOUSEKEEPING

1. Comfort: Achieve the maximum efficiency possible in the care

and comfort of the guests and in providing support services for

the smooth running of the hotel. Every hotel spends a lot of

effort in ensuring the quality of beds, mattresses, channel

music, TV, air conditioner if applicable, attached bar etc. The

comforts must be regularly maintained and should be properly

functioning. It is the duty of the housekeeping department to

ensure comfort and a welcoming atmosphere to the guests as

well as strive to extend courteous, reliable and satisfactory

service from staffs of all departments.

2. Cleanliness and Hygiene: Ensure a high standard of

cleanliness and general upkeep in all areas. Clean and well

maintained areas and equipments create a favorable

impression on the guest. Hygiene is maintained especially in

the wash rooms, toilets, pool changing room, health club, etc.

3. Privacy: The prime concern of any guest, irrespective of

whether rich or poor, common man or celebrity, is privacy.

Room windows are provided with curtains. Windows could

normally overlook good scenic view, away from the prying eyes

of others in the hotel or outside public. Housekeeping staffs

ensure the privacy of the guests and they should be trained

with proper procedures to enter the room.

4. Safety and Security: Security is one of the prime concerns of

a hotel guest. The housekeeping department staffs should

ensure the safety and security of the guests with the help of

security services. They should also make sure that fire fighting

equipments and emergency alarms are functional at all times.

They should also ensure peace, quiet and noise f r e e

atmosphere in the area.

5. Décor: Creating a pleasant and classy ambience is also one of

the major concerns for a guest. This is not easy and requires a

good eye for detail. This work is an art and the housekeeping

staff is mainly responsible for creating a pleasant atmosphere.

1.4 FUNCTIONS OF HOUSEKEEPING

Housekeeping department holds the responsibility of

cleaning, maintenance and admirable upkeep of the hotel.

 The main functions of housekeeping are overall cleanliness, bed making, ensuring maintenance of the building and its infrastructure, laundry, linen management, key control, pest control, safety and security of the guests as well as the infrastructure and interior decoration.

The basic function of the housekeeping is explained briefly:

1. Cleaning Rooms And Public Areas

Housekeeping department cleans the rooms and toilets and wash basins in the room.

Apart from cleaning the guest rooms, housekeeping department is also responsible for cleaning floor, terraces, elevators, elevator lobbies,corridors of guest floors, floor linen closets, mop and janitor’s closets, service lobbies and service stairways, function rooms, shopping arcade,cabanas, bars, dining rooms, offices, uniform rooms, tailor rooms, upholstery, shops, store rooms and swimming pools.

 To be concise, the housekeeping department is responsible for the total cleanliness of a hotel.

2. Bed Making A guest requires a comfortable bed to take rest,

relax and enjoy. A bed that is well- made will

provide the required comfort. Bed making is a

skill that requires to be developed by the

housekeeper, as it not only provides comfort to

the guest, but also adds to the pleasant

ambience of a guest’s room. Guests should not

be able to tell if anyone has slept in the room, so

a clean environment and perfect bedmaking is

major consideration of this department.

3. Linen

Management

One of the important jobs of the Housekeeping

Department is clothes and linen management.

This involves all functions from purchase of

linen to laundering, storage, supplies and to

condemnation. In a hotel different types of

clothes and linen are used such as the bed

sheets, pillow covers, napkins, towels, hand

towels, table covers, curtains, cushion covers

etc. All of these require regular maintenance.

4. Laundry

Services

It is the job of the Housekeeping Department to

ensure clean and hygienic washing of all the

linen items, and then distributing them to

different areas of the hotel. The relationship

between the housekeeping and laundry is

significant for the smooth functioning of

housekeeping services. One of the supporting

roles of the laundry is to provide valet services

to house guests.

5. Pest Control Pest Control is another major job of the

Housekeeping Department. No matter how

clean one keeps the surroundings, one cannot

avoid the “uninvited guests” – the pests. It is not

only embarrassing but also speaks badly of a

hotel where one sees rats, cockroaches, and

lizards running around. Therefore, pest control

is one of the primary responsibility of the

housekeeping department.

6. Key Control Key control is one of the major jobs of the

housekeeping department. The room keys has

to be handled efficiently and safely before and

after letting the room.

7. Safety and

Security

The Housekeeping Department is responsible

for maintaining a peaceful atmosphere in the

hotel. If the guests and staff always fear for their

safety and the safety of their belongings, the

atmosphere will be very tense. Hence the

housekeeping department staff should be aware

of ways to protect himself and others, especially

the guests around him and the property of the

hotel from accidents and theft. Several

accidents could occur at the place of work.

These include fire accidents, falls, wounds,

injuries, negligence in handling electrical

equipment e t c . It is important for all

housekeeping personnel to know about first aid

as they could be the first ones on the spot to

give immediate attention to a guest and also an

employee in trouble.

8. Interior

Decoration

Interior decoration is the art of creating a

pleasant atmosphere in the living room with the

addition of a complex of furnishings, art, and

crafts, appropriately combined to achieve a

planned result or design. These arts and crafts

have to be well maintained by the housekeeping

department. Decorating flowers is a creative and

stimulating art which often carries a message or

theme. Flowers and indoor plants add colour

and beauty to a room.

9. Room

Maintenance

Good housekeeping department is just as

responsible for the hotel's maintenance as an

engineering department. In an ideal

environment, t h e housekeeping staff and

managers should act as the eyes and ears of

the engineering department. If damaged or

broken items are not reported, they can't be

fixed. Proper maintenance will make the

perception of cleanliness easier to maintain and

reduce guest complaints.

1.5 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOUSEKEEPING AND OTHER

DEPARTMENTS

The Housekeeping Department should co-ordinate and

ensure maximum co-operation with other departments to provide

high quality service. To be successful, a well planned work schedule

should be prepared so as to ensure minimum disruption to the

guests and work flow of other departments. The senior housekeeper is responsible for ensuring this by supervising a group of staff or working closely with staff from other departments.

Housekeeping is an important and integral part of the guest

experience and satisfaction.

What guests really want is to feel at home, to feel

comfortable. 

Although the staff providing this service do not

necessarily interact directly with the public, the quality of their work is critical in shaping guests’ pleasant memories of their stay.

Good housekeeping is the foundation of good infection

prevention.

 The general cleanliness and hygiene of a facility are vital

to the health and safety of guests, staff, and visitors. 

Pleasant work environment contributes to staff members' satisfaction, making them to be more productive. 

A more pleasant environment improves guest satisfaction and can increase guest’s use of services and frequent visits.

1.2 HOUSEKEEPING

In general, the housekeeping crew is responsible for the daily

cleaning of public rooms (lobbies, corridors, meeting rooms), private bedrooms and public washrooms. 

In addition, it handles the laundering of linens and in some instances, guest laundry.

Housekeeping also performs a minor security function by providing a “first alert” to potential guest problems while staff undertake daily guest bedroom cleaning.

1.3 IMPORTANCE OF HOUSEKEEPING

1. Comfort: Achieve the maximum efficiency possible in the care

and comfort of the guests and in providing support services for

the smooth running of the hotel. Every hotel spends a lot of

effort in ensuring the quality of beds, mattresses, channel

music, TV, air conditioner if applicable, attached bar etc. The

comforts must be regularly maintained and should be properly

functioning. It is the duty of the housekeeping department to

ensure comfort and a welcoming atmosphere to the guests as

well as strive to extend courteous, reliable and satisfactory

service from staffs of all departments.

2. Cleanliness and Hygiene: Ensure a high standard of

cleanliness and general upkeep in all areas. Clean and well

maintained areas and equipments create a favorable

impression on the guest. Hygiene is maintained especially in

the wash rooms, toilets, pool changing room, health club, etc.

3. Privacy: The prime concern of any guest, irrespective of

whether rich or poor, common man or celebrity, is privacy.

Room windows are provided with curtains. Windows could

normally overlook good scenic view, away from the prying eyes

of others in the hotel or outside public. Housekeeping staffs

ensure the privacy of the guests and they should be trained

with proper procedures to enter the room.

4. Safety and Security: Security is one of the prime concerns of

a hotel guest. The housekeeping department staffs should

ensure the safety and security of the guests with the help of

security services. They should also make sure that fire fighting

equipments and emergency alarms are functional at all times.

They should also ensure peace, quiet and noise f r e e

atmosphere in the area.

5. Décor: Creating a pleasant and classy ambience is also one of

the major concerns for a guest. This is not easy and requires a

good eye for detail. This work is an art and the housekeeping

staff is mainly responsible for creating a pleasant atmosphere.

1.4 FUNCTIONS OF HOUSEKEEPING

Housekeeping department holds the responsibility of

cleaning, maintenance and admirable upkeep of the hotel.

 The main functions of housekeeping are overall cleanliness, bed making, ensuring maintenance of the building and its infrastructure, laundry, linen management, key control, pest control, safety and security of the guests as well as the infrastructure and interior decoration. 

The basic function of the housekeeping is explained briefly:

1. Cleaning Rooms And Public Areas

Housekeeping department cleans the rooms and toilets and wash basins in the room. 

Apart from cleaning the guest rooms, housekeeping department is also responsible for cleaning floor, terraces, elevators, elevator lobbies,corridors of guest floors, floor linen closets, mop and janitor’s closets, service lobbies and service stairways, function rooms, shopping arcade,cabanas, bars, dining rooms, offices, uniform rooms, tailor rooms, upholstery, shops, store rooms and swimming pools.

 To be concise, the housekeeping department is responsible for the total cleanliness of a hotel.

2. Bed Making A guest requires a comfortable bed to take rest,

relax and enjoy. A bed that is well- made will

provide the required comfort. Bed making is a

skill that requires to be developed by the

housekeeper, as it not only provides comfort to

the guest, but also adds to the pleasant

ambience of a guest’s room. Guests should not

be able to tell if anyone has slept in the room, so

a clean environment and perfect bedmaking is

major consideration of this department.

3. Linen

Management

One of the important jobs of the Housekeeping

Department is clothes and linen management.

This involves all functions from purchase of

linen to laundering, storage, supplies and to

condemnation. In a hotel different types of

clothes and linen are used such as the bed

sheets, pillow covers, napkins, towels, hand

towels, table covers, curtains, cushion covers

etc. All of these require regular maintenance.

4. Laundry

Services

It is the job of the Housekeeping Department to

ensure clean and hygienic washing of all the

linen items, and then distributing them to

different areas of the hotel. The relationship

between the housekeeping and laundry is

significant for the smooth functioning of

housekeeping services. One of the supporting

roles of the laundry is to provide valet services

to house guests.

5. Pest Control Pest Control is another major job of the

Housekeeping Department. No matter how

clean one keeps the surroundings, one cannot

avoid the “uninvited guests” – the pests. It is not

only embarrassing but also speaks badly of a

hotel where one sees rats, cockroaches, and

lizards running around. Therefore, pest control

is one of the primary responsibility of the

housekeeping department.

6. Key Control Key control is one of the major jobs of the

housekeeping department. The room keys has

to be handled efficiently and safely before and

after letting the room.

7. Safety and

Security

The Housekeeping Department is responsible

for maintaining a peaceful atmosphere in the

hotel. If the guests and staff always fear for their

safety and the safety of their belongings, the

atmosphere will be very tense. Hence the

housekeeping department staff should be aware

of ways to protect himself and others, especially

the guests around him and the property of the

hotel from accidents and theft. Several

accidents could occur at the place of work.

These include fire accidents, falls, wounds,

injuries, negligence in handling electrical

equipment e t c . It is important for all

housekeeping personnel to know about first aid

as they could be the first ones on the spot to

give immediate attention to a guest and also an

employee in trouble.

8. Interior

Decoration

Interior decoration is the art of creating a

pleasant atmosphere in the living room with the

addition of a complex of furnishings, art, and

crafts, appropriately combined to achieve a

planned result or design. These arts and crafts

have to be well maintained by the housekeeping

department. Decorating flowers is a creative and

stimulating art which often carries a message or

theme. Flowers and indoor plants add colour

and beauty to a room.

9. Room

Maintenance

Good housekeeping department is just as

responsible for the hotel's maintenance as an

engineering department. In an ideal

environment, t h e housekeeping staff and

managers should act as the eyes and ears of

the engineering department. If damaged or

broken items are not reported, they can't be

fixed. Proper maintenance will make the

perception of cleanliness easier to maintain and

reduce guest complaints.

1.5 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOUSEKEEPING AND OTHER

DEPARTMENTS

The Housekeeping Department should co-ordinate and

ensure maximum co-operation with other departments to provide

high quality service. To be successful, a well planned work schedule

should be prepared so as to ensure minimum disruption to the

guests and work flow of other departments. The senior housekeeper is responsible for ensuring this by supervising a group of staff or working closely with staff from other departments.

Figure 1.1 Liaisoning of Housekeeping with Other Departments

1. Front Office Co-ordination with the Front Office is one of the

crucial features of housekeeping operations.

 As soon as there are guest departures, t h e Front

Office rings the Housekeeping Desk and reports

the room numbers of vacated rooms so that

Housekeeping can take them over to clean and

prepare for sale. 

Once a room is clean, the Housekeeping Floor Supervisor rings the Front Office directly or through the Housekeeping Desk

and hands over the room to front office for sale.

Rooms received by Housekeeping for cleaning

are called “departure rooms” while cleaned

rooms handed over to the Front Office for sale

are called “Clear rooms”. The promptness with

which the above duty is performed enables the

Front Office to have rooms ready to sell to a

waiting customer. This is especially critical in

hotels with high occupancies.

2. Personnel Housekeeping co-ordinates with the Personnel

Department for the recruitment of housekeeping

staff, salary administration, indiscipline,

grievance procedures, identity cards for staff,

induction, transfers, promotions and exit

formalities.

3. Purchase The Purchase Department procures out-of-stock

items for Housekeeping such as guest supplies

kept in rooms, stationery, linen of various types,

detergents, etc.

4. Engineering The Housekeeping Department and the

Engineering Department literally control about

90% of the energy consumed in a hotel. The two

departments can create a synergetic effect to

increase operational efficiency and better control

of energy consumption. A close co-ordination is

necessary with Engineering which actually

carries out the task of fixing out-of-order furniture

and fixtures. As Housekeeping personnel are

constantly spread throughout the hotel, checking

on various things, they originate maintenance

orders for the Engineering Department to attend

to. The maintenance orders could cover a

number of duties such as fused bulbs, broken

furniture, plumbing not functioning in guest

rooms or public bathrooms, air-conditioning not

working, broken fixtures, etc. To be able to ‘clear’

a room for sale to the Front Office, it is necessary

that all malfunctioning items in a guest room are

attended to promptly by Engineering. Hence

close co-ordination / co-operation is necessary.

Housekeeping would also hand over rooms to

Engineering for major repairs or renovation. The

latest trend among both large and small hotels is

to have one manager in charge of both

engineering and housekeeping.

5. Laundry This is a department that can enhance the quality

of housekeeping services. The responsibility of

laundry to housekeeping is two-fold:

•To wash and dry clean linen and staff

uniforms to a very high standard of

cleanliness.

•To supply clean uniforms and linen to

Housekeeping on time.

Housekeeping has to ensure that clean linen is

issued to guest rooms, restaurants, health clubs,

etc. as this directly reflects the quality and image

of the establishment. If these are not received on

time from the laundry, rooms would not be ready

or restaurants would not open, etc. The co-ordination becomes crucial in view of the large

volume of linen and uniforms that is involved.

6. Food and

Beverage

The restaurants and banquets constantly require

clean table clothes, napkins, etc. Their staff, as

well as those in the kitchen, require clean

uniforms- the former because they are in guest

contact and the latter due to strict standards of

hygiene required in the kitchens by most

governments.

7. Security The guest room is the most private place and a

hotel goes to great lengths to ensure guest

privacy and security. However, a guest can take

advantage of this privacy by gambling,

smuggling, etc. Housekeeping has to be alert to

these goings-on, and seek the security

department’s intervention, if necessary.

8. Stores Larger hotels have a House-keeping Store that

stocks housekeeping linen and supplies

independently. Smaller hotels may stock them in

the general store except for linen which should

be issued to the housekeeping department. The

co-ordination with the stores would ensure the

availability of day-to-day requirements for

housekeeping.

1.7 GUEST ROOM SUPPLIES

Hotels provide guest with various amenities during their stay.

The items supplied vary from hotel to hotel. It solely depends on the

category of the hotel. The following are supplied to the guest for their

pleasant stay:

Bath towel Face towel Hand towel

Slippers Soaps/ Soap dish Shampoos

Bath Gels Bath Lotions Shower Caps

Dental Kits Shaving Kits Sewing Kits

Shoe Shines Shoe Mitts Combs

Cotton Balls Sanitary Bags Cotton buds

Loofah Bathrobes Nail files

Clothes Brushes Carry Bags Shoe Horns

Racks Garbage Barrels Tissue Boxes

Shoe baskets Rattan Baskets Pallets

Hangers Swizzle Sticks Umbrellas

Gargle Tumblers Toilet Rolls Fruit Sticks

Water tumblers Service directory Guest stationery

‘Do Not Disturb’ cards Bible / Gita Ash tray

Breakfast knob cards Room service menu Match Box/ Lighter

Polish my shoe card Room beverage menu Guest house rules

Figure 1.1 Liaisoning of Housekeeping with Other Departments

1. Front Office Co-ordination with the Front Office is one of the

crucial features of housekeeping operations.

 As soon as there are guest departures, t h e Front

Office rings the Housekeeping Desk and reports

the room numbers of vacated rooms so that

Housekeeping can take them over to clean and

prepare for sale.

Once a room is clean, the Housekeeping Floor Supervisor rings the Front Office directly or through the Housekeeping Desk

and hands over the room to front office for sale.

Rooms received by Housekeeping for cleaning

are called “departure rooms” while cleaned

rooms handed over to the Front Office for sale

are called “Clear rooms”. The promptness with

which the above duty is performed enables the

Front Office to have rooms ready to sell to a

waiting customer. This is especially critical in

hotels with high occupancies.

2. Personnel Housekeeping co-ordinates with the Personnel

Department for the recruitment of housekeeping

staff, salary administration, indiscipline,

grievance procedures, identity cards for staff,

induction, transfers, promotions and exit

formalities.

3. Purchase The Purchase Department procures out-of-stock

items for Housekeeping such as guest supplies

kept in rooms, stationery, linen of various types,

detergents, etc.

4. Engineering The Housekeeping Department and the

Engineering Department literally control about

90% of the energy consumed in a hotel. The two

departments can create a synergetic effect to

increase operational efficiency and better control

of energy consumption. A close co-ordination is

necessary with Engineering which actually

carries out the task of fixing out-of-order furniture

and fixtures. As Housekeeping personnel are

constantly spread throughout the hotel, checking

on various things, they originate maintenance

orders for the Engineering Department to attend

to. The maintenance orders could cover a

number of duties such as fused bulbs, broken

furniture, plumbing not functioning in guest

rooms or public bathrooms, air-conditioning not

working, broken fixtures, etc. To be able to ‘clear’

a room for sale to the Front Office, it is necessary

that all malfunctioning items in a guest room are

attended to promptly by Engineering. Hence

close co-ordination / co-operation is necessary.

Housekeeping would also hand over rooms to

Engineering for major repairs or renovation. The

latest trend among both large and small hotels is

to have one manager in charge of both

engineering and housekeeping.

5. Laundry This is a department that can enhance the quality

of housekeeping services. The responsibility of

laundry to housekeeping is two-fold:

· To wash and dry clean linen and staff

uniforms to a very high standard of

cleanliness.

· To supply clean uniforms and linen to

Housekeeping on time.

Housekeeping has to ensure that clean linen is

issued to guest rooms, restaurants, health clubs,

etc. as this directly reflects the quality and image

of the establishment. If these are not received on

time from the laundry, rooms would not be ready

or restaurants would not open, etc. The co-ordination becomes crucial in view of the large

volume of linen and uniforms that is involved.

6. Food and

Beverage

The restaurants and banquets constantly require

clean table clothes, napkins, etc. Their staff, as

well as those in the kitchen, require clean

uniforms- the former because they are in guest

contact and the latter due to strict standards of

hygiene required in the kitchens by most

governments.

7. Security The guest room is the most private place and a

hotel goes to great lengths to ensure guest

privacy and security. However, a guest can take

advantage of this privacy by gambling,

smuggling, etc. Housekeeping has to be alert to

these goings-on, and seek the security

department’s intervention, if necessary.

8. Stores Larger hotels have a House-keeping Store that

stocks housekeeping linen and supplies

independently. Smaller hotels may stock them in

the general store except for linen which should

be issued to the housekeeping department. The

co-ordination with the stores would ensure the

availability of day-to-day requirements for

housekeeping.

1.7 GUEST ROOM SUPPLIES

Hotels provide guest with various amenities during their stay.

The items supplied vary from hotel to hotel. It solely depends on the

category of the hotel. The following are supplied to the guest for their

pleasant stay:

Bath towel Face towel Hand towel

Slippers Soaps/ Soap dish Shampoos

Bath Gels Bath Lotions Shower Caps

Dental Kits Shaving Kits Sewing Kits

Shoe Shines Shoe Mitts Combs

Cotton Balls Sanitary Bags Cotton buds

Loofah Bathrobes Nail files

Clothes Brushes Carry Bags Shoe Horns

Racks Garbage Barrels Tissue Boxes

Shoe baskets Rattan Baskets Pallets

Hangers Swizzle Sticks Umbrellas

Gargle Tumblers Toilet Rolls Fruit Sticks

Water tumblers Service directory Guest stationery

‘Do Not Disturb’ cards Bible / Gita Ash tray

Breakfast knob cards Room service menu Match Box/ Lighter

Polish my shoe card Room beverage menu Guest house rules

 Housekeeping is an important and integral part of the guest

experience and satisfaction.

What guests really want is to feel at home, to feel

comfortable.

Although the staff providing this service do not

necessarily interact directly with the public, the quality of their work is critical in shaping guests’ pleasant memories of their stay.

Good housekeeping is the foundation of good infection

prevention.

 The general cleanliness and hygiene of a facility are vital

to the health and safety of guests, staff, and visitors.

Pleasant work environment contributes to staff members' satisfaction, making them to be more productive.

A more pleasant environment improves guest satisfaction and can increase guest’s use of services and frequent visits.

1.2 HOUSEKEEPING

In general, the housekeeping crew is responsible for the daily

cleaning of public rooms (lobbies, corridors, meeting rooms), private bedrooms and public washrooms.

In addition, it handles the laundering of linens and in some instances, guest laundry.

Housekeeping also performs a minor security function by providing a “first alert” to potential guest problems while staff undertake daily guest bedroom cleaning.

1.3 IMPORTANCE OF HOUSEKEEPING

1. Comfort: Achieve the maximum efficiency possible in the care

and comfort of the guests and in providing support services for

the smooth running of the hotel. Every hotel spends a lot of

effort in ensuring the quality of beds, mattresses, channel

music, TV, air conditioner if applicable, attached bar etc. The

comforts must be regularly maintained and should be properly

functioning. It is the duty of the housekeeping department to

ensure comfort and a welcoming atmosphere to the guests as

well as strive to extend courteous, reliable and satisfactory

service from staffs of all departments.

2. Cleanliness and Hygiene: Ensure a high standard of

cleanliness and general upkeep in all areas. Clean and well

maintained areas and equipments create a favorable

impression on the guest. Hygiene is maintained especially in

the wash rooms, toilets, pool changing room, health club, etc.

3. Privacy: The prime concern of any guest, irrespective of

whether rich or poor, common man or celebrity, is privacy.

Room windows are provided with curtains. Windows could

normally overlook good scenic view, away from the prying eyes

of others in the hotel or outside public. Housekeeping staffs

ensure the privacy of the guests and they should be trained

with proper procedures to enter the room.

4. Safety and Security: Security is one of the prime concerns of

a hotel guest. The housekeeping department staffs should

ensure the safety and security of the guests with the help of

security services. They should also make sure that fire fighting

equipments and emergency alarms are functional at all times.

They should also ensure peace, quiet and noise f r e e

atmosphere in the area.

5. Décor: Creating a pleasant and classy ambience is also one of

the major concerns for a guest. This is not easy and requires a

good eye for detail. This work is an art and the housekeeping

staff is mainly responsible for creating a pleasant atmosphere.

1.4 FUNCTIONS OF HOUSEKEEPING

Housekeeping department holds the responsibility of

cleaning, maintenance and admirable upkeep of the hotel.

 The main functions of housekeeping are overall cleanliness, bed making, ensuring maintenance of the building and its infrastructure, laundry, linen management, key control, pest control, safety and security of the guests as well as the infrastructure and interior decoration.

The basic function of the housekeeping is explained briefly:

1. Cleaning Rooms And Public Areas

Housekeeping department cleans the rooms and toilets and wash basins in the room.

Apart from cleaning the guest rooms, housekeeping department is also responsible for cleaning floor, terraces, elevators, elevator lobbies,corridors of guest floors, floor linen closets, mop and janitor’s closets, service lobbies and service stairways, function rooms, shopping arcade,cabanas, bars, dining rooms, offices, uniform rooms, tailor rooms, upholstery, shops, store rooms and swimming pools.

 To be concise, the housekeeping department is responsible for the total cleanliness of a hotel.

2. Bed Making A guest requires a comfortable bed to take rest,

relax and enjoy. A bed that is well- made will

provide the required comfort. Bed making is a

skill that requires to be developed by the

housekeeper, as it not only provides comfort to

the guest, but also adds to the pleasant

ambience of a guest’s room. Guests should not

be able to tell if anyone has slept in the room, so

a clean environment and perfect bedmaking is

major consideration of this department.

3. Linen

Management

One of the important jobs of the Housekeeping

Department is clothes and linen management.

This involves all functions from purchase of

linen to laundering, storage, supplies and to

condemnation. In a hotel different types of

clothes and linen are used such as the bed

sheets, pillow covers, napkins, towels, hand

towels, table covers, curtains, cushion covers

etc. All of these require regular maintenance.

4. Laundry

Services

It is the job of the Housekeeping Department to

ensure clean and hygienic washing of all the

linen items, and then distributing them to

different areas of the hotel. The relationship

between the housekeeping and laundry is

significant for the smooth functioning of

housekeeping services. One of the supporting

roles of the laundry is to provide valet services

to house guests.

5. Pest Control Pest Control is another major job of the

Housekeeping Department. No matter how

clean one keeps the surroundings, one cannot

avoid the “uninvited guests” – the pests. It is not

only embarrassing but also speaks badly of a

hotel where one sees rats, cockroaches, and

lizards running around. Therefore, pest control

is one of the primary responsibility of the

housekeeping department.

6. Key Control Key control is one of the major jobs of the

housekeeping department. The room keys has

to be handled efficiently and safely before and

after letting the room.

7. Safety and

Security

The Housekeeping Department is responsible

for maintaining a peaceful atmosphere in the

hotel. If the guests and staff always fear for their

safety and the safety of their belongings, the

atmosphere will be very tense. Hence the

housekeeping department staff should be aware

of ways to protect himself and others, especially

the guests around him and the property of the

hotel from accidents and theft. Several

accidents could occur at the place of work.

These include fire accidents, falls, wounds,

injuries, negligence in handling electrical

equipment e t c . It is important for all

housekeeping personnel to know about first aid

as they could be the first ones on the spot to

give immediate attention to a guest and also an

employee in trouble.

8. Interior

Decoration

Interior decoration is the art of creating a

pleasant atmosphere in the living room with the

addition of a complex of furnishings, art, and

crafts, appropriately combined to achieve a

planned result or design. These arts and crafts

have to be well maintained by the housekeeping

department. Decorating flowers is a creative and

stimulating art which often carries a message or

theme. Flowers and indoor plants add colour

and beauty to a room.

9. Room

Maintenance

Good housekeeping department is just as

responsible for the hotel's maintenance as an

engineering department. In an ideal

environment, t h e housekeeping staff and

managers should act as the eyes and ears of

the engineering department. If damaged or

broken items are not reported, they can't be

fixed. Proper maintenance will make the

perception of cleanliness easier to maintain and

reduce guest complaints.

1.5 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN HOUSEKEEPING AND OTHER

DEPARTMENTS

The Housekeeping Department should co-ordinate and

ensure maximum co-operation with other departments to provide

high quality service. To be successful, a well planned work schedule

should be prepared so as to ensure minimum disruption to the

guests and work flow of other departments. The senior housekeeper is responsible for ensuring this by supervising a group of staff or working closely with staff from other departments.

Figure 1.1 Liaisoning of Housekeeping with Other Departments

1. Front Office Co-ordination with the Front Office is one of the

crucial features of housekeeping operations.

 As soon as there are guest departures, t h e Front

Office rings the Housekeeping Desk and reports

the room numbers of vacated rooms so that

Housekeeping can take them over to clean and

prepare for sale.

Once a room is clean, the Housekeeping Floor Supervisor rings the Front Office directly or through the Housekeeping Desk

and hands over the room to front office for sale.

Rooms received by Housekeeping for cleaning

are called “departure rooms” while cleaned

rooms handed over to the Front Office for sale

are called “Clear rooms”. The promptness with

which the above duty is performed enables the

Front Office to have rooms ready to sell to a

waiting customer. This is especially critical in

hotels with high occupancies.

2. Personnel Housekeeping co-ordinates with the Personnel

Department for the recruitment of housekeeping

staff, salary administration, indiscipline,

grievance procedures, identity cards for staff,

induction, transfers, promotions and exit

formalities.

3. Purchase The Purchase Department procures out-of-stock

items for Housekeeping such as guest supplies

kept in rooms, stationery, linen of various types,

detergents, etc.

4. Engineering The Housekeeping Department and the

Engineering Department literally control about

90% of the energy consumed in a hotel. The two

departments can create a synergetic effect to

increase operational efficiency and better control

of energy consumption. A close co-ordination is

necessary with Engineering which actually

carries out the task of fixing out-of-order furniture

and fixtures. As Housekeeping personnel are

constantly spread throughout the hotel, checking

on various things, they originate maintenance

orders for the Engineering Department to attend

to. The maintenance orders could cover a

number of duties such as fused bulbs, broken

furniture, plumbing not functioning in guest

rooms or public bathrooms, air-conditioning not

working, broken fixtures, etc. To be able to ‘clear’

a room for sale to the Front Office, it is necessary

that all malfunctioning items in a guest room are

attended to promptly by Engineering. Hence

close co-ordination / co-operation is necessary.

Housekeeping would also hand over rooms to

Engineering for major repairs or renovation. The

latest trend among both large and small hotels is

to have one manager in charge of both

engineering and housekeeping.

5. Laundry This is a department that can enhance the quality

of housekeeping services. The responsibility of

laundry to housekeeping is two-fold:

· To wash and dry clean linen and staff

uniforms to a very high standard of

cleanliness.

· To supply clean uniforms and linen to

Housekeeping on time.

Housekeeping has to ensure that clean linen is

issued to guest rooms, restaurants, health clubs,

etc. as this directly reflects the quality and image

of the establishment. If these are not received on

time from the laundry, rooms would not be ready

or restaurants would not open, etc. The co-ordination becomes crucial in view of the large

volume of linen and uniforms that is involved.

6. Food and

Beverage

The restaurants and banquets constantly require

clean table clothes, napkins, etc. Their staff, as

well as those in the kitchen, require clean

uniforms- the former because they are in guest

contact and the latter due to strict standards of

hygiene required in the kitchens by most

governments.

7. Security The guest room is the most private place and a

hotel goes to great lengths to ensure guest

privacy and security. However, a guest can take

advantage of this privacy by gambling,

smuggling, etc. Housekeeping has to be alert to

these goings-on, and seek the security

department’s intervention, if necessary.

8. Stores Larger hotels have a House-keeping Store that

stocks housekeeping linen and supplies

independently. Smaller hotels may stock them in

the general store except for linen which should

be issued to the housekeeping department. The

co-ordination with the stores would ensure the

availability of day-to-day requirements for

housekeeping.

1.7 GUEST ROOM SUPPLIES

Hotels provide guest with various amenities during their stay.

The items supplied vary from hotel to hotel. It solely depends on the

category of the hotel. The following are supplied to the guest for their

pleasant stay:

Bath towel Face towel Hand towel

Slippers Soaps/ Soap dish Shampoos

Bath Gels Bath Lotions Shower Caps

Dental Kits Shaving Kits Sewing Kits

Shoe Shines Shoe Mitts Combs

Cotton Balls Sanitary Bags Cotton buds

Loofah Bathrobes Nail files

Clothes Brushes Carry Bags Shoe Horns

Racks Garbage Barrels Tissue Boxes

Shoe baskets Rattan Baskets Pallets

Hangers Swizzle Sticks Umbrellas

Gargle Tumblers Toilet Rolls Fruit Sticks

Water tumblers Service directory Guest stationery

‘Do Not Disturb’ cards Bible / Gita Ash tray

Breakfast knob cards Room service menu Match Box/ Lighter

Polish my shoe card Room beverage menu Guest house rules