Housekeeping

Importance of Housekeeping Department

Cleanliness of hotel

Roles of Housekeeping Dept.: Guestrooms

Public spaceslobby areas / public restrooms / front desk areas / management offices / game rooms / exercise areas / pool & spa areas / employee break rooms & locker rooms / selected meeting & food service areas

Guestroom areas

Properly cleaned by Housekeeping

Verified as clean by second member of Housekeeping

Room’s status has been reported to Front Desk

Roles of Housekeeping Dept.: Guestrooms

Elevators/ corridors/ stairwells/ guestrooms

Room will be assigned, when:

Communication role to Front Desk staff (room status info) & Engineering / Maintenance Department ( room maintenance issues)

Roles of Housekeeping Dept.: Guestrooms(continued…)

Clean & Vacant Room vacant, has been cleaned and can be assigned to guest

Occupied Room registered to a current guest

On-Change Room vacant but not yet cleaned

Do not disturbRoom is occupied but not yet cleaned, due to guest request not to be disturbed

Sleep-outRoom reported as occupied, but room was not used, and guest may have left

Stay-over Guest will stay in room at least one more night

Room status terminology

Roles of Housekeeping Dept.: Guestrooms(continued…)

Due-out Guest has indicated that is last day he/she will use room

Check-out Guest has departed

Out-of-order Room is not rentable, thus not assignable

Lock-outGuest’s items still in room, but guest will be denied access until management approval of re-entry

Late check-outGuest has requested and has been allowed an extension of regular check out time

Room status terminology (continued…)

Laundry

areaslaundry preparation areas/ laundry supply closets/ guest linen, terry and supplies storage areas

Managing “On Premise Laundry (OPL)” and its effective operation

Housekeeping Dept. & Executive Housekeeper’s role

Laundry often represents one of the hotel’s largest expenses.

Roles of Housekeeping Dept: Laundry

Organization Chart for a Housekeeping Department, Large Hotel with In-house

LaundryExecutive

Housekeeper

Assistant Supervisor

Floor Supervisor

Room Attendant – AM Shift

Laundry Supervisor

Laundry Attendant – AM Shift

Room Attendant – PM Shift Laundry Attendant – PM Shift

Public Area Attendant

Assess quality of room cleanlinessPoint out deficiencies to room attendants, get those deficiencies corrected, & report revision of room status to Executive Housekeeper or Front Desk

have management skills (planning, organizing, directing and controlling departmental activities). have commitment to cleanliness and impeccable cleaning standard.create an appropriate inspection checklist and revise it as necessary.know about personal administration, budgeting, laundry sanitation, fabrics & uniforms, room cleaning chemicals and routines.be guest oriented.

Executive Housekeeper should:

Room Inspector’s major responsibilities:

Staffing the Department

Treat them at all times with respectEnsure they are supervised by excellent supervisorsHave room cleaning assignment policies perceived by them as fair Provide excellent, ongoing trainingProvide a realistic career ladder for room attendantsEnforce Housekeeping Department policies consistently and without favoritismEnsure room attendant safety through training and appropriate hotel policiesProvide benefit packages that are competitive for the areaPay fair wages

Approaches to build highly motivated, dedicated Room Attendants:

Staffing the Department (Continued…)

Housekeeping employees are one of the hotel’s largest groups

Physical nature of jobs

Managing Housekeeping: Safety

this group’s accident rates generally the highest in the hotel.

thus

Equipment & supplies

RuleHousekeeping employees should handle only those machinery items and supplies they are properly trained to handle.

Chemical handlingCleaning proceduresCorrect lifting techniquesProperly entering guestroomsContending with guestrooms containing:

firearms/ uncaged animals/ individuals perceived as threatening/ ill or unconscious guests/ drugs and drug paraphernalia / blood and potential bloodborne pathogens

Guest serviceGuestroom securityLost & Found procedures

Areas of training concern

Managing Housekeeping: Safety

Hotel must safeguard mislaid property until rightful owner returns Hotel must hold lost property until rightful owner claims it Hotel not required to find abandoned property’s owner Property left behind in room or found in lobby to be treated as mislaid or lost Establish how long any mislaid/lost property to be held before disposing it

Three types of unclaimed property

Managing Housekeeping: Lost & Found

Law and/or policy requirements:

Mislaid property Owner unintentionally has left item(s) behind

Lost propertyOwner unintentionally has left item(s) behind, then forgotten it/them

Abandoned property Owner intentionally has left item(s) behind

Date item is returnedOwner’s name/ address/ phoneHousekeeping Manager returning itemMethod of returnDate property is declared as abandonedName of hotel employee receiving abandoned property

Date item is foundDescription of itemLocation where item is found (room #, if applicable)Name of finderSupervisor who receives item

Managing Housekeeping: Lost & Found(continued…)

When item is found

Written report

When returned to rightful owner, or disposed of

Effective guestroom cleaning is heart of HousekeepingDepartment

Determines long-term success or failure of propertySleeping area: the first part seen by guest when entering roomBathroom area: closely inspected by guests for cleanliness

Forms basis for a guest’s initial impression of property

Public space cleaning

Guestroom cleaning

Facility Care & Cleansing

G.M.s should know what to look for when inspecting the hotel

G.M.s must inspect public space, guestroom and laundry

operation areas regularly

G.M.s should not evaluate effectiveness of their

housekeeping departments based only on lower costs per

occupied room or fewer minutes per room cleaning

(these factors are not always better!)

G.M.s’ roles in facility care and cleaning

Facility Care & Cleansing (continued…)

Collecting

Operating an effective “on-premises laundry” is a multi-step process

Laundry

Delivering

Sorting

Watching

Drying

Finishing / Folding

Collecting

Laundry: Operating an Effective OPL (continued…)

Dirty linen and terry should never be used as guestroom cleaning rags.Bloodstained linen or terry must be placed separately in a biohazard waste bag (pre-sort in guestroom).Biohazard waste bag should be on every housekeeping cart.

Sorting Once in OPL, laundry is sorted both in terms of fabric type & degree of staining.

Washing

This step is the most complex part.Monitor a: washing times, b: wash temperatures, c: chemicals, d: agitation length and strength

Drying

Laundry: Operating an Effective OPL (continued…)

Drying is simply a process of moving hot air (140-145 degrees F.) through fabrics to vaporize & remove moisture.Fabrics that are dried must have cool-down period in the dryer before they are removed from it

Finishing/Folding

Space for finishing laundry must be adequate

Storing

Many fabrics must “rest” after washing & drying 24-hr rest time for cleaned laundryHousekeeping Dept. should maintain laundry par levels of three times normal usage

Delivering Storage areas containing these items should be locked