HOUSEKEEPING

is often one of the most neglected areas in the operation of hotels, resorts and
lodging establishments.
a word "housekeeping" refers to the upkeep and maintenance of cleanliness
and order in a house or a lodging establishment such as inn, hotel, apartel,
condominium, resort, dormitory or a hospital.
TYPES OF HOUSEKEEPING

Domestic Housekeeping - refers to housekeeping maintenance in a

house. (It covers bedrooms, kitchen, dining, receiving area, grounds and
the surrounding areas within the house)
Institutional Housekeeping - applies to housekeeping maintenance
commercial lodging establishments like hotels, resorts, inns and apartels.
(Guest rooms, Hallways and corridors > Lobby > Public areas and
restaurant > Offices > Stairways >Grounds and Plants > Linen and
laundry area > Pest control)

STANDARD OF GOOD HOUSEKEEPING

- Cleanliness (all areas are clean), Orderliness (all areas are in order) , Sanitation(all
areas are free in bacteria and viruses) , Guests and Clients' Comfort (always clean),
Eye Appeal (ambience is soothing), Safety (required safety signs), Materials Control
and Preventive Maintenance & Guest Relations(proper attention for them)
RESPONSIBILITIES OF HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT
-To sweep, to mop, to dust, to vacuum, to clean bathrooms, to clean windows, to clean
public areas, to exchange sheets.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF HOUSEKEEPING STAFF
Executive Housekeeper/Director of Housekeeping - The executive housekeeper
reports to the General Manager or the Resident Manager or the rooms division
manager. He/she is responsible for the overall cleanliness and aesthetic upkeep of the
hotel. His/her duties are:

Organize, supervise and coordinate the work of housekeeping staff on day- to

day basis.
Ensure excellence in housekeeping sanitation, safety, comfort and aesthetics
for hotel guests.
Prepare duty rosters and supervise the discipline and conduct of her staff.

Ensure proper communication within the department by conducting regular

meeting with the staff.
Recruit new employees and train them for the housekeeping jobs.
Counsel and motivate employees on various duties.
Establish and maintain standard operating procedures for cleaning and
develop new procedures to increase efficiency of labor and product use.
Search and test new techniques and products in the market.
Maintain regular inventory and checking of furniture, linen, uniform,
equipments in the hotel.
Evaluate employee performance for promotions and transfers.
Approval of supply requisitions for the housekeeping and to maintain
minimum stock and cost control procedures for all materials.
Check the reports, files, registers maintained in the department.
Provide budget to the management and control of budgets

Deputy Housekeeper - The deputy housekeeper reports to the executive housekeeper.

His/her duties are:

Check and ensure that all guestrooms, public areas, back of the house areas
are clean and well maintained.
Inspect the work done by contractors- pest control, laundry, window cleaning,
etc.
Prepare staff schedules and duty rotes.
Check periodical stocktaking and maintaining of stock records for linen,
uniform, equipment.
Provide necessary information to assist executive housekeeper in staff
evaluation, disciplining, termination and promotion.
Develop and implement training programs within the department in
consultation with the executive housekeeper.
Assist executive housekeeper in forecasting and budgeting for operating and
capital expenditure.
Take charge of housekeeping department in absence of executive
housekeeper.

Assistant Housekeeper/Housekeeping Manager - The assistant housekeeper reports

to the executive housekeeper. In large hotels, where an deputy housekeeper exists,
assistant housekeeper reports to deputy housekeeper. In large hotels the
responsibilities of floors, public areas are divided among assistant housekeepers. In the
absence of deputy housekeeper, all the above mentioned duties and responsibilities are
taken over by the assistant housekeeper. His/her duties are:-

Be responsible for efficient and orderly management of cleaning, servicing

and repairing of guest rooms.
Be responsible for hotel linen and check its movement and distribution to
room attendants.
Keep an inventory of all housekeeping supplies and check it regularly.
Provide front office list of ready rooms for allotment to guests.
Organize flower arrangements
Arrange training of staff within the department
Update records/ files/ registers etc.
Compile the maids roster.
Check the VIP and OOO rooms

Floor supervisor/Floor Housekeeper - The floor supervisor reports to the assistant

housekeeper. They are responsible for the final condition of the guestrooms on the
floors allocated to them. His/her duties are:

Issue floor keys to room attendants

Supervise cleaning on the allotted floors and areas- including guestrooms,
corridors, staircases, floor pantries of the allotted floors
Inspection of cleaning in rooms and coordination of the work in fllors
Supervise handling of soiled linen to laundry and requisitioning of fresh ones
from housekeeping
Report maintenance work on the floor
Supervise spring cleaning.
Coordinate with room service for tray clearance.
Maintain par stock for the respective floors.
Facilitate provision of extra services to guests such as baby sitters, hot water
bottles, and other guest requests.
Report any safety or security hazard to the security department.
Check on scanty baggage
Prepare housekeeping status reports.
Inform the front office about ready rooms
Ensure services offered to VIPs are of highest standards.

Public Area Supervisor - The public area supervisor reports to the assistant
housekeeper. He/ she is responsible for cleaning and inspection of the front of the
house areas such as entrance, lobby, guest corridors and so on. His/her duties are:

Ensure that all public areas and other functional areas are kept clean at all
times.
Ensure all maintenance jobs are attended in coordination with the
maintenance department.

Ensure all flower arrangements are placed in appropriate places in public

areas.
Ensure banquet halls and conference halls are kept ready for functions and
conferences.

Night Supervisor- The night supervisor reports to the assistant housekeeper. He

supervises all night staff engaged in the cleaning of public areas and guestrooms in
hotel. His/her duties are;

Ensure all public areas are thoroughly cleaned at night when the traffic is low.
Plan order of work and direct staff accordingly.
Ensure submission of room attendants reports and room status reports.
Provide guest supplies and attend guest requests in the night like providing
water bottles, extra beds, towels etc.
Report safety and security hazards.

Linen Room Supervisor/ Linen Keeper -The linen room supervisor reports to
assistant housekeeper. His/her duties are:

Responsible for entire hotels linen.

Send dirty linen from laundry after checking.
Check laundered linen before giving it for ironing.
Provide linen to the various departments
Maintain register of linen movements and check linen regularly
Supervise ironing and laundering of linen of the hotel
Supervise work of linen room attendants and tailors

Uniform Room Supervisor- The uniform room supervisor reports to the assistant
housekeeper. He/ she is responsible for maintenance of hotel staff uniforms. His/her
duties are:

Responsible for providing clean, serviceable uniforms to the staff.

Keep an inventory control of various uniforms in various stages of use
Set budget for procurement of uniforms and materials required for uniform

Linen Room attendant/ Linen Room Maid- Linen room attendants report to linen room
supervisor. His/her duties are:

Stacking sheets, pillowcases, towels, tablecloths, napkins in different stacks.

Issue clean linen on clean- for- soiled basis.
Place soiled linen in containers and send these to laundry.
Examine and counts each linen item when send to laundry and again on
return.

Send torn articles to seamstress for repair.

Maintain proper records of discards and determine percentage of discards.

Uniform Room attendant - A uniform room attendant reports to uniform room

supervisor. His/her duties are:

Issue clean uniforms while receiving soiled ones

Send soiled uniforms for laundering.
Send torn uniforms to seamstress for mending.
Keep count of uniforms.
Shelve laundered uniforms after verifying types of articles.
Count and record linen.

Storekeeper- A storekeeper reports to senior floor or linen room supervisor. His/her

duties are:

Control the stock of equipment.

Issue equipment and cleaning materials as per demand.
Prepare requisitions for materials required.
Coordinate with purchase department for procurement of approved materials.

Desk Control Supervisor-The control desk supervisor reports to the assistant

housekeeper. It is the nerve centre of housekeeping department and is manned 24
hours a day. His/her duties are:

Coordination with front office for information on departure rooms and handing
of clean rooms.
Receive complaints on maintenance and housekeeping.
Maintain registers kept at control desk.
Receive special requests from guests.
Maintain latest reports regarding room occupancy, VIPs, status of rooms etc.
Delegation of work to attendants and supervisors.
Attend to phone calls received at control desk
Responsible for issuing guestroom keys and maintaining key register

Guest room attendant/ Room maids/ Chamber maids/GRA:- Guest room

attendant(GRA) report to the floor supervisor. His/her duties are:

Cleans the rooms

Change guestroom and bathroom linen.
Make guest room beds.
Replenish guest supplies.
Answer guest requests promptly on the floor.
Responsible for collecting guest laundry.
Servicing of rooms in the evening( turndown service) and also provide second
service.
Handover lost and found articles if any found in the room
Replenish maids cart with supplies for the next shift
Arrange and stock the pantry with linen and supplies.

Head House person - He /she reports to the public area supervisor. His/her duties are:

Supervises work allotted to the housemen in public areas.

Supervise work of people who clean carpets, wall washers, window washers.
Supervise work of chandelier cleaners, vaccum cleaning machine operators

House persons -They report to the head house persons or the public area supervisor.
His/her duties are:

Shift furniture in public areas.

Clear the garbages
Polish all brassware in public areas
Clean all doors, windows and ventilators.
Clean fire fighting equipments.
Clean the shafts and terraces.
Clean chandeliers, draperies and other hard to reach areas in public areas.

Tailors, seamstress and upholsterers - They report to the Linen Room Supervisor.
His/her duties are:

Mending and stitching uniforms, linen, upholstery etc.

Alteration of uniforms if required.

Refurnish all damaged upholstery.
Repair guest clothes if required.
Calculate materials required for uniforms and upholstery and purchase
accordingly.

Horticulturist - Many large hotels have their own horticulturist, who report to assistant
housekeeper. He / she leads a team of gardener in maintaining landscaped gardens of
the hotel as well as in supplying flowers from gardens for flower arrangements in the
hotels. Flowers are used largely to enhance aesthetic appeal of various areas of the
hotel.
Head Gardener -He reports to the horticulturist and maintains landscaped areas and
gardens in the hotel. His/her duties are:Gardeners-Gardeners report to the head gardener or the horticulturist. They keep
landscaped areas, lawns and gardens clean and aesthetically beautiful. His/her duties
are:
Florist-Florists employ their own florist. Providing attractive flower arrangements for the
entire hotel is their responsibility. They report to the horticulturist.
Laundry Manager:-He/she is in charge of the laundry and Laundry Manager reports to
the Director of housekeeping. He/she is responsible for entire functioning of laundry and
dry cleaning unit. He /she should have good knowledge of fabrics and chemicals and
laundry machines.
Laundry Supervisor:-He/she is in charge of the functioning of the laundry in the
absence of laundry manager. He must have the knowledge of all the aspects of the
laundry equipment, chemicals and fabrics.
Dry cleaner and washers:-He/ she is in charge of dry cleaning of the hotel linen and
guest clothing and washer does the laundering of the linen, uniforms and guest clothing.
Laundry workers:-They are the staff of laundry who perform following duties;Valet/ Runners:-Valet service means that they take care of guest laundry. They report
to the linen room supervisor. They are responsible for collecting soiled guest laundry
and delivering fresh guest laundry.
CLEANING EQUIPMENT & SUPPLIES
FLOOR CLEANING EQUIPMENT

VACUUM CLEANER-use to eliminate loose soil from carpet.

FLOOR POLISHER- use in scrubbing, stripping and polishing hard floor

surfaces.
CARPET SWEEPER- used to pick up dirt and particles from the carpet.
HYDRO VACUUM CLEANER- used for dry and wet
CARPET EXTRACTOR -used when the carpet is heavily soiled.
CARPET DRYER-used for drying carpet after extraction.

FLOOR CLEANING TOOLS

FLOOR MOP
MOP WRINGER
FLOOR /WINDOW SQUEEGEE
SOFT BROOM AND STICK BROOM-Soft broom is for fine and flat surfaces
like vinyl and wood. Stick broom is ideal for rough surface like grounds.
DUST MOP-To be used to dust mop the floor during follow up cleaning.
CAUTION SIGN-Warning sign to alert people that the floor is wet and slippery
and they should not step on it. It is a tool for the prevention of slips and
injuries.
DUSTING CLOTHS-This is used for dusting wooden furniture. -Make sure the
cloths are clean ; otherwise the dusty cloth will merely rub the dust unto the
surface being dusted.
CLEANING TOWELS-It is used for drying bathroom walls and floor tiles after
they are cleaned. -Make sure the cloths are dry. -If the walls and tiles are not
wiped dry, water marks will develop.
POLISHING CLOTHS-This cloth is used for polishing metal surfaces like
bathroom fixtures. -Use cloths that are made of fiber to be able to absorb the
water left behind during the cleaning process. HAND BRUSHES-This brush is
meant for brushing away dusts from rough surfaces such as rattan,
Wickerwork, etc. -Make sure that the brush is not left immersed on the
cleaning water for a long time.
DUSTING-For dusting furniture ad fixtures. -Use dusters for dusting furniture
and fixtures.
TOILET BOWL BRUSH-It is used for cleaning toilet bowls. -Toilet brush
should be kept after use in the storeroom either in a holder or in a plastic bag
hanging on one end of the trolley. Never leave the brush with other cleaning
equipment elsewhere as they contain a lot of dirt and bacteria that can
contaminate other cleaning materials.
CEILING BROOMS-Use this broom to remove cobwebs in the ceiling.

BASIC SKILLS OF GOOD HOUSEKEEPER

the ability to encourage and motivate staff.

strong communication skills.
good organizational skills.
attention to detail.
the ability to cope with problems and emergencies, and make effective decisions.
good numerical ability.