UNIT – 6: KEYS AND KEY CONTROL

Keys are instrument used for operating various types of locks. Keys are
important for safety and security purposes for guest as well as hotel. Every
good lock should have a unique key and should not be opened by any
unauthorized persons. There are many different locking systems used in hotels.
These include:
• Individual locks and keys put on a bolt – small establishments.
• Built in door lock with a double locking system opened using traditional key.
• Built in door lock with a double locking system opened using card key.

A double lock is a kind of latch that when put in from inside the room,
cannot be opened from outside the room except with emergency key.
Apart from this another safety feature – magic eye or security chain is put in
place from inside
the guest room to protect guest’s privacy.

Types of keys used in Hotels:

The housekeeping department is primarily concerned with the following

categories of keys
1. Guestroom keys
2. Sub Master key / Section master keys
3. Floor Supervisor keys/ Floor master key
4. Master key/ Pass key
5. Grandmaster key / Emergency key
6. Supply room keys

Guestroom keys: These are keys issued to guests upon their registration. The
hotel guest room key is normally issued to open only one room for which it
was intended viz. individualised key for each lock. The guestroom key opens a
single guestroom so long as it is not double locked. Once the guest checks out,
it must be returned at the front desk.

Sub Master Key / Section Master key: A GRA is given this key to open the
room he or she is assigned to clean on a floor. The floor key opens all rooms
on a particular floor that are not double locked. Floor keys typically open the
storeroom or floor pantry for that floor too.

Floor Master key: Key operates all sections on the floor /floor supervised by
the particular supervisor. A Supervisor may be issued more than one key of
this type as he or she may be required to inspect the work of more than one
GRA.

Pass key/Master key: A master key is used to open all doors of the hotel,
including the floor door itself if they are not double locked. This key is used
to supervise and examine the work done by maids and room boys, as well as
in emergency purposes. The Master keys are used only by the head of
housekeeping and are not given to anyone else that has a lesser authority. This
key is kept by the deputy or assistant housekeeper. It opens any internal
door that has not been double locked. These keys open all guestroom doors
that are not double locked

Grandmaster key/ Emergency key: This key opens all hotel guestrooms and
often all housekeeping storage rooms as well even if they are double locked. This
key usually held by the Chief or Duty Manager at the time of the afternoon, and
is used to open the locked door or twice in double lock. Double Lock occurs.
This key can be used in emergency situation. It is kept under lock and key
either at Housekeeping or at the front desk of hotel.
Supply room keys: These keys are used within the servicing sector of the hotel
by the supervisory level staff to ensure that stocks and equipment are safely
stored away when not in use.

KEY CONTROL: Key control is the procedure of reducing guest property theft
and other security related incidents by carefully monitoring and tracking
of keys. Following policies should be considered for control of keys.
1. Issuing keys
2. Custody of keys
3. Loss of keys
4. Changing locks and keys

Issuing keys
1. Guest room keys: these keys are handed over to the guest on his arrival after
completing registration facilities. Guest is requested to submit these keys at
front desk whenever he leaves the hotel premises.
2. Other keys: all section master keys, master key and grand master keys
should be signed out each time they are taken and their return noted in a
key control sheet. All keys should be stamped do not duplicate.

Key control sheet

Custody of keys

These are the measures to be taken while the key is with a guest or
employee after being issued as per the correct procedure.

• Usually master keys are to be attached to the belt / uniform of

an employee at the beginning of the shift to prevent loss /
misplacing it.
• Employees are not be allowed to loan the keys assigned to them to
one another.
• Employees have to hand over keys whenever they leave the property.
• Spot checks should take place to ensure that keys are in right hands.

Loss of keys
This is a time when particular vigilance must be exercised

• If a section master key is lost under circumstances that may result in

a guest being at risk, the entire section should be re-keyed.
• If a master key or grand master key is lost under any circumstance, it
must be reported to the owner or the corporate office immediately by
the general manager.

Changing locks and keys

Whenever a new key is made or a new lock is fitted, certain precautions are
necessary

• A record must be kept on how many keys are made for each room and
they are made.
• A log must be kept of all locks change and re-keys
 ELECTRONIC CARD KEYS

Metals room keys are being replaced by electronically coded key

cards. Many hotels now-a-days are using card key system. A card key,
while not actually considered a key, is a plastic card which stores a digital
signature that is used with electronic access control locks. It is normally a
flat, rectangular piece of plastic and may also serve as an ID card for the guest.
The Plastic cards look like credit cards with holes punched in them. Some
have a magnetic strip instead of the holes. The System uses a computer that
codes the cards to lock and unlock the doors. Rather than re- keying the door
locks in case of loss of keys the computer is used to create new room lock
codes for each room. Master keys may be easily created and destroyed
through the computerized card system. The security advantage of the key
cards has made it popular and many medium and large sized hotels are
adopting this key-card system.

LOST AND FOUND

Lost and found is a term used in hotel terms for those articles left by guests
or misplaced by guests in a hotel. Such articles can range from jewellery, costly
electronic goods, travel documents, to simple garments. The hotel is obliged
to protect such items and return to the guests. All unclaimed articles found
on the hotel premises should be handed over to the housekeeping control desk.

LOST AND FOUND PROCEDURE-

1. When the article is found the housekeeping staff, usually room
attendants and public area houseman, must immediately report this to
the immediate supervisor.
2. The supervisor (the floor supervisor or the public area supervisor)
immediately informs the control desk attendant.
3. The control desk attendant will verify with the front office cashier
whether a resident guest is still in the process of paying his or her bill
or whether guest has checked out. If the guest is still available, if guest
is contacted for the handed \over of the article to guest.
4. The lobby manager is informed in case those guests, who may be
visitors the hotel and not residing in it, are to be contacted to lodge a
complaint.
5. Any where in the hotel, if an article is found by an employee which
is not traceable to owner, is handed over at the Housekeeping control
desk.
6. There is a lockable cupboard (even locker for valuables) or a storage
room near desk to store lost and found items.
7. The desk supervisor is responsible for keeping the keys of lost &
found room and maintaining records thereof.
GUESTROOM INSPECTION

This is a planned, systematic process in which guestrooms are checked

for cleanliness and maintenance and accordingly approved for occupancy
by supervisors. The supervisor inspects guestrooms keeping in mind that
their last look will be the guest’s first look at the room. ‘An eye for details
‘is the most important aid to supervisors inspecting guestrooms. The
supervisor inspects for anything that is not upto the establishment’s
 standards before the guest finds them amiss. Guestroom inspection is
carried out for the following:
✓ To ensure the working order of all electrical appliance, furniture and
fixture.
✓ To ensure proper placement of guestroom supplies
✓ To ensure room cleaning as per hotels standards.
A systematic method should be followed while inspecting guestrooms so that
the process is thorough, leaving no room for neglect. The executive
housekeeper should develop an efficient checklist to help supervisors in this
aspect of their work. The inspection of bedrooms and bathroom may be
carried out in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction, moving from high
to low levels, first checking every article on the wall or working in the
same particular direction.

INSPECTION OF VIP ROOMS

• This is not a supervisor’s responsibility though a supervisory task.
• VIP rooms are checked personally by the assistant
housekeeper or executive housekeeper.
• All the items as per the checklist are checked for thorough cleaning.
• The room smell should be fresh with no bad odours or dampness.
• White ragging is carried out on random surface.
•
(White ragging is checking the cleanliness of any area by wiping a white
rag across it to see the degree of soiling.)
• Dirty dozen must be inspected.
• The toilet bowl should be checked by running a damp cotton swab under
the rim.
• Room must be checked for all VIP supplies placed in the room.
INSPECTION CHECKLISTS
Inspection of the cleaned areas forms a major part of a supervisor’s work.
The Guest room inspection ensures that the desired results of an established
cleaning system are consistently achieved by the housekeeping department.
The main purpose of a room inspection is to catch any problems that may
have been overlooked during the cleaning before it is found by the guest and
becomes a cause of dissatisfaction and complaints.
Use of a pre-printed room inspection check-list form will prove effective for
the hotel management. It will establish a set procedure ensuring that will
remind both Housekeeping Supervisor / Executive and Room maids of any
defects and missing amenities for the guest.

HOTEL XYZ
Date: Room No.: Room type: Standard Inspected By:
Specifications OK Remark Specifications OK Remark
I. Entrance V. Closet/ Wardboard
Room No. Plate Doors
Entrance door and Hangers
frame
Lock Operation Bath robes
Peep Hole Shelves
Fire exit plan Laundry bag & rate list
Door Knob cards Safe
II. Vestibule Area Bathroom slippers
Ceiling Shelves
Mirror Lighting
Floor VI. Wall pictures
Lighting Clean / Dusted
III. Bathroom VII. Television
(Dusting / working)
Door VIII. Writing Table
Door knob Folder with all stationery
Vanity counter Sewing kit
Washbasin Dustbin
Mirror IX. Window
Amenity tray Ledge / Glass
Soap & Soap dish Curtains / Hooks
Moisturiser X. Coffee table
Shower cap Dusting / Magazine
Toilet Rolls Sofa
W.C. VII. Bed side table
Sani Bin Night Lamp
Bath tub Telephone
(Amenities & towels)
Shower area TV Remote
(Amenities & towels)
Bath Mug Scribbling pad & pen
Taps & Shower Holy book
Shower curtain VIII. Bed

Tiles & ceiling Head board

Bathroom telephone Sheets / duvet/ pillows/
runner/
Bathroom floor Switch board
IV. Luggage Rack Lights and fan
Clean / Dusted IX. Carpet
Shoe mitt X. Room freshener
Similarly checklists can also be developed for public areas so as to ensure no
area is left out of notice of the supervisor.

QUICK SIX INSPECTION

These are the six major areas a supervisor must check as these are also the
areas which are readily observed by the guest as he / she enters the room.

1. CREDENZA: A credenza is more often a type of sideboard used as a side

surface and storage cupboards. Check the carpet under and behind the
credenza for dust or trash. Usually this piece of furniture being heavy, its
back and underside is ignored.

2. NIGHT STAND:There is generally a little area between the night stand /

bed side table and bed. Here dust, food crumbs, small paper tears may
fall. As the bedspread hides this area when the day bed is made, the area
is often neglected. Inspect this area and wall around for cleanliness.

3. BED LINEN: The bed linen must be inspected for not only cleanliness but
wrinkles, dryness, hair, smell etc. A clean and freshly made bed is
welcoming.

4. UNDER VANITY COUNTER WALL: Many a times a dustbin may be kept

under the vanity counter. Due to this, and often because while standing
the area is not visible, it is often ignored. However, a guest using the W.C.
has a plain view of the underside of the counter.

5. SHOWER AREA WALL: The wall of the shower area or bathtub which need
scrubbing to clean water and soap marks is often ignored as they are
difficult to reach areas. A supervisor must check them if they have been
scrubbed clean.
 6. TOILET BOWL: A toilet may look clean / flushed. However, a supervisor
must take a tissue paper, roll it, dip in little water and rub it under the
rim of the toilet bowl. Thoroughly cleaned toilet will have clean underside
of the rim.

THE DIRTY DOZEN:

Certain areas of the guest room elude the maid’s attention and tend to
accumulate dust. Such areas are normally hidden from the guest’s eyes too.
However, their cleanliness reflects the
standard of cleaning of the hotel. Experience shows that the following
areas are usually overlooked and are appropriately termed as the Dirty
Dozen.
1. Top of the door edges and ceiling
2. Air conditioning ducts and diffuser grills
3. Under bathroom counters
4. Beneath the tables
5. Behind the W.C. Bowl & the S-trap
6. In the toilet roll niche
7. Faucet nozzle filter
8. Toilet vents
9. Top of picture frames
10. Area above towel racks
11. Rear surface of doors
12. Interior surface of drawers
 EXTRAS DIFFERENCE BETWEEN

ROOM OCCUPANCY REPORT HOUSEKEEPING ROOM REPORT

1. Prepared by receptionist at 1. Prepared by GRA/Floor supervisor
desk and consolidated by Control desk
supervisor

2. This report is based on the 2. This report is based on the

available with front office physical check of the room.

3. Room report assistsThis report helps in finding out any

housekeeping in organisingtheir discrepancy in room status so that
room cleaning task. guests can be billed accurately.

ROOM STATUS CODES

CODE STATUS
O Occupied
V VACANT
DND DO NOT DISTURB
L LUGGAGE IN ROOM BUT BED UNUSED
UR UNDER REPAIR
NB OCCUPIED BUT NO BAGGAGE
SB SCANTY BAGGAGE
OOO OUT OF ORDER
OOS OUT OF SERVICE
DL DOUBLE LOCK
NC NOT CLEARED THOUGH DEPARTURE HAS TAKEN
PLACE
DNCO DID NOT CHECK OUT
Soft furnishings

These articles serve various functions. Some may be simply decorative,

providing colour, pattern and texture to the room. Some are protective and
others may provide warmth and comfort.
Types of soft
furnishing
The soft furnishing in a guestroom include
• cushion,
• loose covers,
• curtains,
• blinds,
• bedspreads
Loose covers- Loose cover are detachable covers fitted over upholstered
chairs, stools etc. They can give a clean, fresh appearance to a room, but
the constant need to straighten them. The choice of pattern, colour and
texture is as for any other soft furnishing in that materials.

Curtains- These often contribute more to the atmosphere of a room creating

the desired atmosphere, curtains give privacy, filter heat, light and to some
extent noise. Good curtains are usually lined and heavy curtains are
interlined. The lining helps the curtains to drape well, as well as protecting
from sunlight and airborne dust.
• Sheer curtains: Light net curtains put on the windows of guest room
which permit some light from outside to come into the room still
maintaining privacy.
• Heavy curtains: Heavy opaque curtains put parallel to sheer
curtains, usually closed during turndown service
• A third type of curtains called shower curtains are put in shower area
or bath tub. These curtains are made of a plastic kind water proof
 material and are opaque. They provide privacy to guest while taking
bath.

Pelmets,Valances
and swags-

Pelmets and valances are decorative headings fixed over the top of the curtain
to hide the suspension, to add decoration to the room.

Valances are gathered or pleated fabrics drapes across the top of a window or
covering a shape form placed above it.They conceal the curtain tops and the
rods from which the curtains hang.

Pelmets are rigid and may be shape pieces of wood or hardboard which can
be painted to match the décor of the room or they may be of padded plastic or
stiffened fabric to match or contrast with curtains.

Swags are decorative drapes meant to hide the curtain headings and
frequently completed with tail.

MINIBAR MANAGEMENT

A minibar is present in guest rooms as a guest amenity in all luxury hotels. It is

usually a piece of furniture with a cabinet for small refrigerator. There are also
shelves to stock crockery and glassware and also to keep dry supplies (those that
are not refrigerated). A typical minibar in a standard guest room may have:
Free of additional cost items
Tea kettle (electrical)
Tea caddy – supplies like tea bags, coffee sachets, dairy creamer, sugar,
sugarfree, stirrers etc
One mineral water bottle per guest per day

Chargeable items
Some snacks such as packets of wafers, cookies, chocolates.
Inside the refrigerator one may have mineral water bottles, wines, miniatures of
alcoholic drinks, soda, aerated beverages, juice cans etc.

For guest use (non chargeable)

Crockery – Tea cups and saucers
Glassware – For drinking water or wine glasses if present in refrigerator.
The minibar may be a little briefer or may be more elaborate depending on the
house policy. Housekeeping or Butler service (IRD) is responsible for
maintaining, replenishing and charging
the minibar.

MENU:
• A menu is fixed in terms of quantity and pricing.
• It is displayed at the minibar counter prominently in each guest room.

Stocking a minibar:
• Stocking of used items is done of a daily basis by GRA / Butler and
bill is raised for consumed items that are chargeable
• The bill is immediately posted in guest folio by housekeeping desk / IRD.
• Whenever information is received from Front desk regarding a guest
checking out, immediately minibar of the room must be checked and
front desk should be informed of
• pending charges so that they can be added to the final bill.
• For stocktaking, a minibar consumption sheet is prepared for each floor
by supervisor and suitable entries are made for stock consumed &
charged. Issues from main store are also recorded.

• Challenges in maintaining minibar:

• Promptly raising the bills.
• Checking frauds such as replacing alcoholic beverage with water (check
seals of bottles)
• Before stocking minibar, check the expiry dates of the products.

HANDLING GUEST COMPLAINTS

Guest often expresses their displeasure when certain situation or services at the
hotels are not to their satisfaction. Many guest curb their tendency to complain
when they are not pleased with one or two of hotel’s services, but when the
displeasure build up through a series of problem
,the guest does complain. It may be that for every guest who complaint, there
are five or six who keep quite. Then again ,hotel s also have guests who complain
just for the sake of complaining and like to find fault with everything .In the
hotel jargon ,these guests are called handle with care(HWC) guests.

Types of guest complaints-

There are primarily four types of guest complaints that employees in a hotel come
across:
1. Technical /mechanical
2. Service related
3. Attitudinal
4. Unusual
Technical/Mechanical-
• These complaints relate to the malfunctioning of hotel equipment or
a set of guest supplies provided by the hotel.
• These may be due to problems with the air conditioning, guestroom
safes, room furnishings, door keys, plumbing, television sets, or elevator s.
• Efficient and alert housekeeping attendants help minimize mechanical
complaints.
• Effective use of the log book and of maintenance work orders is essential.
• At times, the technical problem in itself is not the cause of complaint, but
rather the delay in rectifying the problem.
• Service- related complaints-
• These complaints arise when guests feel they are not receiving value for
money in terms of the services provided by the hotel.
• For instance, a guest may complain about a delay in procuring a
guest loan item, problems in phone services, carpets that are not clean,
a stale odour in the room, linen not having been changed twice. And so
on.
• Attitudinal complaints-
• These complaints are a result of tactless or rude behavior towards guests
on the part of hotel employees.
• Sometimes these complaints may also result from employees using guests
as a sounding board for their problems at work or from guests overhearing
conversations between employees.
• Unusual complaints-
• As the name suggests, these are odd complaints that often have no
foundation and their solutions are usually not in the hands of hotel staff.
• These complaints are the result of the whims (sudden change of mind)
and fancies of guests.
• For instance,guests complaining about the size of the suite,the absence
of swimming pool, plane timing s,bad weather and so on.
Dealing with complaints-
Here are some guidelines a supervisor should follow when confronted with a
plaintive guest.
• Listen with concern and empathy.
• Isolate the guest, if possible, so that other guests may not overhear the
conversation.
• Stay calm. Avoid responding with hostility or defensiveness.
• Be cautious of injuring the guest’s sense of self-esteem; rather, try to pander
to it subtly.
• Show that you take a personal interest in the problem. Use the guest’s name
frequently in the conversation. Take the complaint seriously. Give the guest
your undivided attention. Concentrate on the problem, not on apportioning
blame. Certainly do not insult the guest.
• Take notes. Writing down the facts save time if someone else must get
involved. Also, guests will tend to slow down if they are speaking faster so
that you can write, which helps them clam down too. More importantly, the
fact that a staff member is concerned enough to write down what they are
saying is reassuring to the guest.
• Tell the guest what can be done. Offer choices. However, do not promise the
impossible, nor exceed your authority.
• Set an approximate time for the completion of corrective action. BE specific,
but do not underestimate the amount of time it will take to resolve the
problem.
• Monitor the progress of corrective action.
• Follow up. Even if the complaint was resolved by someone else, contact
the guest personally to ensure that the problem was resolved to his /her
satisfaction. Report the entire event, the action taken and the conclusion of
the incident.