CHAPTER 2

ROLES AND
FUNCTIONS OF
HOUSEKEEPING
PERSONNEL

By : Mumtazul Ilyani
DEFINITION OF HOUSEKEEPING
 Defined as the provision of a clean, comfortable
and safe environment.
 Should be able to provide a quick and through
servicing of bedrooms and public areas to a high
standard consistency and with as little
inconvenience to the guest.

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OBJECTIVES OF HOUSEKEEPING
 TO PROVIDE – clean, safe and comfortable
environment
 TO PROTECT AND MAINTAIN – cleanliness of
building and surrounding
 TO CONFIRM –sanitation requirement of health
law
 TO EXTEND – friendly and courteous service

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IMPORTANCE OF HOUSEKEEPING
 First impression – looking at the condition of the
room, will give good/bad impression to the hotel as
a whole
 Provide friendly and efficient manner of hospitality
and services – assisting guest and helping them
 Provide ‘home-away-from-home’ feeling to guests –
provide comfortable environment
 Maintain excellent standards of services and
cleanliness in the best insurance for investment in a
hotel

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RESPONSIBILITIES OF
HOUSEKEEPING
 Maintaining cleanliness
 Reporting any damages and repairs
 Being alert of safety hazard
 Proper disposal of trash
 Coordinating

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ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
 JOB DESCRIPTION
EXECUTIVE HOUSEKEEPER
(Director of Housekeeping)
• Oversee the overall administration
and operation of the department.
• To ensure excellence in
housekeeping sanitation, safety,
comfort for hotel guests.
• To act as a source of contact in
interdepartmental communication.
• To provide budget, budget control
and forecasting to upper
management.
• Reports to the General Manager
and Room Division Manager
ASSISTANT HOUSEKEEPER
(Housekeeping Manager)
• To assist Executive
Housekeeper.
• Co-ordinates with other
department.
• Monitoring inventory.
• To improve efficiency and
productivity
• Assigns day to day
responsibility to supervisors
and staff.
• Reports to the Executive
Housekeeper.
 JOB DESCRIPTION
DEPUTY HOUSEKEEPER FLOOR SUPERVISOR

• Reports to the Assistant

• To assist Executive Housekeeper. Housekeeper.
• Large hotel may have a deputy
• Have final responsibility for
housekeeper to whom the assistant
housekeeper report.
the condition of guestroom
(inspect the guestroom).
Responsibilities :
Responsibilities:
• Check and ensure all guestrooms,
public areas and back of the house • Prepare daily assignments.
areas are clean and well maintained. • Supervise and monitor staff.
• Inspect the work done by contractors, • Emphasis on safety and
for example pest control and outside security.
window cleaning. • Training.
• Develop and implement training
• Keep record on movement of
programs.
chemical, equipment, keys
• Take charge of HK department in the and staff attendance.
absence of EK.
 JOB DESCRIPTION

GUESTROOM ATTENDANTS / MAIDS

• Report to the Floor Supervisor.

• Generally hotels employ one room maid per 15-20 rooms.
• Most hotels use the term attendant rather than maid since men already
entered this arena earlier dominated by women.
Responsibilities:
• Cleaning and tidying rooms.
• Change guestroom and bathroom linen.
• Make guestrooms beds.
• Be responsible for getting guest laundry processed.
• Replenish the trolley with guest supplies, cleaning agents and linen.
Evening maids :
- Turn down service / Second service
- Extra work
 JOB DESCRIPTION

UNIFORM ROOM SUPERVISOR UNIFORM ROOM ATTENDANT

•Reports to the Uniform Room

• Reports to the Assistant Supervisor.
Housekeeper.
• In the actual contact with the
• Responsible for the maintenance of staff for the issue of uniforms.
hotel staff uniforms
Responsibilities:
Responsibilities :
• Issue clean uniforms while
• Providing clean, serviceable uniforms receiving soiled one.
to the staff of the hotel.
• Send soiled uniforms for
• Keep an inventory control of various laundering
uniforms in various stages of use.
• Examine the laundered items
• Set the budget for additional material
• Send torn uniform to the
for staff uniforms.
seamstress
• Checking repaired uniforms from
• Keep a count of uniforms.
tailor room.
• Count and record uniforms.
JOB DESCRIPTION
LINEN ROOM SUPERVISOR
• Reports to the assistant housekeeper.
• Supervises the work of the linen room
and may have several linen attendants
to assist him/her.
Responsibilities :
• Responsible for the entire hotel’s linen.
• Send dirty linen to the laundry after
checking them piece by piece.
• Checking repaired linen from tailor
room.
• Maintain a register of linen movements
and check the linen regularly.
• Supervise the work of the linen
attendants and tailors.
LINEN ROOM ATTENDANT
• Reports to the Linen Room
Supervisor.
Responsibilities:
• Sorting all the bed sheets,
pillowcases, towels, napkins, table
cloths into separate stacks.
• Issue clean linen on a clean-for-
soiled basis.
• Place soiled linen in containers and
send to laundry.
• Examine and count items on their
return from laundry.
• Send torn articles to the seamstress
for repair.
• Maintain proper records.
 JOB DESCRIPTION
NIGHT SUPERVISOR

• Reports to the Assistant

Housekeeper.
• Supervises all night staff engaged in
the cleaning of public areas and
guestrooms in the hotel.
Responsibilities : NIGHT ATTENDANT
• Ensure all public areas are cleaned at
night (low traffic).
• Reports to the Night Shift
• Organize special cleaning of rooms
as required. Supervisor.
• Ensuring the provision of guest Responsibilities:
supplies such as water bottle, extra • Reporting any safety issues to
bed or towels. the Night Supervisor.
• Help with the training staff. • Performing housekeeping
• Report any safety and security duties during night.
hazards.
 JOB DESCRIPTION
PUBLIC AREA SUPERVISOR

• Reports to the Assistant

Housekeeper.
Responsibilities :
• Ensure all public areas are kept clean
all times.
• Organize special cleaning of public
areas.
• Ensure all maintenance jobs are
attended by maintenance department
• Ensure that flower arrangements are
placed in appropriate places in the
public areas.
• Ensure banquet halls and conference
halls are kept ready for functions and
conferences.
• Supervise operating staff.
PUBLIC AREA ATTENDANT
• Reports to the Public Area
Supervisor.
Responsibilities:
• Clean all the public areas.
• Keeping the parking, lobbies,
lifts, elevators and corridors in
best maintained status.
• Keeping these areas smelling
fresh and clean.
 JOB DESCRIPTION
STOREKEEPER
• Reports to the Floor Supervisor
Responsibilities:
• Control the stock of equipment.
• Store cleaning materials and
cleaning agents.
• Issue cleaning equipment and
cleaning materials as per
demand.
• Prepare the requisition for used
up material and purchase new
products.
• Interaction with purchase
department.
HOUSE PORTER
• Reports to the Public Area
Supervisor.
• Job involves heavy physical
work.
Responsibilities:
• Clean and shampoo carpet
• Shift and arrange beds, chairs
and heavy furniture.
• Clean the swimming pool.
• Take down and re-hang curtains
as needed.
• Wash walls, chandeliers and
other hard to reach areas.
 JOB DESCRIPTION
TAILORS / SEAMSTRESSES
• Reports to the Linen Room
Supervisor.
Responsibilities:
• Repair all damaged linen.
• Repair all the damaged uniforms.
• Repair guest’s clothes if
damaged.
• Refurnish all damaged
upholstery.
LAUNDRY WORKERS
• Reports to the Linen Room
Supervisor.
Responsibilities:
• Sort soiled linen according to the
fabric types, colors and degree of
soiling.
• Load linen into washing
machines.
• Load washed linen into dryers.
• Transport soiled linen to the
laundry and washed linen to the
linen room.
• Keep the laundry clean.
LAYOUT OF DEPARTMENT
HOUSEKEEPING INTERACTION WITH
OTHER DEPARTMENT
• FRONT OFFICE
 exchange information on room status.
 guest feedback and skippers
 lost and found item
 special request

• ENGINEERING/MAINTENANCE
 task of fixing "out of order" furniture and fixtures.
 checking on the room condition.
 Housekeeping hand over rooms to
Engineering Department for major
repair or renovations.
 Routine maintenance.
 HOUSEKEEPING INTERACTION WITH
OTHER DEPARTMENT
• SECURITY
 Housekeeping personnel work directly with the guest
room area.
 work closely to eliminate thefts and violence.

• FOOD AND BEVERAGE

 coordination of housekeeping with the restaurant
and banquet halls
 room service
 both restaurant and kitchen staff required clean
uniform on a daily basis.

• STORES
 keeping stock
HOUSEKEEPING INTERACTION WITH
OTHER DEPARTMENT
• PERSONNEL / HR DEPARTMENT
 recruitment of housekeeping staff, managing staff salaries & wages
 addressing indiscipline
 issuing identify card, running induction program
 promotion, appraisals and organizing training sessions.

• PURCHASING
 purchase out of stock item for housekeeping
 form of a purchase requisition.

• SALES & MARKETING

 inform HK of the occupancy forecast for the entire year.
 enable HK to budget for the necessary expenses.
 AREA OF RESPONSIBILITIES
FRONT OF THE HOUSE BACK OF THE HOUSE

•Service lift
•Hotel entrance/porch •Service corridors/passageway
•Lobbies •Storage areas.
•Guestrooms •Laundry rooms.
•Public areas •Linen room
•Elevators and escalators •Staff prayer rooms.
•Banquets •Emergency exit stairway.
•Public restrooms •Offices
•Swimming pool areas •Kitchen
VIDEO
HOUSEKEEPING SHIFTS
 Most hotels operate 24 hours and covered in 3 shifts. Each shift’s
duration is 9 hours.

1. STRAIGHT SHIFT
• Extends for a period of 9 hours with a break of 1 hour.
2. NIGHT SHIFT / GRAVEYARD SHIFT
• Starts from 10 pm and ends at 7 am.
3. SPLIT SHIFT
• Split 2 sessions that add up to regular shift of 9 hours. This includes
a break approximately 4-6 hours.
4. ROTATING SHIFT
• An employee may be given a particular shift for a week or two
weeks, and then changed over to the next shift. The rotation is done
to ensure that all employees get a fair share of all the shifts.
 THE HOUSEKEEPING DAILY
ACTIVITIES
• Opening of Housekeeping Office
 At 6.30 am, 7.00 am shift room attendants and supervisor arrive.
Supervisor assigns room attendants to service early check out
rooms.
 Supervisors make adjustment in the room assignments.
 Desk clerk prints all room status report for distribution to staff
and supervisor.
 Supervisor prepares room assignment for distribution.
 At 7.45 am supervisor –
• Gives briefing to staff on the day’s activities or special
assignments.
• Distribute room assignments.
• Issue key to room attendants.
 THE HOUSEKEEPING DAILY
ACTIVITIES
• Morning activities (8.00 am – 3.00 pm)
 Most housekeeping department starts their daily routine at about
8.00 am.
 Once the room attendant receives her assignment, she should
carefully checked the status of each room.
 If there already a vacant dirty room assignment, then she should
proceed to clean this room first.
 Some hotels practice PHYSICAL CHECK of room, in which the
maids has to enter every room assigned for her. The purpose:
• To find out actual status of rooms
• To check for laundry – laundry can be collected and delivered to
guest on time
• To check for minibar consumption minibar losses can be minimized
 THE HOUSEKEEPING DAILY
ACTIVITIES
• Evening activities of maid
 To service quota of rooms
 To do PM room physical check
 To service previously DND rooms
 To do turn-down service
 To service late check-out rooms

• The final step in each evening’s activity is for the supervisor to

assemble all reports, forms and paperwork associated with the
day’s activities for filing according to date.
• After 11.00 pm, all guest calls to HK are diverted to front office
department.