OI Lllc lllail

LAYOUT OF THE DEPARTMENT

The layout of the housekeeping department is the physical demarcation of

areas in

the department. When the layout is well-planned, it enables the smooth functioning
of the department. The layout is dependent on the size of the hotel as well as physical
the executive housekeeper, at
space restrictions. Normally, the layout is decided by
 The Housekeeping Department 37

Executive
Desk control room
Housekeeper's cabin

Laundry 1 Sewing room & Lost&

storage area found room

Linen room Housekeeping

store
Florist's room
Uniform
exchange counter

Back area corridor

Fig. 2.6 Layout of housekeeping department in a budget hotel

the facility planning stage in setting up the hotel. The following factors are taken into
consideration when deciding on the area and layout.
.Total number of guestroomns
Number of function rooms and number of food and beverage outlets
Amount of manpower required
.Volume of business anticipated
Number of jobs contracted out
Flow oftraffic (people and equipment)
Figures 2.6 and 2.7 show the layout of the housekeeping department in a budget
hotel and a large hotel, respectively.
The following areas constitute the layout of a housekeeping department.

Executive housekeepers cabin The executive housekeeper should have an independent

cabin, since it is the administrative centre of the department. A glass-panelled office with
blinds to provide privacy at times, such as when meetings are conducted and confidential
issues are discussed, is most appropriate. The cabin should have one entrance-cum-exit
door where entry is controlled by the secretary. Ample built-in shelves and cupboards
with locks should be provided to store files and records.
Assistant housekeeper's cabin A smaller cabin should be provided for the assistant

housekeeper, preceding the executive housekeeper's cabin. Storage area for documents
is essential in the AHK's cabin.
Desk control room This is the communication hub of the housekeeping department
house-
and this desk is manned 24 hours a day. It should normally adjoin the executive
and sign out at the
keeper's cabin, as this is the point where all staff report their dutyinformation for stafi.
end of their shift. It should have a large notice board to pin up
shelves tor
lt should also have more than one telephone connection as well as storage
registers and files.
38 Hotel Housekeeping:Operationsand Managemen
Back area
Florist's room
corridor

Housekeeping
supply store
Horticulture
equipment store

Housekeeping
control room
Heavy
equipment &
furniture store
Lost& AHK's
found cabin
room

Back area corridor

EHK's cabin

Sewing room Uniform exchange counter

Laundry
Linen and Uniform
Linen store room

Fig. 2.7 Layout of a housekeeping department in a large hotel

Lost-and-found section This is usually an area set aside in the desk control room
away from high-traffic areas. A cupboard with a good locking mechanism should be
provided here for storing the lost-and-found articles so that they may be claimed later.
Housekeeping stores This is a room to store items such as cleaning supplies, guest
supplies, and so on, which are issued on a daily basis. It should ideally be clean, dry,
and securely locked.

Heavy equipment store This is a room to store bulky equipment and items such as
vacuum cleaners, carpet shampoo machines, ladders, roll-away beds, and
It should be a clean,
mattresses
dry, and cool room that can be locked when not in use.
Horticulture equipment store This room is used for the
storage of gardening imple
ments such as rakes, spades, lawn mowers, pots, pails, water hoses, and seeds. It shoud
be near to the garden area and should have its doors kept locked. The size of the room
depends on the landscaped area to be tended.

Florist's This should be an air-conditioned room to

room
keep flowers fresh for tn
w arrangements required by the hotel. It should have a work table, counters, asin
adequate water supply, and cupboards to store equipment, containers, wire cables, a
and

other accessories.
Linen and uniform room This is the room where the linen in circulation is stored tor
issue when received from the laundry. The room also stocks the uniforms in curre
 Tne HOusekeeping Department

use.It should be situated next to the

and free from
laundry. The room should be large, secure, airy,
humidity. There should be adequate shelves and racks to stock all linen
and hanging facilities for uniforms. It
should have a counter across which
can take place.
Large hotels prefer to have a separate uniform room and a exchanges
dedicated
linen room since the uniformed workforce is
large.
Linen store This room stores stocks of new linen
and uniforms. It also stocks fabric
and materials for soft furnishings,
linen, and uniforms to be stitched. The stocks of linen
should be enough to replenish the entire hotel once
over. Since the stock is used
when the linen in current only
circulation falls short of par, the area should be
with shelves and racks to store linen for a provided
ventilated, and free from dampness.
longer time. The room should be cool, well-

Sewing room This room is used for repair work carried out on
linen, uniforms, and soft
furnishings. It should be large enough to accommodate sewing machines, an ironing
table, and space for items to be repaired.
Floor pantry/maid's service room
Though not attached to the department physically, floor
pantries are very much a part of the housekeeping department. These are located on each
guest floor to keep a stock of linen, guest supplies, and maid's cart and cleaning supplies for
that particular floor. A floor pantry stores a
complete set of linen for the whole floor (floor
par over and above what is already in circulation in the rooms. The floor pantries should be
tucked away from guests' view and should be situated near the service elevators. It should
store all housekeeping items so that the housekeeping staff do not have to keep going back
to the housekeeping department or linen room for any item. It should have shelves and
cupboards for linen and supplies, and sufficient area to park a room maid's cart. It should
have a sink with water supply. A sample layout of a floor pantry is shown in Figure 2.8.
Since the floor pantry is used to stock expensive items such as linen, it should remain
locked at all times when not in use. The key to the floor pantry is kept by the GR
of that floor and a duplicate is kept with the floor supervisor. The following should be
provided in a floor pantry:
Cupboards to store guest supplies, cleaning agents, and equipment.
Shelves and racks to store fresh room linen.
Linen trolleys to store fresh and soiled linen and for transporting/dispatching the
same to the linen and uniform room.
A notice board to display information regarding expected arrivals, VIPs in the
house, extra bed, and guest loan items given to guests.
A sink with hot and cold water facilities to wash or disinfect glasses, fill drinking
water in flasks, and for filower arrangements.
Guest loan items such as rollaway beds, cribs, and bed boards.
The forms and records maintained in the floor pantry are as follows:
Room Linen Control Form (Refer chapter 17, Exhibit 17.1) filled by the tloor
supervisor daily and sent along with soiled linen to the linen room. The signed
copy is received back and filed.
.Copy of Room Linen Exchange Form (Refer chapter 17, Exhibit 17.2) sent from
the linen room
40 Hotel Housekeeping: Operationsand Management
Fire Racks for storing
extinguisher cleaning agents First-aid
box

Colour-coded
Notice board dustbins

Floor linen
storage cupboard
Intercom
Room attendant's
cart
Linen chute

O
Potable water
source&
wash basin
Racks for storing
guest amenities
and loan items

Racks for storing cleaning equipment & roll-away beds

Fig. 2.8 Sample layout of a floor pantry

Room Linen Inventory Form (Refer chapter 17, Exhibit 17..7)

Stores Requisition Form (Refer chapter 2, Exhibit 2.2) for requisitioning guest
supplies, cleaning supplies, and stationery items
.Floor Duty Chart
Floor Maintenance Register that records all the maintenance
works that need to
be completed on the floor
Spring Cleaning Register for the periodic schedule of thorough cleaning of the
rooms on rotation