SY 2020-2021

HOUSEKEEPING NC II
MODULE

LO2: Clean and prepare rooms for
incoming guests
Program Overview
The HOUSEKEEPING NC II Qualification
consists of competencies that a person must
achieve to prepare guest rooms, clean public
areas and equipment, provide housekeeping
services, provide valet services, handle
intoxicated guest, and laundry linen and guest
clothes to a range of accommodation services.

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 LO2
LO2
PROVIDING GUESTROOM SERVICE

Objectives:
At the End of this unit, students were able to:
1. Identify the role of room attendant;
2. Prepare for cleaning duties;
3. Make beds;
4. Clean bathroom;
5. Clean room;
6. Provide additional housekeeping services;
7. Prepare for next shift.

INFORMATION SHEET 2.1

IDENTIFY THE ROLE OF ROOM ATTENDANT

INTRODUCTION
The hospitality business that provides accommodation to their guests has Guest Room
Attendants (GRAs).
GRA's performance of their duty plays an important role in ensuring guest's memorable
experience and satisfaction.

The nature of the hotel business suggests that rooms are occupied by different guests day
after day. But each time a guest enters the room, he/she expects the room to be thoroughly
cleaned, safe, and comfortable. There must be no evidence of the previous guest occupancy
such as a single strand of hair, a droplet of water on a surface or even a fingerprint.

Obviously, the primary function of the GRA is to ensure the cleanliness and maintenance of
the guest rooms, as well as the safety and security of the guest’s stay But more than this,
they should also make sure that the guests are satisfied with every request for services.

They must also be friendly and courteous to the guests, discreet in dealing, show product
knowledge, and able to handle guest requests and complaints.

Responsibilities of a Guest Room Attendant

Guest Relations
All employees, including the GRA, are supposed to greet guests cheerfully. Most of the time,
GRAs work by themselves and must use common sense to manage problems that occur
without the supervision or help from other staff.
If there is a complaint about a room, the GRA will take care of it.
Guest Safety
Part of the duties and responsibilities of the GRA is to ensure the safety of guests and their
belongings.
Cleanliness
As discussed, the main responsibility of the GRA is to ensure that the room is clean and
presentable.
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Administration and Communication
GRAs must know what rooms they are assigned to clean and in what order based on the
room status report. Administration and communication is an important aspect in ensuring
that rooms are presented to the guests clean and ready for occupancy.

Daily activities
Following is a list of activities a room attendant may be required to complete on a daily
basis. As you can see there are many activities a room attendant is responsible for in a
normal work shift, involving a wide variety of knowledge and skills.
Prepare for work
 Collect master keys
 Collect daily room allocation sheets
 Stock housekeeping trolleys
 Stock and store supplies
 Determine the order of cleaning of rooms
 Identify any special requests
Enter room
 Knock on door in compliance with policy
 Open door
 Place trolley in door path.
Clean room
 Open curtains and windows for ventilation
 Remove used guest amenities and rubbish
 Clean showers, tubs, sinks and bathroom items
 Change linen and make beds
 Check for damaged linen items
 Inspect rooms for safety hazards and for the operating condition of equipment and
 report defects to the maintenance department
 Report lost and found articles, maintenance problems or
 special room problems
 Dust and clean room decorations, appliances and structural
 surfaces (wall fixtures, window sills, and vents)
 Dust, brush, polish vacuuming furniture.
 Replenish guest amenities and supplies
 Check, record and replenish mini bar
 Prepare rooms for guest arrival and respond to special guest
 requests, such as delivering newspapers or cleaning a spill.
 Deliver and retrieve items on loan to guests such as iron and
 ironing board
 Perform rotation cleaning duties (such as. steam clean of carpets) as required
 Vacuum and sweep carpets and other floor surfaces.
 Mop floor surfaces as needed.
 Record room status on work assignment sheets
 Phone supervisor or reception updating status of room
 Close door.
Provide information to guests
 Listen, and respond to guests‟ requests or complaints
 Explain room equipment and facilities
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 Explain and handle dry cleaning and laundry requests
 Provide information to guests about hotel services, facilities and
 other amenities
 Provide information to guests about local attractions, services and
 location of places for religious worship
 Other specific information may include prayer and fasting times, location of prayer
mats and orientation for prayer.
Maintain storage areas and trolleys
 Return trolley to storage room
 Remove used and soiled linen from housekeeping cart
 Dispatch soiled linen to the laundry
 Replenish linen and guest amenities to normal stock levels on trolleys
 Handle lost property
 Clean cleaning equipment including mops and vacuum cleaners
 Remove rubbish
 Clean storage room floor.

Close shift
 Return work allocation sheets
 Return keys
The following sections containing in this manual will look in detail, the steps and
techniques used to successfully complete the necessary activities expected of room
attendants.
It is commonly recognized that the role of room attendant is physically demanding and
requires a wide scope of tasks to be performed. As such, it takes a special person to do
the job well.

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INFORMATION SHEET 2.2
PREPARE FOR CLEANING DUTIES

Replenish linen room supplies

For most activities performed by a room attendant there are clear and precise instructions
on how to perform the tasks. In this section we will identify all the activities that will need
to be performed before rooms are cleaned. As you will see, preparation is the key in
ensuring rooms are cleaned in an efficient and timely manner. As room attendants often
work in remote locations, not in close proximity to supplies, they must ensure they have
all the necessary items at their disposal before they enter and clean rooms. Before guest
rooms are serviced, there is a need to prepare the linen room supplies and trolley that will
be used to cart the cleaning materials and the room supplies to those rooms. This section
will also identify the equipment that needs to be selected and prepared, and identify the
„rooms‟ that may be involved when preparing guest rooms.

Equipment
Various pieces of equipment are needed to service a guest room. These are usually stored
on a housekeeping store room on each floor – or in some central location.
Equipment that needs to be correctly selected and prepared before it is used may include:

Housekeeping trolley
A housekeeping trolley is sometimes called a Maids‟ trolley‟. Check to see it is clean,
presentable, and safe. There should be no jagged bits, nothing should protrude to present
a potential hazard, and the wheels should move easily and smoothly.

Vacuum cleaner
This must be checked to see it is empty at the start of the shift, spare bags are available
(where appropriate), that the machine is fully functional and that there are no frayed
cords or other safety problems. Check should also be made to ensure that all the vacuum
machine tools/accessories that need to be used are available.

Mops
Ensure the mop head looks presentable as guests will be able to see this and may infer a
lack of cleanliness in other or all cleaning from seeing a dirty mop head. Also ensure it
has been sanitized to kill bacteria. Mops may include wet mops for washing floors and dry
mops for polishing and dusting, depending on the areas to be cleaned.

Brooms and brushes

These should be sufficient in number as dictated by the establishment, clean, and
sufficiently bristled.
The most common types of brooms and brushes are:
 Carpet brush
 Scrubbing brush
 Sink brush
 Silk brush
 Toilet brush
 Wall brush
 Soft broom
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  Hand brush.
Not all types will be required on all trolleys. It will depend on the facilities to be cleaned,
and what exists elsewhere in the property for staff to use such as brushes or brooms
available in-room.
All trolleys should have a dust pan and brush set.

Buckets
These should be fully operational, not leaking, easy to operate, and not smelly. Buckets
may be required for wet mopping and most room servicing trolleys will also feature a
couple of plastic bucket-type containers used to hold cleaning materials, cloths,
chemicals and used to carry items into a guest room.
Protective gloves
A good supply of disposable gloves should be on each trolley. Specific house requirements
in relation to individual Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) issues may require other,
more substantial protective clothing (including gloves) be worn. It is standard procedure
in all premises that room attendants wear protective gloves when cleaning and handling
chemicals.
Housekeeping uniform
The housekeeping uniform is also regarded as „protective clothing‟.
Cloths
Used for cleaning, polishing and dusting, every trolley will need to have lots of these.
Some are made from material and some are disposable.

Dust pan
A dust pan is vital to collect dirt, dust and rubbish.

Cleaning agents and chemicals

Cleaning agents and other chemicals are used to perform various tasks and clean various
surfaces.
Depending on what is in each room you may be required to have:
 Polishes
 Detergents
 Glass cleaner
 Multi-purpose cleaners
 Oven cleaners
 Stainless steel cleaners
 Leather cleaners
 Porcelain and ceramic cleaners
 Toilet and urinal cleaners
 Dishwashing detergent
 Sanitizers
 Disinfectants
 Deodorizers and air sprays
 Pest control sprays and similar.
Ordering and receiving supplies
Linen stores and housekeeping trolleys can be stocked at the beginning or end of each shift,
but it is preferable that they are fully re-stocked at the end of the days work, so they are
prepared for the next shift, and so that missing items are able to be bought in before the next
shift. When supplies in the floor housekeeping store room run low,
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further supplies can be brought up from the housekeeping department where there is
usually some form of central store purely for housekeeping supplies.
When requesting supplies you may be required to complete a requisition form.

Requisition form
The requisition form is an internal stock ordering form that you fill in and give to the Head
Housekeeper (or other nominated person).
It will identify:
 Person requesting the items
 Type of items needed
 Quantity
 Date.
The majority of housekeeping departments will have a standard order or requisition form.
Requisition forms that are completed and forwarded to the Head Housekeeper at the end of
shift today, should result in the supplies that have been ordered (or “requisitioned”) being
supplied to the appropriate floor housekeeping store room later that day or early the next day
before the next shift starts work.

The Maid’s Cart or Trolley

Maid cart is very important in housekeeping. It is like a giant tool box where all the supplies
needed are placed during room service. It should have space to carry all the supplies needed
by a room attendant in a specific shift.

There are three deep shelves in a maid’s cart. The two lower shelves are stocking linens while
the top shelf is used for stocking supplies.

Items placed on the maid’s cart are determined based on the room category, guest amenities,
and the size of the cart. Below is the standard number of linen usually placed in the maid’s
cart:
LINEN Par Stock
Bed Sheets 2 per bed
Bedspread 1 per bed
Face towels 1 per guest
Pillow Cases 2 per bed
Bath mats 1 per bathroom
Mattress Protector Limited number
Hand Towel 1 per guest

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Steps in Setting up a Maid’s Cart or Trolley

A. Preparation
1. Get all items ready
2. Get assignment sheet from the housekeeping control desk.
3. Clean trolley; wipe all areas using a wiping cloth designated for wiping the trolley.
4. Collect the needed stock from the trolley.
5. Record all the needed items loaded on the cart on the room assignment sheet.
B. Procedure
1. Start stacking from the bottom shelf.
2. Stack at the middle shelf the bathroom linens.
3. Place on the top shelf all the amenities and bathroom supplies. Arrange neatly.
4. Stack the hand caddy with cleaning supplies starting from all-purpose cleaner,
glass cleaner, dusting solution, and bowl brush. Place the trash bag on the left side
of the trolley.
5. Position vacuum and sweeping equipment on one side of the trolley.
C. Inspection
1. Inspect to ensure that trolley is properly stacked, properly arranged, and cleaned.
2. Check if the linen bag and trash bin are empty and clean.

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Self Check 2.1

Do the following activity.

- Make a list of all the cleaning tools, materials, and cleaning agents that you have at
home.
- Recommend the cleaning tools, materials, and cleaning agents that you think should be
added to the list and why it should be.
- Ask your mother about the advantages and disadvantages of using traditional cleaning
materials.
- Write your answers on a bond paper or yellow sheet of paper

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Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in Hotel Housekeeping

Housekeeping is a physically demanding job. It is called such because it is classified as

“moderately heavy” to “heavy” work. There are risk associated with this kind of work. The
health of the worker might be at stake, and there is a possibility of injury or worst, death.
The most common injury that might happen because of the nature of the job is called
repetitive motion injuries (RMIs). Heavy physical workload and excessive bodily motions can
cause back injury while forceful upper limb motion in awkward positions can cause neck or
should and arm injuries.

Safety practices in the Workplace

 Always wear personal protective equipment (PPE).
 Make sure all spills are immediately cleaned up to avoid slipping.
 Replace worn, ripped, and damaged flooring, and place anti-slip flooring in the areas that
cannot continually be cleaned such as an entrance.
 Maintain clean light fixtures to improve lighting efficiency.
 Keep aisles and stairway clear.
 Place warning signs and mirrors to help improve sight lines in blind corners.
 Regularly inspect, clean, and repair all tools.
 Do not damaged tools.

Safety in Handling Cleaning Chemicals

 Use thee appropriate protective equipment when handling concentrated Cleaning

products.
 There should be a complete list of all cleaning chemicals used in the facility. Details
like how many gallons are stored, where they are stored, potential hazards, and
precautionary measures for each chemical should be included in the list
 There should be safely data sheets for each chemical used or stored.
 Always follow the manufacturer's instructions of using the chemicals. If not used the
right way, these cleaning chemicals may not effectively work and can be harmful.
 All cleaning chemicals should be kept in their original containers.
 Never mix chemicals, even if they are of the same type. Combining ammonia and
chlorine bleach for example can produce the fatal, chlorine gas.
 Do not use different cleaners as an alternative, unless the intended use is the same.
 Install safety signage that quickly conveys possible dangers and precautions related to
the chemicals.
 It is important that you know exactly what the following "signal words" mean:
Caution: the product should be used carefully but is relatively safe
Warning: the product is moderately toxic.
Danger: the product is highly toxic and may cause permanent damage to skin and
eyes.
Protective Equipment

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) like safety headwear, safety footwear, safety hand, and
safety eyewear are important. They must be worn by employees that are exposed to
hazardous materials or in cases where danger or risk for injury is present.
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Self check 2.2

Assess the risk, find the solution and list down results of the cases study presented below.

Case Study: Alternative Equipment to Reduce Forces

TASK: Six housekeeper of a three- star hotel were required to mop extensive areas of the
floor. The mopping task involved filling the bucket with water, wetting the mop in the bucket,
squeezing the excess water, mopping the floor, rinsing and squeezing the mop, and emptying
and refiling the bucket. There are number of different styles of mops and buckets available
on the operation. Some require the cleaner to squeeze the mop manually, while other
mopping system include a pull along bucket with a wringer and handle which the cleaner
presses down on to squeeze the mop.

TASK PROBLEM: The housekeepers used a Kentucky mop ( a mop with a long mop head )
together with a bucket that has a wringer system but without wheel. The housekeepers felt
that a big amount of force is needed to squeeze the mop; the mop had to be rinsed and
squeezed frequently during the mopping task. Measurement of these force in the laboratory
showed that in order to squeeze a mop, the housekeeper had to put so much force as
possible into squeezing. All housekeeper reported pain and discomfort in their wrist and
back.

Assessing the risk or finding the solution:

Result:

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Terminologies Used in Housekeeping

Room status terminologies are used to by both housekeeping department and front desk in
communicating with each other regarding room occupancy. It is very important that these
two departments continuously communicate with each other, not only to maximize sales and
revenue but to avoid problems like room status discrepancy.

 Pre- register – a guest has booked a room earlier for early morning arrival.
 Occupied (OCC) – a guest is currently occupying the room.
 Occupied Clean (OC)- there is a guest occupying the room and it has already been
cleaned by the room attendant.
 Occupied Dirty (OD) – there is a guest occupying the room and it has not been
cleaned by the room attendant yet.
 Extra Bed (XB) – there is an extra bed being used in the guest room.
 Light Baggage (LB)– the guest occupying the room does not have a large baggage.
 No Baggage (NB) – the guest occupying the room does not have a baggage.
 No Need Service (NNS) – a guest requested a “ no service” for the room.
 Stay-0ver- the guest is not expected to check out today and will remain at least one
more night.
 On-change – the guest has departed, but the room has not yet been cleaned and not
ready for new occupants.
 Do Not Disturb(DND) – the guest has requested not to be disturbed.
 Cleaning in Progress- room attendant is currently cleaning the room
 Sleep-out – a guest is registered to the room, but the bed has not been used.
 Skipper – the guest has left the hotel without making arrangements to settle his or
her account.
 Vacant and Ready or Vacant and Clean (VC). The room has been cleaned and
inspected and is ready for the arriving guest.
 Vacant Dirty (VD) – The room is vacant but has not yet been cleaned.
 Out of Order (OOO) – rooms kept under out of order are not sellable and these rooms
are deducted from the hotels inventory.
 Out of Service ( OOS) – rooms kept under out of service are not deducted from hotel
inventory. This is a temporary blocking and reason may be a malfunctioning bulb
fuse, TV remote not working , etc.
 Lock-out – the occupied room has been locked which disallows the guest to re -enter
until he or she comes into contact with the hotel staff to clarify his or her status.
 Did Not Check Out (DNCO) – the guest made arrangements to settle his or her bills,
but has left without informing the front desk.
 Due Out – the room is expected to become vacant after the guest check out.
 Check out (C/O) the guest has settled hi or her account, returned the room keys, and
left the hotel.
 Late Check Out – the guest has requested and is being allowed to check out later
than the normal or standard departure time of the hotel.
 Expected Departure (ED) – it is the same as “due date” which means the guest would
depart prior to the check out time of the following day.

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  Inspected Clean (I) – the room is double checked by the floor supervisor after the
cleaning of room attendant.
 Complimentary – the room is occupied for free.
Guest Room Classification

Single Room – a room that accommodates only 1 person and has single or a queen –
sized bed.
Twin Room – a room that can accommodate two person with two twin beds.
Double Room – a room that can accommodate two persons with a double or queen
sized bed.
Suite – a room with one or more bedrooms and a living space.
President suite – the most expensive room provided by a hotel usually only one
president suite is available in a hotel.
Accessible room – this room type is mainly designed for disabled guest.
Connecting Room – two rooms that are side by side with a connecting door between
them.

Hotel Guest Can be classified according to:

 Trip Purpose – pleasure or business traveler
 Numbers – independent or group travelers
 Origin – local or overseas travelers.

Classification of Hotel Guest

1. Leisure Travelers. They are individuals who travel to engage in leisure activities
outdoor recreation, for relaxation, to visit friends and relatives, or to attend sport or
cultural events.
2. Corporate Business Travelers. They are individuals whose frequent bookings are
usually made by enterprises with reduced room rates. Business travelers go on a trip
to conduct business and attend meetings or workshops, and engage in selling or
purchasing of products.
3. Travelers (FITs). They are sometimes referred to as foreign independent travelers.
FITs are international tourists who purchase their own accommodation and make
their own travel arrangements.

4. Group Inclusive Tours (GITS). Tourists who travel together on package tours with
accommodation and sometimes meals which are booked through travel agents. Group
tourists tend to spend less and budget their spending allowance.

5. Domestic Tourists. They are local residents who stay at a hotel tor special occasions
and functions.
6. Conference Participants. Individuals who travel to attend conference and whose
accommodation is usually reserved by themselves, their enterprise, or a conference
organizer prior to their arrival.

7. Very Important Persons (VIPs). Very important persons may include celebrities,
frequent-stay guests, guests in expensive rooms, guests with security risks, and top
executives from enterprises

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8. Incognito. They are guests who stay in a hotel with concealing identities to avoid
notice and unwanted attention

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