Housekeeping is the management and the routine support activities of running an organised physical

institution occupied or used by people, like a house, ship, hospital or factory, such as tidying, cleaning,
cooking, routine maintenance, shopping, and bill payment. These tasks may be performed by members
of the household, or by persons hired for the purpose. This is a more broad role than a cleaner, who is
focused only on the cleaning aspect.[1] The term is also used to refer to the money allocated for such
use.[2] By extension, it may also refer to an office or organization, as well as the maintenance of
computer storage systems.[3]

The basic concept can be divided into domestic housekeeping, for private households, and institutional
housekeeping for commercial and other institutions providing shelter or lodging, such as hotels, resorts,
inns, boarding houses, dormitories, hospitals and prisons.[4][5] There are related concepts in industry
known as workplace housekeeping and Industrial housekeeping, which are part of occupational health
and safety processes.

A housekeeper is a person employed to manage a household[6] and the domestic staff. According to the
1861 Victorian era Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, the housekeeper is second in
command in the house and "except in large establishments, where there is a house steward, the
housekeeper must consider herself as the immediate representative of her mistress".[7]

Institutional housekeeping

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In commercial lodging establishments (hotels, resorts, inns, boarding houses etc), housekeeping is the
work of providing a clean, comfortable, safe and aesthetically appealing environment for the guests, and
the operational department in a hotel which is responsible for these activities in rooms, public areas,
back areas and the surroundings. The housekeeping department has a supprt role in a hotel as it does
not directly generate income, and it is considered to be a "back of the house" department although
there is limited direct contact with the guests.[8]

Communal lodging (dormitories etc)

In hospitals and clinics, housekeeping is a support service under a specific department, which is
responsible for cleanliness, maintenance and aesthetic upkeep of patient care areas, public areas and
staff areas. The department may also be known as "Sanitation".[5][9]