Procedure for Seeking Entry Into Guest Rooms

i. The housekeeping staff knocks on the door loudly and announces “Housekeeping”
and wait for a guest response for about 15 seconds irrespective of the status of the
room except for vacant rooms.
ii. If there is no response for a room whose status showing as occupied, the staff
repeats the process one more time.
iii. For departure rooms (after the first knock and wait) and for occupied rooms (after
the second knock and wait) the housekeeping staff opens the lock with the master
key, slightly opens the door and announces “Housekeeping, May I come in?”
again.
iv. For occupied room the housekeeping staff checks for any sound of guest
occupancy (especially say the sound of shower or bathroom usage).
v. If guest is present in the room, then:
a. Guest is present but did not hear the knocks or the announcement, politely
move into the room and check if it is okay to clean the room. If the guest
agrees start the cleaning process. If the guest suggests cleaning later, asking
for a convenient time, thank the guest and leave.
b. Guest is present in the bathroom, quietly shut the door and make a note to visit
the room little while later.
vi. If guest is not in the room, start the cleaning process.
 Procedure for Starting The Cleaning Of Guest Rooms

i. Pull the maid’s cart close to the room door, sealing the entry into the room. This is
done to avoid any unwanted personnel entering the room without being noticed.
ii. The side of the maid’s cart that is open (with linen compartments) faces the door.
iii. Carry the essential materials needed to clean the room along while entering a
room.
iv. Switch on all lights, this brightens the room as well as gives an opportunity to
assess if the lights are all working.
v. Draw the curtains to the sides to ensure that there is adequate daylight entering the
room.
vi. Once the curtains are drawn if there is sufficient natural light, the electrical lights
maybe switched off sequentially.
vii. Under no circumstance shall housekeeping staff work in a room with closed doors
whether a guest is present in the room or otherwise.
 Procedure for Cleaning Of Departure Rooms

i. Once the lights have been checked, the next task is to check to room for any lost
and found in the case of departure rooms.
ii. Cupboards, draws, chests, underneath of the bed and other furniture are checked
to ascertain if the guest has left behind anything. Also check to verify if the
wardrobes have sufficient cloth hangers, if they are in good shape etc. Check the
paper lining in the wardrobes, chests and drawers along with naphthalene balls,
remember to replace if necessary, at the time of replenishing supplies.
iii. All equipments like Refrigerator, AC, Geyser, Television, Telephone etc. are
checked to establish normal functioning. Special attention to be given to
Television and AC remotes.
iv. Next the trash is collected from all over the room including dustbins (including
the dustbin liner) and the ash trays (In case of smoking rooms). These are then
moved to the bathroom.
v. The trash along with the dustbin liner is placed in the bathroom trash bin.
vi. The ash trays are washed in the sink and wiped dry.
vii. Check the taps and showerheads. Check the W.C. for leakages and proper
function of the flush. Apply the toilet cleaning agent (germicides like Harpic),
close the WC and return to the bedroom.
viii. On the way back carry the soiled linen and the cleaned ash tray.
ix. Place the soiled linen on the coffee table and replace the ash trays in their
designated place.
x. The bed is stripped of its linen and the linen removed is folded and placed on the
coffee table. Linen is never dropped on the floor.
xi. As the linen is being removed, check for any visible damages to the linen (tear,
stain etc). If there is damaged linen, keep them separately.
xii. Once the linen is removed, check the bedding for any visible damages or stain or
wetness. If the mattress has a problem, spare mattress has to be called in. The Unit
Head needs to be informed regarding the same, at the earliest.
xiii. Once the bedding is checked, cleaning the room starts. The staff removes cobwebs
or visible dust from the ceiling and the walls using a “Turks head” or a duster.
xiv. Then the furniture and fittings including bed side lampshades etc. are cleaned
(damp wipe). Besides obvious areas like furniture tops, and visible areas, care
must be taken to wipe the normally ignored areas like photo frames, grooves and
corners.
xv. Next the mirrors and glasses are cleaned
xvi. The photo frames and fixtures are checked for proper orientation.
xvii. The room amenities are checked. Replace all room amenities that needs
replacement, reposition room amenities that have moved away from their
designated place.
xviii. Remove the soiled linen to the maid’s cart and collect the fresh linen.
xix. Make the bed.
xx. Move to the bathroom; Check the ceiling and the walls for cobwebs, dust etc clean
them as required.
xxi. Clean (wash with soap solution if required or else dry wipe) the tiles from top to
down.
xxii. Damp wipe the Chrome fittings (taps, towel rods and showerheads). Ensure that
there are no water spots.
xxiii. Clean the sink (wash and wipe dry) and the mirror.
xxiv. Clean the exteriors and the interiors of the WC, wipe dry.
xxv. Clean the Bathtub and the Bath enclosure.
xxvi. Clean and wipe dry the bucket and mug and place it in the appropriate position.
xxvii. Check the bathroom supplies and replace all necessary supplies as per the
amenities list “Re-point” the toilet tissue and facial tissue (the first extended sheet
of paper from each fixture should be folded so as to present a neat triangle-pointed
tip for the next user of the bathroom)
xxviii. Sweep off any dust in the bathroom, collect it in the trash bin.
xxix. Remove the trash (including the trash liner); wash and wipe the trash bin if
necessary. Take the trash back to the maid’s cart, return with sufficient fresh linen
and the new trash liner for the trash bin.
xxx. Place the bath linen in the designated space. Reline the trash bin.
xxxi. Mop the bathroom floor dry.
xxxii. Close the WC lid and fix the WC Band (This toilet has been cleaned and sanitized
for your use)
xxxiii. For the final bathroom check, recheck all lights in the bathroom. Check the room
once more before leaving and lightly spray with air freshener. Turn off all lights in
the bathroom
xxxiv. For the final inspection of the bedroom, the guestroom attendant should move to
the front of the room next to the entrance door and observe the entire room.
xxxv. Remember, what is now seen is what the guests will see as they enter the room.
Before closing the door, lightly spray with air freshener.
xxxvi. Call Front Office to inform that the room status can be changed from Departure
Room To Vacant Room and make a note on the housekeeper’s daily work report
about having completed the service
 Procedure for Cleaning Of Occupied Rooms

i. If the guest is present in the room, enquire if he/ she is finding the stay
comfortable and if there are any issues that are bothering them.
ii. In the absence of the guest, all equipments like Refrigerator, AC, Geyser,
Television, Telephone etc. are checked to establish normal functioning. Special
attention to be given to Television and AC remotes.
iii. Cupboards, draws, chests, are never opened in an occupied room.
iv. Next the trash is collected from all over the room including dustbins (including
the dustbin liner) and the ash trays (In case of smoking rooms). These are then
moved to the bathroom.
v. The trash along with the dustbin liner is placed in the bathroom trash bin.
vi. The ash trays are washed in the sink and wiped dry.
vii. Check the taps and showerheads. Check the W.C. for leakages and proper
function of the flush. Apply the toilet cleaning agent (germicides like Harpic),
close the WC and return to the bedroom.
viii. On the way back carry the soiled linen and the cleaned ash tray.
ix. Place the soiled linen on the coffee table and replace the ash trays in their
designated place.
x. Look around for any clothes, books, newspaper etc. strewn around the room.
Collect these and place them on the chair, for now.
xi. The bed is stripped of its linen and the linen removed is folded and placed on the
coffee table. Linen is never dropped on the floor.
xii. As the linen is being removed, check for any visible damages to the linen (tear,
stain etc). If there is damaged linen, keep them separately.
xiii. Once the linen is removed, check the bedding for any visible damages or stain or
wetness. If the mattress has a problem, spare mattress has to be called in. The Unit
Head needs to be informed regarding the same, at the earliest.
xiv. Once the bedding is checked, cleaning the room starts. The staff removes cobwebs
or visible dust from the ceiling and the walls using a “Turks head” or a duster.
xv. Then the furniture and fittings including bed side lampshades etc. are cleaned
(damp wipe). Besides obvious areas like furniture tops, and visible areas, care
must be taken to wipe the normally ignored areas like photo frames, grooves and
corners.
xvi. Next the mirrors and glasses are cleaned
xvii. The photo frames and fixtures are checked for proper orientation.
xviii. The room amenities are checked. Replace all room amenities that needs
replacement, reposition room amenities that have moved away from their
designated place.
xix. Remove the soiled linen to the maid’s cart and collect the fresh linen.
xx. Make the bed. This step is carried out using the existing linen in case of rooms
where only tidying up has been instructed.
xxi. Remove the clothes, books, newspapers from the chair and neatly fold them and
leave them in appropriate places - Clothes on the bed, books and newspapers on
the coffee table.
xxii. Move to the bathroom; Check the ceiling and the walls for cobwebs, dust etc clean
them as required.
xxiii. Clean (wash with soap solution if required or else dry wipe) the tiles from top to
down.
xxiv. Damp wipe the Chrome fittings (taps, towel rods and showerheads). Ensure that
there are no water spots.
xxv. Clean the sink (wash and wipe dry) and the mirror.
xxvi. Clean the exteriors and the interiors of the WC, wipe dry.
xxvii. Clean the Bathtub and the Bath enclosure.
xxviii. Clean and wipe dry the bucket and mug and place it in the appropriate position.
xxix. Check the bathroom supplies and replace all necessary supplies as per the
amenities list.
xxx. “Re-point” the toilet tissue and facial tissue (the first extended sheet of paper from
each fixture should be folded so as to present a neat triangle-pointed tip for the
next user of the bathroom)
xxxi. Sweep off any dust in the bathroom, collect it in the trash bin.
xxxii. Remove the trash (including the trash liner); wash and wipe the trash bin if
necessary. Take the trash back to the maid’s cart, return with sufficient fresh linen
and the new trash liner for the trash bin.
xxxiii. Place the bath linen in the designated space. For rooms that have requested just
tidying up, use existing linen, and place them appropriately. Reline the trash bin.
xxxiv. Mop the bathroom floor dry.
xxxv. Close the WC lid.
xxxvi. For the final bathroom check, recheck all lights in the bathroom. Check the room
once more before leaving and lightly spray with air freshener. Turn off all lights in
the bathroom
xxxvii. For the final inspection of the bedroom, the guestroom attendant should move to
the front of the room next to the entrance door and observe the entire room.
xxxviii. Remember, what is now seen is what the guests will see as they enter the
room. Before closing the door, lightly spray with air freshener.
xxxix. Make a note on the housekeeper’s daily work report about having completed the
service.
 Procedure for Cleaning Of Vacant Rooms:

i. Vacant Rooms are rooms that have been previously made ready for occupancy,
but have not been occupied since.
ii. The Housekeeping staff checks if the equipments are in good working condition.
iii. Dusts and cleans (wet wipe and dry wipe as required) the furniture and fixtures.
Specifically look for cobwebs and dust, in nooks, corners and surfaces above eye-
line.
iv. Empties the water in the water jug and replaces it with fresh drinking water.
v. Makes one check to see if the various things are in their place, lightly spray with
air freshener.
 Procedure for Bed making

The bed is often the focal point of a guest room, however well made beds are extremely
important for not just the aesthetic appeal of the room but also a comfortable sleep for the
guest.

A standard bed is made using the following bed linen.

i. 1 Bed Sheets – Bottom Sheet

ii. 1 Blanket
iii. Two pillows with fresh cover for each single bed.
iv. One Cushion and Runner

Once the bed has been stripped of its existing linen and the mattress is examined for being in
good condition the following steps are carried out:

i. The body of the cot is rolled away slightly from the headrest, after releasing the
locks on the cot legs. This the housekeeping staff to access the beds from all four
sides.
ii. The bottom sheet should be placed on the mattress so as to facilitate tucking in the
top at the head of bed with a mitered corner.
iii. The bottom sheet should be tucked in on the headrest side as well as both sides of
the bed. At the foot, the bottom sheet could either be tucked in or left to be tucked
in with the rest of the sheets.
iv. The blanket should now be placed on top of the bottom sheet, nine inches from the
head of the bed.
v. Fold the blanket to form a uniform band across the length of the bedding.
vi. The blanket should now be tucked in together at either side of the bed and the foot
of the bed, and a mitered fold made on both sides of the foot of the bed.
vii. The blanket is smoothed out to ensure there are no creases on the bedding, before
actually tucking in the bed.
viii. The pillow covers are changed if need be. The pillows are fluffed up and placed in
such a way that the slit of the pillow covers face away from the room door and are
on the bottom side of the pillows.
 Procedure for Cleaning of Glasses and Mirrors

Materials needed:

i. All purpose Cleaner like Colin

ii. Spray Can
iii. Newspaper pieces (or Paper Towels or microfiber cloth)

Method:

i. Spray surface evenly with the desired cleaner.

ii. Use the newspaper pieces (folded into 3- 4 inch squares) to wipe the cleaner off
the surface.
iii. Start wiping from the top corner straight across to the other side and continue
wiping straight across working your way down the glass/mirror until you reach the
bottom.
iv. Flip the Newspaper piece to the dry side and repeat the wiping procedure to
absorb the remaining tiny drops that cause streaks.
v. For stubborn stains, use additional cleaner and wipe until gone.

The key to process is applying enough cleaner (neither too much nor too little), drying the
cleaner off right away, removing the streaks before they dry, and using straight wiping
motions across the glass from top to bottom.
 Evening Service/ Turndown Service

Around 6:00 PM every evening, the housekeeping staffs provide what is known as evening
service or turndown service in all occupied rooms. The procedure for evening service is as
follows:

i. After entering the room, the housekeeping staffs switch on all lights to ascertain if
they are all in working condition.
ii. Generally tidy up the room and the bathroom. Any item strewn around in the
room is returned to its original place. Note that cupboards, drawers and chests
should not be opened in occupied rooms.
iii. Check and refill the water flask if necessary.
iv. Redo the bed if necessary.
v. Turn down the upper band into a neat little triangle, on the side that the guest is
expected to get into the bed.
vi. This is done to help the guest slip into the bed easily.
vii. A goodnight card and chocolates/ mints (if provided) are placed on the fold.
viii. Draw to close all the curtains before leaving the room. Keep the bedside lamps
switched on, so that when the guest accesses the room, the bedside lamps will
come on.
 Procedure for Public Area (Guest Areas) Cleaning

i. One staff in each shift is given specific responsibility of cleaning public area
along with cleaning of guest rooms.
ii. On routine schedule the concerned staff shall clean the guest areas at the
following time intervals – 7:00 AM, 12:00 AM, 5:00 PM, and 11:00 PM (these
timings are merely representative and schedules can be prepared and varied as per
individual hotel requirements and specific room occupancy statuses).
iii. The 11:00 PM cleaning will be a thorough cleaning, clearing of cobwebs from
ceilings including polishing of brass and chrome fittings, floor scrubbing, dusting,
wiping etc.
iv. All other cleaning schedules will involve only wiping of furniture and fixtures as
well as mopping of floors, clearing of dustbins etc.
v. These cleaning schedules are subject to change pertaining to the traffic/ guest
presence in the areas. For example if there is a large number of guests checking
out at 7:00 AM in the morning, the 7:00 AM routine may either be advanced or
postponed.
vi. In addition to the above fixed schedules additional cleaning routines maybe
required if any particular area needs cleaning due to increased traffic, spillages
etc.
vii. Any floor in the public area that has been just mopped will bear the “wet floor”
sign parked in a visible manner.
viii. While cleaning in guest areas, “Cleaning in progress” sign is parked in a visible
manner.
ix. For public restrooms, the “Cleaning in progress” sign is placed outside the
restroom door.
x. In the case of restroom for women, in case a lady walks in while the cleaning is in
progress, the staff shall, move out of the restroom and wait for the guest to exit the
restroom before continuing the cleaning process.

The staff responsible for public area cleaning collects all the required cleaning aids and
assembles the same in a Public Area Cleaning Trolley.
 Procedure for Public Area (Staff Areas) Cleaning

i. One staff responsible for cleaning public area will also clean back areas/ staff
areas.
ii. On routine schedule the concerned staff shall clean the staff areas at the following
time intervals – 8:00 AM, 5:00 PM and 10:00 PM (these timings are merely
representative and schedules can be prepared and varied as per individual hotel
requirements and specific room occupancy statuses).
iii. The 10:00 PM cleaning will be a thorough cleaning, clearing of cobwebs from
ceilings, floor scrubbing, dusting, wiping etc.
iv. All other cleaning schedules will involve only wiping of furniture and fixtures as
well as mopping of floors, clearing of dustbins etc.
v. In addition to the above fixed schedules additional cleaning routines maybe
required if any particular area needs cleaning due to increased traffic, spillages
etc.
 Procedure for Guest Laundry Collection

1. Every room has laundry bags and laundry lists placed in the cupboards, for the
convenience of guests who would like to use the laundry service.
2. Laundry service is normally offered on a next day basis. All clothes received before
10:00 AM however will be returned by 8: 00 PM on the same day. Those received
after that will be returned by 10: 00 AM the next day.
3. The Laundry list needs to be duly filled and signed by the guest before handing over
the clothes to the housekeeping staff.
4. The housekeeping staff will verify and tally the clothes to ensure that the number of
pieces is as per what is mentioned in the laundry list, at the time of collecting the
laundry. Care should be taken to check the pockets of dresses to ensure nothing of
value has been left behind by the guest in them.
5. Once at the department, the details from the laundry list are transferred to the laundry
register.
6. Each piece of laundry is then individually tagged to identify the room number and
date of receipt.
7. The laundry is then placed back in laundry bags, to be handed over to the outsourced
laundry service provider.