Hotel Housekeeping

UNIT-1
Define Housekeeping

?
Housekeeping is may be defined as “provision of
clean, comfortable, safe and aesthetically appealing
environment.

(OR)

“Housekeeping is an operational department in a

hotel, which is responsible for cleanliness,
maintenance, aesthetic upkeep of rooms, public
areas, back areas and the surroundings.”
Introduction
Housekeeping usually covers the following areas:
Guest rooms

Hallways and corridors

Lobby

Public rooms and restaurants

Offices

Stairways

Windows

Stores, concessionaire shops

Grounds

Linen and laundry area

 ROLE OF HOUSEKEEPING IN HOSPITALITY
INDUSTRY
Ensuring the care and comfort of guests.

Establish a welcoming atmosphere and ensure courteous,

reliable service.

Ensure a high standard of cleanliness and general upkeep in

all areas.
Provide linen, restaurants, banquet halls, and so on,

Provide uniforms for all the staff

Cater to the laundering requirements

Provide and maintain the floral decorations

Select the right contractors

Coordinate with the purchase department.

Deal with lost and found articles.

Establish a good working relationship with other departments.

Ensure that safety and security regulations all staff.

 ORGANIZATION STRUCTURE OF A
HOTEL

Hotel departments fall under the category of

 Revenue-earning departments

 Support departments.

The operational departments that sell services or products to

guests that directly generate revenue for the hotel
 Room’s division department:

In a large hotel, the housekeeping, front office, and

maintenance departments come under the rooms division.

 These departments together are responsible for

maintaining and selling the rooms in a hotel.
 Housekeeping department

cleanliness and upkeep of the front of the house areas as well as back of
the areas.

headed by the executive housekeeper.

 Front office department

Headed by the front office manager.

 operational department

Responsible for welcoming

and registering guests

Allotting them rooms, and helping guests check out.

 Maintenance department
Also called as the engineering and maintenance
department

Headed by the chief engineer.

The department is
responsible for
all kinds of maintenance works
 Food & beverage department
The food and beverage (F & B) department includes the restaurants,
bars, coffee shops, banquets, In-room dining, kitchen, and bakery.

This department is headed by the director of F&B.

F&B service department, headed by the F&B manager.

F&B production department headed by the executive chef.

 Human resource department
Also called as personnel department.

Recruitments, orientation and training, employee welfare and

compensation,

The training department is an ancillary department of the HR

department.

This is headed by the training manager.

 Sales and marketing department
This department is headed by the sales and marketing manager.

The function of this department is

fivefold-

1) sales,

2) personnel relations

3) Advertising,

4) Getting business

5) Market research.

 All the functions lead to the common goal of selling the product of the
hotel.
 Purchase department
led by the purchase manager.

procurement of all the departmental items

 central stores are part of the purchase department.

 Financial control department
 Headed by the financial controller,

 Responsible for ratifying all the inventory items of

the operational departments.

 Finalizing budgets prepared by the heads of other

departments.

 The hotel’s accounts are also maintained by the

controls department.

 It includes payment against invoices,

 Collecting payments,

 Generating statements,

 Processing payroll data

 Preparing the hotel’s financial statements.

 Security department

Headed by the chief security officer.

Responsible for safeguarding the assets and

employees

Conducting fire drills

Monitoring surveillance equipments

Patrolling the property

Housekeeping in other Institutions
Hospitals

Hostels

Universities

Residential Homes

Art galleries,

Museums,

Libraries and Archives

Offices
Layout of Housekeeping
Department
Housekeeper’s Office
Desk Control Room
 LINEN ROOM

This is the room where current linen is stored for issue and
receipt.

The room should be large, airy and free from heat and humidity.

adequate shelves easily accessible to stack all linen.

The room should be preferably adjoining the laundry so that

supply of linen to and from laundry is quick and smooth
 LINEN/UNIFORM STORE

This room stores the stocks of new linen cloth

materials for uniforms etc.

The stock maintained should be enough to

replenish the whole hotel once over.

It should be provided with shelves and racks to

store all linen and uniforms.
 Tailor’s Room
This room is kept for house tailors who attend to stitching and mending
work of linen and uniforms.
 Lost and Found Section

This should be a small space away from the thoroughfare ,secure cool
and dry with a cupboard to store all guest articles that are lost and may
be claimed later
 FLOWER ROOM

This should be an air conditioned room to keep fresh flowers for such
flower arrangements as the hotel may require

The room should have work tables ,a sink and a water supply.
Organization Structure of
Housekeeping Department
Organization Chart of a Large Hotel
Organization Chart of a Medium Sized Hotel
 Executive Housekeeper
 Responsible and accountable for the
 Total cleanliness

 Maintenance

 Aesthetic upkeep of the hotel.

This is achieved with the resources of

 Manpower

 Materials

 Machines

 Money

 Space

 Time Available
 Assistant Housekeeper

 May be one for each shift of a large hotel.

Manages the common objectives of

 Cleanliness

 Maintenance

 Attractiveness in a given shift.

His accountability normally ends on the completion of his shift.

 Uniform Room Supervisor

 A Non-management person

 Solely responsible for providing clean serviceable uniforms to the

staff

Inventory control on various stages of use

 Sorted

 handed over

 washed or dry-cleaned
 Uniform Room Attendants

 The uniform supervisor is assisted by attendants

Issue of uniforms in exchange for soiled ones

Attendants are in actual contact with the staff.

 Linen Room Supervisors

A non-management person

Solely responsible for the

 Acquisition,

 Storage,

 Issue and cleanliness of linen in its various forms.

He keeps track of all linen

 Linen Room Attendant

 Assists the supervisor by actually issuing linen and filling such

records as necessary.
 Tailor /Seamstress

 Tailor or seamstress personnel are responsible

 Stitching

 Mending the linen

 upholstery
 Floor Supervisor
 Responsible for the

 Cleanliness

 Maintenance

 Preventability of the guest

His scope encompasses

 Guest rooms

 Corridors

 Staircases

 Floor pantries of the allotted floor.

 Room Attendants

 Known as GRA’s.

Lady Attendants known as chamber maids

They do the actual cleaning of guest rooms and bathrooms

Responsible for the cleanliness of corridors, guest elevators and floor

pantries
 Public Area Supervisor
 Responsible for cleanliness, maintenance of public areas

 Restaurants

 Bars

 Banquet halls

 Gardens

 Administrative offices

 Shopping arcade, health club

 Swimming pool

 Main entrances

 Car park areas

 Head Houseman

 Supervises the work allotted to Houseman

In medium sized hotels he could be the person in charge of housekeeping
on night shifts.

Housemen

They do heavy physical cleaning required in guest rooms and public

areas.

shifting of furniture

cleaning of windows panels

 sweeping and Mopping

 Desk Control Supervisor
Hub of information dissemination in housekeeping

Must be manned 24 hours

Co-ordinates with the front office for information on departure

rooms and handing over vacant rooms.

Receives complaints/Requests.
 Clack Room Attendants
Cloak room attendants are persons responsible for the supply of clean dry
towels, soaps and perfumeries, prescribed by the management for the guest
rooms.
 Night Supervisor

 They handle all aspect of housekeeping at night including desk control

operations, issue of linen and uniform in an emergency, etc.

His area of activity extends over guest rooms, public areas as also linen
and uniform rooms.

solely responsible and accountable at night for smooth

housekeeping through his night brigade

 Horticulturist
 Many hotels may contract horticultural work to an outside agency.

Supply flowers from the garden for interior decorations and floral
arrangements.

Flowers are used in banquet functions, guest rooms, restaurants,

lobbies, offices.

The horticulturist would have to ensure smooth supply of flowers

 Head Gardener

 Supervises the brigade of gardeners in maintaining hotel garden

and keeping them Contemporary each season.

Gardeners

 Does the actual digging, planting, watering, etc. of gardens on a

day-to-day basis.