Unit 2: Housekeeping Organization

Introduction

Housekeeping department is the integral part of a hotel, which deals with keeping the guest rooms clean and properly furnished. It is the operational departments of a hotel, which is responsible for cleanliness, maintenance and aesthetic upkeep of rooms, public areas, back of the house as well as the surroundings.

Layout of Housekeeping 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 depend upon the size of the hotel. As well as physical space restriction. Normally the layout is decided by the executive housekeeper. At the facility planning stage is setting up the hotel.

The total factors are taken into consideration when deciding on the
areas and layout:

a. Total numbers of guest room.
b. Number of Food and Beverage outlets.

c. Number of functions rooms.
d. Amount of manpower required.
e. Volume of business anticipated.
f. Flow of traffic people and the equipment’s.

1. Housekeeping Cabin

An Executive housekeeper has to plan, counsel, brief and meets her subordinates. Every housekeeper’s have a independent cabin and this is the administrative center of the department. A glass panel office with blind to provide privacy at a times. Such as when meeting are conduct and confidential issued are discussed. The office should be leaded by a cabin for the secretary who would control movement into the house keeper’s office.

2. Secretary Cabin

A small cabin should be provided for secretary before the executive housekeeper cabin to enable the secretary to control movements into the housekeeper’s cabin.

3. Desk Control Room

This is the communication hub of the housekeeping department and this desk is managed 24hrs a day. It should normally adjoin the executive housekeeper’s cabin. As this is the point where all staff report their duty and sign out at the end of their shift. This is the nerve point or center of the co ordination with the front office, banquet, and other departments. 

The desk control room should have a desk and chairs with preferable more than one telephone connection. It should have a large notice board to pin up the information for staff.

4. Lost and Found Section

This is usually an area set aside in the desk control room away from high traffic area. A cupboard with a good locking machine or mechanism should be provided here for storing the lost and found articles so that they may be claimed later. Hence, this section should be small and airy with cupboards to store guest articles lost and may be claimed later.

5. Housekeeping Store

This is the room to store items such as cleaning supplies, guest supplies and so on which are issued on a daily basis. It should be clean, dry and securely locked.

6. Heavy Store Equipment Store

This is a room to store bulky equipment and items such as vacuum cleaner, carpet, shampooing machine, ladders, roll away bed and mattress and it should be a clean, dry and cool room that can be locked when not in use.

7. Linen and Uniform Room

This is the room where linen circulation is stored for issue when received from laundry. This room also stocks the uniform of current use. It is situated next to laundry. The room should be large, secure, airy and free from humidity.

There should be adequate facilities of shelves and racks to stocks all linen and hanging facilities for uniforms. It should have counter across where exchange can take place. Large hotels prefer to have a separate uniform rooms and dedicated linen room since the uniform works force is large.

8. Linen Store

The room store stocks of linen and uniforms. It also stocks fabric an materials for soft furnishing. Linen and uniform to be stitched. The stock of linen should be enough to replenish the entire hotel once.
Since the stock is used only when the linen in current circulation shortage. The area should be provided with shelves and racks to store linen for a longer time. The room should be cool, well ventilated and free from dampness.

9. Tailor Room

This room is used for repair work carried out on linen, uniforms and soft furnishing. It should be large enough to accommodate, sewing machine and ironing table and space for items to be repairs. This room is for in houseful time who stitch and mend, damage linen and uniforms.

The hours of operation vary from organization to organization but is usually from 7a.m to 7p.m.

10. Upholstery Room

In this section generally all extra items which may be required by guests during their stay like beds, cribs, mattresses, soft furnishings, etc. are stores.

11. Florist Room

Flower beautify room in public area. This room should be an air conditioned room to keep flowers fresh for flower arrangement required by the hotel. Flowers are supplied to restaurant for table decoration and buffet display. It should have a work table, counters, a sink ,adequate water supply and cupboard to store equipment’s, containers, wire cables and other accessories.

12. Green House

This room is an external facility to grow exotic plants that need special climate conditions. Horticulture comes under the housekeeping and therefore, this facility is provided by housekeeper.

13. Horticulture Equipment Store

This room is used for storage of gardening implements such as spades, lawn mowers, pots, water houses and seeds. It should be near to garden areas and should have its door kept closed or locked. The size of the room depends on the landscapes area to be tended.

14. Floor Pantry / Maid Service Room

It is not attached to the department physically. Floor pantries are very much apart of the housekeeping department. These are located on each guest floor to keep a stock of linen, guest supplies and maids cart and cleaning supplies for that particular floor.

A floor pantries store is a complete set of linen for the whole floor over and above what is already circulation in the room. Since, floor pantry is used to stock expensive items such as linen and should remain logged at all items when not in use.

The following should be provided in a floor pantry:-

• Cupboards to store guest supplies, cleaning agents and equipment’s.
• Shelves and racks to store fresh room linen.
• Linen trolley to store fresh and soiled linen and for transporting / dispatching the same to the linen room and uniform room.
• A notice board to display information regarding expected arrivals, VIPs’ in house, extra bed etc.
• A sink with hot and cold water facilities to wash or disinfect glasses, fill drinking water in flasks for flower arrangement.
• Guest loan items such as rollaway beds, bed boards, baby sitters etc.

Organizational Structure of Housekeeping Department

Organizational chart of housekeeping departments indicates that the personnel of this department will be responsible for cleaning of rooms, offices, public areas, recreation facilities and public rest rooms.
Zero base budgeting refers to the workers use on the basis of actual occupancy on a specific day.
In a hotel industry, the organization chart of housekeeping departments should provide a clear picture of the lines of authority and the channels of communication with the
departments.

Organizational Structure of Small Hotel

Organizational Structure of Medium Hotel

Organizational Structure of Large Hotel

Duties and Responsibilities

The duties and responsibilities of housekeeping staffs are as follows:-

1. Executive Housekeeper

• The executive housekeeper reports to the general manager or resident manager or room division manager.
• He /she is responsible for the total cleanliness and aesthetic upkeep of the hotel.
• Planning, organizing and coordinating the work of his/her staff.
• Recruit new employee and inducting them into proper training programme.
• Motivate the employees.
• Ensure safety, sanitation, comfort for hotel guest.
• Maintain inventory of linen, uniform, furniture and hotel equipment’s.
• Evaluate employee performance and promote them.
• Maintain stock and cost control procedure for all materials.
• Check reports, files and register.
• Prepares annual housekeeping budget.
• He/she decides on which rooms to take off for special/ spring cleaning/ renovation etc.
• He/ she is the final authority person in his/her departments for the requisition made for materials like guest supplies, cleaning supplies, cleaning equipment’s etc.
• Setting up disputes and conflicts arise in the department.

2. Deputy / Assistant Housekeeper

• He/she reports to executive housekeeper or director of housekeeping.
• He/ she takes over on the executive housekeeper’s day and time off.
• Prepares duty roaster of work to the staff.
• Maintain stock register
• He/ she is in charge of lost and found departments.
• He/she checks proper grooming of the staff and settles their disputes and complaints.
• He/she manages the resources given by the executive housekeeper to achieve the common objectives of cleanliness, maintenance and attractiveness in his/her shift.
• Her responsibility normally ends on the completion of her shift.

3. Linen and Uniform Supervisor

• He/she maintains records of linen and uniform issued and received.
• He/she keeps an update of the inventory stock on monthly basis.
• He/she deals with any requests of complaints made by the staff or guests of the hotels and passes it to the laundry departments.
• He/she checks the standards of cleanliness and hygiene maintained for all housekeeping linen, staffs uniforms and guests linen.
• He/she maintains proper storage place for linen and uniforms.
• He/she allots daily work to the tailors.

4. Desk Control Supervisor

• The desk is the nerve centre of communication with all other departments in hotel. It operates 24 hours.
• Messages are transmitted and received to and from all departments including guests calls.
• Registers like guest calls register, attendance register, lost and found register, maintenance/job order register, log book, etc. are maintained here.
• Filling the documents is major part of the desk supervisor job.
• He/she should handle all guest complaints and requests promptly.

5. Night Supervisor

Night supervisor is special in a manner that would require him/her to be able to handle any aspects of housekeeping at night including desk control operations issuing of linen, uniforms or any other emergency. Their work includes:

• Attending to all guest calls at night and helping them if required.
• Cleaning of al areas at night.
• Handling lost and found during night.

6. Cloakroom Attendant

• He/she is responsible for the cleanliness, hygiene and maintenance of all the public areas of the hotel.
• Responsible for the cleanliness of cloakroom as well.
• Welcome all guests and receive coats, bags and other personal belongings from them and keep it on the designated areas.
• Ensuring that you are always polite and helpful towards guests and colleagues.
• Return guest items and personal belongings to the guests.
• Report any lost items, suspicious persons or items to the housekeeping desk and refer guest problems or complaints to supervisor immediately.
• Take care of guests belongings efficiently always.
• Give the guests a ticket that corresponds to the number of their belongings.

7. Uniform Room Attendant

• The uniform room supervisor is assisted by the uniform room attendant who actually deals with the issuing and receiving of linen and uniforms.
• He/she is the person who checks each piece of fresh linen and uniform which has come from the laundry and either gives them to the tailor for repair or stack them on the storage racks.
• He/she is the person who actually does all the physical work.

8. Room Attendant

• The room attendant are also known as Chambermaids or room boys and they do the actual cleaning of the entire guests room and toilet/bath areas.
• They are required to clean around 14-16 rooms a day and the ready rooms are then checked by the floor supervisor as per standards of the hotels.
• Cleans guest bathrooms and replenish supplies.
• Clean guest bedrooms and replenish supplies as per room checklist.
• Report missing or damage hotel property to the floor supervisor.
• Attend daily briefing and give attendance.
• Receive allocation of floor and rooms.
• Replenish maid cart with guest supplies, detergents and linen.
• Make physical check of rooms for preparing the housekeeping occupancy report.

9. Horticulturist

• Responsible to manage hotel gardens and supply flowers required for interior decoration.
• Many hotels contract out the horticulturist to an outside agency, however a large number of big hotels have a horticulturist section.
• The horticulturist would have to ensure a smooth supply of flowers as well as assist the housekeeping in flower arrangement.

10. Tailor / Seamstress

• Responsible for daily tailoring duties such as mending all damage linen and uniforms.
• Refurnish all damaged upholstery handed over by the supervisor.
• Responsible for maintenance and upkeep of sewing equipment and all areas under his/her control.
• Collect material from the stores and take to the work area assigned.
• Fasten springs properly with strings and place the foam in position.
• Keep the work area assigned neat and tidy.
• Render account of material consumed and balance left over should be handed back to stores.

11. Head Gardener / Florist

• They are responsible for managing the gardens and ensuring that all requisite tasks are completed to maintaining a well cared for garden.
• They are responsible for a team which will carry out gardening and general garden and maintenance work involves in all aspects of gardening.

Interdepartmental Co-ordination

All departments of the hotels are required for its effective functioning and cooperation and team work of great importance. No individual department in any hotel can work in isolation. All department work together towards the satisfaction of the guests to be accomplished effectively.

1. Relation with Front Office Department

• To ensure efficient rooming of the guests, both housekeeping and front office must inform each other to change in the room status.
• Knowing whether the room is occupied or vacant, unchanged, out of order, under repair or similar for proper room management.
• There should be coordination to clean front office public areas.
• There should be coordination between the housekeeping and front office department to share information on occupancy level which help to forecast occupancy for the year make it easier to draw up a budget, established for stock level and estimated required staff strength.
• There should be coordination know about the daily room report and housekeeping discrepancy reports.
• It also help to gear renovation and spring cleaning to low occupancy periods. There may be preventing loss of revenue.
• The housekeeping and front office department also coordinate with each other for other important information with required special attention like:-
  
  a) Group in House
  The group rooming list must be provided before the groups arrival to the housekeeping as group tend to move together in terms of arrival, departure, site scene tour and the meals.
  Their rooms need to be readied together in view of strict time parameter. Group rooming list enable the housekeeping department to organize their work and have the groups room ready on time.
  
  b) VIP’s in House
  This information is essential so that the staff can take a little extra care and keener precaution in cleaning and supervising VIP,S room.
  
  c) Crew in House
  Sometimes the arrival of a crew and departure of another crew from the same airlines may overlapped. In such a circumstances, it is important for the allotted room to be cleaned within short period of the time. Thus, for this there should be an effective coordination between front office and housekeeping.
  
  d) Flowers
  Sometimes the management extends its complements to a guest with a special gesture of a flower arrangement in the room as recognition of importance of the person.

2. Co-ordination with Food & Beverage Department

• Housekeeping department mainly concerned with the provision of linen and uniform for restaurant and banquet.
• Coordination to maintain mini bar in guest room.
• The restaurant manager should aware that exchange linen must be maintained and should not be lost or misused.
• Housekeeping department should be well informed about the prefunction so that it will arrange everything to organize.
• Housekeeping should arrange for flowers decoration for banquets.
• The restaurant requires clean uniforms and dress on a daily basis, table linen, waiters cloths, uniforms etc.

3. Co-ordination with Store

• Day to day necessities of housekeeping coordinate with store.
• In large hotel housekeeping department store room is attached so that stocks of linen supplies and so on.
• Small hotels may stock them in the general store except for linen which is sent to the HK department on purchase.
• Through requisition form we communicate with store which housekeeping sends to which it required certain items.

4. Co-ordination with Purchase Department

• The purchase department procures out of stock items for housekeeping. E.g. guest supply amenities, stationary, linen, changing materials.
• Housekeeping should convey their requirements in advance notice in the form of purchase requisition.

5. Co-ordination with Sales and Marketing Department

• Coordination between sales and marketing department should be effective for housekeeping to supply promotional items in guest rooms and others areas of hotel.
• The sales and marketing department informs housekeeping of the occupancy forecast for the entire year which is broken up month wise.
• The sales and marketing team also have to depend on housekeeping for their uniform.
• Vice- versa no matter how well kept the rooms, if sales staffs does not bring potential guest to the hotel occupancy falls.

6. Co-ordination with Security Department

• Mainly concerned with the prevention from fire, theft, safe keeping of keys and lost property.
• Housekeeping personal should also report anything of a suspicious moments immediately informs to the security staff.
• Housekeeping have to coordinate if they see any anti social activities in the guest room such as gambling, smuggling.

7. Co-ordination with laundry

The laundry service is the co-section of the housekeeping department but the cost of linen and its laundering is so high that is sensible for anyone responsible for linen to know a little of the work done in a laundry. The life of the linen depends on the care of the linen in use and the treatment it gets at the laundry.

8. Co-ordination with Engineering and Maintenance Department

• Housekeeping department depends on maintenance to keep things in order.
• HK employee may find some deficiencies in the hotel facilities. E.g. electrical plugs, dripping focuses, leaking pipes etc.
• A need for urgent repairs is reported to maintenance over telephone and these request are usually taken into action immediately.
• Boiler work is necessary to maintain a supply of hot water to guest rooms.
• Mechanical works repairs any faults equipment’s such as vacuum cleaners, ice cubes machine etc.
• Plumbing works which deals with faulty taps, shower, drainage system etc.
• Carpentry work which deals with broken of shaky furniture’s, mirrors and cupboard and fresh wood works are all part of this.

9. Co-ordination with Kitchen

• The housekeeping department coordinates with kitchen department by providing kitchen staff condemned linen/cloths for cleaning the kitchen area and also supply clean uniforms to the kitchen staff.
• In addition, a happy atmosphere between the chef and the housekeeper makes one important aspects of staff welfare ,i.e., food much less of a problem as complaints may be discussed on a friendlier basis.

10. Co-ordination with account

• Wage packets are made up from the information received from the housekeeper. Information like hours worked, holidays taken, days lost due to sickness and whether this is accurate and punctual also comes from the housekeeper.
• The HK should see that the income tax forms of new staff, notification of staff leaving and of any accidents, petty cash slips and checked invoices are handed over promptly.

Personal Attributes of Housekeeping Staffs

1. Personal Hygiene

It means good healthy habits, cleanliness of skin, cleanliness and care of hair, eye, ears, teeth and nose as well. It also includes cleanliness of the nails and fingers, tidiness and condition of uniform and footwear. Housekeeping staff must maintain a high standard of personal hygiene as it reflects on the hygiene and standards of the hotel.

2. Pleasant Personality

It means good grooming and good presentation of oneself in front of the guests. It reflects the quality of service and standard of an establishment.

3. Physical Fitness

Housekeeping staff must maintain their level of
fitness at the optimum to perform to required standard. Housekeeping
department is 365 days running operation and the staff works long
hours.

4. Eye for Details

The power of critical observation is what distinguishes good service from average. So, room attendants need to have eye for details in order to make up a flawless guest rooms.

5. Co-operation

Housekeeping staffs must cooperate not only with each others but also with staff of others department. It is absolutely essential since housekeeping involves a lot of team work for efficient functioning of department.

6. Honesty

Honesty is the best policy, which is very important to housekeeping staff in dealing with both guests as well as for management. Guest belongings are often left lying around their rooms and temptation are great. It is inherent discipline and integrity that checks these temptations. If there is trust and respect across the triangle i.e. staff, guests, and management relationship, then there will be a work atmosphere that encourages a good team spirit.

7. Tact and Diplomacy

Housekeeping staff comes into various types of guest contact. Sometimes with aggressive guests, sometimes with complaining guest as well. As a housekeeping staff they must know how to handle these kinds of situation according to the management policies.

8. Calmness

HK staff may face so many emergency situation so they have to remain calm so as their best in coping with the problems to handle, so we give up panic behavior.

9. Punctuality

It is very crucially important. Being late shows lack of interest in the work and lack of respect for the management and guest.

10. Good Memory

It is essential assets of HK staff. Especially dealing with regular guest likes, dislikes. Needs and wishes will be a tremendous assets to a hotel.