Housekeeping Operations I

Role of Housekeeping in Hotel Revenue and Satisfaction

The Housekeeping Department is responsible for creating and maintaining a clean, sanitary, aesthetically pleasing, and comfortable environment throughout guestrooms and public areas. Cleanliness consistently ranks as the primary deciding factor for repeat hotel bookings and positive online reviews, directly impacting room occupancy, RevPAR (Revenue Per Available Room), and overall asset preservation.

Stayover (SO) vs. Check-out (CO / Departure)

• Stayover (SO): A room where the guest will continue staying for another night. Service focuses on remaking the bed, replenishing towels and used guest amenities, emptying trash, and tidying surfaces without disturbing personal belongings.
• Check-out (CO / Departure): A room vacated by a departing guest. Requires intensive deep turnaround: complete linen stripping, mattress inspection, deep bathroom sanitization, dusting inside drawers, and full restocking of all amenities to make the room pristine for new arrival.

Maid"s Cart and Essential Inventory

A Maid"s Cart is a heavy-duty, mobile multi-tiered workstation that carries all supplies necessary for a room attendant to clean an allocated section of 14–16 rooms on a floor.

Three Essential Stock Items:

1. Fresh Bed & Bath Linens: Bed sheets, duvet covers, pillowcases, bath towels, hand towels, bath mats.
2. Guest Amenities: Soaps, shampoo, conditioner, dental kits, shaving kits, tea/coffee sachets.
3. Cleaning Supplies & Caddy: Spray bottles (glass cleaner, disinfectant, neutral cleaner), microfiber cloths, scrubbing pads, trash bags, vacuum cleaner.

Abrasive vs. Solvent Cleaning Agents

• Abrasive Cleaners: Contain mineral particles (calcium carbonate, silica, pumice) designed to mechanically scour away heavily encrusted dirt, scale, or baked-on grease through friction (e.g., scouring powders like Vim or cream cleaners like Cif).
• Solvent Cleaners: Organic or synthetic liquid compounds that chemically dissolve non-water-soluble soils such as grease, oil, wax, or adhesive gum without abrasive friction (e.g., isopropyl alcohol, mineral spirits, or acetone).

Lost and Found Procedures & Retention Periods

Lost and Found is an essential guest service that logs, safeguards, and returns personal articles forgotten by guests. It builds guest trust and protects the hotel from legal liability.

Retention Periods:

• Valuable Items (Jewelry, passports, cash, laptops): Held in a locked safe for 6 months (or up to 1 year). If unclaimed, surrendered to local police or management discretion.
• Non-Valuable Items (Clothing, books, shoes): Kept in housekeeping storage for 3 months, after which they are gifted to the finder or donated to charity.

Housekeeping Department Hierarchy (500-Room Hotel)

Executive Housekeeper
          │
Assistant Executive Housekeeper
          │
 ┌────────┼─────────────────┬─────────────────┐
Floor    Public Area       Linen & Laundry   Horticulture /
Supervisor Supervisor      Supervisor        Gardening Supervisor
 │        │                 │
Room     PA Cleaners       Linen/Uniform Attendants
Attendants

Key Duties of the Executive Housekeeper:

1. Budgeting & Procurement: Plans operating budgets, procures linen, chemicals, equipment, and guest supplies.
2. Quality Assurance & Standards: Establishes SOPs, inspects VIP rooms, and enforces strict hygiene ratings.
3. Staffing & Scheduling: Recruits, trains, schedules, and evaluates departmental personnel.
4. Interdepartmental Liaison: Coordinates directly with Front Office on room releases and Maintenance on work orders.

SOP for Servicing an Occupied Guest Room

1. Entry Protocol: Knock firmly 3 times with knuckles announcing “Housekeeping”. If no response after 10 seconds, unlock door slowly, open 3 inches, announce again, and enter. Position cart across doorway.
2. Ventilation & Lighting: Draw curtains open, open balcony/window if permissible, switch on all lights to check bulb operation.
3. Stripping Soiled Linen: Strip used bed linen and bath towels carefully (checking for forgotten guest items); place directly into trolley linen bag (never on floor).
4. Bathroom Cleaning (Top to Bottom): Apply disinfectant cleaner to WC bowl; scrub washbasin, vanity, mirrors, bathtub, and shower tiles; sanitize toilet bowl inside and out; mop bathroom floor.
5. Bed Making: Make the bed using fresh linen following standard 3-sheet or duvet procedures.
6. Dusting & Vacuuming: Damp-dust all surfaces, headboards, TV, tables with microfiber cloths; restock guest amenities and stationery; vacuum carpet working backward toward the exit door; spray room freshener and latch door.

Bed Making: Mitered Corners and Duvet System

Traditional Mitered Corners (Hospital Corners):

1. Spread the bottom sheet evenly over mattress, tucking excess sheet tightly under the mattress at the foot of the bed.
2. Grab the hanging edge about 40 cm from the foot and lift it up onto the top of the mattress to form a 45-degree angle triangle.
3. Tuck the lower hanging flap firmly under the mattress.
4. Bring the triangular fold down over the corner and tuck the remainder tightly under the side, creating a neat, sharp diagonal crease that prevents sheets from pulling loose.

Modern Duvet System:

• Replaces cumbersome top sheets and wool blankets with a removable, washable duvet cover enclosing a hypoallergenic down/feather inner.
• Benefits: Dramatically reduces room attendant bed making time (from 8 minutes to 3 minutes), provides superior thermal comfort, and ensures hygienic laundering of the outer cover after every departure.

Housekeeping Interdepartmental Coordination

(a) Housekeeping and Front Office:

• Room Status Reconciliation: Constant real-time updates via PMS regarding Vacant Clean (VC), Vacant Dirty (VD), Occupied (OCC), and Out of Order (OOO) rooms.
• Early Arrivals & VIPs: Front Office alerts housekeeping to prioritize specific departures for incoming VIP guests.
• Discrepancy Reporting: Housekeeping conducts morning room checks to identify sleep-out or skip discrepancies (rooms recorded as occupied in PMS but empty in reality).

(b) Housekeeping and Maintenance / Engineering:

• Maintenance Work Orders: Room attendants report faulty plumbing, flickering lights, defective HVAC units, or leaking faucets via digital maintenance logs.
• Preventive Maintenance Schedules: Housekeeping blocks entire floors during low-occupancy periods for deep preventive maintenance, carpet shampooing, and painting.

Housekeeping Cleaning Equipment & Maintenance

Classification:

1. Manual Equipment: Brooms, mops (dry dust mops, wet yarn mops), squeegees, microfiber cloths, abrasive scrub pads, toilet caddies.
2. Mechanical Equipment: Upright vacuum cleaners, wet/dry industrial extractors, rotary floor scrubbing/buffing machines, carpet shampoo machines.

Equipment Maintenance Protocols:

• Vacuum Cleaners: Empty dust bags or canisters when 2/3 full to maintain motor suction; clear tangled hair and fibers from the roller brush after each shift; inspect electrical cords for cuts; store with cord loosely looped.
• Floor Scrubbing Machines: Remove and thoroughly rinse drive pads and nylon brushes after use to prevent drying sludge; empty and flush solution/recovery tanks; store machine unplugged with brushes hung or removed to avoid warping bristles.

Housekeeping Key Control & Hierarchy

Key Hierarchy Levels:

1. Section / Floor Master Key (Sub-Master): Opens all guestrooms in a specific floor or section; held by room attendants during their shift.
2. Master Key: Opens all guestrooms across the entire property that are not deadbolted from the inside; issued to floor supervisors.
3. Grand Master Key: Opens guestrooms, linen rooms, and offices; held by the Assistant Executive Housekeeper.
4. Emergency Key (E-Key): Opens all hotel doors, including rooms deadbolted or double-locked from inside; strictly secured in the General Manager"s safe.

Key Security Procedures:

• Sign-in / Sign-out Log: Keys must be personally signed out in the Key Control Register at start of shift and signed back in upon shift completion.
• Physical Security: Keys must be clipped securely to the attendant"s uniform waistband with a sturdy chain; never left on maid carts or tables.
• Lost Key Protocol: Loss of a master key mandates immediate lock re-keying or electronic lock reprograming.

Housekeeping Supervisory Inspection Checklist

Room No: ______ Type: ______ Attendant: ______ Supervisor: ______ Date: ______

Section	Inspection Items	Rating (✓/✗)	Corrective Remarks
1. Entrance & Hallway	Lock functions, peephole clean, door closes smoothly, master switch operational.
2. Bedroom Core	Mattress aligned, sheets crisp, pillows fluffed, zero hairs or stains.
3. Surfaces & Dusting	Nightstands, lamps, TV screen, wardrobe mirrors, inside drawers clean.
4. HVAC & Electronics	AC thermostat cooling properly, remote batteries working, minibar cold.
5. Bathroom Vanity	Mirrors streak-free, basin spotless, faucets polished, complete amenities restocked.
6. Toilet & Shower	WC sanitized inside/out, shower door spotless, drain clear, tiles free of mildew.
7. Linen Setup	Full set of towels (2 bath, 2 hand, 2 face, 1 mat) fluffy and neatly hung.
8. Floor & Odor	Carpet vacuumed under bed, trash bins lined, pleasant neutral scent.

Importance of Supervisory Inspections:

Supervisors act as the ultimate quality filter before a room is released as Vacant Clean (VC) to Front Office. Systematic inspections eliminate embarrassing misses (such as stray hairs, dusty vents, empty shampoo bottles), preventing guest complaints, protecting hotel brand prestige, and reinforcing room attendant training.

Missing Property Investigation Protocol (Room 408)

1. Immediate Guest Handling & Room Securing:

• Maintain complete empathy, professionalism, and calmness without accepting immediate liability.
• Secure the room immediately: request the guest not to touch or move items; restrict room attendant re-entry.

2. Joint Investigation Procedures:

1. Electronic Key Lock Interrogation: Security downloads the electronic lock audit trail from Room 408"s lock. This reveals the exact time, key card ID, and personnel who unlocked the door during the day.
2. Duty Roster & Errand Log Check: Identify which room attendant, minibar attendant, or maintenance technician serviced Room 408 and match with key lock audit timestamps.
3. Thorough Professional Room Search: Conduct a systematic search in the guest"s presence (checking bed folds, behind nightstands, inside safe, luggage pockets, and bathroom drawers, where items are frequently misplaced).
4. Staff Interview: Interview the room attendant privately and respectfully in the presence of the Executive Housekeeper and Security Chief.
5. Maid Cart and Laundry Inspection: Inspect the attendant"s cart, trash bags, and soiled linen bags in case the jewelry was accidentally caught in bed linens during stripping.

3. Resolution & Reporting:

• If items are found: Return with courteous reassurance.
• If items remain missing: Assist the guest in filing an official police report, complete the Internal Incident Report, and inform hotel insurance underwriters.