Definition of Housekeeping
Housekeeping is a department of a hotel or other lodging facility that maintains the cleanliness and maintenance of guest rooms and public areas. This includes cleaning, sanitizing and disinfecting rooms; coordinating room turnaround with front desk operations; and washing linen and other items in the laundry department.
Housekeepers in hotels work around the clock, often performing multiple tasks in order to meet the needs of their guests. They work closely with the front desk staff to communicate when each room is ready for occupancy.
They also coordinate with the front desk to identify maintenance issues that occur in guest rooms and report them to the maintenance or engineering department for rectification. Examples of maintenance issues include snags or faults with the TV, AC, Heating unit, plumbing, lighting, electrical, furniture and tubs.
A Housekeeping department is one of the largest departments in a hotel, and it can be composed of both full-time employees and temporary leased labor. Its size depends on the number of rooms occupied by guests and other factors, such as daily cleaning schedules and special projects.
The department is typically made up of room attendants who clean rooms on a day shift, turn-down attendants who perform nightly room turnover and other workers, such as laundry and public space attendants, who work any shift. In addition to their primary responsibilities, housekeepers are sometimes responsible for minibar inventory, room service and employee uniforms.
They are also responsible for keeping the floors and carpets in guest rooms and public areas clean and free of stains, dirt and debris. They use detergents and other cleaners to keep their areas sparkling clean and smelling fresh.
Their duties also include maintaining and storing linen, towels and other supplies in the linen room. They are also responsible for distributing bath soap, tissues and other amenities in rooms and ensuring that all guests’ beds are properly made up.
In the hotel industry, housekeeping is a key part of workplace safety, as it helps to prevent the spread of illnesses and injuries. It is a mandatory occupational health and safety activity in most jurisdictions.
The size of the housekeeping department in a hotel is determined by several factors, including the number of rooms, the number of full-time employees and the average number of rooms per housekeeper. These factors can also vary from one hotel to the next, and are not always the same for all hotels.
Housekeeping departments typically have a separate organizational chart, which contains supervisors for different sections of the department. Each section is responsible for a specific task or responsibility, and each supervisor reports directly to the executive housekeeper or assistant housekeeper.
A Housekeeping organizational chart is important because it provides a clear line of authority. It also indicates where the department overlaps with other departments.
Normally, the executive housekeeper is responsible for all the sections of the department and also coordinates with the other departments to ensure that everyone is working together as a team.