Housekeeping – Definition, Role, Responsibilities and Layout

The housekeeping department is an essential component of any hospitality establishment. It is responsible for maintaining the cleanliness, tidiness, and hygiene of the entire property, including guest rooms, public areas, and back-of-house spaces. The primary goal of the housekeeping team is to ensure that guests have a comfortable, safe, and enjoyable stay by providing them with a clean and well-maintained environment.

The housekeeping department typically consists of a team of dedicated professionals who are trained to perform a wide range of tasks, including cleaning, laundry, room setup, and guest services. They work closely with other departments, such as the front office and maintenance, to ensure that all guest requests are handled promptly and efficiently.

In addition to maintaining the physical appearance of the property, the housekeeping department also plays a critical role in ensuring compliance with health and safety regulations. They are responsible for implementing procedures and protocols that help prevent the spread of infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, and other health hazards.

1. Definition of HousekeepingA department of the rooms division; responsible for cleaning the hotel's guest rooms and public area...

Housekeeping may be defined as the ‘provision of a clean, comfortable, safe and aesthetically appealing environment’. By another definition, ‘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’.

The term Housekeeping outside the hospitality, hospital refers to the management of daily duties and chores involved in the running of a household, such as cleaning, cooking, home maintenance, shopping, and bill payment, etc. These daily recurring tasks may be performed by any members of the household, or by other persons like butlers or maids who are hired for the purpose.

2. Role of Housekeeping

The housekeeping department in the hotel ensures the cleanliness, maintenance, and aesthetic appeal of all rooms and public areas. The housekeeping department not only turnarounds (prepares and cleans guestrooms) promptly it also cleans and maintains everything in the hotel so that the property is as fresh and attractive similar to the day when it opened the doors for the business.

The effort that the housekeeping makes in giving a guest a desirable room has a direct bearing on the guest’s experience in a hotel. More employees are working in the housekeeping department when compared to any other hotel department.

Being responsible for the turnaround of the rooms promptly, housekeeping’s primary communications are with the front desk/reception team. Each room status is updated regularly from the housekeeping to the front desk and vice versa. With new technologies available a room status update can be done via the hotel software, telephone systems, housekeeping mobile applications, etc.

Housekeeping also coordinates closely with the maintenance or engineering department, as the housekeeping staff identifies different types of maintenance issues while cleaning the rooms and reports to the maintenance team for rectification or replacement. Example snags or issues with the TV, AC, Heating unit, Plumbing, Lighting, Electrical faults, Furniture, Toilet, Vanity, Tub, towel racks, Ventilation issues, etc.

The role of housekeeping can change depending upon the type or category of the hotel, for example, only in a luxury or full-service hotel evening or turndown services are offered by the housekeeping department. The housekeeping department is one of the major ‘Support Centre‘ in the hotel as it doesn’t generate any major revenue for the hotel.

Housekeeping is considered a ‘back of the house’ department even though they have some direct contact with the guests; for example, while cleaning rooms, picking up laundry, providing evening or turn down services, etc.

3. Housekeeping Department Organizational Chart

The housekeeping organizational chart provides a clear picture of the line of authority, The housekeeping department in a large hotel or 5 Star HotelA Hotel or Inn may be defined as an establishment whose primary business is providing lodging facili... is headed by the executive housekeeper. They report to the general manager, the resident manager, or the rooms division manager in a large hotel. In the case of a chain of hotels, the executive housekeeper also reports to the director of housekeeping, who heads the housekeeping departments in all the hotels of that chain.

The deputy housekeeper assists the executive housekeeper and looks after the various areas of responsibility in the hotel, that is, floors, public areas, the linen room, desk control and staffing, etc.

The Housekeeping Organizational Chart in a large hotel also contains multiple supervisors for each section of the housekeeping like the laundry, Desk Control, Floor Supervisor, Public AreaThe Public Area refers to the place where all guests make the use of; such as the dining room; the s... Supervisor, Night Supervisor, etc. Each of these supervisors reports to the assistant housekeeper or the Executive housekeeperExecutive housekeeper is a person in charge of management and administration of a housekeeping depar....

Find below a standard housekeeping Organizational chart. Also, the housekeeping structure changes as per the type of hotel and its operation methods, read more about the different types of housekeeping organizational charts.

4. Different Sections in the Housekeeping

Executive Housekeeper’s office: An Executive housekeeper has to plan, counsel, brief and meet her subordinates. It should preferably be a glass-panelled office to give her/him a view of what is happening outside the office. The office should be led by a cabin for the secretary who would control movement into the housekeeper’s office.

Desk control room: This room acts as a nerve system center for coordination and communication with the front office and other departments. The desk control room should have a large notice board to pin up staff schedules and day-to-day instructions. The desk control room is the point where all staff report for duty and check out at the duty end.

Linen room: This is the room where current linens are stored for issue and receipt. The room should be large airy and free from heat and humidity. It should have adequate shelves, easily accessible to stack all linen. It should be secured and offer no possibility of pilferage. The linen room should have a counter, across which the exchange of linen takes place. The room should preferably be adjoining the laundry to supply linen to and from the laundry.

Linen room store: This room stores the stock of new linen & cloth materials for uniforms, etc. The stock maintained should be enough to replenish the whole hotel at a time. However, these stocks are only touched when the current linen in circulation falls short due to shortage, damage, or loss. The room should be cool and dry with ample shelves, generally 6″ above the ground.

Uniform room: This room stocks the uniform for urgent use. Smaller hotels may choose to combine the uniform room with the linen room. A separate uniform room depends upon the volume of uniforms in circulation. The only difference will be that the uniform room would have adequate hanging facilities as many uniforms are best maintained when hung.

Tailor’s room: This room is kept for house tailors who attend to the stitching and patch-up work of linen and uniforms. Room is avoided if the mending and the stitching jobs are done on a contract basis.

Lost and FoundShould guests lost any of their belongings; the housekeeping and security staff would register the n... section: This section should be small and airy with cupboards to store guest articles lost and maybe claimed later.

Flower room: This should be an air-conditioned room to keep flowers fresh. The room should have a work table, a sink with a water supply, and all the necessary tools required for flower arrangement.

Laundry: This is an important section under housekeeping which is responsible for the cleaning of all fabrics used in the hotel. The section should be adjacent to the linen room to avoid excessive steps. Laundry should ensure the cleanness and drying of all guest clothes, employee uniforms, and linen to the best-assured standard.

5. Housekeeping Staffing Calculation

Compared to other hotel departments, the housekeeping department employs the largest workforce in most hotels. Manpower thus becomes a major operating expense. Good management of the housekeeping department depends on achieving a balance between the workload and the staff strength. When calculating staff strength, it must be remembered that each property will have its requirements.

The factors to be considered here are the type of hotel, location of the hotel, traditions, and customs of the locality, the size of the hotel (in terms of the number of rooms), the occupancy rate of the hotel, management needs, and policies, the quantity of work to be done per room, the quality of work expected, the standards to be met, The time needed to do the work, the frequency with which the work needs to be done, etc.

The staff strength of the housekeeping department mainly depends on the size and structure of the hotel, that is, whether it has a compact structure with clusters of rooms, the number of rooms per cluster or floor, the expanse of the public areas and landscaped areas, and so on. The general rule of thumb that aids in determining staff strength in the housekeeping department is given below.

Standard Rules for determining Housekeeping staff strength:

• Executive housekeeper: 1 for a 300-room property
•  Secretary to the Executive Housekeeper: 1 normally only in a very large full-service hotel.
•  Assistant housekeepers: 2 (1 per morning and evening shift)
•  Floor supervisors: 1 per 60 rooms for the morning shift; 1 for the evening shift; 1 for the night shift.
•  Public area supervisors: 1 for each shift
•  Linen/Uniform room supervisors: 1 for each shift
•  Room attendants: 1 per 16 rooms for the morning shift; 1 per 30 rooms for the evening shift (if turn-down service is provided)
•  Linen and uniform room attendants: 2
•  Housemen: depends on the size of public areas and functions expected, but on average, 1 per 60 rooms
•  Desk attendants: 1 per shift
•  Tailors/upholsterers: 2 (may differ depending on the size of the hotel)
•  Horticulturist: 1 or more depending upon the size of the hotel.
•  Head gardeners: 1 per 20 horticulturists
•  Gardeners: 1 per 4500 sq. ft of landscaped area

6. Housekeeping as a supporting center or ancillary department

It is rightly said that housekeeping is a 24 x 7 x 365 operation. Imagine the stacks of linen needed to make up all the beds in a hotel; the huge amounts of bath soap, tissue, and other amenities such as shampoos, colognes, and so on that must be placed in the guestrooms; the miles of carpeting, floors, walls, and ceilings to be cleaned and maintained; the countless pieces of furniture that must be dusted and polished, and the barrels of cleaning compounds along with special tools and equipment needed to clean these.

Other than hotels, professional housekeeping services are very much in demand in hospitals, on cruise liners, at offices, and more. Since most such organizations prefer to outsource these functions, contract housekeeping is becoming a lucrative entrepreneurship venture these days. Housekeeping, thus, is an ancillary department that contributes in a big way towards the overall reputation of a property.

As mentioned above the tasks performed by the housekeeping are critical for the smooth daily operation of any hotel regardless of its category, size, location, number of rooms, etc. Also, the critical point in achieving operational success is the teamwork that must exist between housekeeping and the front office, engineering, maintenance personnel, etc.

An Image of Housekeeping Cleaning the GuestDefinition of Guest in Hospitality Industry: A guest is the most important person in any business. A... Corridor 

7. Areas Under the Responsibility Of Housekeeping

Staff of the Housekeeping department have very little or no guest contact in some scenarios, this is mostly because most of the work carried out by the housekeeping staff is in the back of the house area. Hence, housekeeping is considered a back-of-the-house department.

Even though housekeeping is a back-of-the-house department they are still responsible for the maintaining and up-keeping of the house areas and also back-of-the-house areas alike. The below diagram shows the areas that come under the responsibility of the housekeeping.

8. Main Responsibilities of Housekeeping

• To ensure well-furnished and maintained guestrooms and public areas.
•  To ensure excellence in housekeeping sanitation, safety, comfort, and aesthetics for hotel guests.
•  To oversee the coordination of and administer all housekeeping programs and projects.
•  To act as a source of contact in interdepartmental communications, vendors, professional agencies, etc.
•  To provide a budget, budget control, and forecasting related to housekeeping.
•  To achieve the maximum efficiency in ensuring the care and comfort of guests & in the smooth functioning of the department.
•  To establish a welcoming atmosphere.
•  To ensure courteousness, and reliable service from all staff to the guest.
•  To ensure a high standard of cleanliness and general upkeep in all areas for which the department is responsible.
•  To provide linen in rooms, restaurants, banquet halls, conference halls, health clubs, etc, as well as to maintain an inventory for the same.
•  To provide uniforms for all the staff & maintain inventory for the same.
•  To Cater to the laundering requirements of hotel linen, staff uniforms, and guests.
•  To provide & maintain the floral decorations and to maintain the landscaped areas of the hotel.
•  To select the right contractors & ensure the quality of work is maintained.
•  To co-ordinate renovation and refurnishing of the property in consultation with the management & interior designers.
•  Coordinate with the purchasing department for the procurement of guest supplies, cleaning agents, equipment, fabrics, carpets, & other items used in the hotel.
•  To deal with lost & found articles.
•  Carpet shampooing and maintenance.
•  Dealing with any guest queries, complaints & requests as they occur.
•  To keep the general manager or administrator informed of all matters requiring attention.

9. Standard Room StatusInformation about current and future availability of guest rooms in a lodging property. Current avai... Codes Used in Housekeeping

OccupiedA room status term indicating that a guest is currently registered to the room.: A guest currently registered to the room.

ComplimentaryA complimentary or 'comp' room is an occupied room for which the guest is not charged. A hotel may o...: The room is occupied, but the guest is not charged for its use.

StayoverStayover: The guest is not expected to check out today and will remain at least one more night.: The guest is not checking out today and will remain at least one more night.

On-change: The guest has departed, but the room has not yet been cleaned and readied for resale.

Do Not Disturb (DNDDND Card: A do not disturb card is hung outside the room to inform hotel staff or visitor that the o...): The guest has requested not to be disturbed. 

Sleep-out: A guest was booked into the room, but the bed has not been used.

SkipperA guest who leaves with no intention of paying for the room.: The guest left the hotel without paying the bill.

SleeperSleeper: The guest has settled his or her account and left the hotel; but the front office staff has...: The guest has settled his/her account and left the hotel, but the front office staff has failed to properly update the room’s status.

VacantA room status term indicating that the room has been cleaned and inspected; and is ready for the arr... and ready: The room has been cleaned and inspected and is ready for an arriving guest.

Out Of Order (OOOOut-of-order: The room cannot be assigned to a guest. A room may be out-of-order for a variety of re...): The cannot be assigned to a guest and is blocked for maintenance activity.

Lock Out: The room has been locked so that the guest cannot re-enter until they are cleared by the front desk.

DNCODNCO (Did Not Check-Out): The guest made arrangements to settle his or her account (and thus is not ...: Did not check out, the guest made arrangements to settle his or her account but left without informing the front desk.

Due OutDue out: A room which the guest is due to checkout that day.: The room is expected to become vacant after the following day’s check-out time.

Check Out: The guest has settled his or her account, returned the room keys, and left the hotel.

Late Checkout: The guest has requested and is being allowed to check out later than the standard check-out time.

Early Check-inA guest who arrives at the property before the normal arrival time/check-in time of the hotel.: The guest has requested and is being allowed to check in earlier than the standard check-in time.

10. Housekeeping Room Status Cycle Diagram

The Housekeeping Room Status Cycle is an essential process in the hospitality industry. It refers to the sequence of activities that housekeeping staff follow to ensure the cleanliness and readiness of hotel rooms.

The cycle typically begins with a visual inspection of each room to identify any items that need attention, such as soiled linens or trash. The staff then proceeds to remove any used items and replace them with fresh ones, including towels, toiletries, and bed linens.

Once the room has been tidied up, the staff will clean and sanitize all surfaces, including floors, walls, and bathroom fixtures. They will also restock any necessary items, such as coffee and tea supplies or laundry bags.

The final step in the Housekeeping Room Status Cycle is to check the room’s overall presentation, making sure that everything is in its place and that the room is ready for the next guest. By following this process, hotel staff can ensure that every guest enjoys a clean, comfortable, and welcoming stay.

11. Cleaning Equipment Used in Housekeeping

Efficient cleaning and maintenance are dependent upon high-quality cleaning equipment, correctly used. Though only 5-10% of the overall cost incurred on cleaning is accounted for by cleaning equipment and agents, selecting the ideal equipment plays a major role in the cleaning process. There will often be several ways of carrying out any particular cleaning task and different types of equipment that can be employed for it.

It is the executive housekeeper’s responsibility to select the most appropriate piece of equipment according to the hotel’s requirements. Most types of cleaning equipment fall under the category of recycled items, but a few large pieces of items may be considered fixed assets. The correct choice of quality cleaning equipment could save costs due to breakdowns, reduce fatigue, and ensure overall efficiency in operations.

The equipment used in the cleaning of the surface, furniture, and fittings in a hotel building includes both 1) Manual equipment and 2) Mechanical Equipment.

1. Manual Equipment: Manual equipment can include all types of equipment that clean or aid in the cleaning process by directly using the manoeuvre, operation, and energy of employees. Examples of Manual cleaning equipment are Brushes, Mops, Brooms, Cloths, Polish applicators, Containers, Buckets, etc.

2. Mechanical Equipment: The various pieces of mechanical equipment used in the housekeeping department are usually powered by electricity or gas. The staff should be well-trained in the operation of this equipment since incorrect usage will not only lead to inefficient cleaning but may also become a safety hazard. Examples of mechanical equipment used in housekeeping are Vacuum cleaners, Electric brooms, Wet-and-dry vacuum cleaners, floor maintenance machines for scrubbing, buffing polishing, etc.

12. The layout of the Housekeeping Department

The layout of the housekeeping 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 dependent on the size of the hotel as well as physical space restrictions. Normally, the layout is decided by the executive housekeeper, at the facility planning stage in setting up the hotel.

The following factors are taken into consideration when deciding on the area and layout:-

The layout of the housekeeping department in the hotel:

• The housekeeping department should be in such a place which is accessible to all the employees.
•  The housekeeping department should be in that area which is at the backside of the hotel, not disturbing any guests.
•  The housekeeping department should be on the ground floor which must be able to hold heavy equipment.
•  The housekeeping department should be in such a place which is away from the general traffic.
•  The housekeeping department should be in a convenient place to keep the different types of equipment used.

The total number of guest rooms:

• Number of function rooms and number of food-and-beverage outlets
•  Amount of manpower required
•  The volume of business anticipated
•  The number of jobs contracted out.
•  The flow of traffic (people and equipment)

The following areas constitute the layout of a housekeeping department:

• Executive housekeeper’s cabin
•  Secretary’s cabin
•  Desk Control Room
•  Lost and Found Section
•  Housekeeping Stores
•  Florist’s room
•  Linen and Uniform room
•  Linen Store
•  Sewing room
•  Floor Pantry/Maid’s service room 

Overall, the housekeeping department is a vital part of any hospitality operation, and its success is essential to the overall guest experience. A well-trained, efficient, and professional housekeeping team can make all the difference in ensuring that guests feel welcome, comfortable, and satisfied throughout their stay.