Hotel Housekeeping - Staff Duties

A new broom sweeps clean; but an old broom knows the corners.

− An Irish Saying.

There is a huge workload on the hotel housekeeping staff. The housekeeping work is carried out at various levels such as managerial level, supervisory level, and operational level. Let us see more about the staff and qualities they should possess.

Structure of Housekeeping Staff

The general structure of housekeeping staff is as shown below −

Let us see the work and responsibilities at each level.

Executive Housekeeper / Manager of Housekeeping

The Executive Manager is the chief of housekeeping department. The Deputy Housekeeper and Assistant Manager of Housekeeping report to him. Their responsibilities include −

• Ensuring overall cleanliness and aesthetics of the hotel.
• Ensuring overall sanitation, comfort, and ambience of the hotel.
• Training the new joiners and motivate the existing employees.
• Modelling and establishing Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for cleaning and decorating.
• Monitoring regular inventory of guest supplies and linen.
• Monitoring housekeeping equipment and hotel property.
• Evaluating employee performance, and handling their training, promotions, and transfers.
• Organize flower arrangements for events.
• Presenting the estimate of the required budget to the General Manager of the hotel.

Supervisors of Housekeeping

The supervisors report to the Assistant Housekeeper. Their positions and their respective responsibilities include −

Floor Supervisor

• Issuing keys to the room attendants.
• Coordinating floor operations and tray clearance with room attendants.
• Inspecting rooms for readiness and reporting to the front office for the same.
• Catering for VIP facilities and providing special supplies such as hot drinking water, baby-sitting provision.

Public Area Supervisor

• Ensuring that cleanliness is maintained at all times in public areas such as lobby, lifts, parking, swimming pool, coffee shop, conference hall, banquet hall, and restaurant.
• Ensuring banquet and conference halls are well kept and ready.
• Ensuring the concerned operating staff is available as per the schedule.

Night Supervisor

• Ensuring provision of guest supplies such as water, extra bed, fans, or towels.
• Ensuring the operating staff working at night is following all cleaning SOPs.
• Supervising hotel area at night and ensuring cleanliness in all areas of hotel.

Uniform Room Supervisor

• Providing clean, ironed, and fresh uniforms to the hotel staff.
• Suggesting procurement of any uniforms required.
• Checking repaired linen from tailor room.
• Keeping track of number and condition of uniforms.

Linen Room Supervisor

• Inspecting linen and sending it to the laundry.
• Checking linen from laundry and sending it for ironing.
• Maintaining linen influx and out flux register.
• Checking repaired linen from tailor room.
• Suggesting linen replacements if required.

Operating Staff / Attendants

The positions and responsibilities of the Operating Staff/Attendants are explained below.

Uniform Room Attendant

• Collecting uniforms of staff at the end of every shift and maintaining them to be used for the next time.
• Maintaining the shelves of uniforms and linens clearly.
• Giving and taking back the uniforms from the staff.

Linen Room Attendant

• Segregating the dirty linen according to its type and sending it to the laundry.
• Keeping the track of linen count before and after laundry.
• Stacking towels, bed sheets, pillowcases, table napkins separately into different sections of shelves.

Guest Room Attendant

• Reporting to the floor supervisor.
• Cleaning the guest rooms, guest bathrooms, and the corridors.
• Changing the linen of the guest room and guest bathrooms.
• Topping up the guest supplies.
• Making guest-room beds.
• Replenishing the hotel cleaner’s trolley with supplies and linens for the next shift staff.

Storekeeper

• Reporting to the floor supervisor.
• Keeping the count of cleaning equipment and items such as cleaners and detergents.
• Generating requisition to purchase the required material.

Public Area Attendants

• Reporting to public area supervisor.
• Keeping the parking, lobbies, guest rooms, lifts, and corridors in best maintained status.
• Keeping these areas smelling fresh and clean.

Night Shift Attendants

• Reporting any hotel safety issues to the night supervisor.
• Performing housekeeping duties during night.

Qualities of Housekeeping Staff

There are certain professional qualities the housekeeping staff is required to possess −

Personal Hygiene and Appearance

The housekeeping staff on duty must −

• Be well-groomed with high degree of personal hygiene.
• Have trimmed nails and hair, and clean uniform.
• Have a clean and pleasant appearance.

Communications skills

The housekeeping staff must −

• Conduct themselves with a cooperative attitude.
• Speak in a friendly but sincere tone.
• Speak clearly in audible voice of moderate pitch.
• Maintain polite eye contact while interacting with the hotel guests.

Interpersonal skills

For serving the guest and working for cleanliness, the housekeeping staff must

• Possess right attitude.
• Have good listening skills to avoid any miscommunication.
• Be a good team player.

Personal skills and Traits

The housekeeping staff must −

• Be able to retain and pursue the demand of the guest until it is fulfilled.
• Be sincere and physically fit.
• Respect each hotel guest they are dealing with. They must conduct themselves confidently and courteously.
• Have high integrity.