Chapter 7 Housekeeping Hotel Operations Management 1e HayesNinemeier

Chapter 7: Housekeeping Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Roles of Housekeeping Dept. : Guestrooms Public spaces lobby areas / public restrooms / front desk areas / management offices / game rooms / exercise areas / pool & spa areas / employee break rooms & locker rooms / selected meeting & food service areas Major Executive Housekeeper responsibilities: Decisions about required number of cleaning employees Frequency of cleaning Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Roles of Housekeeping Dept. : Guestrooms Guestroom areas Elevators/ corridors/ stairwells/ guestrooms Communication role to Front Desk staff (room status info) & Engineering / Maintenance Department ( room maintenance issues) Room will be assigned, when: Properly cleaned by Housekeeping Verified as clean by second member of Housekeeping Room’s status has been reported to Front Desk Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Roles of Housekeeping Dept. : Guestrooms (continued…) Room status terminology Clean & Vacant Occupied On-Change Do not disturb Sleep-out Stay-over Room vacant, has been cleaned and can be assigned to guest Room registered to a current guest Room vacant but not yet cleaned Room is occupied but not yet cleaned, due to guest request not to be disturbed Room reported as occupied, but room was not used, and guest may have left Guest will stay in room at least one more night Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Roles of Housekeeping Dept. : Guestrooms (continued…) Room status terminology (continued…) Due-out Check-out Guest has indicated that is last day he/she will use room Guest has departed Out-of-order Room is not rentable, thus not assignable Lock-out Late checkout Guest’s items still in room, but guest will be denied access until management approval of re-entry Guest has requested and has been allowed an extension of regular check out time Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Roles of Housekeeping Dept: Laundry areas laundry preparation areas/ laundry supply closets/ guest linen, terry and supplies storage areas Laundry often represents one of the hotel’s largest expenses. Housekeeping Dept. & Executive Housekeeper’s role Managing “On Premise Laundry (OPL)” and its effective operation Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Staffing the Department Executive Housekeeper should: have management skills (planning, organizing, directing and controlling departmental activities). have commitment to cleanliness and impeccable cleaning standard. create an appropriate inspection checklist and revise it as necessary. know about personal administration, budgeting, laundry sanitation, fabrics & uniforms, room cleaning chemicals and routines. be guest oriented. Room Inspector’s major responsibilities: Assess quality of room cleanliness Point out deficiencies to room attendants, get those deficiencies corrected, & report revision of room status to Executive Housekeeper or Front Desk Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Staffing the Department (Continued…) Approaches to build highly motivated, dedicated Room Attendants: Treat them at all times with respect Ensure they are supervised by excellent supervisors Have room cleaning assignment policies perceived by them as fair Provide excellent, ongoing training Provide a realistic career ladder for room attendants Enforce Housekeeping Department policies consistently and without favoritism Ensure room attendant safety through training and appropriate hotel policies Provide benefit packages that are competitive for the area Pay fair wages Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Managing Housekeeping: Safety Housekeeping employees are one of the hotel’s largest groups thus Physical nature of jobs this group’s accident rates generally the highest in the hotel. Equipment & supplies Rule Housekeeping employees should handle only those machinery items and supplies they are properly trained to handle. Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Managing Housekeeping: Safety Areas of training concern Chemical handling Cleaning procedures Correct lifting techniques Properly entering guestrooms Contending with guestrooms containing: firearms/ uncaged animals/ individuals perceived as threatening/ ill or unconscious guests/ drugs and drug paraphernalia / blood and potential bloodborne pathogens Guest service Guestroom security Lost & Found procedures Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Managing Housekeeping: Employee Scheduling the number of room attendants depends on: size of guestrooms / amenities in rooms / actual number of rooms to be cleaned / amount, if any, of deep cleaning How to establish room attendant schedules Inexperienced Executive Housekeeper relies exclusively on minutes per room Total # of minutes worked by room attendants / total # of guestrooms cleaned = Minutes per room Experienced Executive Housekeeper relies on both minutes per room and knowledge of guests and sales patterns Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Managing Housekeeping: Inventory Management Inventory items maintained by Executive Housekeeper: sheets (all sizes)/ pillowcases/ bedspreads/ bath towels/ hand towels/ washcloths/ soaps/ shampoos/ conditioners/ sewing kits/ glass cleansers/ furniture polish/ acid-based cleansers/ glassware/ cups/ coffee & filters/ in-room literature/ telephone books/ pens/ paper pads Values of monthly inventories Check how much of each item is in use, in storage, on order Executive Housekeeper to compute monthly “product usage reports” Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Managing Housekeeping: Inventory Management (continued…) Waldo hotel product usage report Housekeeping King-sized Sheets Department: ___________ Item: _____________ Prepared by: __________ Date: _____________ For Period: __________________________ January 1 Count on: _________ 850 units Plus Purchased in month 144 unitis Total in service 994 unitis February 1 Less Count on: _________ 877 unitis Total Monthly usage 117 Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Managing Housekeeping: Lost & Found Three types of unclaimed property Mislaid property Lost property Owner unintentionally has left item(s) behind, then forgotten it/them Abandoned property Owner intentionally has left item(s) behind Law and/or policy requirements: Hotel must safeguard mislaid property until rightful owner returns Hotel must hold lost property until rightful owner claims it Hotel not required to find abandoned property’s owner Property left behind in room or found in lobby to be treated as mislaid or lost Establish how long any mislaid/lost property to be held before disposing it Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Managing Housekeeping: Lost & Found (continued…) When item is found When returned to rightful owner, or disposed of Date item is found Description of item Location where item is found (room #, if applicable) Written Name of finder report Supervisor who receives item Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier Date item is returned Owner’s name/ address/ phone Housekeeping Manager returning item Method of return Date property is declared as abandoned Name of hotel employee receiving abandoned property © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Facility Care & Cleansing Public space cleaning Forms basis for a guest’s initial impression of property Guestroom cleaning Effective guestroom cleaning is heart of Housekeeping Department Determines long-term success or failure of property Sleeping area: the first part seen by guest when entering room Bathroom area: closely inspected by guests for cleanliness Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Facility Care & Cleansing (continued…) G. M. s’ roles in facility care and cleaning G. M. s should know what to look for when inspecting the hotel G. M. s must inspect public space, guestroom and laundry operation areas regularly G. M. s should not evaluate effectiveness of their housekeeping departments based only on lower costs per occupied room or fewer minutes per room cleaning (these factors are not always better!) Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Laundry Operating an effective “on-premises laundry” is a multistep process Collecting Sorting Watching Drying Finishing / Folding Delivering Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Laundry: Operating an Effective OPL (continued…) Collecting Sorting Washing Dirty linen and terry should never be used as guestroom cleaning rags. Bloodstained linen or terry must be placed separately in a biohazard waste bag (pre-sort in guestroom). Biohazard waste bag should be on every housekeeping cart. Once in OPL, laundry is sorted both in terms of fabric type & degree of staining. This step is the most complex part. Monitor a: washing times, b: wash temperatures, c: chemicals, d: agitation length and strength Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458

Laundry: Operating an Effective OPL (continued…) Drying Finishing/ Folding Storing Delivering Drying is simply a process of moving hot air (140 -145 degrees F. ) through fabrics to vaporize & remove moisture. Fabrics that are dried must have cool-down period in the dryer before they are removed from it Space for finishing laundry must be adequate Many fabrics must “rest” after washing & drying 24 -hr rest time for cleaned laundry Housekeeping Dept. should maintain laundry par levels of three times normal usage Storage areas containing these items should be locked Hotel Operations Management, 1/e Hayes/Ninemeier © 2004 Pearson Education Pearson Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458