Housekeeping 1
BHM, First Semester
UNIT - 1
INTRODUCTION TO HOTEL HOUSEKEEPING
Introduction to Hotel Industry:
The hospitality industry consists of broad category of fields within the service industry that
includes accommodation, restaurants and bars, event planning, theme parks, transportation,
cruise line and additional fields within the travel and tourism. Hospitality industry can be broadly
defined as the collection of businesses providing accommodation and/or food and beverages to
people who are away from home.
Specifically, hospitality industry is a part of travel and tourism industry, but accommodation and
catering is a part of hospitality industry, which is limited within the periphery of hotels and
catering industries.
A hotel may be called as an establishment where primary business is to provide the general
public lodging facilities and which may also furnish one or more of the various services such as
food, beverage, laundry, uniformed services etc. Hence, hotel can also be called as home
multiplied by commercial activities.
The term "Hotel" was used in England in about 1760. The Hotel Industry originated in the 6th
Century B.C. It is one of the oldest endeavors. The earliest inns were just large halls where
travellers slept on the floor along with the animals on which they travelled. These conditions
prevailed for hundreds of years until the mode of travel changed.
Hotel or inn is defined by British law as "a place where a bonafide traveller can receive food and
shelter, provided he is in a position to pay for it and is in a fit condition to be received." A hotel
or an inn may also be defined as an establishment whose primary business is providing lodging
facilities for the general public and which furnishes one or more of the following services- a)
Food and Beverage service b) Room service c) Uniformed service d) Laundry service and d) use
of furniture and fixture etc.
It is one of the major segments of hospitality industries essential for tourism activities and the
large revenue generating industry of national economy due to the overall facilities it provides
such as conventional, recreational, sports, gambling, etc.
Simply, the hotel industry is the section of the service industry that deals with guest
accommodation or lodgings. By most definitions, the hotel industry refers not only to hotels, but
also to many other forms of overnight accommodation, including hostels, motels, inns and guest
houses. However, it does not usually include long-term or permanent forms of accommodation.
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Meaning of Housekeeping:
As the name signifies, Housekeeping means the up-keeping of the house. It means keeping a
clean, comfortable and safe house. It is an extension of basic home-keeping multiplied in to
commercial proportions in Hotel industry. So the house keeping department in the hotel is
responsible for the cleanliness, maintenance and aesthetic up-keep of the hotel.
Therefore , just as we enjoy keeping a 'sparling' home for ourselves and guest who visits us at
home, the housekeeping department takes pride in keeping the hotel clean and comfortable, so as
to create a 'Home away from home'.
The concept of housekeeping is simplistic but when one considers maintaining a 'house' of
several hundred rooms and numerous public areas, the task becomes gigantic. It takes a well-
organized approach and teaching understanding to enable housekeeping, to cope with the volume
of work.
A hotel survives on the sale of room, food, beverages and other minor services such as the
laundry, health club spa and so on. The sale of rooms constitutes a minimum of 50 % of these
sales. Thus, the major part of the hotel’s margin of profit comes from the room sales, because a
room once made can be sold over and over again. Guestrooms are the heart of the hotel. The
room sale is dependent on, apart from several other things, the equality of room décor, room
facilities, cleanliness of the room and how safe it is, to make a room appealing to a guest is the
task of housekeeping which has to entrust the basic human needs of comfort and security. The
effort that a housekeeping department makes in giving a guest a desirable room has a direct
bearing on the guest’s experience in a hotel.
Function of House keeping Department:
1. Basic Functions
The primary function of the housekeeping department is keeping the venue clean and sanitary as
part of customer service. Maids and cleaners vacuum rugs and furniture in hallways, rooms and
public areas. They collect trash and empty wastebaskets, change the sheets and make the beds.
The refilling of soap and toilet paper dispensers in public restrooms and put toiletries and
supplies in guest rooms. They dust and polish furniture. In some hotels, they bring requested
items, such as infant cribs, to guest rooms. These hands-on tasks fall to the actual cleaning staff.
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BHM, First Semester
Supervisory Functions: The work of organizing and coordinating the cleaning falls to the first-
line supervisors and housekeeping managers in a hospitality business. They determine which
rooms or areas must be cleaned, make the job schedule, assign tasks and check the work.
Scheduling often requires coordinating tasks with other hotel departments and activities to avoid
disrupting other services. Supervisors also make sure housekeeping equipment, such as vacuum
cleaners and floor polishers, is properly maintained. When they receive complaints, they
investigate the issues and see that problems are taken care of.
2. Management Functions
Housekeeping management functions belong to higher-level supervisors or managers, depending
on the size of the hotel or operation. Workers fulfilling this role need skills in supervision,
procurement, budgeting and problem-solving. For example, managers set the housekeeping
standards and oversee the training of new hires. Conducting in-service sessions, they teach
company policies and the correct use of equipment. Managers track the inventory of supplies,
keep payroll records, maintain the department budget and prepare expense and occupancy
reports. They help keep worker morale high and ensure that safety procedures are obeyed.
3. Job Requirements
Entry-level housekeepers typically learn by helping an experienced worker. The pressure to
maintain a staff-to-room ratio in order to uphold housekeeping standards often leads to rash
hiring decisions, especially under the high turnover condition that characterizes hotel and resort
housekeeping departments.
House keeping coordinates Human resources about hiring, firing, procurement, development,
training and appraisal of the employee.
4. Cost controls:
• It avoids overtime working which helps in reducing cost by proper usage of the product
and equipments in order to control over cost.
• Turn out lights and AC and electrical things when not in use to avoid unnecessary cost.
• Helps to keep the record of assignment, financial records, work load indicators, training,
quality control remarks which help in controlling the cost.
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5. Preservation of the property:
House keeping department preserves the hotel properties such as buildings, furniture's
and furnishing. This department preserves these properties by the correct procedures. It is
responsible for adequate frequencies of cleaning and proper product.
6. Sets climate and attitude of the property:
House keeping staff is responsible to create a positive attitude with each other.
she\he must take pride in his/her job in order to be effective and efficient to do their
work. There should be high morale in them. The environment and the climate in the hotel
must be neat and clean. Housekeeping department is for cleaning and maintaining
everything in the hotel so the hotels properties are as fresh and attractive at the time it is
opened for business.
Role of House Keeping Department:
1. To achieve the maximum possible efficiency in ensuring the care and comfort of the
guests.
2. Establish a welcoming atmosphere and ensure courteous, reliable service from all the
staff of the department.
3. Ensure a high standard of cleanliness and general upkeep in all areas for which the
department is responsible.
4. Provide linen in rooms, food service area etc and maintain an inventory for the same.
5. To provide uniforms for all the staff and maintain adequate inventory for the same.
6. Cater to the laundry requirement, staff uniforms and guest clothing.
7. Deal with the lost and found articles.
8. To resist in the maintenance of the building while contributing to a safe and healthy
environment.
9. To provide and maintain the floral decorations and landscaped areas of the hotel
10. To provide and maintain the floral decorations and landscaped areas of the hotel.
11. To select the right contractor and ensure that the quality of work is maintained.
12. To coordinate the renovation of the
13. property as and when required in consultation with the management
14. and the interior designer
15. To coordinate with the purchase department of the guest supplies, cleaning agents,
equipments, linen, carpets and other items used in the hotel.
16. To ensure training control and supervision of all staff attached to the department.
17. To establish a good working relationship with other departments.
18. To ensure that safety and security regulations are made known to all the staff of the
department.
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BHM, First Semester
19. To keep the General Manager and administrator informed of all matters requiring
special attention.
Importance of House Keeping Department
Housekeeping is an operational department in a hotel, which is responsible for cleanliness,
maintenance, aesthetic upkeep of rooms, public area, back area and surroundings. A hotel
survives on the sale of room, food, beverages and other minor services such as the laundry,
health club spa and so on. The sale of room constituter a minimum of 50 per cent of these sales.
Thus, the major part of the hotel’s margin of profit comes from the room sales, because a room
once made can be sold over and over again. The effort that a housekeeping department makes in
giving a guest a desirable room has a direct bearing on the guest’s experience in a hotel.
Guestrooms are the heart of the hotel. The housekeeping department not only prepares clean
guestroom on a timely basis for arriving guest, but also cleans and maintains everything in the
hotel so that the property is as fresh and attractive as the day it opened for business.
Housekeeping, thus, is an ancillary department that contributes in a big way towards the overall
reputation of a property.
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 miles if carpeting, floor, walls and ceiling to be
cleaned and maintained, and cleaning compounds along with special tools and equipment needed
in order to clean.
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 popular in these days.
1. Comfort:
Achieve the maximum efficiency possible in the care and comfort of the guests and in
providing support services for the smooth running of the hotel. Every hotel spends a lot of
effort in ensuring the quality of beds, mattress, channel music, TV, air conditioner if
applicable, attached bar etc.
The comforts must be regularly maintained and should be properly functioning. It is the
duty of the housekeeping department to ensure comfort and welcoming atmosphere to the
guest as well as strive to extend courteous, reliable and satisfactory service from staff of all
departments.
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BHM, First Semester
2. Cleanliness and Hygiene:
Ensure a high standard of cleanliness and general up keep in all areas. Clean and well
maintained areas and equipments create a favorable impression on the guest. Hygiene is
maintained especially washroom, toilets, pool changing room, health club etc.
3. Privacy:
The prime concerned of any guest, irrespective of whether rich or poor, common man or
celebrity is privacy. Room's windows are provided with curtain. Windows could normally
overlook good scenic view, away from prying eyes of others in the hotels or outside public.
Housekeeping staff ensures the privacy of the guest and should be trained with proper
producers to enter the room.
4. Safety and security:
Security is one of the prime concerns of a hotel guest. The house keeping department
staff should ensure the safety and security of the guests with the help of security services.
5. Décor:
Creating a pleasant and classy ambience is also one of the major concerns for the guest.
This is not easy and requires a good eye for detail. This work is and art and the house
keeping staff is mainly responsible for creating a pleasure atmosphere.
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