Chapter 3 Housekeeping

CHAPTER 3…
HOUSEKEEPING AND FRONT OFFICE

FORMS
FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT –

HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT:
RELATIONSHIP
1. Housekeeping Department:
The Housekeeping Department is one of
the busiest section in the hotel as far as the
variety of function performed, and numbers
of staff working. It is usually situated at the
at the laundry room or any other convenient
place close to housekeeping Supplies.
The Housekeeping Department is Responsible for:
1. Neatness and Cleanliness of all guest rooms and most public areas.
2. Maintenance of recycled and non-recycled cleaning inventories.
Some of the above mentioned functions might however be leased to a concessionaire. In this
case, hotel shall still have a housekeeping department but to a minimum number of staff.
The procedure of cleaning guest rooms by the housekeeping department can be summarized
in the following way:
1. Checkout clerk (or cashier) contacts the Housekeeping Department that a room becomes vacant
and needs cleaning.
2. Housekeeping Department updates the room status from occupied to on-charge and sends a room
maid to clean the room.
3. Room maid cleans the room and contacts the housekeeping department back about the latest status
and condition of the room (especially out-of-order and cut-of-service).
4. If the rooms is Out Of Order for any reason (i.e. Room is extensively dirty, or needs repair), then the
Housekeeping Department deducts that the room from those available for sale, until either scheduled to
the extensively cleaned or post to the confirmation from the Maintenance Department that the
deficiency was repaired.
5. Housekeeping Department send theirs inspector to check whether the stated room has been cleaned
to the hotel standards or not.
6. If the room is cleaned to hotel’s standard, the Housekeeping Department shall update the room
status from On-Change to Clean and Available for Sale and communicate this to the Front office
Department.
7. If the room is not cleaned according to hotel standards, inspectors communicate to the
Housekeeping Department that the room shall be cleaned again.
II. Inter-relationship between Housekeeping and Front
Office Department:
The two main important areas where collaboration is vital between the Housekeeping and
Front Office Department are listed below:
1. Have always clean rooms for expected arrivals and stayovers.
2. Satisfy special guest needs as far as amenities and facilities a requested in their rooms are
concerned.
1. Cleaning and Inspection Process:
The Housekeeping Department shall first clean rooms for expected arrivals first, the stayover
rooms and eventually vacant rooms! The reason is that rooms for new arrivals take more time to
be cleaned to hotel standards again and that guests might come anytime to request their rooms
even before the pre-determined beginning of check-in time.
(b) Semi-automated System:
Under this very system, room maids and inspector might use either a phone machine situated
at the corner of each corridor, or pagers and beepers to communicate the recent room status.
This proved to be efficient as to minimize labor cost and the time that a guest spends on the
lobby waiting to be escorted his/her room However, this might create some problems:
a. Upon the usage of beepers, the housekeeping Department doesn’t know exactly which rom is
cleaned or inspected, therefore will spend needless time to be certain which would put more
stress in Check-in personnel.
b. Guests tend to be both not at ease dissatisfied seeing hotel personnel in their rooms using
pagers and might think that something wrong happened in their rooms.
(c)Fully Automated System:
This is the best system, which eliminates nearly all time losses spent by room maids and
inspector, to inform the Housekeeping Department and the time needed. To be spent needlessly at
the lobby area.
2. Room Status Report:
The Front Office and the Housekeeping shall prepare at the same time, as frequent as needed
by management, their room status reports, which lists, according to each department, the recent
room status of each room in the hotel. Later, these two reports shall be cross-referenced and
compared to detect the room status discrepancies and correct them as soon as possible in order to
maximize room revenue, detect skippers before it is too late.
In the manual system, room status report shall be reconciled at least each hour. This very frequency
might increase as the business volume in order. (i.e. in the high season).
In the semi-automated system, reconciliation shall be at least once per shift. (preferably at the
beginning of each shift).
lastly under the fully automated system, since housekeeping and front office department’s
communication is ensured electronically on real time, recondition needs to be done only at the night shift
by the night auditor.
3. Room Guest Needs Satisfaction:
If at the reservation or registration process, guests have communicated certain specific needs related to
certain specific amenities and/or facilities that are needed to be provided in the room, then the Front Office
Department shall communicate this directly to the Housekeeping Department of indirectly to the concierge
who shall further communication this to the Housekeeping Department and follow up to ensure the actual
provision in a timely and accurate manner.
HANDLE QUERIES THROUGH
TELEPHONE, FAX MACHINE, INTERNET
AND E-MAIL
INTRODUCTION: Some requests and queries by guests in the housekeeping department can
come in different forms other than direct verbal communication. In the following content, the how
will be discussed.
Handling Your Customer’s Queries: Contact Center
Although ecommerce companies typically

drive their communication through the
internet it is important to also offer a phone
number, email address and postal address to
customers as alternatively communication
channels.
Typically clients use or Contact Centre to help
answer queries from their customers like:
1. What is the status of my order?
2. What’s my tracking number?
3. Are you able to change my delivery address?
4. How do I return my order?
5. Can I order more items?
These are all question that you are placed to answer as you have full access to the order
processing system and tracking platforms and you can have people available as when you need
them rather than hiring customers services people yourself at a fixed cost.
Basic Telephone Etiquettes:
1. What al points should be taken care of while answering a call?

2. Phone should be answered within three rings.
3. Smile even though you are on the telephone.
4. Sit or stand up straight.
5. Use a low voice pitch.
6. Match your speaking rate to caller’s
7. Avoid extreme in volume.
Standard Phrase:
How to Answer an External call?
1. Greet according to the time of the day (Good Morning, Afternoon or Evening), (Your Hotel
Name), How may I help you.
2. How to answer Internal Guest calls?
3. Greet according to the time of the day (Good Morning, Afternoon or Evening) Mr.
____________(Guest last name), This is ____________(Your first name), How may I help you.
4. How to answer interdepartmental calls?
5. Greet according to the time of the day (Good Morning, Afternoon or Evening), this is
_____________(Your first name), How may I help you.
6. Note: Check out more sample Standard Greeting used in hotels.
How to transfer a guest call?
1. While transferring a guest call you should say:
2. Transferring your call with pleasure.
Putting a guest call on hold:
How to put a guest call on hold?
While putting a guest call on hold you should say:
3. Allow me to put your call on hold while I check for the information required” Or
4. “Could I put your call on hold, while I check for the information required?”
Guest Query: How do you handle a guest query?
For any guest query you should say:
“I will be glad to assist you.”
SELF-CHECK 1.3
WRITE YOUR ANSWER HERE:
NAME: DATE:
TRAINER: YEAR:
Enumerate 5 basic Telephone Etiquettes:

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
NOTE: SEE YOU NEXT CLASS…

Chapter 3 Housekeeping

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 3 Housekeeping

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Chapter 3 Housekeeping

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CHAPTER 3…

HOUSEKEEPING AND FRONT OFFICE

FRONT OFFICE DEPARTMENT –

Although ecommerce companies typically

1. What al points should be taken care of while answering a call?

Enumerate 5 basic Telephone Etiquettes:

NOTE: SEE YOU NEXT CLASS…

You might also like