Identifying Housekeeping's Responsibilities

    Regardless of the size and structure of housekeeping department, it is typically the responsibility of the hotel's general manager to identify which areas of the property housekeeping will be responsible for cleaning.  Most housekeeping departments are responsible for cleaning the following areas :

- Guestrooms
- Corridors
- Public areas, such as the lobby and public restrooms
- Pool and patio areas
- Management offices
- Storage areas
- Linen and sewing rooms
- Laundry room
- Back-of-the-house areas, such as employee locker rooms.

     Housekeeping departments of hotels offering mid-range and world-class service are generally responsible for additional areas, such as :

- Meeting room
- Dinning rooms
- Banquet rooms
- Convention exhibit halls
- Hotel-operated shops
- Game rooms
- Exercise rooms.

     Housekeeping's cleaning responsibilities in the food and beverage areas vary from property to property.  In most hotels, housekeeping has very limited responsibilities in relation to food preparation, production, and storage areas.  The special cleaning and sanitation tasks required for maintaining these areas are usually carried out by kitchen staff under the supervision of the chief steward.  In some properties, the dinning room staff cleans service areas after breakfast and lunch periods ;housekeeping's night cleaning crew does the in-depth cleaning after dinner service or early in the morning before the dinning room opens for business.  The executive housekeeper and the dining room managers must work closely together to ensure that quality standards are maintained in the guest service and server station areas.

     The same cooperation is necessary between housekeeping and banquet or convention services.  The banquet or convention staff generally sets up function and meeting rooms and is responsible for some cleaning after the rooms are used.  The final in-depth cleaning is left to the housekeeping crew. This means that the final responsibility for the cleanliness and overall appearance of these areas falls squarely on the shoulders of the housekeeping staff.

     The general manager typically designates which areas housekeeping will be responsible for cleaning.  However, if areas responsibility cross department lines, the manager of those departments must get together and settle among them selves any disputes about cleaning responsibilities.  The agreement among the managers is then reported to the general manager for his/her approval.  A good housekeeping manager can effectively solve problems on his/her level with other managers, thereby relieving the general manager of day-to-day operational problems.

     It is good idea for the executive housekeeper to obtain a floor plan of the hotel and color in those areas for which housekeeping is responsible.  Different colors can be used to designates those areas for which other department managers are responsible.  To ensure that all areas of the property have been covered-and to avoid future misunderstandings about responsibilities-copies of this color-coded floor plan should be distributed to the general manager and to all department managers.  This way, everyone can see at a glance who is responsible for cleaning each area in the hotel.  The color-coded floor plan also presents a clear and impressive picture of the housekeeping department's role in cleaning and maintaining the hotel.

     Once housekeeping's areas of responsibility have been identified, planning focuses on analyzing the work required for cleaning and maintaining each area.

   

Planning and Organizing the Housekeeping Department

     Like all other managers in a hotel, the executive housekeeper uses available resources to attain objectives set by top management executives, resources include people, money, time, work method materials, energy, and equipment.  These resources are in limited supply, and most executive housekeepers will readily admit that they rarely have all the resources they would like.  Therefore, an important part of the executive housekeepers job is planning how to use the limited resources available to attain the hotel's objectives. 

     The executive housekeeper uses objectives set by the general manager as a guide in planning more specific, measurable goals for the housekeeping department. For example, one of the first planning activities of the executive housekeeper is to clarity the department's cleaning responsibilities and to map strategies for carrying out these responsibilities effectively.  Strategies will identify the types of cleaning task and how frequently the task must be performed. 

     The chapter begins by identifying some of the executive housekeeper's most important planning functions.  Major cleaning responsibilities of the housekeeping department are identified and suggestions for planning work within the department are presented. In addition, the chapter examines the organizational structure of several housekeeping departments and presents sample job descriptions for executive housekeeper positions.  Job descriptions are also presented for typical housekeeping positions in a mid-range-service hotel.  The chapter close by showing how other important management functions of the executive housekeeper fit into the overall process of management.

Housekeeping and Engineering / Maintenance

     In most non-lodging commercial buildings, housekeeping, engineering, and maintenance personnel generally report to the same department manager.  This makes a great deal of sense because these functional areas have similar goals and methods and must have a close working relationship. In most midsize and large lodging operations, however, housekeeping reports to the rooms division manager, while engineering and maintenance constitute a separate division.  Different reporting responsibilities can become barriers to effective communication between these important support centers of a hotel. 

     In fact, it is unfortunate that support centers often seem to have an almost adversarial relationship. For example, housekeeping personnel sometimes resent having to clean up after various types of maintenance, while engineering personnel may be upset if the misuse of chemical and equipment by housekeeping results in additional work for them.  In order to ensure the smooth operation of both departments, housekeeping and engineering managers need to devote attention to improving the relationship between their departments.

     The housekeeping department often takes the first steps in relation to maintenance functions for which engineering is ultimately responsible.  There are three kinds of maintenance activities : routine maintenance, preventive maintenance, and scheduled maintenance.

     Routine maintenance activities are those which relate to the general upkeep of the property, occur on a regular ( daily or weekly ) basis, and require relatively minimal training or skills. These are maintenance activities which occur outside of a formal work order system and for which no specific maintenance records (tome or materials ) are kept. Examples include sweeping carpets,washing floors, cleaning readily accessible windows, cutting grass, cleaning guestrooms, shoveling snow, and replacing burned-out light bulbs.  Many of these routine maintenance activities are carried out by the housekeeping department. Proper care of many surfaces and materials by housekeeping personnel is the first step in the overall maintenance program for  the property's furniture and futures.

     Preventive maintenance consist of three parts inspection, mirror corrections, and work order initiation. For many areas within the hotel, inspections are performed by housekeeping personnel in the  normal course of their duties.  For example, room attendants and inspectors may regularly check guestrooms for leaking faucets, cracked caulking around bathroom fixtures, and other items that may call for action by engineering staff.  Attending to leaking faucets and improper caulking around sinks and tubs can control maintenance costs by preventing greater problems, such as ceiling or wall damage in the bath below.  Such maintenance protects the physical plant investment and contributes to guest satisfaction.

     Communication between housekeeping and engineering should be efficient so that most minor repairs can be handled while the room attendant is cleaning the guestroom.  In some properties, a full time maintenance person may be assigned to inspect guestroom and to perform the necessary repairs, adjustments, or replacements.

     Preventive maintenance, by its nature, sometimes identifies problems and needs beyond the scope of a minor correction. These problem are brought to the attention of engineering through the work order system.  The necessary work is then scheduled by the building engineer. This type of work is often referred to as scheduled maintenance.

     Scheduled maintenance activities are initiated at the property based on a formal work order or similar document. Work order are a key element in the communication between housekeeping and engineering. 

     Engineering generally keeps data cards and history records on all equipment operated by housekeeping personnel. Equipment data cards contain basic information about pieces of equipment, This information can include technical data, manufacturers information, cost, special instructions, warranty information, and references to other information as well ( such as the storage location of manuals and drawings ). Equipment history records are logs of the inspection and maintenance work performed on  a given piece of equipment.  History records may be separate cards or may be incorporated into the equipment data card. Their purpose is to provide documentation of all maintenance activity on a given piece of equipment. Many properties have computerized these record keeping functions, making it easier for the executive housekeeper to retrieve pertinent information when requesting replacement or new equipment items.

Housekeeping and the Front Office

     Within the rooms division, housekeeping's primary communications are with the front office department, specifically with the front desk area. At most properties, the front desk agent is not allowed to assign guestroom until the rooms have been cleaned, inspected, and released by the housekeeping department.  Typically, rooms are recycled for sale according to the following process.
     Each right, a front desk agent produces an occupancy report.  The occupancy report lists rooms occupied that night and indicates those guests expected to check out the following day.  The executive housekeeper picks up this list early the next morning and schedules the occupied rooms for cleaning.  As guests check out of the hotel, the front desk notifies housekeeping.  Housekeeping ensures the these rooms are given top priority so that clean rooms are available for arriving guests.
     At the end of the shift, the housekeeping department prepares a housekeeping status report based on a physical check of each room in the property.  This report indicates the current housekeeping status of each room.  It is compared to the front desk occupancy report, and any discrepancies are brought to the attention of the front office manager.  A room status discrepancy
is a situation in which the housekeeping department's description of a room's status differs from the room status information being used by the front desk to assign guestrooms.  Room status discrepancies can seriously affect a property's ability to satisfy guests and maximize rooms revenue.
     To ensure efficient rooming of guests, housekeeping and the front office must inform each other of changes in a room's status.  Knowing whether a room is occupied, vacant, on-change, out-of-order, or in some other condition is important to rooms management.  For example, if a guest checks out before the stated departure date, the front desk must notify the housekeeping department that the room is no longer a stay over, but is now a check out, While the guest is in the hotel, the housekeeping status of the guestroom changes several items.  However, not every room status will occur for each guestroom during every stay.
     Promptly notifying the front desk of the housekeeping status of rooms is a tremendous aid in getting early-arriving guests registered, especially during high-occupancy or sold-out periods. Keeping room status information up-to-date requires close coordination and cooperation between the front desk and the housekeeping department.  The two most common system for tracking current room status are mechanical room rack system and computerized status systems.
     The front desk may use a room rack to track the current housekeeping status of all rooms. A room rack slip containing the guest's name and other relevant information is normally completed during the registration process and placed in the room rack slot corresponding to the assigned room number.  The presence of a room rack slip indicates that the room is occupied.  When the guest checks out, the rack slip is removed and the room's status changed to on-change.  An on change status indicates that the room is in need of housekeeping services before it can be made available to arriving guests.  As unoccupied rooms are cleaned and inspected, the housekeeping department notifies the front desk, which updates the room's status to available for sale.
     Problem may also arise from communication delays between the housekeeping department and the front desk.  Communication between these areas may be spoken, written, or conveyed. Spoken communication over the telephone relays information quickly, but without supporting documentation. A written report has the advantage of documenting the information , but is time-consuming since  it must be hand-delivered. A telewriter, om the other hand, communicates and documents information quickly, without requiring anyone to be on its receiving end, Telewriters are especially helpful when front desk agents or housekeepers are busy with other responsibilities and do not have time to place a call or answer the telephone.
     In a computerized room status system, housekeeping and the front desk often have instantaneous access to room status information.  When a guest checks out , a front desk agent enters the departure into a computer terminal.  Housekeeping is then alerted that the room needs cleaning through a remote terminal located in the housekeeping department.  Next, housekeeping attendants clean the room and notify the housekeeping department when it is ready for inspection.  Once the room is inspected, housekeeping enters this information into its departmental terminal.  This informs the front office computer that the room is available for sale.
     While room occupancy status within a computerized system is almost always current, reporting of housekeeping status may lag behind.  For example, the housekeeping supervisor may inspect several rooms at once, but may not update the computer's room status files until the end of a long inspection round.  In a large operation, calling the housekeeping department after each room is inspected is generally inefficient, since answering the phone can be a constant interruption. A delays may also occur when a list of clean, inspected rooms is furnished to the housekeeping office but not immediately entered into the computer system.
     The problems in promptly reporting housekeeping status to the front office can be eliminated when the computer system is directly connected to the guestroom telephone system. With such a network, supervisors can inspect rooms,determine their readiness for sale, and then enter a designated code on the  room telephone to change the room's status in the hotel's computer system.  No one needs to answer the phone, since the computer automatically receives the relay, and there is little chance for error.  Within second, the room's update status can be displayed on the screen of a front desk computer terminal.  This procedure can significantly reduce not only the number of guests forced to wait for room assignment, but also the length of their wait.
     Teamwork between housekeeping and the front office is essential to daily hotel operations. The more familiar housekeeping and front office personnel are with each other's procedures, the smoother the relationship between the two departments is likely to be.

The Sales and Marketing Division

     The sales and marketing staff in a hotel can vary from one part-time person to a dozen or more full-time employees.  These personnel typically have four functions : sales, convention services, advertising, and public relations.  The marketing arm of the division researches the marketplace, competing products, guest needs and expectations, and than develops sales action plans by which to attract guests to the property.  The primary goal of the divisions is to sell the products and services offered by the hotel.

     Housekeeping's important contribution to the primary goal of the sales and marketing division often goes unrecognized.  Successful sales departments maintain high percentages of repeat business. Exhibit 1.4 provides some data on the reasons guests have for returning to a hotel.  Note that the single most important reason a traveler returns to a hotel is the cleanliness and appearance of the property.  The data also indicate that good service is second in importance. Housekeeping staff are among the most visible hotel representatives in this regard. Therefore , an important contribution of the housekeeping staff to hotel sales is the repeat business obtained by providing the level of cleanliness and service the meets or exceeds guest expectations.

The Food and Beverage Division

     A major revenue center in most hotel's is the food and beverage division. There are almost as many varieties of food and beverage operations as there are hotels. Many hotels offer guests more than a single food and beverage outlet. Possible outlet types include quick service, table service, specialty restaurant, coffee shops, bars, lounges and clubs. The food and beverage division typically supports other hotel function such as room service, catering, and banquet planning.

     The executive steward supervises most of the kitchen sanitation and cleaning duties.  However, the housekeeping department may be responsible for cleaning specific areas of the hotel's dining rooms, banquet rooms, and some back-of-the house food and beverage areas.

The Security Division

     Security staff might include in-house personnel, contract security officers, or retired or off-duty police officers.  Security responsibilities may include patrolling the property, monitoring surveillance equipment, and, in general, ensuring that guest, visitors, and employees are safe and secure at the hotel.  The cooperation and assistance of local law enforcement officials is critical to the security division's effectiveness. 

     A hotel's security program is most effective when employee who have primary responsibilities other than security also participate in security efforts.  For example, housekeeping room attendants should follow the key control procedures of their properties.  Also, when cleaning guestrooms, room attendants are usually responsible for locking and securing sliding glass doors, connecting doors, and windows.  All employees should be wary of suspicious activities anywhere in the property and report such activities to an appropriate security authority. Since housekeeping personnel work in every area of the hotel, they are in a position to significantly contribute to the hotel's security efforts.  Specific security responsibilities of the housekeeping department are described in Chapter 7.

The Accounting Division

     A hotel's accounting division is responsible for monitoring the financial activities of the property. Some hotels employ off premises accounting services to compliment the work of their internal accounting division.  In this case, the hotel's staff collects and transmits data to a service bureau or to chain headquarters. A hotel that performs all of its accounting work in-house will employ a larger accounting staff with a high level of responsibility.

     The hotel's controller manager the accounting division.  Accounting activities include paying invoices owed, distributing statements and collecting payments, processing payroll information, accumulating operating data, and compiling financial statements.  In addition, the accounting staff may be responsible for making bank deposits, securing cash, and performing other control and processing functions required by the hotel's management.

     In some properties, the purchasing manager and the storeroom manager may report to the hotel's controller.  The executive housekeeper must often work closely with these managers because the housekeeping department maintains inventories of cleaning supplies, equipment, linens, uniforms, and other items.  Chapter 5 focuses on the types of inventories maintained by the housekeeping department and discusses important inventory control measures.

     The controller and the general manager are responsible for finalizing the budgets prepared by division and department manager's. " The budgetary process and the executive housekeeper's role in controlling expenses is discussed in Chapter 6.

The Human Resources Division

     In recent years, hotels have increased investment in and dependence on human resources management. The size and budgets of human resources divisions have grown steadily, along with their responsibility and influence. This expanded role is mirrored by the growing preference for the broader term human resources over personnel. Recently, the scope of human resources management has changed in response to new legislation, the shrinking labor market, and the growing pressures of competition. Human resources functions may include employment ( including external recruiting and internal reassignment ), orientation, and training, employee relations, compensation, benefits, labor relations, and safety. 

     Many properties are not large enough to justify the creation of a human resources division or department.  In these properties, the general manager and departments share many of the duties and responsibilities connected with the human resources function.  Chapter 3 addresses the executive housekeeper's role in managing the human resources of the housekeeping department.

The Engineering and Maintenance Division

     A hotel's engineering and maintenance division is responsible for maintaining the appearance of the interior and exterior of the property and keeping its equipment operational . This division is also typically responsible for swimming pool sanitation and the landscaping and upkeep of the property's grounds. Some hotels, however, staff a grounds division or an outdoor and recreation division to perform these and other tasks. Not all engineering and maintenance work can be handled by the hotel's staff. Often, problem or projects require outside contracting.

     The housekeeping department works closely with the engineering and maintenance division to ensure that proper preventive maintenance procedures are carried out effectively. Since daily cleaning duties require that housekeeping personnel enter almost every guestroom every day, the housekeeping  department is in a position to identify maintenance needs and initiate work orders the engineering.

The Room Division

     The rooms division is composed of departments and functions which play essential roles in providing the services that guests expect during their stay. In most hotels, the rooms division generates more revenue than any other area in the hotel. The revenue center of the rooms division is the front office department. The department is usually the most important revenue center in a hotel. Other departments within the rooms division serve as support centers for the front office. These may include the housekeeping, reservations, telephone, and uniformed service departments.

     The front office is the most visible department in a hotel and has the greatest amount of direct guest contact. The front desk, cashier, and mail and information sections of the front office are located in the busiest area of the hotel's lobby. The front desk itself is the focal point of activity within the front office department. Guests are registered, as signed rooms, and checked out at the front desk.

     In some properties, the reservations and switchboard functions may be separate departments within the rooms division. The reservations area is responsible for receiving and processing reservation for future accommodations. Reservations agents must maintain accurate record and closely track the availability of rooms to ensure that no date is overbooked. Many departments within the hotel-especially housekeeping-use reservations data and other rooms forecast information to property schedule personnel.

     Hotel switchboard operators, sometimes referred to as PBX ( private branch exchange ) operators, answer calls and connect them to the appropriate extension. These operator relay telephone charges to the front office cashier for posting to the proper guest account, and, in some properties, place wake-up calls, monitor automated systems, and coordinate emergency communication systems.

     The hotel's uniformed service staff may include parking attendants, door attendants, porters, limousine drivers, and bell persons. Uniformed service staff meet  and greet guest and help them upon their arrival and departure.

Hotel Division and Department

     Department within a hotel may be classified according to a variety of methods. According to one method, each department is classified as either a revenue or support center. This method is especially useful for accounting purposes and in relation to the property's record keeping and information system. A revenue center sells goods or services to guests and thereby generates revenue for the hotel. The front office and food and beverage outlet are examples of typical hotel revenue centers. Support centers do not generates revenue directly, but play a supporting role to the hotel's revenue centers. The housekeeping department is a major support center within in the rooms division. Other hotel support centers include the areas of accounting, engineering and maintenance, and human resources.

     The term front of the house and back o the house may also be used to classify hotel departments and the personnel within them. Front-of-the-house function areas are those in which employees have a great deal of guest contact, such as the front office and food and beverage facilities. Back-of-the-house functional areas are those in which employee have less direct guest contact, such as accounting, engineering and maintenance, and human resources. Although members of the housekeeping department have some contact with hotel guests, the department is generally considered a back-of-the-house functional area. 

     The following sections briefly describe the major divisions and departments typically found is a large hotel.

Hotel Management

     Management  guides   the operation of   th e hotel and  regularly reports   the property's    overall operating results and other pertinent information to the owner.     The management team     achieves specific objectives and goals by planning, organizing, staffing, directing, controlling, and evaluating functional areas within the hotel,  Top management executive coordinate the activities of the various division and department managers.

     The use of the terms  division and   department is not standard  throughout    the lodging industry. Large properties    may call their main    functional  areas divisions   and smaller   functional    areas departments. And refer to smaller areas as sub departments.  Neither method is better than  the other.  

For consistency, this text will refer to the main functional areas as divisions and to the areas    within divisions as departments.

     The highest ranking  executive of   a property is usually   called the general manager,    managing director, or director of operations.  The general manager of a hotel reports directly to the owner or to an assigned person in the owner's company.  Within hotel chain organizations,   the general manager of a property may report to a district, area   , or regional    executive supervising    the properties in a particular group. 

     While the general manager is responsible for supervising all the divisions of a hotel,   he/she may assign specific   divisions or department to   the resident manager to oversee.     Typically,    resident managers are assigned to supervise departments    in the rooms  division of large hotels.     When the general manager is absent from the property,    the resident manager   becomes   the acting     general manager.  A manager-on-duty is often appointed   to take responsibility when     the general manager

and the resident manger are both absent from the property.

     All organizations require a formal structure to carry out their mission and objectives.   A common method of representing that structure is the organization chart.   An organization    chart diagrams the divisions of responsibility and lines of authority.   Some organizations list   each employee's name on the chart along with his/her position title.    Since no    two hotels are   exactly alike,    organizational structures must be tailored to fit the needs of each individual property.      Exhibit 1,2 shows a sample organization chart for a midsize rooms-only hotel.      Within this structure,   all department managers report directly to the assistant manager.

     Exhibit 1.3 shows a sample organization chart diagramming the management positions in a large hotel.  Note that within this organizational structure, the executive housekeeper and  the front office manager report directly to the rooms division manager.  The rooms division manager ensure that the housekeeping and front office department work as a team so that guestrooms are cleaned and   made ready for arriving guests.     The importance of effective communication between housekeeping and the front office is examined later in this chapter.    The housekeeping department also works closely with the engineering and maintenance division.     Since these functional areas do not usually report to the same manager,  it is important that the executive housekeeper and the chief engineer establish

 a close working relationship.     Communication   between     housekeeping and     engineering  and maintenance is also addressed later in this chapter.