CONTROL NO. ________
Andres- Dizon Bldg., Pioneer Avenue
General Santos City, 9500
magadangcronasia@gmail.com
(083) 554-6323
HOUSEKEEPING SERVICES
PRELIM MODULE
Name: ______________________________________________
Grade & Section: ___________________________________
Contact Number: ___________________________________
Class Adviser: ______________________________________
COMPUTER PROGRAMMING I
PREPARED BY: ZYRUS JOSEF S.
RUBINOS
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HOUSEKEEPING– or House cleaning
 The systematic process of making a home neat and clean.
 Refers to the upkeep and maintenance of cleanliness and orderliness in the house,
lodging, establishments such as hotel, inn, apartel, condominium, resort, dormitory
or even the hospital.
HOUSEKEEPER
 A person who is responsible for administering housekeeping
maintenance and for insuring that everything is in order.
 He or she sees to it that occupants are comfortable, safe and
protected inside and outside.
Note: Some housekeeping is house cleaning and some housekeeping is
home chores.
HOME CHORES
 Are housework that need to be done at regular intervals.
Housekeeping can be very demanding job that requires one to
be patient. Hotel housekeeper spend long hours on their feet,
sweeping, mopping, dusting, vacuuming, and cleaning of hotel
premises. In addition to cleaning task, hotel housekeepers may
also be responsible for shared duties, such as delivering beds to
guest rooms, replenishing toiletry supplies and lifting and
moving lightweight objects around the rooms.
To be able to do jobs mentioned above, a housekeeper needs to possess certain qualities. He
or she needs to have an eye for detail. While at work. They may come in close contact with
guests. This is why it is a must that they also have good interpersonal and communication
skills. Formal education is not required but most hotels in the Philippines prefer their
housekeeping staff to be at least a holder of high school diploma and has a NCII (National
Certificate) in Housekeeping to qualify for the job.
Housekeeping also includes the budget and control of expenditures, preparing meals, buying
food, paying utility bills and cleaning the house. Outdoor housekeeping chores include
removing leaves from rain gutters, washing windows, sweeping doormats, cleaning the pool,
putting away lawn furniture and taking out the trash.
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Types of Housekeeping
a. Domestic Housekeeping
b. Institutional Housekeeping
DOMESTIC HOUSEKEEPING
 Refers to housekeeping maintenance in a house.
It covers bedrooms, kitchen, dining, receiving
area, grounds and the surrounding areas within
the house.
INSTITUTIONAL HOUSEKEEPING
 Applies to housekeeping, maintenance
commercial lodging establishments like
hotels, resorts, inn and apartel.
 Guest rooms
 Hallways and corridors
 Lobby
 Public areas and restaurants
 Offices
 Stairways
 Ground and Plants
 Linen and Laundry areas
 Pest Control
COMMERCIAL OR INSTITUTIONAL HOUSEKEEPING
 There’s a need of housekeeping organization
 Housekeeping department shall set up a section for room maintenance, another for
public area, separate section is headed by a section head. In smaller establishment
with fewer guestrooms and public areas to be serviced, the housekeeping unit may
just be a small section instead of a department headed by a housekeeping supervisor,
assisted by an assistant housekeeper who takes over in case the supervisor is not
around. All housekeeping staff report directly to the housekeeping supervisor.
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Basic Standards for an Ideal Housekeeping Work;
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Cleanliness
Orderliness
Sanitation
Comfort
Eye appeal
Safety
Maintenance
CLEANLINESS
 All areas are clean
 Furniture and fixtures, windows and glass panels are free of dust; doorknobs and
metal fixtures are polished.
 Floors are vacuumed, polished, or shampooed when necessary.
 Grounds are free of litter and dirt.
ORDERLINESS
 Furniture and fixtures are appropriately located.
 Linen are clean and properly folded.
 Beds are made up properly; linen are mitered and wrinkle free.
SANITATION
 Garbage are properly disposed of.
 Area is protected from pest infestation and regularly fumigated.
COMFORT
 All areas are properly lighted and ventilated.
 There is minimal form of distraction.
 There are sufficient amenities available.
EYE APPEAL
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 Surroundings are soothing to the eyes.
 There is suitable interior design and proper blending of colors
 Paintings and other amenities like television sets are mounted at eye level.
SAFETY
 All areas are free from safety hazards.
 House or structure is provided with safety facilities like fire extinguishers, emergency
alarms, fire exits, etc.
MAINTENANCE
 Supplies and materials are available when needed
 Consumption of supplies is always monitored
 All tools and equipment are properly stored
There is periodic checking of appliances and equipment
A hotel’s housekeeping department provides a clean, comfortable and restful stay for all
guests. Although housekeepers are invisible to most guests, it’s the housekeeping
department to ensure the hotel maintains high standards in cleanliness and puts forth a
positive public image. The roles of housekeeping can vary from hotel to hotel, but most have
the same housekeeping duties in common.
One of the most important roles of housekeeping is to clean or freshen guest rooms while
guests are out or while a room is between guests. Each morning, the housekeeping
department stocks up hospitality carts with towels, fresh linens, cleaning supplies and
toiletries, and housekeepers set out to their assigned floors.
Housekeepers knock on the door of each occupied guest room and enter only when the
guests are out. Once inside, they make beds and supply fresh towels. Housekeepers also
replace any used toiletries, wipe surfaces clean, and vacuum or mop floors to ensure guests
return to a clean room. The housekeeping staff empties trash cans and removes any rubbish
from the room.
When hotel guests check out and won’t be returning to the room, the housekeeping
department provides a more thorough cleaning of the room and changes out all towels and
linens, so each new guest arrives at a pristine guest room or suite.
Personnel in the Housekeeping Department
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The duties and responsibilities of all personnel in a housekeeping department differ
from each other but there is one common denominator in all of their functions- ensuring
guest’s safety, security and satisfaction. We all know that no hotel can exist without the
patronage of its guests, and it is also true that the only reason for the existence of the staff is
to provide services for their guests’ comfort and convenience. Thus, all personnel in a
housekeeping department must not only assemble as a team, but should work as a
coordinated group of people cooperating of working together for a common goal, that is to
create a satisfied guest.
Organizational Structure of a Housekeeping Department
Housekeeping department represents the largest workforce of a hotel. The following
is an example of housekeeping organizational chart of a small hotel.
Executive Housekeeper
Assistant Executive
Housekeeper
Section Supervisors
Floor Supervisor
Guest Room
Attendant
Linen Supervisor
Linen and
Uniform
Attendant
Public Area
Supervisors
Public Area
Attendant
Pool
Attendant
Section
Supervisors
Valet or
Laundry
Attendant
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The Executive Housekeeper
The executive housekeeper is the head of the housekeeping and serves several
responsibilities that include: managing the housekeeping team; translating all hotels
policies, procedures, and standards into housekeeping operations; serves as the
representative of the department during top management meetings; and ensuring all
resources are effectively utilized.
Assistant Housekeepers
Hotel provides 24 hours services. An assistant housekeeper is the head of a given shift
and is responsible in managing the resources provided by the executive housekeeper to
achieve its goal of cleanliness, maintenance and attractiveness of the hotel during a given
shift. It is also his or her responsibility to translate into practice all the housekeeping
supervisors and executive housekeeper’s policies, procedures, and standards making sure
that executive housekeepers actualize them at the grass root level of operations. In the
absence of a housekeeper, an assistant housekeeper will take over.
Floor Supervisors
Floor supervisors are responsible in checking the cleanliness and maintenance of guest
rooms on allotted floors for quality assurance. They are also responsible in controlling the
housekeeping personnel which compose of room attendants and housemen. They are also
responsible in controlling the materials assets of the floor such as bed and bath linen, guest
and room amenities and cleaning equipment and detergents. They are the ones who
supervise the changing of floor linens with assistance of laundry department and ensure
their proper storage in the floor pantry. They also give feedback to the front desk office of
the availability of guest rooms in each shift for occupancy
Control Desk Supervisor
Housekeeping control desk is considered as the main communication center of the
housekeeping department. A control desk supervisor has a very important role to play, that
is to ensure the communication with housekeeping personnel is coordinated to all staff of
the hotel. The major responsibility of a control desk supervisor is to coordinate to all staff of
the hotel. The major responsibility of a control desk supervisor is to coordinate with the
maintenance department to make that all maintenance request are attended to and done.
Public Area Supervisor
The public are supervisor is responsible for ensuring that the public area attendants or
housemen are doing their job in maintaining the cleanliness, orderliness and upkeep of the
aesthetic image of all public areas in the hotel like the lobby, hallways, banquet space, and
public restrooms.
Linen Room Supervisors
Linen room supervisor is responsible in coordinating the exchange of soiled linen for
clean ones, He or she also custodian af all linens used and the one responsible for the
maintenance and proper storage of linens to minimize lose. The linen room supervisors is
tasked to coordinate closely with laundry supervisor for the supply of clean linens.
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Laundry Supervisor
Laundry supervisor is responsible for ensuring that laundry attendants are doing their
job- washing, drying, folding and pressing items properly.
Uniform Room Supervisors
The major responsibilities of a uniform room supervisor include keeping all uniforms in
safe conditions and to issue laundered uniforms to hotel staff.
Room Attendants
Room attendants are also chambermaid since mostly women are employed for the job
They are the ones who are responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of assigned guest
rooms. They serve as the eyes and ears of the security team to report any untoward incidents.
Room attendants also make sure that the privacy of all their guest are not invaded.
Laundry and Linen Room Attendants
Laundry and linen room attendants are responsible for laundering linens, towels,
napkins, aprons, uniforms, and any other items
Tailor or Upholsterers
Tailor is employed on-site to mend uniforms, linens, and upholstery or repurpose
ripped linens into aprons and rags.
Accept housekeeping requests from guests
Introduction
Housekeeping is an important area in any accommodation property. Most people see
housekeeping as simply „cleaning guest rooms‟ but from an operational perspective there is
a lot more to housekeeping than just that. The role of housekeeping is to ensure the comfort
and safety of guests whilst they are staying at a hospitality organization. This is the guest’s
'home away from home'. It is essential that that a guest is able to enjoy their room in the
same manner and with the same ease as they would enjoy in their own house. The aim of
housekeeping is to strive to enable guests to access items as easily as in their own home. It
is therefore important that housekeeping staff maintain a professional level of integrity,
especially staff who clean rooms. Housekeeping staff must have high levels of integrity,
honesty and discretion as a guest needs to feel that what takes place or what is left in their
room must be safe and remain confidential. Understandably an accommodation room is
considerably smaller in size than the customer's normal residence and therefore items that
they may need might not be in immediate access. A hotel cannot provide all the necessary
items a customer may need inside each and every room for a number of reasons:
The room size is too small It would become cramped for space Not all customers need all
items The capital outlay for a business would be considerable It reduces the chance of
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damage and theft. Therefore, it is vital that housekeeping is able to get a requested item to a
room in the shortest possible time.
Types of accommodation properties
The items included in a room or upon request differ depending on the type of
accommodation provided. Housekeeping requests by guests can be made across a range of
accommodation properties for a wide variety of reasons. A housekeeping department exists
in any property that offers in-house accommodation.
Housekeeping departments operate within:
Hotels, motels and clubs Resorts, chalets and hostels Passenger ships and trains Serviced
apartments.
Types of guest requests
There may be many times during a shift when the room attendant will have to handle guest
requests and the reasons can vary.
Need for item sent to the room A guest may request services or products such as:
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Additional equipment in their room – because they have needs during their stay that
are not accommodated by the normal in-room items
Valet or laundry service – common among long stay guests
Additional bedding – where the existing bedding is unsuitable, uncomfortable or
insufficient
Extra tea, coffee, sugar and milk sachets – a common request where the guests spend
a lot of time in their room
Extra crockery or cutlery – where the room features a kitchen or kitchenette this is
also a common request especially where guests want to entertain in their rooms
Vases – for flowers that have been delivered to them
Replacement items such as hair dryers, toasters, irons and electric jugs to replace
items that are not working
Extra bathroom guest supplies – another common request for long-term guests:
guests with long hair often ask for extra shampoo and conditioner
Additional items in compendium – such as letterhead paper, envelopes, postcards,
pens, note paper
Additional towels – to accommodate extra showers or baths taken by the guests:
where the property has a swimming pool this is a common request Extra hangers for
clothes, extra pillows, extra blankets
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A power conversion board – to adapt their electrical equipment to the power supply
of the venue: common where the property caters to some international guests
Ice and ice buckets.
Servicing of room
Rectification cleaning - guests may request an improvement in the servicing of room. They
require housekeeping staff to provide remedial service to the room when the original room
service is deemed by the guest to be sub-standard Clean-up after an in-room party or
entertainment A special room service where they have spilled something on the floor.
Repairs
Repair or removal of broken equipment – such as controls for the TV, DVD player, air
conditioner, broken bedside lights, free-standing lamps Instructions to enable them to work
equipment – such as the TV, in-room safe, lights (especially where room cards are needed to
activate the power to a room), heating and cooling controls.
Guests may also contact housekeeping when making a Lost and Found enquiry. They may
have found an item in a room they have just been roomed in or they may contact
housekeeping after they have departed to enquire about something they have lost.
Housekeeping is often the department that operates the Lost and Found facility for a venue
because most Lost and Found items come from guest rooms.
Repairs
Repair or removal of broken equipment – such as controls for the TV, DVD player, air
conditioner, broken bedside lights, free-standing lamps Instructions to enable them to work
equipment – such as the TV, in-room safe, lights (especially where room cards are needed to
activate the power to a room), heating and cooling controls.
Guests may also contact housekeeping when making a Lost and Found enquiry. They may
have found an item in a room they have just been roomed in or they may contact
housekeeping after they have departed to enquire about something they have lost.
Housekeeping is often the department that operates the Lost and Found facility for a venue
because most Lost and Found items come from guest rooms.
Handling complaints Ensuring guest comfort may relate not just to issues that can be handled
quickly by housekeeping (such as rectification cleaning, a replacement jug for one that’s not
working or extra tea and coffee supplies) but also handle or direct guest requests relating to:
Noisy people in the room next doors Poor views from the balcony Noisy pigeons outside the
room which stop guests getting to sleep Noisy elevators near the room Lack of facilities in
the room Quality of facilities that is below guest expectations Advertising that has created
expectations that are not being met. In most cases housekeeping may not be able to rectify
these complaints personally, but they should ensure the appropriate person is contacted in
a timely manner.
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The basis for providing excellent levels of customer service in housekeeping in order to
ensure the comfort and wellbeing of guests, housekeeping must develop a good relationship
with guests. This can be achieved by:
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Good personal presentation – as determined by house requirements that apply to
uniforms and personal hygiene
Greeting guests by name when known
Providing excellent service at all times
Not giving the guests the impression that serving their needs is a chore/imposition
Not rushing service delivery as and when it is required Enquiring “Is there anything
else I can do for you?”
Finishing service delivery with appositive statement: “It’s been a pleasure”
Providing information to guests (about the property, the local area, tourist
attractions, transport, local customs, currency etc.) – and not just providing service
in terms of specific housekeeping duties
Assisting guests in public areas (such as the corridors of their floors or in lifts) or in
room when they see them struggling with their luggage. The assistance may simply
involve offering to call a porter to assist
Smiling
Handling complaints in a professional manner
Providing a safe and secure environment for the guests while they are staying in the
establishment
Respecting the guest’s need for confidentiality and privacy
Having excellent product knowledge about the appliances, items, features in guest
rooms.
Handling guest complaints
Unfortunately, even with the best of intentions, things can sometimes go wrong and result in
a guest complaint. As identified before, some requests are in fact complaints. The following
are guidelines to assist in dealing with a customer complaint:
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Remain pleasant at all times, but do not smile when the guest is complaining
Listen without interruption
Know the correct procedure and the establishment policy on dealing with customer
complaints
Ask the guest how they would like you to resolve the problem
Focus on the issue and don’t take the complaint personal
apologize to the guest for any inconvenience
Advise your supervisor and get their feedback as to how they feel you handled the
situation.
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Liaise with other staff to obtain and or deliver identified service or items
As identified in the past section, guests or staff may have requests which must be addressed.
In some cases, these tasks can be performed by yourself or within the housekeeping
department. In many cases, in order to respond to a guest request, it requires the
involvement of other people or departments. A guest is not concerned who handles their
request. Their concern is that it is simply handled in a satisfactory and timely manner.
The need for teamwork
On some occasions, there will be a need for teamwork and the person receiving the request
for housekeeping services may need to obtain assistance from another staff member to
comply with the request. For example, a large spill in a room may be better dealt with by 2
people rather than just one. A large piece of equipment or furniture that needs moving will
require a „team lift‟ approach. Where you feel that you are unable to fulfil the request on
your own, you should always be prepared to ask others for their help. You should also be
prepared to help others when they ask for your assistance.
Safety and security
Where you receive a request from a guest for extra service provision and the guest appears
annoyed, upset, affected by drugs or alcohol then you should always obtain help from
another staff member. Certainly it is important to let someone know the room you are going
to. When you are servicing a room, others can tell where you are by the location of your
trolley and looking at your room chart, but when you respond to a call to take an item to a
room it is impossible for others to know where you are should you need help. All it takes is
a quick call to another staff member “Hi its John here on the 7th floor: just taking some extra
guest supplies to Room 1010. Should be back on station in 5 minutes.”
Responsibility
Regardless if the request has been forwarded to another person for completion it is
important that you ensure that the request is actioned. Keep track of what is happening and
where required keep the guest informed of what is happening and expected time for
completion. Once the request has been fulfilled, it is a good idea to check with the guest to
ensure they are satisfied with the outcome.
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