CHAPTER 3
Planning and Organizing the
Housekeeping Department
Objective: identifying the major responsibilities + drawing the
organization of the housekeeping department
Housekeeping’s Responsibilities
in limited-service hotels
cleaning;
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guestrooms
corridors
public areas such as lobby and public restrooms
pool and patio areas
management offices
storage areas
linen and sewing rooms
laundry room
back of the house areas e.g. employee locker rooms
Housekeeping’s Responsibilities
additional areas in mid-and-world class hotels
cleaning;
 meeting rooms
 dining rooms
 banquet rooms
 convention/exhibition halls
 hotel-operated shops
 game rooms
 exercise rooms
Housekeeping’s Responsibilities
exceptions
not directly responsible for cleaning;
• kitchen
• maintenance department
• swimming pool
• front desk
Management Functions of
Executive Housekeeper
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Planning
Organizing
Coordinating/Staffing
Directing/Controlling
Evaluating
Planning
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Area Inventory List
Frequency Schedules ex. 2.2, pg. 24, ex. 2.3, pg. 25
Performance Standards
Productivity Standards Equipment and Supply
Inventory Levels
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Housekeeping Department’s Operating Budget
Basic Planning Activities
Initial Planning
Questions
Resulting
Documents
1. What items within the area
must be cleaned or maintained?
2. How often must the items within
this area be cleaned or maintained?
3. What must be done in order to clean
or maintain the major items within
this area?
“Area Inventory
List”
“Frequency
Schedules”
“Performance
Standards”
4. How long should it take an employee
to perform an assigned task according to
the department’s performance standards?
5. What amounts of equipments and
supplies will be needed in order for the
Housekeeping staff to meet performance
And performance statndards?
“Productivity
Standards”
“Inventory
Levels”
Productivity Standard Worksheet
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Step 1
Determine how long it should take to clean one guestroom
according to the department’s performance standards.
Approximately 27 minutes
PS: Since performance standards change from property to
property, this figure is used as an example. It is not a suggested
time figure for cleaning guestrooms.
Step 2
Determine the total shift time in minutes
8 hours × 60 minutes = 480 minutes
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Step 3
Determine the time available for guestroom cleaning.
Total Shift Time.........................................480 minutes
Less:
Beginning-of-Shift Duties.................. 20 minutes
Morning Break.................................... 15 minutes
Afternoon Break................................. 15 minutes
End-of-Shift Duties............................ 20 minutes
Time Available for Guestroom Cleaning...410 minutes
Step 4
Determine the productivity standard by dividing the
result of Step 3 by the result of Step 1.
410 minutes / 27 minutes = 15.2 guestrooms per 8 hour
shift
Equipment and Supply
“Inventory Levels”
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Recycled Inventories: items which are recycled
during the course of hotel operations. e.g. linens, some
guest supplies (irons, ironing boards, cribs, etc.), room
attendant carts, vacuum cleaners, carpet shampooers,
floor buffers
 Par
Number:
Par refers to the standard number of items
that must be on hand to support daily, routine housekeeping
operations. E.g. one par of linens is the total number of
items needed to outfit all the hotel guestrooms once; two par
items is the total number of items needed to outfit all the
hotel guestrooms twice and so on.
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Non-recycled inventories: items that are
consumed or used up during routine activities of
the housekeeping department e.g. cleaning supplies,
guestroom supplies and amenities etc.
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Minimum Quantity: is the fewest number of purchase
units that should be in stock at any time. The inventory
should never fall below the minimum quantity.
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Maximum Quantity: is the greatest number of purchase
units that should be in stock at any time. It must be
consistent with available storage space and must not be
so high that large amounts of cash is tied up.
Organizing
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Organizing refers to the executive housekeeper’s
responsibility to structure the department’s staff and to
divide the work so that everyone gets a fair assignment
and all the work can be finished on time.
The major areas within the department are;
Housekeeper’s Office, Desk Control Room, Linen
Room, Linen Uniform Room, Uniform Room, Tailors
Room, Lost and Found Section, Floor Pantries, and
Heavy Equipment Stores.
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Housekeeper’s Office
This is the main administration center for the
department. It must be an independent cabin to
provide the Housekeeper with silence to plan out her
work and held her meetings. It should be a glass
panelled office so as to give her a view of what is
happening outside her office.
Desk Control Room
This is the main communication center of
housekeeping. It is from here that all information is
sent out and received concerning the department. The
Desk Control Room should have a desk with a
telephone and a computer. It should have a large notice
board for the staff schedules and day-to-day
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instructions. Here is also the point where all staff
report for duty and check out at the duty end. It would
be next to the Housekeeper’s Office.
Linen Room
This is the roomwhere current linen is stored for issue
and receipt. The linen room should have a counter
across which the exchange of linen takes place. The
room should be next to the laundry so that the supply
of linen to and from laundry is quick and smooth.
Linen Uniform Room
This room stores the stocks of new linen and uniforms.
These stocks are only touched when the current
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uniforms and linens in circulation falls short due to
damage or loss. Larger hotels may have enough space
for an independent Uniform Store in addition to a
Linen Store.
Uniform Room
This room stocks the uniforms in current use. This
room must have enough hanging space.
Tailors Room
This room is kept for house tailors who attend to the
stiching and mending work of linen and uniforms.
Lost and Found Section
This should be a small secure space with a cupboard
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to store all guest articles that are lost and may be
claimed later.
Floor Pantries
Each guest floor must have a floor pantry to keep a
supply of linen, guest supplies and cleaning supplies for
the floor. It is the housekeeping nerve center for the
floor. The Floor pantry should keep linen for that floor
in circulation. It should be near the service elevators
and have shelves to stock all linen and other supplies.
Heavy Equipment Stores
This will be a room to store bulky items such as
vacuum cleaners, shampoo machines, etc.
The Department Organization Chart
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provides a picture of the lines of authority and the
channels of communication within the department.
People working in this department are;
Executive Housekeeper, Assistant Housekeeper,
Uniform Room Supervisor, Uniform Room
Attendants, Floor Supervisor, Public Area Supervisor,
Room Attendants, Housemen, Head Housemen, Desk
Control Supervisor, Cloak Room Attendants, Night
Supervisor, Horticulturist, Head Gardener, and
Gardeners.
Organization Chart for a Small
Economy/Limited-Service Hotel
Head Houseperson
Records and
Payroll Clerk
Room
Attendants
Houseperson
Laundry
Attendant
Organization Chart for a Large
Mid-Range-Service Hotel
Executive Housekeepr
Assistant
Executive Housekeepr
Records and
Payroll Clerk
Linen/Uniform
Room
Supervisor
Training
Supervisor
Linen Room
Attendants
Uniform
Room
Attendants
Tailor
Night Cleaning
Supervisor
Laundry
Supervisor
Night
Cleaners
Laundry
Attendants
Housekeeper
Public
Space
Manager
Housekeepr
Rooms
Manager
Desk Control
Supervisor
A.M. Floor
Supervisors
P. M. Floor
Supervisors
Head
Houseperson
Public Space
Supervisor
Projects
Supervisor
Room
Attendants
Room
Attendants
Houseperson
Public Space
Attendants
Project
Cleaners
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Executive Housekeeper
Responsible and accountable for the total cleanliness,
maintenance and aesthetic upkeep of the hotel.
Assistant Housekeeper
May be one for each shift of a large hotel. She may be
the housekeeper of a small hotel or the only deputy to
the Executive Housekeeper of a medium-sized hotel.
She manages the resources given by the Executive
Housekeeper to achieve the common objectives of
cleanliness, maintenance and attractiveness in a given
shift. Her accountability normally ends on the
completion of her shift.
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Uniform Room Supervisor
A non-management person solely responsible for
providing clean serviceable uniforms to the staff of the
hotel. In addition, she keeps the inventory control on
all uniforms and prepares the budget for them.
Uniform Room Attendant
The Uniform Supervisor is assisted by Attendants who
actually do the issue of uniforms while receiving soiled
ones to be transferred to the laundry. These attendants
are in actual contact with the staff.
 Linen Room Supervisor
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A non-management person solely responsible for the
purchasing, storage, issue and cleanliness of linen.
Linen Room Attendant
Assists the Supervisor by actually issuing linen and
filling such records as necessary.
Floor Supervisor
Responsible for the cleanliness, maintenance and
attractiveness of the guest floors attached to her in a
shift. Her scope includes guest rooms, corridors,
staircases, floor pantries of the assigned floor.
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Public Area Supervisor
Responsible for cleanliness, maintenance and
attractiveness of all public areas which include
restaurants, bars, banquets, gardens, administrative
offices, shopping arcade, helath club, swimming pool,
main entrances and car park areas.
Room Attendants
They do the actual cleaning of guest rooms and
bathrooms assigned to them. They are not responsible
for the cleanliness of corridors, guest elevators, or floor
pantries.
Housemen
Usually do the heavy physical cleaning required in
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guest rooms and publis ares. Their job would include
heavy duty vacuuming, shifting of furniture, cleaning
of window panes, mopping, sweeping...
Head Housemen
Supervises the work assigned to Housemen. He would
deputise on behalf of the Publis Area Supervisor
especially at night. In medium-sized hotels he could be
the person in charge of housekeeping o night shifts.
Desk Control Supervisor
Is the center of information in housekeeping,
therefore, is the critical person in housekeeping
operations. The Housekeeping Desk must be managed
as guests and
staff will contact this desk to transmit or receive
information concerning housekeeping. It is the Desk
Control Supervisor who coordinates with the Front
Office for information on departure rooms and
handling over cleaned rooms. The Desk also receives
complaints on maintenance from Housekeeping
Supervisors spread all over the hotel.
 Cloak Room Attendants
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Cloak room attendants are people, male or female,
responsible for the cleanliness, maintenance and service
in public area guest toilets.
Night Supervisor
Is special in a manner that would require him or her to
be able to handle any aspect of housekeeping at night
including desk control operations, issue of linen and
uniform in an emergency, etc. Her area of activity
incudes guest romms, public areas, linen and uniform
rooms. She is solely responsible and accountable at
night for smooth housekeeping through her night shift
and has larger decision-making authority than other
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supervisors as she is the housekeeper for the night.
Horticulturist
Many hotels may contract horticultural work to an
outside agency. However, a large hotel may have a
horticulturist who not only maintains the gardens of
the hotel but also supplies flowers from the garden for
interior arrangements. Flowers are used mainly in
banquet functions, guest rooms, restaurants, lobbies
offices, etc. The horticulturist would have to ensure
smooth supply of flowers as well as assist the
Housekeeper in flower arranagements.
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Head Gardener
Supervises the gardeners in maintaining hotel gardens
and keeping them contemporary each season.
Gardeners
Does the actual digging, planting, watering, etc of
gardens on a day-to-day basis.
Job Lists and Job Descriptions
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A job list identifies the tasks that must be performed
be an individual occupying a specific position. It should
reflect the total job responsibilities of the employee.
The job list should state what the employee must be
able to do in order to perform the job. Ex. 2.8, pg. 32
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A job description simply add information to the
appropriate job lists. This information may include
reporting relationships, additional responsibilities and
working conditions, equipment and materials used. Ex.
2.9, pg. 33, ex. 2.10, pg. 34, ex. 2.11, pg 35
Coordinating and Staffing
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Coordinating is the management function of
implementing the results of planning and organizing at
the level of daily housekeeping activities. Each day, the
executive housekeeper must coordinate schedules and
work assignments and ensure that the equipment,
cleaning supplies, linens etc. are on hand for employees
to carry out their assignments.
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Staffing involves recruiting applicants, selecting those
best qualified to fill open positions, and scheduling
employees to work.
Directing and Controlling
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Directing involves supervising, motivating, training
and disciplining individuals who work in the
department.
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Controlling refers to the executive housekeeper’s
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responsibilities to design and implement procedures
which protect the hotel’s assets. Assets are anything the
hotel owns which has value e.g. keys, linen, supplies,
equipment etc.
managers direct people and control things.
Evaluating
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Evaluating is assessing the extent to which planned
goals are attained. One of the most important
evaluation tool is the monthly budget reports.