Housekeeping

HousekeepingHotel Management

Hospitality Services

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Hotel must be clean, sanitary and presentable at all times, inside and out!

Hotel reception area gives a guest their first impression, it must be clutter-free and fragrant-smelling; warm, airy and welcoming; dust-free and litter-free.

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What a guest expects

A hotelier must continually assess the state of readiness to accept guests, look at your property from a guest’s eyes to see if it looks appealing and inviting. Check the outside entry, public areas, & guest rooms!

Make sure the staff working in the hotel is aware of your standards for cleanliness and order.

The housekeeping staff “delivers the product” of the hotel!

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What you should expect

Good sanitation and cleaning prevent the spread of diseases and infection.

Clean is the state of being free of dirt and bad odors

Sanitary is the state of being free from disease-causing pathogens or having a safe level of pathogens

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Cleanliness and Sanitation

Vacuuming the carpeting and draperies Dusting the furniture Wiping the desk area Prevention of mildew, an odor causing

fungus

Mildew grows on damp surfaces, such as shower curtains, damp sheets, bathroom fixtures, floors, window sills

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Cleaning

Must use a chemical agent and/or heat to kill all germs and bacteria (pathogens)

Surfaces are sanitized by washing them with a sanitizing solution.

Telephones and television remotes must also be sanitized daily

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Sanitizing

Oversees the largest department of a hotel, perhaps up to 50% of employees are in the department

The logistics of servicing a large number of rooms with a large staff on a daily basis can be very challenging.

Guest surveys consistently rank Room Cleanliness as #1 Priority!

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Executive Housekeeper a/k/a Director of Services

Exceptional Leadership – oversee a large number of people often from varied backgrounds, hires & fires employees; interacts with other departments; maximize loss prevention

Organization – scheduling employees, insuring room standards, ordering and tracking use of supplies, forecast number of rooms to be used each night, record keeping….

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Skills Needed to be an Executive Housekeeper

Motivation – personal and your staff, hold Daily Standups

Commitment - to maintaining high standards, training staff; Inspect what you expect!

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Skills Needed to be an Executive Housekeeper

The second in command under the Executive Housekeeper, the duties include:◦Manages the housekeeping office, room

inspectors and room attendants◦Runs daily reports on room occupancy &

departures◦Allocates the room schedules to the

room attendants◦Answers phone calls

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Assistant Executive Housekeeper

Processes check-in and check-out log of guest rooms

Issues cleaning supplies Keeps and files all worksheets from Room

Attendants Controls all pass keys used by Room Attendants Inspects several rooms deemed Clean by Room

Inspectors Schedule and assign Deep Cleaning projects -

dust high areas, clean AC vents, remove toilet bowl stains, rust spots, shampoo carpeting, vacuum draperies

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More responsibilities

Executive Housekeeper

Assistant Executive

Housekeeper

Housekeepers Lobby Attendants

Laundry Manager

Laundry Staff

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Housekeeping Personnel

A member of the housekeeping team who checks the room after it is cleaned, pays attention to details that might have been overlooked (Book of Mormon)

Makes certain the room is ready for the next guest

Keeps records of Room Attendant Performance

Inspects every VIP Room

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Room Inspector

Cleans an average 12 – 16 rooms each day Approximately 18 – 25 minutes per room

(longer time allotted for checkout rooms vs. stayovers)

Room Attendants “Turn A Room” when it is cleaned and ready for resale.

Rooms are ready by 3 PM, hotel check-in time

Checkout time is anywhere from 11AM – 1PM

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Room Attendants

Daily dutiesEnter the guest roomClean the guest roomProvide the proper suppliesReport problemsLimit guest accessProvide turndown service

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Room Attendants

Always knock and say “Housekeeping” a minimum of three times before entering a room slowly

If the room is empty the room attendant can begin working; if the room is occupied, the room attendant must wait to clean that room.

Place cleaning cart across the doorway Wear a “safety button”

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Entering a Guest Room

Turn on lights, open drapes, set air conditioner (72° F Marriott standard)

Gather items left behind, noting room number

Clean ashtrays, mirrors, furniture Dust furnishings Empty trash Vacuum Marriott fines guest $250.00 for smoking in

guest room!

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Procedure for Cleaning a Guest Room

Make the beds Clean & sanitize the bathroom – tub, sink,

floor and toilet Restock supplies Inspect the room Record comments on worksheet; call into

PMS Close drapes, reset AC, spray room

freshener Turn lights off Leave room and lock the door

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Cleaning procedure continued

Linens is the term used to identify all guest room items made of cloth, such as sheets, bedspread, comforter, towels, floor mats, bathrobes

Linens are washed and sanitized in-house in the Laundry.

Linens should be discarded & replaced when they are: stained, torn, normal wear and tear, improper use

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Linens

Clean Linens are stored in a linen closet on each guest floor.

Dirty Linens are removed from the Room Attendants cart and taken to laundry by the floor supervisor

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Linens

Dr Oz and Bed Bugs

Evidence of bedbugs – you will see small black dots on the sheets you will see small dots of blood on the

sheets from the bites

There is no direct compensation from Marriott for claims of bedbugs. Customer must file a complaint with Claims Dept.

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Movie Time

Helps Room Attendants work efficiently b/c it holds all cleaning supplies, equipment, guest room supplies and linens

Items are often color-coded due to varying levels of knowledge of English language

Cart has a small basket (caddie) for carrying all cleaning sprays, rags, etc.

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Housekeeping Carts

Cosmetics and small amenities are usually stored on bottom to prevent guests from taking souvenirs!

Carts also have a trash bag to collect room trash

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Housekeeping Carts

Laundry bag for collecting dirty linens

Room Standards ChartsHousekeeping carts should be cleaned and sanitized at the end of each shift

Carts are refilled by night shift employees

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Housekeeping Carts

Most properties supply: toilet paper, facial tissue, writing tablet and ink pen

Toiletries - small bars of soap, small shampoo, hair conditioner, mouthwash, body lotion, shoe shine cloths, disposable shower caps are often provided by limited and full-service hotels

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Guest Suppliesa/k/a Consumables

Beverage station -coffee, tea, bottled water & condiments

City & Restaurant guidesHoly BibleBook of MormonTelevision menu

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Consumables

Iron, ironing board Hair dryer Alarm clocks

Housekeepers must check irons to make sure they are empty! closets for laundry bags Time on the alarm clock, must be w/i 5 mins of actual time

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Non-Consumable Amenities

TowelsAshtrays

iPad Docking station/alarm clock

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2 Most Frequently Stolen Things from a room!!

Since Room Attendants are in the guest rooms every day, they are responsible for noticing problems.

1. Items left behind by guest should be brought back to Housekeeping Office. From there the item will go to Loss Prevention

2. Supervisor must keep a log of when, where each item was found, description of item & its condition, name of finder, where it is stored

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Problems??

Room attendants check the rooms for damaged items or items that need repair.◦soiled, torn linens◦damaged furniture◦broken air conditioning/furnace◦broken television or mini-fridge◦leaky toilet or sink◦burnt out lightbulbs

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Problems??

Marriott employs 2 housekeepers to Blitz and two to Rooms Preventative Maintenance (RPM)

Blitz – deep clean the room top to bottom, move furniture to vacuum, shampoo carpets, etc.

RPM – refresh paint, tub caulk, cover nicks in furniture, & make minor repairs to the room

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Blitz and RPM

Room attendants must also report: missing furniture or other items- blankets,

bathrobes, pictures, remotes, Bibles, etc. suspicious activity – large amounts of

blood “Cooking equipment” either food or Meth diagrams and schematics of the property bomb or incendiary device components

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Problems??

Room attendants’ daily schedule has codes that indicate occupancy, vacancies, & out of order rooms. If a room is supposed to be occupied and appears vacant, the Executive Housekeeper must be called.

Unfortunately guests sometimes “forget to check-out!” but with credit cards on file that are verified at check-in this is less of a problem

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More problems!!

The Room Attendant is responsible for making sure that no unauthorized people enter a guest room (prevents theft) or a physical attack of the Room Attendant

Strangers must not be allowed to enter the room while they are working

Often the attendant will use the cart to block the open doorway while cleaning the room

EMERGENCY buttons are issued to Room Attendants!

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Limiting Guest Access

Question: A guest asks to be “let back into his room?”

Answer: redirect the guest to the Front Desk to obtain a new key. Hopefully the Front Desk employee will verify the identity of the guest before issuing the key!

OR Ask for the guest’s key and verify that it opens the room door before allowing guest to enter the room.

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What should a Room Attendant do?

A Do Not Disturb sign (DND) placed on door handle prevents Room Attendants from entering the room. After 24 hours, a message is left on guest’s phone explaining the DND prevented Housekeeping. After 3 days (72 hrs.) TX Innkeepers’ Law allows staff entry into room.

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What should a Room Attendant do?

Housekeeping work that is performed in the evening

Includes straightening up of the room, closing draperies and restocking the guests supplies

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Turndown Servicebetween 6 PM and 9 PM

Turning down of the bedding or corner folding and placement of a cookie, chocolate, etc. on the pillow

Turn on soft corner lightsPlace a “breakfast menu hanger” next to bed

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Turndown Service

These areas must be clean and sanitary as well:

hallways, lobby, restaurants, meeting rooms, banquet halls, lounges, Business Centers, business offices, and public restrooms

Lobby Attendants, House-staff, Public-Area Housekeeper or clean these areas by vacuuming, dusting, sanitizing hand-rails, cleaning all glass surfaces, etc.

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Public Areas of the Hotel

Watch Ten Minute Trainer on Housekeeping

YouTube:

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Time for a Movie

Each student will create two room signs for guests to hang on their room door indicating

◦DO NOT DISTURB ◦HOUSEKEEPING REQUESTED

A template is provided; hotel logo, simple artwork and your name are required on both signs!

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Project Time