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House Keeping, The housekeeping department, in any hotel business, contributes to major amount of profit though it is considered as an ancillary service. The simple reason being, a customer demands a clean, tidy, and pleasing ambience. The housekeeping efforts clearly show how the hotel will take care of its guests. What is Housekeeping? Housekeeping means performing all the duties towards cleaning, maintaining orderliness, and running a house or a business property. In case of hotels, the housekeeping duties involve maintaining the hotel to the best possible state in terms of cleanliness, and keeping it at highly desirable ambience, Objectives of Hotel Housekeeping The main objectives of hotel housekeeping are:, To maintain overall cleanliness of the entire hotel at all times., To perform cleanliness duties most efficiently and effectively., To use good quality, safe cleaning equipment and chemicals, . To manage laundry and linen., To control pests., To keep up the hotel with classy interior decoration., To take care of the furniture, fittings, and fixtures of the entire hotel., Housekeeping Department Layout in Hotel, The layout of the housekeeping department depends on the total number of Guestrooms, Outlets, and Required Staff. The following areas of the department are the most prominent ones:, Office of the Executive Housekeeper: The administrative work of the department is carried out here., Housekeeping Control Desk: It is accessible and operational 24 hours a day. The housekeeping staff reports at the start and end of the shift here. There are notice boards, storage shelves, registers, lost and found cupboard, and key-hanger matrix., Laundry Area: Washing, ironing, dry cleaning, folding of linen and staff uniform takes place here., Linen Room: Here, the linen of the hotel such as bed-sheets, towels, pillow cases etc. are stored, collected, and carried to the required places in the hotel., Uniform Room: The staff uniforms are collected, stored, and distributed from here., Tailor Room: Here, stitching and repairing of linen and uniforms takes place., Housekeeping Stores: It is a storage area where the cleaning equipment and items, and guest supplies are securely stored., Flower Room: It is an air-conditioned room with worktables, sink and water supply, cupboards to store vases and stones, and a counter., Lost and found: It stores all the items left by the guests. It directly communicates with the front office desk, as there the guests tend to first enquire about their lost articles., Housekeeping: Areas of Responsibility, The housekeeping department is responsible to keep the following areas clean and tidy., Guest Rooms, Guest Bathrooms, Public Areas such as Lobby and Lifts, Banquets and Conference Halls, Parking Area, Sales and Admin Offices, Garden, Apart from the cleaning task, the housekeeping is also responsible for handling keys of each floor. In addition, it manages the laundry, which is often at some places considered as a sub department of housekeeping., Housekeeping Staff, There is a huge workload on the hotel housekeeping staff. The housekeeping work is carried out at various levels such as managerial level, supervisory level, and operational level. Let us see more about the staff and qualities they should possess., Qualities of Housekeeping Staff, There are certain professional qualities the housekeeping staff is required to possess:, Personal Hygiene and Appearance, The housekeeping staff on duty must:, Be well-groomed with high degree of personal hygiene., Have trimmed nails and hair, and clean uniform., Have a clean and pleasant appearance., Communications skills, The housekeeping staff must:, Conduct themselves with a cooperative attitude., Speak in a friendly but sincere tone., Speak clearly in audible voice of moderate pitch., Maintain polite eye contact while interacting with the hotel guests., Interpersonal skills, For serving the guest and working for cleanliness, the housekeeping staff must:, Possess right attitude., Have good listening skills to avoid any miscommunication., Be a good team player., Personal skills and Traits, The housekeeping staff must: Be able to retain and pursue the demand of the guest until it is fulfilled., Be sincere and physically fit., Respect each hotel guest they are dealing with. They must conduct themselves confidently and courteously., Have high integrity.