“Cleaning” in Housekeeping Department of Hotel
The “housekeeping day” refers to that part of the 24 hours in a day when housekeeping operations are in full swing. The daily routine may differ slightly from one hotel to other, and the shift timings may wary considerably, depending on their location and target clientele.
For systematic management of the daily routine of the housekeeping department, the housekeeping day is divided into different activities which are carried out by the employee in their respective shifts.
Following are the activities:
1. Briefing: The executive housekeeper, being the managerial staff, will hold the briefing session for all employees at the beginning of a work shift. This process facilitates a two-way communication between the management and the staff. Usually this is the time at which grooming standards are checked, before allocating jobs to the staff. The following may be communicated in the course of a briefing session of 10 minutes:
b) Policies and new procedures to be followed by the staff or the hotel in the general.
d) Immediate reporting relationships for the shift.
e) Checking of grooming standards and personal hygiene.
f) Appreciation for work well done on the earlier shifts.
g) Rectification required
h) Banquets or other events to be held in the hotel.
2. Room assignments: After briefing, the floor supervisors hand over the room assignment sheet to the GRAs. These GRAs are the ones who will be servicing these rooms in that particular shift.
3. Handover of keys: Once the GRAs have received their room assignment sheets, they are handed the floor master keys for their particular floors by the deputy housekeeper.
4. Readying the cart: The GRAs, armed with the master keys, and then proceed to the floor pantries on their individual floors, where they make additions and alterations to the room attendants cart according to the room occupancy.
5. Room status check: At this stage, one of the most important morning shift activities to be undertaken by the housekeeping staff is the physical checking of the room status.
6. Clean-up, reporting, and handover: The GRAs now send all the soiled linen to the laundry in a linen trolley. The floor supervisor collect and file away all forms and reports the GRAs submit at the control desk. After completing the document submission the GRAs hand over the keys to the control desk, sign the key control and assemble for their debriefing.
7. Debriefing: This session, similar and complementary to the briefing at the start of a shift, may include the following:
a) Discussing problems faced by any staff member.
b) Sharing experiences and inviting ideas or practical solutions to tackle any particular common problem.
c) Handover of any incomplete work to the staff on the next shift.
d) Checking the next day’s duty roster.
Methods of Cleaning/Types of Cleaning procedures in Hotel Housekeeping
The Executive Housekeeper is responsible for seeing that the housekeeping staff follow the standard cleaning procedures and methods. He/She should also oversee that proper tools (mechanized or non-mechanized) are used to carry out their assigned tasks.
Floors and carpets in the hotel require regular cleaning and finishing to retain their appearance and durability. Deciding when and how carpets and floors should be cleaning is an important task and this important task is further complicated by the different available cleaning procedures, machines and solutions.
Cleaning processes in housekeeping can be either manual or mechanical. They may involve different methods like washing (using water as a cleaning and rinsing agent), friction (as in using an abrasive), static electricity (by using a static mop), suction (by using a vacuum cleaner), or by force (by using pressurized water). The various types of cleaning processes are summarized in this section.
A. Manual Cleaning Methods - Which do not require mechanized or electronic equipment:-
What is the process involved in sweeping?
Sweeping is done to collect dust when the floor surface is too rough for a dust mop.
What is the Equipment required for sweeping?
A broom, a dustpan, a trash bag and a stocked pubic-space cleaning cart.
What is the process involved in dusting?
· This task requires a systematic and orderly approach for efficiency & ease.
· Room attendants should start dusting articles at the door & work clockwise around the room.
What are the Equipment & agents required for dusting?
Cloth duster, Micro Fiber Cloths, Feather duster & dusting solution if necessary.
What is the process of damp dusting?
· This is the most preferred way of cleaning in hotels as surfaces can be wiped as well as dusted, removing any sticky or dirty marks at the same time.
· A suitable lint-free cloth at the correct level of dampness should be used so as to avoid leaving any smears.
What are the Equipment & agents required for damp dusting?
Cloth duster, water, plastic bowl, & a neutral detergent if necessary.
4) Dust Mopping / Dry Mopping/ Mop Sweeping:
What is the process of Floor Dust Mopping?
· This is the preferred way to remove dust, sand or grit from the floor.
· If the dust and other substances are not removed from the floor on a daily basis, they will continually scratch the surface finish, diminishing its lustre, & will eventually penetrate down to the floor itself.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Dry Mopping the Floor?
Dust control mop, dust pan, dust- collecting bag, & dustbin.
What is the process of Spot Mopping?
· Spot mopping is essential to the preservation of floor surface.
· Liquids & solids that are spilt on the floor, if left for any length of time, may penetrate the finish & stain the floor.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Spot Mopping the Floor?
Mop & bucket or a mop- wringer trolley, cold water, & a very dilute solution of neutral detergent if necessary.
6) Wet mopping / Damp mopping:
What is the process of Wet Mopping?
· A damp mop is used to remove spills & adhered soil that was not removed during the dry removal process.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Damp Mopping?
Caution signs, floor cleaner, wet mop & bucket or mop- wringer trolley, squeegee, & detergent solution.
What is the process of Manual Scrubbing?
· For modern surfaces, very little hand -scrubbing is required.
· Scrub gently in straight lines away from yourself, working backwards.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Manual Scrubbing?
Long-handled scrubbing brush, mild detergent, bucket, squeegee, water, & mop.
What is the process of Manual Polishing?
· Apply the polish sparingly.
· Use cotton rags to apply polish & a cloth for buffing.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Manual Polishing?
Use proprietary polish for each type of floor or surface, clean cotton rags.
What is the process of Spot Cleaning?
· This refers to the removal of stains from different kinds of hard & soft surfaces.
· To remove a localized stain, the whole surface need not be treated with stain-removal reagents.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Spot Cleaning?
Cleaning Cloths, solvents, cleaning agents, brushes etc.
B. Mechanised Cleaning Methods - These utilize equipment powered by electricity as well as mechanical equipment:-
What is the process of Suction Cleaning or Vaccum cleaning?
· This is the basic & preparatory step to all other mechanized procedures & should be performed regularly.
· The goal is to remove as much dry soil as possible so that it does not spread, scratch the finish, or damage the surface.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Cleaning or Vaccum cleaning?
Caution signs, a stiff broom, wet/dry vacuum cleaner with attachments & a mild detergent for wet cleaning if necessary.
What is the process of Spray Buffing?
· This process uses a 175- or 300-rpm (revolutions per minute) floor machine & a soft pad or brush.
· As the machine goes over the area, soil, scuffs, light scratches, & marks are removed & the shine is restored to the surface.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Spray Buffing?
The equipment & agents required are a 175 –or 300-rpm buffing machine with beige pad, spray bottle, detergent, & finishing solution.
· This process uses a 175- 1500-rpm floor machine & a soft pad or brush to remove some soil & brush to remove some soil & put the shine back in the finish.
· Vacuuming or dust- mopping should be carried out as a follow- up step to remove loosened dirt.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Spot Cleaning?
A 1500 – 2500 rpm floor machine.
What is the process of Scrubbing?
· This process removes embedded dirt, marks, deeper scuffs, & scratches from the floor along with some of the finish.
· The pad or brush, the type of detergent, the water temperature, & the weight & speed of the machine all determine whether the process is considered light or heavy scrubbing.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Scrubbing?
Floor- maintenance machines with a green pad.
What is the process of Stripping?
· This is a very aggressive process that requires removing all of the floor finish & sealer, leaving a bare floor ready for refinishing.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Stripping?
A floor-maintenance machine with a black pad.
What is the process of Laundry?
· This is the cleaning method used for washable fabrics.
· It is a process in which soil & stains are removed from textiles in an aqueous medium.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Laundering?
Washing Machines, Drying Machines, Steam Cabinets and Tunnels, Flatwork Irons, Folding Machine, Washing Chemicals and Detergents.
What is the process of Dry Cleaning?
This is the method in which soil & stains are removed from textiles in a non-aqueous medium.
Dry cleaning is any cleaning process for clothing and textiles using a chemical solvent other than water.
What are the Equipment & agents required for Dry Cleaning?
Chemical Solvents, Dry Cleaning Machine
Methods of Organizing Cleaning
1. Orthodox/ Traditional cleaning: In this method, the Guest Room attendant completes all the cleaning tasks in one room before proceeding to another room. On average, a GRA may be required to clean about 12-20 room in 8 hours duty.
Ø Standard of work is higher if the individual is efficient.
Ø Training is simplified.
Ø Each area takes longer to get cleaned.
Ø Each staff will have to be given equipment, hence more equipment required.
2. Block cleaning: In this method, GRA moves from one dirty room to another and completes the same task in every room before returning for starting the next task on the list. This involves blocking several rooms at a time and usually, more than 1 GRA are involved in cleaning at a time. Different GRA’s pick up different tasks. (Bed making, Toilet Cleaning, Room cleaning, replenishing supplies).
Ø Less equipment is required.
Ø Security is weakened as lots of people enter the room.
Ø More disturbances to the guest if he’s in the room during room cleaning.
Ø May-be monotonous for staff.
3. Team cleaning: This is a combination of the two methods mentioned above. In this method two or more GRA’s work in the same room taking up different tasks so that room is cleaned quickly before moving on to the same room. A team of 3 GRA’s may be assigned 30-35 rooms in a day.
Ø Equipments can be shared.
Ø Heavy work can be carried with ease.
Ø New staff can be trained easily.
Ø Increased productivity.
Ø In case of any damage to the equipment, no one can be held responsible.
Ø Standards can get lowered if proper supervision is missing.
Ø While training, new staff can pick up bad habits.
Ø Due to mis-understanding some work can get left out.
Ø If there are any clashes between staff, working together can be a disadvantage.
Cleaning tasks may be divided according to the frequency of their scheduling, which depends upon the level of soiling, the type of surface, the amount of traffic, the type of hotel and the cleaning standards. Employees should be given the procedures and frequencies for carrying out various tasks outlined in the book or manual. This information may also be displayed in the floor pantries.
These are routing operations carried out on a day-to-day basis by the staff of the housekeeping department. These include the regular servicing of guestrooms, cleaning of bathrooms and toilets, suction cleaning of floors and the floor coverings and so on.
These, as term implies, are routine tasks carried out on a weekly basis. Mostly the time consuming tasks are placed under this category which, must be done at least once in a week and cannot be undertaken on a daily basis. Some of the weekly jobs are as follows:
a) Polishing of brass ware, metal work, fitting and fixtures.
b) Scrubbing of bathroom tiles.
c) pest control of the rooms and floors
d) laundering of the shower curtains
This is a term used for annual cleaning of guestrooms and public areas in offseason periods and low occupancy periods. This involves a complete overhaul of the rooms by undertaking a few steps as:
a) Removal of carpets from the room for shampooing
b) Polishing wooden furniture, shampooing upholstery (sofas)
d) Cleaning air conditioning vents
e) Airing the room Redecoration
It refers to the intensive cleaning schedule in which periodic cleaning tasks are scheduled for monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual frequency. This is done for areas and surfaces which cannot be cleaned on a daily basis. This kind of cleaning is conducted in close coordination with the maintenance department. Some of the deep cleaning jobs are as follows:
b) Rotating and cleaning mattresses
c) Cleaning of Ceilings, light fittings, fans, signage boards
d) Laundering of soft furnishings.
Apart from the above cleaning there can be:
1. Evening service (Or Turn- Down Service): This is the service given to room in the evening to prepare the room for the night. This service should be done prior to the guest retiring for the night.
2. Second Service: this is service given to the VIP guest staying in the hotel or on the guest request. This normally happens when a guest has/ had a party or meeting in his room & would like his room to be put in order as a consequence. This may be charged by the hotel.
Hotel Guest Room Cleaning
A.ENTERING THE GUEST ROOM:
Procedure followed in entering the guest room
1. During Hotel Guest Room Cleaning always knock the door announcing Housekeeping.
2. If there is no answer, after 15 seconds knock the door again the second time announcing Housekeeping.
3. If there is still no answer, use the master key to open the door announcing Housekeeping and enter the room while knocking.
B.PREPARE GUEST ROOM FOR CLEANING:
1. Remove room service equipment's from room:
1. Pickup all room service equipment and move it to the floor pantry.
2. Move the room service cart / trolley to the floor pantry.
3. Inform the room service / IRD department to clear the trays / trolley from guest room / floor pantry.
4. Never place the room service trays or trolleys on the guest corridor or the service elevator.
1. Collect recyclable items such as (Newspapers / Aluminum cans, glass bottles, News paper bags etc.) and place them either in the bag or on the floor pantry.
2. Empty the waste paper basket and ashtray on to the garbage bag.
3. Pick up all the rubbish and put it in the rubbish bag.
4. All rubbish removed from room upon entering that room, and placed in rubbish bag on trolley.
5. Extra care should be taken with broken glass, razor etc.
6. Remove all disposal items like ash, cigarette buds etc. into the dustbin.
7. Keep ashtrays and glassware under washbasin tap to wash.
8. With lukewarm water and teepol, clean the ashtrays and glassware with the help of sponge.
9. Wash liberally with water.
10. Wipe with a lint free cloth.
11. After drying, place back the items in the appropriate place.
12. Ashtrays and glassware are spotless and clean.
13. Use a dry tissue to collect hair from the vanity, toilet, bath tub and floor.
14. Do not throw away any guest property that may be wrapped in a tissue.
15. Cleaning of ashtrays and glassware.
16. Collect all ashtrays and glassware.
1. Remove any guest clothing from the bed and neatly lay it across the back of the chair.
2. If there is any personal items on the bed then remove them and place it neatly on the table.
3. If it’s a departure dirty room then if you find any guest items and record the same as lost and found item.
4. Remove all dirty linen from the room and put everything in the space provided for storing soiled linen in the R/A trolley.
5. When the dirty linen is at level with the top of the trolley, empty the linen and collect in the pantry.
6. All the dirty linen removed from room and put in linen bag in the trolley.
7. Do not use guest linen and towels for cleaning the guest rooms.
v SERVICING OF OCCUPIED ROOMS:
1. All occupied rooms are serviced twice daily and as and when requested by the guest.
2. Enter the room according to the procedure of entry to guestrooms.
3. Clear the garbage according to the procedure of removal of garbage from dustbins.
4. Collect the soiled linen and throw in the linen bag.
5. Make the bed, follow the bed making procedure.
6. Perform dusting of the room.
7. Vacuuming of carpet and the upholstery maintenance.
9. All amenities are replenished in bathroom. (Maintain photograph for standard amenity placement)
10. After servicing the room following facilities function to be checked.
14. Any in room Entertainment system.
v SERVICING OF VACANT ROOM:
1. Room has to be spic and span at every given time.
4. Open heavy and sheer curtains.
5. Remove turn down service.
8. Replenish water and ice.
9. Mop bathroom flooring with disinfectant.
10. Vacuum the carpet if necessary.
12. Heavy curtain should be half closed.
13. Put of all the lights.
14. Give final looks and shut the door.
v SERVICING OF VACANT DIRTY ROOM:
1. Vacant dirty rooms cleaned thoroughly and all used items/ amenities are changed with fresh ones. Left guest items to be deposited at Housekeeping control Desk.
2. Knock and enter the room.
3. All drawers and cupboards are checked for any lost and found of guest.
4. All dustbins are cleared of garbage.
5. Soiled linen to be removed.
6. Bed is made according to procedure for bed making.
7. Dusting of room is done.
8. Vacuum upholstery and carpet.
9. All glassware and Ashtrays have to be cleaned.
10. All guest amenities in room have to be replenished.
11. Bathroom is cleaned according to procedure.
12. Replenished amenities in the bathroom.
13. All items used by the previous guest are changed with fresh ones.
14. All maintenance work are noted and given to the Engineering department.
15. Inform room status to the Housekeeping control desk.
v SERVICING OF DEPARTURE ROOM:
When a guest releases a room and leaves the hotel that particular room is known as ‘departure room or check-out room.’ The housekeeping department has to clean the room, get the room ready so that the hotel can sell that particular room to some other guest also.
The following are the steps how to clean a departure room for guest room cleaning;
1. Switch off the room air- conditioner or heating. Remove all the curtains and open the windows for airing the room
2. Remove soiled linens from bed and bath. Shake out the linen to ensure that guest articles are lost in the folds of the linens.
3. Check for maintenance requirements and report the same to the control desk and enter in the room checklist.
4. Contact room service to remove extra trays and glasses.
5. Turn the mattress side –to side on succeeding days followed by end –to end turning. Smooth out the mattress and air it.
6. Clean the carpet with the help of vacuum cleaner or carpet brush.
7. Empty all the ashtrays and waste paper baskets.
8. Clean the bathroom and replenish all the required supplies is also a part of guest room cleaning.
9. Collect all the old news paper and magazines which the guest has left over and keep in chamber maid’s trolley.
10. Use stiff upholstery brush or vacuum cleaner on upholstered furniture arms backs and seats.
11. Replace all the stationery as prescribed by the management. The number of items must exactly be as per standard.
12. Dust and replace each item on the dresser and desk. Special attention must be given to the display of publicity materials as prescribed by the management.
13. Clean lamp shades with a clean duster. Lift lamp and clean under the base.. Replace lamp if damaged and adjust the shade.
14. Disinfect the telephone in the room and bathroom with the Dettol Wipe balance of the telephone with a damp cloth. Then check for dial tone.
15. Clean mirrors with a dry cloth first then with a damp news paper, to make it sparkling.
16. Dust all the closet, shelves hangers and rods. Brush the closet floor. Supply new laundry bags and replace the missing hangers
17. Dust both sides of the room doors, head boards, window sills inside and outside the window rails air conditioning unit.
18. Close all the windows.
19. Change the bed linens and bath linens.
20. Arrange the furniture if necessary.
21. Have a final look at the room.
22. Inform the desk control the room is ready and guest room cleaning is done.
Hotel Public area cleaning
Public areas are the common places and facilitates accessible to in house guest and non-resident guest. Guest requires common areas to meet, sit and carry other activities. The place comes under the are lobby, restaurants, bars, banquets, and other Food and Beverage Outlets. Public area cleaning is the most important and challenging task for hotel / hospitality housekeeping. Since most of the public areas are highly traffic area, housekeeping maintains a deep cleaning schedule for those areas at night and regular cleaning and maintenance during the day time.
Guest get their 1st impression of hotel from the entrance lobby. Entrances which arecnot cleaned and maintained daily, it will become unpleasant for the guest due to heavy traffic and exposure. The maintenance and cleaning of the entrance and the door is important . So proper and daily cleaning is required in this areas. Normally cleaning is done at night.
These are the common meeting points of the guest near the reception. Many lobbies are carpeted while others are hard flooring. Floors in the lobbies are need to be cleaned frequently., since these are spaces where guest interact., relax etc. Lobbies may have high ceilings elaborate chandelier which are difficult to clean so it is cleaned at night. The daily cleaning tasks involves
Public area cleaning of waste paper bins and ashtrays at
Flower arrangement should be done daily as a part of Public area cleaning.
Glass surface and windows to be cleaned daily.
Doors and door knobs to be dusters and cleaned daily.
Any stain on the carpets and upholstery should be cleaned immediately.
Hard floor should be mopped regularly.
Housekeeping department is responsible for this Public area cleaning and maintaining of front office because front office is the face of the hotel. So daily cleaning of the department is required. Mopping of the floor, dusting of the furniture and fixture and vacuuming of carpets are essentials.
Elevators must be cleaned at the time of day when it is least used. The necessary boards indicating the cleaning is carried out must be displayed promptly. Elevators doors are made of steel. In steel door shows lots of grease marks from finger easily. Elevators should be cleaned daily and more through cleaning may be done on periodic basic.
Stair case should be cleaned when there is less traffic. While cleaning of staircase care should be taken that dart and dust do not fall down words.
While cleaning of the corridors necessary boards indicating the public area cleaning is carried on must be displayed prominently. Carpets in the corridors should be vacuumed daily. The cleaning tasks of the guest corridors are as follows
Carpets should be vacuumed regularly.
The wall skirting should be cleaned regularly.
Any finger marks on the walls should be cleaned immediately.
All the wall painting should be dusted every day.
Banquet hall mainly used for conferences, weddings exhibition etc. So proper public area cleaning is required for this department. The cleaning includes mopping of floor, vacuuming of the floor carpets regular dusting of fixture and furniture are required.
Health club is another hotel facility provided to the guest to exercise and work out. So proper cleaning of machine is required daily because it is the busiest ares. The cleaning tasks of the health club are as follows
Proper dusting of equipments.
Damp dusting of furniture
Cleaning of glass and window panel.
Removing of soil linens and replacing with the fresh linen for future use.
Regular Public area cleaning and disinfecting of swimming pool is important for the point of hygiene. If is not regularly cleaned swimming pool may becomes carries of water borne disease.
Maid’s Cart/ Room Attendants’ Trolley
Also called a room attendants’ trolley, maid’s cart, or chambermaids’ trolley, this is perhaps the most significant piece of equipment in the housekeeping department. It is like a giant toolbox, stocked with everything necessary to service a guestroom effectively. Most such carts available now are made of metal, but sometimes wooden cart may be used. The cart should be spacious enough to carry all supplies needed for a GRA to complete half a day’s room assignments. Since the cart is large and may be heavily loaded, it must be easily movable as well. The cart should be well organized so that the GRAs do not have to waste time in searching for supplies or make frequent trips back to the supply room. Also, if the cart is not stacked neatly, it will look very unsightly when in guests view. There is usually one such cart for each room section and it is stored in the floor pantry along with other housekeeping supplies.
Most of these carts have 3 deep shelves-the lower two for linen and the top, portioned shelf for small supplies. The carts also have a sack for soiled linen, detachable trash bags, and storage space for vacuum cleaner and a hand caddy. While arranging the linen on the cart, it should be kept in mind that the heavier linen must be placed on the lowermost shelf and the smaller, lighter ones on the top shelf.
Following is an organized room attendants’ cart:
1. Water tumblers and trays
3. Ashtrays and matchboxes
4. Shoe mitts, Sewing kits, Bible/Gita
5. Service directories, telephone books, business kits
6. Guest stationery, ball point pens and pencils, scribbling pads
7. DND cards, guest house rules, breakfast knob cards, “polish my shoe” cards, room service menu, tent cards, “clean my room” cards, telegraph forms
8. Laundry forms, Laundry bags
11. Toilet roils, toilet tissues, blade dispensers, shower caps
12. Shampoo Bottles, soap bars, soap buds, foam bath, loofah pads, cotton wool, dental kit, cologne, after shave
13. Toilet strips, sanitary pads
18. Hand caddy: all purpose cleaner, window cleaner, bowl brush, cloths and sponges, rubber gloves, disinfectants, naphthalene balls, room fresheners, deodoriser, basso, wax polish, scrubber
21. King pillowcases-2/bed(fold in pairs)
22. Standards pillowcases-2/bed(fold in pairs)
23. Bath towels-2/bathroom
24. Standard sheet-2/twin bed(fold in pairs)
25. Double sheets-2/double bed(fold in pairs)
26. King shets-2/king bed(fold in pairs)
29. Bed spreads (a few to replace if necessary)
Housekeeping supplies found in a room attendants’ cart:
