INTRODUCTION
Housekeeping is defined as the “provision of a clean, comfortable, safe, and aesthetically pleasing environment.” By another definition, ‘housekeeping is an operational department in a hotel, which is responsible for cleanliness, maintenance, aesthetic upkeep of rooms, public areas, back areas, and the surroundings. The Housekeeping department is commonly referred to as the ‘backbone of the hotel,’ but it is increasingly being referred to as the ‘heart of the hotel,’ because, just as the heart pumps life-sustaining pure blood to all parts of the body, similarly the housekeeping department freshens up and invigorates the entire hotel and surrounding of the hotel, and eliminate unwanted waste.
IMPORTANCE OF HOUSEKEEPING
A hotel’s revenue is derived from the sale of rooms, food, and beverages, as well as minor services such as laundry and a health club. The sale of rooms accounts for at least 65 percent of these sales. As a result, room sales account for the majority of a hotel’s profit margin, because a room can be sold multiple times. The effort made by a housekeeping department to provide a desirable room for a guest has a direct impact on the guest’s experience in a hotel. The hotel’s heart is its guestrooms. Unless the hotel’s décor is appropriate, the air is odor-free, and the furnishings and upholstery are spotlessly clean, the guest may be lost as a potential repeat customer. The housekeeping department not only prepares clean guestrooms for arriving guests on a timely basis but also cleans and maintains everything in the hotel so that it remains as fresh and appealing as the day it first opened for business. thus, housekeeping is an ancillary department that makes a significant contribution to the overall reputation of the property. Housekeeping is indeed a 365-day-a-year operation. Consider the stacks of linen required to make up all of the beds in a hotel; the massive amounts of bath soap and other amenities such as shampoos, colognes, and so on that must be placed in guestrooms; the miles of carpeting, floors, walls, and ceilings that must be cleaned and maintained; the countless pieces of furniture that must be dusted and polished; and the areas of cleaning compounds as well as special tools and to operate housekeeping requires the use of the most effective cleaning materials and procedures, attention to purchasing the most appropriate linen and supplies, upkeep of decorative areas under the purview of the housekeeping department, and proper organization and supervision. Aside from hotels, professional housekeeping services are in high demand in hospitals, cruise ships, offices, and other settings. Contract housekeeping is becoming a profitable entrepreneurship venture these days, as most such organizations prefer to outsource these functions.
- Achieve the highest level of efficiency in terms of guest care and comfort, as well as the smooth operation of the department.
- Coordinate with the front office department to ensure that rooms are sold efficiently.
- Create a welcoming environment and ensure courteous, dependable service from all department personnel
- Ensure a high standard of cleanliness and general upkeep in all areas for which the department is responsible.
- Provide linen in rooms, restaurants, banquet halls, conference venues, health clubs, and so on, and keep an inventory of the same.
- Provide uniforms for all employees and keep adequate inventories of the same.
- Provide and maintain floral decorations, as well as maintain the hotel’s landscaped areas.
- Choose the right contractors for jobs like pest control, façade cleaning, and so on, and make sure that the quality of work is maintained from the start.
- Coordination of property renovations and refurbishments with management and interior designers as needed.
- Coordination with the purchasing department for the purchase of cleaning agents, equipment, guest supplies, fabrics, and the upkeep of carpets and other hotel items.
- Auditing requires records, forms, and formats.
- Handle articles that have been misplaced or found (deal with lost-and-found articles).
- Ensure the department A positive working relationship with other departments ensures that departments.
- Ensure that all department employees are aware of the department’s safety and security regulations. Keep the general manager or administrator up to date on all issues that require immediate attention.