1. Housekeeping
Chapter 12 Notes

2. Introduction Group Assignment
Brainstorm
1) Students will generate a list of the areas of a hotel that need to be cleaned
2) Then students will organize the list into categories
(Categories can be based on location in the hotel or other aspects.)

3. Housekeeping Department
Housekeeping is the SECOND (2nd) major department in the rooms divisions, but is just as important as the front office department.
The housekeeping department is responsible for keeping the hotel clean. Without clean rooms, a hotel would go out of business.
Guest will NOT stay in a dirty room or pay for a dirty room. If guest are given a dirty room, they will probably complain.
In addition, the housekeeping department is responsible for protecting guests from infection and illness.

4. Housekeeping Department
The housekeeping department has the LARGEST staff in the hotel. It can consist of about 75% of the total permanent hotel staff.
The THREE (3) major functions of the housekeeping department are to keep the hotel clean, sanitary, and attractive.
Housekeeping departments are often organized into FOUR (4) areas:
Guest Rooms
Public Areas
Laundry
Contract Services

5. Cleanliness and Sanitation
Guest rooms and public washrooms MUST be both clean and sanitary.
Clean is the state of being free of dirt and bad odors.
Sanitary is the state of being free from disease-causing pathogens of having a safe level of pathogens

6. Cleanliness
A major goal of housekeeping is to prevent the growth of mildew.
Mildew is a type of fungus that grows on damp surfaces.
Mildew causes a bad odor.
It also stains linens.
Mildew can grow on towels, shower curtains, sheets, bathroom fixtures and floors.
Housekeeping MUST make sure mildew does not grow by cleaning surfaces and taking linens to the laundry.
Washing linens properly will prevent mildew growth.

7. Cleanliness Another major cause of dirty rooms is dust.
Dust looks bad. It can also irritate the eyes, noses, and throats of guests.
Dust can be controlled by daily dusting of all surfaces and vacuuming of all carpets.

8. Sanitation A pathogen is a living substance that can cause a disease.
Pathogens include bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites.
Guest rooms often provide good places for pathogens to grow.
Many different people use guest rooms and hotel facilities every day,. These people can bring pathogens with them, even when guests themselves are not sick. These pathogens can spread diseases.
Sanitation consists of the actions taken to prevent and control disease.
Sanitation include the processes of cleaning and sanitizing.
Cleaning is the physical removal of dirt from surfaces.
Sanitizing is the treatment of a clean surface with heat or chemicals to reduce the number of disease-causing microorganisms to safe levels.

9. Sanitation
The items that MUST be sanitized are the bathrooms and the linens.
In the bathrooms, the sink, toilet, tub, and floor must be sanitized. These items are usually sanitized by washing them with a sanitizing solution.
Linens are sanitized in the laundry department. Linens consist of all the items in the guest room made of cloth.
Linens that need to be washed or have just been washed are called laundry.
Laundry includes sheets, pillowcases, pillow protectors, towels, and washcloths.
Mattress pads, shower curtains, and bedspreads are also washed on a regular basis.
Laundry is also the term used for the place where these linens are washed.
Linens could also include draperies, blankets, and pillows.
Draperies, blankets and pillows are usually dry cleaned.

10. Housekeeping Job Opportunities: Group Assignment
HANDOUT
Jobs in housekeeping departments can be found in hotels, nursing homes, and hospitals. Job leads for housekeeping departments can be found in newspaper want ads, the Internet, and community bulletin boards.
READ the case studies below, then find employment for these people. Fill in the information requested.

11. Guest Rooms
The staff who are responsible for the guest rooms are the executive housekeeper, assistant housekeeper, inspectors, and room attendants.
A room attendant is the person who cleans the guest rooms.
In the past, these workers were called housekeepers or maids. (Why do you think it was changed?
The room attendant has the MAJOR responsibility for the cleanliness and sanitation of the guest rooms.

12. Guest Rooms
The task of the room attendant can be divided into SIX (6) groups:
entering the guest room,
cleaning the guest room,
providing guest supplies,
reporting problems,
limiting guest room access, and
turndown services.

13. Guest Rooms
The inspector is the member of the team who checks the room after it is cleaned. Inspectors are also called floor housekeepers, floor supervisors, or checkers.
The inspector makes sure the room has been properly cleaned and is ready for the next guest.
Why does the housekeeping department need inspectors?
The assistant housekeeper manages the inspectors and the room attendants.

14. Guest Rooms
The executive housekeeper is the top manager of the housekeeping department.
The executive housekeeper may also be called the director of housekeeping.
The executive housekeeper is responsible for keeping the rooms clean and sanitary. He or she is also responsible for the linens, guest room supplies, cleaning supplies, and housekeeping staff.

15. Entering Guest Rooms
Room attendants should do their job WITHOUT bothering guests.
Room attendants MUST learn how to properly enter guest rooms and how to work around guest belongings.
The room attendant should knock on the door and say, “housekeeping.” If there is no answer, the attendant should knock again and say, “housekeeping.” If there is still no answer, the attendant should unlock the door and slowly enter the room once again announcing, “housekeeping.”
The attendant should quickly check to see if anyone is in the room. If there are guests still in the room, the attendant should apologize for coming in. Then he or she should ask the guests when would be a good time to return.
Guests are given a doorknob hanger with the words, “DO NOT DISTURB.” When the room attendant sees this sign on the door, he or she know not to enter the room.

16. Cleaning Guest Rooms
A room attendant cleans an average of 15 to 16 rooms per day. Approximately 18 to 25 minutes are allowed for cleaning each room.
Within this short time, attendant MUST perform the following tasks: empty trash, dust all furniture, clean mirrors, change sheets and make beds, vacuum carpet, clean and sanitize the bathroom, and provide guest room supplies.
Attendants MUST be efficient and organized. Following a specific order and procedure helps room attendants maintain standards of cleanliness, sanitation, and appearance.

17. Cleaning Guest Rooms
The cleaning cart helps attendants be efficient. A cleaning cart is a doorway-sized cart that holds cleaning supplies, equipment, guest room supplies, and linens.
The cart also has a small basket for carrying all the cleaning sprays, sponges, and small supplies into the guest room.
Cleaning carts also have a trash bag and a laundry bag for collecting trash and dirty linens from each room.
Plastic trash liners make trash bag maintenance easier.
Laundry bags are usually made of fabric and can be washed when they become dirty.
The cleaning cart should be cleaned with a sanitizing solution at the end of each shift. Then the cart should be restocked.

18. Providing Guest Supplies
There are a variety of supplies that guests use up during their stay. Products that get used up are called consumables, and they MUST be replaced regularly.
Most properties supply the following consumables: toilet paper, facial tissue, small bars of soap, and a notepad and pencil by the phone.
Guest rooms with coffee makers are often supplied with packets of ground coffee, sugar, and powdered creamer.
Some hotels provide guest with additional bathroom supplies.
These supplies may include shampoo, hair conditioner, moisturizing lotion, mouthwash, disposable shower cap, and shoe shine cloth.
These supplies are often called toiletries.

19. Reporting Problems
A common problem is belongings that guest leave behind.
The attendant should put the items on the cart, then take them to the appropriate department.
These items are referred to as lost and found. Lost and found items are turned in to a supervisor in housekeeping, the front office, or security.
The supervisor logs the date and room in which the item was found. ALL lost and found items are kept in a locked room.

20. Reporting Problems
The room attendants also check the room for damaged items or items that need repair.
Common problems are burned out light bulbs, broken air conditioners, and dripping faucets.
The items that the attendant can fix should be fixed, for example, changing the light bulb. Other problems should be reported to the executive housekeeper.
Attendants MUST also report any missing items.
Common items stolen include towels, blankets, bed spreads, ashtrays, and pictures.

21. Limiting Guest Room Access
The room attendant is responsible for making sure that no unauthorized people enter a guest room.
The ONLY people who should enter a guest room are the room attendant assigned to clean it; housekeeping managers on duty; engineering, maintenance or security staff assigned to check out something in that room; and the assigned guest.
A guest room should NEVER be left open or unattended.

22. Turndown Service
Turndown services is housekeeping work that is performed in the evening.
It is common in luxury and first-class hotels.
Turndown service include straightening up the room and restocking guest supplies.
The attendant then turns down the bedding and places a chocolate on the pillow.
The attendant may also leave a doorknob hanger with a menu for ordering breakfast room service

23. Cleaning a Guest Room
Find and study illustrations in the text that show guest rooms
Figures 10-1, 10-8, 11-21, 12-1, 12-4 and 12-9
List the cleaning tasks that must be done in each guest room.
Organize these tasks into a procedure for cleaning a guest room.

24. Cleaning a Guest Room
Each person will receive a HANDOUT with the steps of cleaning a guest room.
Students will need to cut each strip out and then ORGANIZE the steps in chronological order from the first step to the last.

25. Cleaning a Guest Room Complete Activity C: Housekeeping
Part 1: Students analyze the drawing to determine which items in the hotel need to be cleaned and which need to be sanitized.
Part 2: Students provide advice to housekeepers-in-training about what is appropriate.

26. Public Areas
The public areas include hallways, stairs, lobby, lounges, public restrooms, restaurants, meeting rooms, banquet halls, recreation areas, retail stores and offices.
The public areas are also known as the house, and the workers responsible for cleaning them are known as house attendants or house staff.

27. Public Areas
The house attendants are assigned daily cleaning tasks in the public areas. In addition, they are responsible for deep cleaning projects in the public areas and the guest rooms.
They will vacuum hallways during the day, clean and supply the public restrooms, clean windows, and polish metal or wood surfaces such as railings.
Often meeting and banquet rooms must be cleaned between events.

28. Public Areas
Activity
Use the term house attendants to create a poster of helpful hints for care of the public areas.
Use each letter from the term house attendants as the first letter of the hint.
For example:
H: Hallways should be vacuumed at least twice a day
O: Offices need to be dusted daily
U: Use bleach to sanitize bathrooms.

29. Deep Cleaning Program Guest room deep cleaning includes the following:
Mattresses are flipped over,
drapes and bedspreads are removed for cleaning,
all furniture is moved away from the walls for thorough cleaning underneath and behind,
high dusting to remove cobwebs from the ceiling and elsewhere,
lampshades and light fixtures are cleaned,
walls and carpets are cleaned,
furniture is steamed cleaned, and
someone from engineering checks the room and performs needed structural or mechanical repairs.

30. Deep Cleaning Program
Public area deep cleaning includes the following:
Carpet cleaning,
high dusting,
cleaning of drapes, and
steam cleaning of furniture.

31. Laundry
The laundry department is responsible for the cleaning and maintenance of all linens.
The staff of the laundry usually includes the laundry supervisor, laundry attendants, and seamsters.

32. Laundry
The laundry supervisor supervises the attendants and seamsters. They supervisor is also responsible for keeping track of all linens and replacing linens when necessary.
The laundry attendants perform all the tasks involved in washing laundry.
The seamsters repair worn or torn linens. Seamsters used to be called seamstresses.

33. Laundry washing laundry, care of linens, and inventory of linens.
The laundry department has THREE (3) major tasks:
washing laundry,
care of linens, and
inventory of linens.

34. Washing Laundry Washing laundry includes FIVE (5) tasks: sorting,
drying,
folding, and
storing.
The purpose of washing laundry is to make it clean, sanitary, and attractive.

35. Sorting Before laundry can be washed, it MUST be sorted.
Different items require different treatment.
Sorters should separate laundry into these piles:
regular,
damp,
stained, and
torn or damaged.

36. Sorting
Damp linens are washed as soon as possible to prevent the formation of mildew.
Stained linens require pretreatment.
There are THREE (3) basic treatment methods for stains:
(1) soaking in a stain removal solution.
(2) applying a detergent paste to the stain, and
(3) using special treatment methods listed on a stain removal chart.
Torn or damaged linens either require repair or must be discarded.

37. Washing and Drying
Cleaning and sanitizing occur during washing and drying.
These tasks REQUIRE washing machines and dryers. Hot water and sanitizing solutions are used in the washing machine for BOTH cleaning and killing pathogens.
Damp linens provide a good environment for pathogens and mildew growth. Therefore laundry MUST be thoroughly dried before folding.
Laundry is dried in the dryer.
Pathogens often thrive in the dryer’s lint trap. Therefore, the lint trap MUST be regularly cleaned with a sanitizing solution.

38. Folding and Storing
After linens are dried, they MUST be ironed and folded.
Flatwork presses and flatwork irons are used to iron sheets.
Some hotels have machines that automatically fold sheets.
Once linens are folded, they are stored in the linen room.

39. Care of Linens
Linens should last at least THREE years before they need to be repaired.
Linens last longer when they are handled carefully and washed properly.
When linens are torn or damaged, they should be repaired if possible.
Linens that receive poor treatment will wear out quickly. Worn out linens are not attractive, and they do not make a good impression on hotel guests.
New linens are expensive; therefore, efforts are made to make the linens last.

40. Care of Linens Repairing linens is also called mending.
The mending job MUST look professional. A seamster repairs the linens.
Seamsters also repair drapes, curtains, and other linen products for the hotel.
Seamsters are trained to mend linens so that you cannot see where they were damaged.

41. Inventory of Linens The linen room is where clean linens are stored.
The linen room supervisor or the executive housekeeper is responsible for the linen inventory.
Ideally, the hotel should have five times the daily amount of laundry used.
This amount provides one set in the guest rooms, one set in the laundry, one set in the room attendants’ floor closet, one set in the linen room, and one set in transit from one place to another.

42. Inventory of Linens
There are FOUR (4) reasons why linens need to be replaced:
normal wear and tear,
improper use,
losses in the laundry, and
theft.
An effective inventory system will help reduce theft. The PMS can be used to keep the linen inventory records.
This inventory should show linens that have been issued, purchases of linens, discarded linens, and the total number of linens on hand.
TWICE a year, a count should be made of every linen item in stock.

43. Laundry Activity D: Personal Application
Students show how the experiences they have keeping their homes clean prepare them for a job in a hotel housekeeping department.

44. Contract Services There are TWO (2) types of housekeeping services:
1. in-house housekeeping services
2. contract housekeeping services.
Hotels use the type of service that best fits their budget, staffing, and available space.

45. Contract Services There are TWO (2) types of housekeeping services:
1. in-house housekeeping services
2. contract housekeeping services.
Hotels use the type of service that best fits their budget, staffing, and available space.

46. In-House
In-house housekeeping services are done by housekeepers who are employees of the hotel.
Hotel facilities, equipment, and supplies are used.
Advantages:
Employees work for the hotel. They have to follow the hotel’s rules and standards, wear the hotel’s uniforms, and maintain the image the hotel wants.
The employees are responsible to the hotel management, and the hotel management has control over the employees.

47. In-House Disadvantages:
Expensive to operate. Cost include equipment, equipment maintenance, employee recruitment and training, employee benefits, linens, and laundry supplies.
It also takes great deal of space to set up a hotel laundry facility.
An in-house housekeeping department MUST fill all positions. Night cleaning positions are often hard to fill and supervise.
Most in-house housekeeping services do NOT have the specialized knowledge, experience, and equipment required.

48. Contract
Contract housekeeping services are services performed by a company that is NOT part of the hotel.
The outside company hires the staff and owns the equipment used.
The outside company provides all supplies needed. These services are often called outside contractors.

49. Contract
Advantages:
More cost effective to have certain housekeeping tasks done by outside contractors.
The following tasks are often given to outside contractors:
laundry services,
night cleaning,
cleaning of public areas,
cleaning of hotel offices, and
cleaning of retail stores.
Cleaning that requires special knowledge, equipment, and experience is also contracted out.
Once example is exterior window cleaning.

50. Contract Disadvantages: Security problems
The possibility of poor quality cleaning
The lack of flexibility when emergency cleaning needs occur.
There are often problems with a contract laundry service.
They often do not return all the linens that are expected, the hotel could run out of clean linens.
Linens are NOT properly cleaned or folded.

51. Contract Housekeeping vs. In-House Housekeeping
Individual Assignment:
Students will CONSTRUCT a Venn Diagram that illustrates the following THREE (3) points.
(A) Characteristics of In-House Housekeeping,
(B) Characteristics of Contract Housekeeping,
(C) What do BOTH have in common (common characteristics of both)

52. Role of the Executive Housekeeper Training
What skills and abilities does an executive housekeeper need?
What kind of education and training do you think is required?

53. Role of the Executive Housekeeper
Scheduling Staff
Supplies and Equipment
Room Status
Contact with Front Office
House Counts
Security Concerns
Guest Requests

54. Review Housekeeping
Students will turn to page 297 in the Hospitality Services Textbook and answer the ‘Review’ questions 1-14 to help prepare for their TEST.

55. Alphabet Review: Group Assignment
LIST the alphabet on a piece of paper. For EACH letter of the alphabet, have students LIST terms from the chapter (Housekeeping – Chapter 12) that start with that letter and then DEFINE the term.

56. Individual Assignment
Visit the Web site of a hotel, for example, wyndham.com or hyatt.com
Click on the link for “Employment” or Employment Opportunities” or “Careers”
Find at least one housekeeping job
Write up a report describing the job, the duties, the requirements, and the location of the job.