Routine Systems and Records of Housekeeping Department
- IHM Notes Site
- 2 days ago
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Room Occupancy Report
This report shows the list of guests who have checked-in the hotel with details such as the number of adults and children, number of nights, and housekeeping status. This report is generated for the occupied rooms, rooms expected to be occupied, checked-out rooms, and vacant or blocked rooms. This report is generated for scheduling rooms for cleaning.
ROOM STATUS CHECK – i.e. the room attendant now physically checks each room in his/ her section for the occupancy and fills in the ROOM MAID’S REPORT/ GUEST ROOM STATUS REPORT – this gives the information of guest room status for that particular section and is signed by the room attendant
This is then sent to the control desk for compiling the HOUSEKEEPERS REPORT / OCCUPANCY REPORT – this shows the position of all rooms in a hotel and is signed by the preparer( mostly the control desk supervisor) and countersigned by the executive housekeeper
The housekeeper’s occupancy report is sent to the Front Office department for comparison with the Front office occupancy report
Note – Occupancy reports are made 3 times a day , normally in the beginning of each shift i.e. at 8 am , 3 pm and 10 pm respectively
NOTE – if there are any discrepancies in the room status between housekeeping report and the front office records a discrepancy slip is generated and the bell boy is sent for final verification. And details informed accordingly.
Hotel is working 24x7x365 days. To operate the hotel smoothly it has three shifts. Shift may start at 6-7-8am and end at 2-3-4pm respectively. All the shifts will overlap one hr to ensure the reliever is on duty.
As an employee arrives he/she has to enter through back gate which is meant only for staff. They must punch in their card at the time of entry as it is from here that personal dept. prepares their salary cheque too.
Then they go to staff locker to change and groom to the hotel standard before they report to the dept. It is suggested that all the employees deposit their uniforms at the time of departure so that it is ready in time for next use.
In housekeeping dept. the staffs report to H.K. desk.
H.K. CONTROL DESK
The H.K. control desk is the hub of the housekeeping dept. This is the area in then dept. where all information is received and from where messages are dissipated to housekeeping and other staff present in various parts of the hotel.
Thus, the control desk may be considered the nerve centre for to and fro communication in the
housekeeping dept. One of the main functions of the control desk is ensuring smooth co-ordination between housekeeping and other dept.such as maintenance, front office, food and beverage, security, sales and marketing and so on. Apart from maintaining the intra-dept. and inter- dept. channels of communication, it is the control desk which receives messages from in-house guests over the telephone. In most hotels, this is the area where housekeeping employees report for work; collect the respective keys, signing for them; peruse the log book; get their briefing; and at the end of their shift, report back to.
The main physical feature visible in most control desk areas is the key cabinet on the wall, where all floor master keys and store keys are kept under lock and key. Another common feature here is a large notice board displaying notices:
Duty roaster
Cleaning schedules
VIP list
List of rooms, of; crew and groups in-house.
One of the most important roles of the control desk is maintained various important records, registers, forms and formats so that they are available and easily accessible for reference to managers and supervisors. For e.g.:
Key control register
Log book
Maintenance register and forms
Departure register
Guest message register
Baby sitting register
Guest loan article register
Lost and found register Store indent book Room status report Room transfer report VIP in-house list
VIP arrival list
Then they are briefed by the supervisor for the daily schedule at the desk. At the desk “Day book” is written in pen which is earlier written in pencil. “Day book” indicates who is working in which floor and section. If an employee is absent as per Rota the work of the section may be divided amongst the present staff if the work load is low. This is called splitting section. Otherwise a staff may be asked to stay back to cope up with the situation from the previous
shift.
Guest Room Inspection
A supervisor has to check all the rooms on his/her floor, including all vacant room, departure room, expected arrival, VIP arrival, group arrival, blocked rooms and under repair rooms both out of service and out of order. After the end of the shift the floor supervisor has to take hand over from the GRA and make the entry in the floor register. The supervisor has to make the entry of all the DND, R/S, L/S on the floor. The supervisor has to take the handover of lost and found from the GRA for the day. Before coming to the department the supervisor has to check the floor pantry, guest elevator, and service elevator, back-area of the floor, all fire exit and corridor. The supervisor has to check the floor pantry and has to take the count of all the items in the pantry like all loan item (iron board, hot water bag, water flask, weighing machine, etc) and make an entry in the floor register. After that, the supervisor has to fill the logbook kept in the department. The supervisor has to make an entry of all the rooms checked by him for the day. The supervisor has to fill the key register, hand over register. The supervisor has to hand-over the lost and found and keys to the desk attendant/supervisor before leaving for the day.
While dealing with the guest the floor supervisor comes across various complaints made by guests during their stay.
The nature of these complaints is:
Technical/mechanical complaints: these are various complaints which include maintenance related problems e.g. AC not working, the job of the supervisor is not only to pass on these complaints but also to get them attended as early as possible.
Service related complaints: they are complaints related to inefficient working or cleanliness standards of the GRA. She briefs the GRA accordingly and attends to the complaint as soon as possible.
Attitude related problems: these imply problems regarding the behaviour of the GRA which may require counselling,
Unusual complaints: these imply undue demands made by the guest and also bad guest behaviour.
Complaints like missing items from the room after the room is cleaned by the GRA which calls for alertness, investigation and involvement of seniors.
Procedure for Bedroom
Check guest room entrance door.
Note any scratch marks, smudgy or dirt/dust on surface.
Check for ‘DO NOT DISTURB’ sign on inside knob of the door.
Check proper operation of locks, chains and door stops.
Check condition and cleanliness of light switches and surrounding wall area.
Scan ceiling, walls, woodwork for any damage, dirt/dust.
Check curtains for stains, check that hooks are in place and the rods work correctly.
Check window sill’s window for cleanliness, make sure windows are locked and that locks work properly.
Make sure heating and air-conditioning unit is free from dirt and dust, operates correctly and the temperature is set according to property standards. vii. Make sure telephone is clean and works properly.
Check the bed Make sure that the bed has fresh linen.
Check condition of the bedspread and check the edges of the bed. Look under the bed for trash or guest item.
Check headboard for the dust.
Check room furniture for scratches damage and dust check upholstery for stains.
Check lamps for starches and dust. Make sure light bulbs are of proper voltage.
Turn –on the television set to check for proper operation, turn-off and check for scratches, damage and dust.
Check carpets and bade oafs or skirting boards for dirt, stain and dust.
Check that wardrobe are clean and have the proper anonym of hangers.
Check pictures and mirrors for dust.
Check that bedroom amenities such as stationary and match-boxes are properly stacked.
Make a final check around the room to make sure that all items are well positioned and that all areas ceiling to the floor are cleaned and well maintained.
Complete a work order request and/or notifying the appropriated department for any item needing attention or repair.
Procedure for Bathroom
Check bathroom door for scratches, marks or dust in the surface
Check condition and cleanliness of light switches and surrounding wall area.
Scan ceiling, walls and tiles for any damage, dirt and dust.
Check shower area check tub and fixtures for watermarks, soap films and hair.
Check fixtures for correct position and operation. Make sure bath not is in place.
Inspect vanity and sink area Check sink and counter area for watermarks, soap film and hair. Check mirror for spots.
Check toilet for cleanliness, flush to check for proper operation.
Check floor and baseboard for dirt and dust.
Make sure that towels are neat and cleanly arranged on towels racks.
Check toilet and facial tissue and supply.
Check that bathroom amenities such as soap, shampoo and mouthwash are properly stacked.
Make a final check of the bathroom to make sure all items are well positioned and that all areas from ceiling to floor are clean.
Complete the work order request and/or notify the appropriate dept. for any item needing attention or repair.
Lost and Found Register and Enquiry File
If a housekeeping guest room attendant finds any guest-owned article left in the Check-Out room then it is recorded in the Lost/Found Register and sent to the same cell of the housekeeping department. It also records any personal article found in the hotel premises.
LOST AND FOUND REGISTER | |||||||||
Sr No | Date | Item | Descripion | Found by | Found at | Picked up by | Address | Contact No. | Sign |
Articles are many times left behind by the guest but at times staffs too pick them while collecting soiled linen from room by
mistake and also with the guest laundry its left back in the pockets of shirt and trouser of guest.
Every item found is recorded in the lost and found register.
Each article is given a “serial No.” which makes it easy to locate in the storage. The best way is by numbers 1/1, 1/3, 2/9 so on.
This means the first thing found in Jan. or 3rd thing found in Jan. and the 9th thing found in Feb. so on. The first number indicates the month and the second number indicates article.
“Where found” means room number or the specific area where the article is found.
“Article and Description” means specification of the article found for e.g. whether its shoe or slipper or sandal and male or ladies shoes the size and the colour etc.
“Disposal” must be recorded, whether it’s returned to guest or given to finder according to the norms of the hotel. Often some articles are kept by the hotel and used like any liquor found in the room etc.
On receipt of the article found the Housekeeping control desk records it in the “lost and found register”. The article is packed in a transparent plastic bag with a lost and found slip containing the details as written in the register and stapled. One copy of the slip is also sent to the front office for information.
Shelving space is divided in the cupboard according to the month, and articles are stored accordingly.
A lost and found enquiry file is also maintained in the department. As sometimes articles for some reason may come later too.
Most hotels keep the less valuable articles for six months. Usually, valuables are kept for one year. The hotel advises their in-house guest to avail the safety locker facility in Front office cashiers’ office. These days most hotel provide a safety locker box in the wardrobe of the room itself and the guest can have their own code to activate or deactivate it.
Valuables if found are stored in Ex. Housekeeper’s office in safety locker. Key to which is normally with Ex. Housekeeper. At the time of departure the Ex. Housekeeper seals the key in an envelope and deposits it in Front office cashiers’ office so that the
key is always available. If required the duty manager can collect the keys after signing in the cashiers’ key register do the needful and return it again in a sealed envelope.
Note: valuables are marked with red ink in “lost and found register”
Guest may phone, write or mail and enquire about his/her lost article. They may ask the hotel to post them or might send someone on his/her behalf to collect the article or sometimes even may collect it their subsequent visit to the hotel. The hotel does not charge for postage. The Ex. Housekeeper signs on the register in the disposal column and mentions the address.
If someone else comes to collect the articles we must ask for an authorization letter and get their signature on the register and the tag. Sometimes the guest collects them then we request them to sign on the register.
When the storage time is over articles are returned to the finder. The Ex. Housekeeper signs in the lost and found slip which acts as a gate pass for the finder (staff). The valuables are auctioned and money distributed amongst the staff. This normally boosts the morale of the staff.
Each company has slightly different rules/policy about handling lost and found.
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