The Caribbean Innkeeper - Small Hotel Resource Information Centre

A professional and well-run housekeeping department is key to running a successful hotel operation. Cleanliness is important for many reasons, not the least of which is the impact it has on guests, as well as keeping long term maintenance costs down. The housekeeping staff have the most direct contact with the guests' rooms and therefore are key to ensuring they have a comfortable stay.

Guidelines and checklists for a variety of housekeeping tasks and specifics can be found in this section.

Introduction

Sound housekeeping practices reflected principally by in-room cleanliness are one of the most important criteria which persuade a returning guest to choose one particular hotel over another. Definition
In general, the housekeeping function is responsible for the daily cleaning of public rooms (lobbies, corridors, meeting rooms), private bedrooms and public washrooms. In addition, it handles the laundering of linens and in some instances, guest laundry. Housekeeping also performs a minor security function by providing a "first alert" to potential guest problems as staff undertake daily guest bedroom cleaning.

Keys to Effective Practices
Effective small hotel housekeeping practices typically incorporate the following:

Standards

In many instances, these are yours, the owner’s personal standards.

Observations

Of owner and staff. Focusing on your standards afresh every morning is difficult to consistently achieve over time without a physical absence from the hotel from time to time.
Training yourself and staff to achieve acute observation skills through one-on-one and group sessions and checklists is inexpensive and effective.
Inviting a peer to conduct a site inspection of your housekeeping performance on a reciprocal basis is a worthwhile practice.