Planning and Organizing the Housekeeping Department

1. Module 2
Planning and Organizing the
Housekeeping Department
Prepared by:
Prof. Rowena R. De Leon

2. Lesson 1
Management
Functions of
Executive
Housekeeper
Objectives:
 Identify the basic
management functions
of the executive
housekeeper.
 Explain the executive
housekeeper’s role in
organizing the
housekeeping
department.

3. 1.1 Introduction
 Housekeeping is the
management of household
affairs.
 Means we are dealing with maintaining a clean
and comfortable environment in the premises.
 In other word, it is the housekeeping task to
ensure the guest needs and preferences to
comfort and security are fulfilled.

4. cleaning;
• guestrooms
• corridors
• public areas such as lobby and public restrooms
• pool and patio areas
• management offices
• storage areas
• linen and sewing rooms
• laundry room
• back of the house areas e.g. employee locker rooms
Housekeeping’sResponsibilities
in limited-servicehotels

5. Housekeeping’sResponsibilities
additionalareas in mid-and-worldclass
hotels
cleaning;
• meeting rooms
• dining rooms
• banquet rooms
• convention/exhibition halls
• hotel-operated shops
• game rooms
• exercise rooms

6. Housekeeping’sResponsibilities
exceptions
not directly responsible for cleaning;
• kitchen
• maintenance department
• swimming pool
• front desk

7. 1.2 Management Functions of
Executive Housekeeper
• Planning
• Organizing
• Coordinating/Staffing
• Directing/Controlling
• Evaluating

8. Planning
• Area Inventory List
• Frequency Schedules
• Performance Standards
• Productivity Standards Equipment and Supply
Inventory Levels
+
• Housekeeping Department’s Operating Budget

9. Basic Planning Activities
Initial Planning Resulting
Questions Documents
1. What items within the area “Area
Inventory
must be cleaned or maintained? List”
2. How often must the items within “Frequency
this area be cleaned or maintained? Schedules”
3. What must be done in order to clean “Performance
or maintain the major items within Standards”
this area?

10. 4. How long should it take an employee “Productivity
to perform an assigned task according to Standards”
the department’s performance standards?
5. What amounts of equipments and “Inventory Levels”
supplies will be needed in order for the
Housekeeping staff to meet performance
And performance statndards?

11. ProductivityStandard Worksheet
• Step 1
Determine how long it should take to clean one
guestroom according to the department’s performance
standards.
Approximately 27 minutes
PS: Since performance standards change from property
to property, this figure is used as an example. It is not a
suggested time figure for cleaning guestrooms.
• Step 2
Determine the total shift time in minutes
8 hours × 60 minutes = 480 minutes

12. • Step 3
Determine the time available for guestroom cleaning.
Total Shift Time.........................................480 minutes
Less:
Beginning-of-Shift Duties.................. 20 minutes
Morning Break.................................... 15 minutes
Afternoon Break................................. 15 minutes
End-of-Shift Duties............................ 20 minutes
Time Available for Guestroom Cleaning...410 minutes
• Step 4
Determine the productivity standard by dividing the result of
Step 3 by the result of Step 1.
410 minutes / 27 minutes = 15.2 guestrooms per 8 hour
shift

13. Equipment and Supply
“Inventory Levels”
• Recycled Inventories: items which are
recycled during the course of hotel operations.
e.g. linens, some guest supplies (irons, ironing
boards, cribs, etc.), room attendant carts,
vacuum cleaners, carpet shampooers, floor
buffers
• Par Number: Par refers to the standard number
of items that must be on hand to support daily, routine
housekeeping operations. E.g. one par of linens is the
total number of items needed to outfit all the hotel
guestrooms once; two par items is the total number of
items needed to outfit all the hotel guestrooms twice
and so on.

14. • Non-recycled inventories: items that are consumed or
used up during routine activities of the
housekeeping department e.g. cleaning supplies,
guestroom supplies and amenities etc.
• Minimum Quantity: is the fewest number of purchase
units that should be in stock at any time. The inventory
should never fall below the minimum quantity.
• Maximum Quantity: is the greatest number of purchase
units that should be in stock at any time. It must be
consistent with available storage space and must not be
so high that large amounts of cash is tied up.

15. Organizing
• Organizing refers to the executive housekeeper’s
responsibility to structure the department’s staff
and to divide the work so that everyone gets a
fair assignment and all the work can be finished
on time.
• The major areas within the department are;
Housekeeper’s Office, Desk Control Room, Linen
Room, Linen Uniform Room, Uniform Room,
Tailors Room, Lost and Found Section, Floor
Pantries, and Heavy Equipment Stores.

16. • Housekeeper’s Office
This is the main administration center for the
department. It must be an independent cabin to
provide the Housekeeper with silence to plan out her
work and held her meetings. It should be a glass
panelled office so as to give her a view of what is
happening outside her office.
Desk Control Room
This is the main communication center of
housekeeping. It is from here that all information is
sent out and received concerning the department.
The Desk Control Room should have a desk with a
telephone and a computer. It should have a large
notice board for the staff schedules and day-to-day

17. instructions. Here is also the point where all staff report
for duty and check out at the duty end. It would be next
to the Housekeeper’s Office.
Linen Room
This is the roomwhere current linen is stored for issue
and receipt. The linen room should have a counter across
which the exchange of linen takes place. The room
should be next to the laundry so that the supply of linen
to and from laundry is quick and smooth.
Linen Uniform Room
This room stores the stocks of new linen and uniforms.
These stocks are only touched when the current

18. uniforms and linens in circulation falls short due to
damage or loss. Larger hotels may have enough
space for an independent Uniform Store in addition
to a Linen Store.
Uniform Room
This room stocks the uniforms in current use. This
room must have enough hanging space.
Tailors Room
This room is kept for house tailors who attend to the
stiching and mending work of linen and uniforms.
Lost and Found Section
This should be a small secure space with a cupboard

19. to store all guest articles that are lost and may be
claimed later.
Floor Pantries
Each guest floor must have a floor pantry to keep a
supply of linen, guest supplies and cleaning supplies
for the floor. It is the housekeeping nerve center for
the floor. The Floor pantry should keep linen for that
floor in circulation. It should be near the service
elevators and have shelves to stock all linen and
other supplies.
Heavy Equipment Stores
This will be a room to store bulky items such as
vacuum cleaners, shampoo machines, etc.

20. Job Lists and Job Descriptions
• A job list identifies the tasks that must be performed
be an individual occupying a specific position. It
should reflect the total job responsibilities of the
employee. The job list should state what the
employee must be able to do in order to perform the
job.
• A job description simply add information to the
appropriate job lists. This information may include
reporting relationships, additional responsibilities and
working conditions, equipment and materials used.

21. Coordinating and Staffing
• Coordinating is the management function of
implementing the results of planning and
organizing at the level of daily housekeeping
activities. Each day, the executive housekeeper
must coordinate schedules and work
assignments and ensure that the equipment,
cleaning supplies, linens etc. are on hand for
employees to carry out their assignments.
• Staffing involves recruiting applicants, selecting
those best qualified to fill open positions, and
scheduling employees to work.

22. Directing and Controlling
• Directing involves supervising, motivating, training
and disciplining individuals who work in the
department.
• Controlling refers to the executive housekeeper’s
responsibilities to design and implement
procedures which protect the hotel’s assets.
Assets are anything the hotel owns which has
value e.g. keys, linen, supplies, equipment etc.
• managers direct people and control things.

23. Evaluating
• Evaluating is assessing the extent to which planned
goals are attained. One of the most important
evaluation tool is the monthly budget reports.

24. Lesson 2
Organizational
Structure of
Housekeeping
Department
Objective:
Identifying the major
responsibilities +
drawing the
organization of the
housekeeping
department.

25. The Department Organization Chart
• provides a picture of the lines of authority and the
channels of communication within the department.
• People working in this department are;
Executive Housekeeper, Assistant Housekeeper,
Uniform Room Supervisor, Uniform Room
Attendants, Floor Supervisor, Public Area Supervisor,
Room Attendants, Housemen, Head Housemen, Desk
Control Supervisor, Cloak Room Attendants, Night
Supervisor, Horticulturist, Head Gardener, and
Gardeners.

26. Organization Chart for a Small
Economy/Limited-Service Hotel
Head Houseperson
Records and
Payroll Clerk
Room
Attendants
Houseperson
Laundry
Attendant

27. Organization Chart for a Large
Mid-Range-Service Hotel
Executive Housekeepr
Assistant
Executive Housekeepr
Records and
Payroll Clerk
Linen/Uniform
Room
Supervisor
Training
Supervisor
Night Cleaning
Supervisor
Laundry
Supervisor
Housekeepr
Rooms
Manager
Housekeeper
Public
Space
Manager
Desk Control
Supervisor
Linen Room
Attendants
Uniform
Room
Attendants
Tailor
Night
Cleaners
Laundry
Attendants
A.M. Floor
Supervisors
P. M. Floor
Supervisors
Head
Houseperson
Room
Attendants
Room
Attendants
Houseperson
Public Space
Supervisor
Projects
Supervisor
Public Space
Attendants
Project
Cleaners

28. • Executive Housekeeper
Responsible and accountable for the total
cleanliness, maintenance and aesthetic upkeep of
the hotel.
Assistant Housekeeper
May be one for each shift of a large hotel. She may
be the housekeeper of a small hotel or the only
deputy to the Executive Housekeeper of a medium-
sized hotel. She manages the resources given by the
Executive Housekeeper to achieve the common
objectives of cleanliness, maintenance and
attractiveness in a given shift. Her accountability
normally ends on the completion of her shift.

29. • Uniform Room Supervisor
A non-management person solely responsible for
providing clean serviceable uniforms to the staff of
the hotel. In addition, she keeps the inventory
control on all uniforms and prepares the budget for
them.
Uniform Room Attendant
The Uniform Supervisor is assisted by Attendants
who actually do the issue of uniforms while receiving
soiled ones to be transferred to the laundry. These
attendants are in actual contact with the staff.

30. Linen Room Supervisor
A non-management person solely responsible for the
purchasing, storage, issue and cleanliness of linen.
Linen Room Attendant
Assists the Supervisor by actually issuing linen and
filling such records as necessary.
Floor Supervisor
Responsible for the cleanliness, maintenance and
attractiveness of the guest floors attached to her in a
shift. Her scope includes guest rooms, corridors,
staircases, floor pantries of the assigned floor.

31. • Public Area Supervisor
Responsible for cleanliness, maintenance and
attractiveness of all public areas which include
restaurants, bars, banquets, gardens,
administrative offices, shopping arcade, helath
club, swimming pool, main entrances and car park
areas.

32. Room Attendants
Formerly known as chambermaid, housemaid or room
maid.
They do the actual cleaning of guest rooms and
bathrooms assigned to them. They are not responsible
for the cleanliness of corridors, guest elevators, or floor
pantries.

33. • Public Area Supervisor
Responsible for cleanliness, maintenance and
attractiveness of all public areas which include
restaurants, bars, banquets, gardens,
administrative offices, shopping arcade, helath
club, swimming pool, main entrances and car park
areas.
Room Attendants
They do the actual cleaning of guest rooms and
bathrooms assigned to them. They are not
responsible for the cleanliness of corridors, guest
elevators, or floor pantries.
Housemen
Usually do the heavy physical cleaning required in

34. guest rooms and publis ares. Their job would include
heavy duty vacuuming, shifting of furniture, cleaning of
window panes, mopping, sweeping...
Head Housemen
Supervises the work assigned to Housemen. He would
deputise on behalf of the Publis Area Supervisor
especially at night. In medium-sized hotels he could be
the person in charge of housekeeping o night shifts.
Desk Control Supervisor
Is the center of information in housekeeping,
therefore, is the critical person in housekeeping
operations. The Housekeeping Desk must be managed
as guests and

35. staff will contact this desk to transmit or receive
information concerning housekeeping. It is the
Desk Control Supervisor who coordinates with the
Front Office for information on departure rooms
and handling over cleaned rooms. The Desk also
receives complaints on maintenance from
Housekeeping Supervisors spread all over the
hotel.

36. Cloak Room Attendants
Cloak room attendants are people, male or female,
responsible for the cleanliness, maintenance and
service in public area guest toilets.
• Night Supervisor
Is special in a manner that would require him or
her to be able to handle any aspect of
housekeeping at night including desk control
operations, issue of linen and uniform in an
emergency, etc. Her area of activity incudes guest
romms, public areas, linen and uniform rooms. She
is solely responsible and accountable at night for
smooth housekeeping through her night shift and
has larger decision-making authority than other

37. supervisors as she is the housekeeper for the night.
Horticulturist
Many hotels may contract horticultural work to an
outside agency. However, a large hotel may have a
horticulturist who not only maintains the gardens
of the hotel but also supplies flowers from the
garden for interior arrangements. Flowers are used
mainly in banquet functions, guest rooms,
restaurants, lobbies offices, etc. The horticulturist
would have to ensure smooth supply of flowers as
well as assist the Housekeeper in flower
arranagements.

38. • Head Gardener
Supervises the gardeners in maintaining hotel
gardens and keeping them contemporary each
season.
Gardeners
Does the actual digging, planting, watering, etc of
gardens on a day-to-day basis.

39. 


Post test
The link will be posted to the
Google Classroom