The document outlines the major responsibilities and organization of a hotel housekeeping department. It discusses cleaning responsibilities in different types of hotels and exceptions. It also describes the management functions of an executive housekeeper including planning, organizing, coordinating, directing, and evaluating the department. An organization chart is presented showing the structure of a housekeeping department from executive housekeeper down to individual roles.

1. CHAPTER 3
Planning and Organizing the
Housekeeping Department
Objective: identifying the major responsibilities + drawing the
organization of the housekeeping department

2. Housekeeping’s Responsibilities
in limited-service hotels
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

3. Housekeeping’s Responsibilities
additional areas in mid-and-world class hotels
cleaning;
 meeting rooms
 dining rooms
 banquet rooms
 convention/exhibition halls
 hotel-operated shops
 game rooms
 exercise rooms

4. Housekeeping’s Responsibilities
exceptions
not directly responsible for cleaning;
• kitchen
• maintenance department
• swimming pool
• front desk

5. Management Functions of
Executive Housekeeper
 Planning
 Organizing
 Coordinating/Staffing
 Directing/Controlling
 Evaluating

6. Planning
 Area Inventory List
 Frequency Schedules ex. 2.2, pg. 24, ex. 2.3, pg. 25
 Performance Standards
 Productivity Standards Equipment and Supply
Inventory Levels
+
 Housekeeping Department’s Operating Budget

7. 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?

8. 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
supplies will be needed in order for the Levels”
Housekeeping staff to meet performance
And performance statndards?

9. Productivity Standard 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

10.  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

11. 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.

12.  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.

13. 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.

14.  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

15. 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

16. 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

17. 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.

18. 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.

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

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

21.  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.

22.  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.

23.  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.

24.  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

25. 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

26. 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.

27.  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

28. 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.

29.  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.

30. 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. Ex. 2.8, pg. 32
 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. Ex.
2.9, pg. 33, ex. 2.10, pg. 34, ex. 2.11, pg 35

31. 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.

32. 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.

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