Module 1

Duties and Responsibilities of HK Personnel

Aishwarya Arya

Duties and Responsibilities of Housekeeping Personnel

Executive Housekeeper / Director of Housekeeping

She / He is responsible and accountable for the total cleanliness and aesthetic upkeep of the
hotel. The EHK supervises all housekeeping employees, has the authority to hire or discharge
subordinates, plans and assigns work assignments, informs new employees of property
regulations, inspects completed assignments, and requisitions supplies.

Reports to – The General Manager or Resident Manager or Room’s Division manager.

Duties and Responsibilities-

 Organize, supervise, and coordinate the work of housekeeping personnel on a day-to-day

basis.
 Ensure excellence in housekeeping sanitation, safety, comfort, and aesthetics for hotel
guests.
 Draw up duty rosters.
 Supervise the discipline and conduct of her staff.
 Assure proper communication within the department by conducting a regular meeting
with all personnel.
 Hire new employees, warn employees when policies are violated, and discharge
employees when necessary.
 Counsel employees on various duties and on work-related issues.
 Motivate her staff and keep their morale high.
 Establish and maintain standard operating procedures (SOP) for cleaning and to initiate
new procedures to increase the efficiency of labor and product use.
 Search constantly for and test new techniques and products.
 Maintain an inventory of the furniture, linen, and movable equipment in the rooms and
related premises and to ensure they are regularly checked.
 Organize maintenance and repair of guestrooms.
 Deal with articles that a guest may have left behind in a room.
 Ensure the provision of proper uniforms for the hotel staff.
 Ensure observance of hygiene and safety precautions.
 Offer suggestions to the human resource department concerning selection recruitment,
replacement, duty alterations, up-gradation, and so on.
 Evaluate employees in order to upgrade them when openings arise.

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Duties and Responsibilities of HK Personnel
Aishwarya Arya

 Organize and supervise on-the-job and off-the-job training of staff.

 Liaise between the maintenance and housekeeping departments.
 Inspect and approve all supply requisitions for the housekeeping department, and to
maintain par stock, inventory control, and cost-control procedures for all materials.
 Check the reports filed and the registers maintained.
 Maintain a time logbook for all employees within the department.
 Be responsible for the redecoration and refurbishing of rooms, lobbies, and so on.
 Provide a budget to the management, and undertake budget control and forecasting.

Deputy Housekeeper

Reports to – The Executive Housekeeper or Director of Housekeeping.

Duties and Responsibilities-

 Check and ensure that all guestrooms, public areas, and ‘back of-the-house’ areas are
clean and well-maintained.
 Inspect the work done by contractors-for example, pest control, laundry, window
cleaning, and so on.
 Prepare staff schedules and duty rotas/ roasters.
 Ensure periodical stock-taking and maintaining stock records for linen, uniforms, and
equipment.
 Provide the necessary information to and assist the executive housekeeper in staff
appraisal, disciplining termination, and promotion.
 Develop and implement training programs within the housekeeping department in
consultation with the executive housekeeper.
 Assist the executive housekeeper in forecasting and budgeting for operating and capital
expenditures.
 Take charge of the housekeeping department in the absence of the executive
housekeeper.

Assistant Housekeeper

Reports to – The Executive Housekeeper or Deputy Housekeeper (if this position exists in the
organization).

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Duties and Responsibilities of HK Personnel
Aishwarya Arya

Duties and Responsibilities-

• Be responsible for the sufficient and orderly management of cleaning, servicing, and
repairing of guestrooms.
• Be responsible for the hotel linen and check its movements and its distribution to room
attendants.
• Keep an inventory of all housekeeping supplies and check it regularly.
• Assist the room attendants in their daily difficulties.
• Provide the front office with a list of rooms ready for allotment to guests.
• Organize the flower arrangements.
• Arrange the training of staff and substitute for the executive housekeeper in case of
his/her absence.
• Update record books, registers, and files.
• Compile the maid’s roster.
• Check the VIP and OOO (out-of-order)

Floor Supervisors /Floor Housekeepers

Floor housekeepers have final responsibility for the condition of guestrooms. Each floor
housekeeper is assigned three or more floors. She/he gives the room attendants their room
assignments and the floor master keys, which are returned at the end of the day. The floor
supervisor checks, supervises, and approves the attendants’ work and makes periodical
inspection of the physical condition of all rooms on the floor.

Reports to – The Assistant Housekeeper and Executive Housekeeper.

Duties and Responsibilities-

• Supervise the handing over of soiled linen to the laundry and the requisitioning of fresh
ones from housekeeping.
• Ensure the supply of equipment and maintenance and cleaning supplies to floors and
public areas.
• Issue floor keys to room attendants.
• Supervise spring cleaning.
• Report on maintenance work on her floor.
• Coordinate with room service for clearing.
• Maintain par stock for the respective floors/ floor pantry.
• Coordinate with the front office manager.

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Duties and Responsibilities of HK Personnel
Aishwarya Arya

• Facilitate the provision of extra services to guests, such as baby sitters, hot-water bottles,
and so on, on request.
• Immediately report any safety or security hazard to the security department or to the
management.
• Check on scanty baggage.
• Prepare housekeeping status reports.
• Supervise cleaning on the allotted floors and areas- including guestrooms, corridors,
staircases, and floor pantries of the allotted floors.
• Report on standards of individual staff performance.

Public Area Supervisor

Reports to- The Assistant Housekeeper.

Duties and Responsibilities-

• Ensure that all public areas and other functional areas are kept clean at all times.
• Organize special cleaning of public areas.
• Ensure that all maintenance jobs are attended to in coordination with the maintenance
department.
• Ensure that flower arrangements are placed in appropriate places in the public areas.
• Ensure that the banquet halls and conference halls are kept ready for functions and
conferences.

Night Supervisor

Reports to – The Assistant Housekeeper.

Duties and Responsibilities-

• He supervises all night staff engaged in the cleaning of public areas and guestrooms in
the hotel.
• Ensure that all public areas are thoroughly cleaned at night, which is the only time when
traffic is low.
• Clear departure rooms to the front office if necessary.
• Plan the order of work according to priority and direct the staff accordingly.
• Make sure that departure rooms are serviced and made ready as soon as possible in order
that reception may re-let at any time.
• Organize special cleaning of rooms as required.
• Anticipate guest’ requirements at all times, thereby ensuring comfort and satisfaction.

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Duties and Responsibilities of HK Personnel
Aishwarya Arya

• See that all lost-found articles are deposited with the control desk.
• Ensure the submission of room attendants’ reports and the room status report.
• Help with the training of staff.
• Report any safety and security hazards.

Storekeeper

A storekeeper reports to the linen room supervisor. In large hotels, a storekeeper may be
appointed to a full-time position.

Duties and responsibilities:

• Control the stock of equipment.

• Store cleaning materials agents.
• Issue equipment and cleaning materials as per demand.
• Prepare requisitions for used-up materials and new products for the approval of the
executive housekeeper.
• Liaise with the purchasing department for the procurement of approved materials.

Control desk supervisor

The control room or desk is the nerve centre of the housekeeping department. The desk is
manned 24 hours a day. Since the control desk is the hub of information dissemination in
housekeeping, the control desk supervisor is a critical person in housekeeping operations.

Reports to – The Assistant Housekeeper.

Duties and responsibilities-

• Coordinate with the front office for information on departure rooms and handing over of
clean rooms.
• Coordinate with other departments for smooth functioning and efficiency.
• Receive complaints on maintenance and housekeeping.
• Maintains registers kept at the control desk.
• Receive special requests from guests.
• Act as a pivotal person in receiving and disseminating information amongst
housekeeping staff.
• Maintain the latest reports regarding room occupancy, VIPs, the status of rooms, and so
on, so that work can be delegated to attendants and supervisors accordingly.
• Attend to all phone calls received at the control desk.

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Duties and Responsibilities of HK Personnel
Aishwarya Arya

• Be responsible for guestroom keys given to room attendants and to store the keys and
maintain a key register.

Guestroom Attendants/ Room Maids/ Chamber Maids

Reports to – The Floor Supervisor. In small hotels, they may report to the assistant housekeeper
directly.

Duties and responsibilities-

• Clean and tidy rooms as per the sanitary regulations assigned.

• Change guestroom and bathroom linen.
• Make guest room beds.
• Replenish guest supplies.
• Answer guests’ summons promptly.
• Be responsible for getting guest laundry processed.
• Undertake the evening and provide the turn-down service.
• Check and secure rooms.
• Hand over to the housekeeper any article found.
• Replenish the maids’ cart with guest supplies, cleaning agents, and linen.

Laundry Manager

Reports to – Executive House Keeper.

He/she is responsible for the entire functioning of the laundry and dry-cleaning unit. A laundry
manager must have the organizational ability as well as technical knowledge of chemicals and
their effect on fabrics.

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