The text addresses management judgments regarding areas of cleaning responsibility specific to each department, and notes that many hotels have implemented color-coded maps of their properties to facilitate this; the first case study provides the scenario of possible conflicts - in responsibilities for cleaning areas - between Housekeeping Department and other departments (e.g. Food & Beverage / Maintenance Department).
Decisions about the required number of room attendants is a major responsibility of the Executive Housekeeper. In the section “Employee Scheduling” later, the text discusses differences in how the inexperienced and the experienced Executive Housekeepers establish Room Attendants’ schedules in terms of numbers.
Linen is a generic term for guestroom sheets, pillowcases, tablecloths and napkins washed and dried in the laundry area.
Terry is a generic term for bath towels, hand towels and wash cloths washed and dried in the laundry area.
Note that principle of management is also applied to run an effective Housekeeping Department. Thus, the Executive Housekeeper needs to understand management process such as planning, organizing, directing & controlling) specific to the Housekeeping Department. Revisit Chapter 2 (The Hotel General Manager) and Chapter 3 (Management Skills for the G.M.) to review how each management process step works and what specific things should be done, in detail.
Inspector (inspectress) is the individual responsible for physically checking guestroom status, as well as other tasks assigned by the Executive Housekeeper.
The text discusses that recruiting and retaining quality room attendants is a challenge, and that the G.M. in conjunction with the Executive Housekeeper needs to develop / design strategies to attract and retain the best room attendants; what specific activities / strategies can be applied so that room attendants regard the G.M., and the property, as the employer of choice.
Bloodborne pathogen is any microorganism or virus, carried by blood, which can cause a disease. The text emphasizes that the G.M. particularly needs to pay attention to the matter of blood pathogens. Similarly, attention is necessary to lost and found training; in the section “Lost and Found” later, three types of unclaimed property are discussed in detail, in terms of law and policy requirements.
Actual number of rooms to be cleaned is the most critical variable (factor) to effective scheduling.
Deep cleaning means the intensive cleaning of a guestroom, typically including the thorough cleaning of items such as drapes, lamp shades, carpets, furniture, walls and the like.
“Minutes per room” is the average number of minutes required to clean a guestroom.
Explain different factors used between experienced and inexperienced housekeepers to establish room attendant schedules.
Question 2 in Issues at Work in Chapter 7 asks students to design a scheduling system that fairly assigns holidays to the employees.
“Product usage report” is a report detailing the amount of an inventoried item used by a hotel in a specified time period (i.e. week, month, quarter, year)
The Executive Housekeeper, assisted by the housekeeping staff, should compute monthly usage rates on all significant housekeeping items.
The text emphasizes that Housekeeping Department must have specific, written “Lost and Found” procedures in place; it is one of the Executive Housekeeper’s important jobs to have pre-printed forms, namely, written lost and found procedures, in place to protect guest property until it is declared abandoned.
Review Figure 7.3 (Sample Public Space Inspection Sheet), 7.4 (Sample Guestroom Sleeping Area Inspection Sheet), and 7.5 (Sample Guestroom Bath Area Inspection Sheet) in the text. The text discusses the usefulness of inspection sheets to identify areas to be evaluated during routine inspections of public spaces, guest bathroom and sleeping room areas, and laundry.
“cost per occupied room” is total cost incurred for items or area, divided by the number of rooms occupied in the hotel for the time period examined.
Emphasize that use of the biohazard waste bag is necessary to avoid needless exposure to bloodborne pathogens, when room attendant notices linen or terry is bloodstained.
Agitation is movement of the washing machine resulting in friction as fabrics rub against each other.
Executive Housekeeper must teach laundry workers to monitor washing times, washing temperatures, chemicals and agitation during the washing process.
Laundry par level is the amount of laundry in use, in process and in storage.