3.Functions
Of Housekeeping Department
The Housekeeping Department has many functions:
Ø Providing
clean comfortable and safe surrounding is the role of Housekeeping Department.
It is an extension of basic home keeping
expanded into commercial proportions.
Maintaining a “House” is simple but when one considers
maintaining a house of several hundred rooms and numerous public areas, the
task become gigantic. It takes a well-organized
approach and technical understanding to enable Housekeeping Department to cope
with the volume of work.
Ø Obtaining
optimal room sales.
A hotel survives on the sale of rooms, food and beverage
and other minor operating services such as the laundry, health club etc. The sale of rooms constitutes a minimum of
50 per cent of the hotel’s profit. Once
a room is made, it can be sold over and over again. A good hotel operation ensures optimal room
sales to obtain maximum profit. Of the
entire sale obtained by a hotel; 70% - 94% comes from Housekeeping Department
Ø Fulfilling
guests’ preferences.
The room sale is dependent on, apart from several other
things, the quality of room décor, room facilities, cleanliness of the room and
how safe it is. The criteria by which
each guest decides whether a room is good or bad is strictly personal. Since their choices are varied, Housekeeping Department tries to
fulfill guests’ preferences as best as they can.
Ø Creating
appealing and desirable room.
To make a room appealing to a guest is the task of
housekeeping. Housekeeping Department
has to ensure that the basic human needs of comfort and security are also taken
care of. The personal effort that the Housekeeping Department makes for
example; giving a guest a desirable room, has a direct connection on the guests
experience in a hotel.
Ø Developing
effective cleaning practices.
Upscale hotels can cost from RM 50 million to RM 100
million to build. Even with the cost of
the building’s architecture and the land factored out, a guest room can
represent an investment of tens of thousands of ringgits or even RM 150 000 for
every luxurious rooms or suites. It is the Executive Housekeeper’s job to
protect this investment and maximize the life expectancy of all interior design
elements by developing effective cleaning practices and training staff to carry
out these practices efficiently.
Ø Maintaining
property’s interior.
Working with maintenance and engineering, the
Housekeeping Department ensures that the property’s interiors continue to look
and operate like new as long as possible.
Effective housekeeping practices combined with a sound renovation
program enable a property to develop and meet guest demands without unnecessary
spending.
