2nd Semester - Unit 02 - Area Cleaning

Area Cleaning

GUEST ROOMS

Daily Cleaning of Guestroom

Introduction

—  A GRA may have to service anywhere between 13 and 18 bedrooms in a day, the standard being 16.

—  Hence, a GRA expert at his/her work will take not more than 30 minutes to accomplish the servicing of one room.

—  After the GRA finishes servicing one room, he/she informs the floor supervisor that the prepared guestroom can be inspected.

The proper order of the daily cleaning/servicing of guestrooms by the GRAs is:

—  Guestrooms whose occupants requested for early make-up.

—  VIP rooms.

—  Vacant rooms/check-out rooms ‘blocked’ for arrivals.

—  Check-out rooms.

—  Occupied rooms with ‘please make up my room’ signs hung up.

—  Stayovers.

—  Rooms that had a DND card displayed in the morning.

—  Rooms due to become check-outs much later in the day.

—Out of order rooms.

Occupied Room:- A guest is currently registered to the room.

Cleaning of an Occupied Room (Stay over)

Procedure

—  This process can be divided and sub-divided into several steps:

a)      Entering the guestroom

b)      Preparing to clean the room

c)      Cleaning the guestroom

d)      Replenishing bedroom supplies

e)      Making the bed

f)       Cleaning the bathroom          

g)      Concluding work in the guestroom

a) Entering the guestroom

1. Knock on the door with your knuckles and announce ‘housekeeping’. Do not use any other articles, such as pens or keys, for the purpose.

—  In case a DND sign is displayed, proceed to clean another room, making a note of the DND status on the room assignment sheet.

2. If the guest bids you to enter, open the door slightly and ask if you may service the room.

—  If the guest is willing, proceed to clean the room.

—  In case the guest does not want the room serviced at the moment, ask for an alternative time and make a note of it on the room assignment sheet.

3. In case there is no answer from the guest, wait for a minute and then knock again, repeating the announcement of ‘housekeeping’.
• If there is still no answer, use your key to open the door if it is locked.
• Hold the door slightly ajar and repeat ‘housekeeping’.
• In case there is no answer, enter the room discreetly and make sure that the guest is not in the bathroom or in a deep sleep, or even ill.
• Otherwise, proceed to clean the room.
• If the guest is in the bathroom or asleep, move away and close the door.
• In case you end up having disturbed the guest, apologize, explain the reason for your entry, and say you shall come back later to clean the room.

4.  Upon entering the room, open the door wide and position the cart in front of the door with the shelves facing the door.

—  Keep the door wide open during your servicing of the room.

b) Preparing to clean the room


If the guest is out or has permitted you to clean the room, greet them politely and begin your work, but take care to minimize any disturbance or inconvenience to the guest.

      1.      Ventilate the room by drawing back the drapes and opening the windows.

—  While drawing back the curtains, check the curtain rings and tracks.

      2.      Remove room-service trays and used tea trays.

      3.      Switch on all electrical appliances such as lights, fans, air-conditioners, television, and so on, to check that they are in working order.

·         Switch them off after the check.

      4.      Empty ashtrays, wastepaper baskets, and the sani-bin from the bathroom into the trash bag on the cart.

c) Cleaning the guestroom

—  After the initial check, you can proceed to the dusting, vacuuming, and other cleaning tasks in the guestroom.

—  Follow a systematic method by starting at the door and cleaning surfaces as you move clockwise or anti-clockwise. 

—  Also, always clean from higher to lower levels.

The procedure involves:

—  Damp-dust the door and all the door fixtures.

—  Damp-dust cabinets and closets.

—  Damp-dust the minibar and replenish beverages and snacks that have been consumed.

—  Damp-dust the luggage rack.

—  Damp-dust the dressing table, drawer, and lighting fixtures around or near it.

—  Clean the mirror.

—  Damp-dust the bedside tables.

—  Dry dust lamp shades and bulbs of bedside lamps.

—  Damp-dust all the fixtures and accessories in the guestroom.

—  Damp-dust chairs and tables; vacuum upholstered furniture. Re-arrange all furniture properly after you are done.

—  Vacuum the carpet edges and floor baseboards.

—  Clean window frames and glass panes if required.

—  Damp-dust the headboard of the bed.

—  Damp-dust the telephone and disinfect the mouthpiece and the handle of the receiver.

—  Spot-clean the walls if necessary.

—  Vacuum and mop the floors.

—  In case you are sweeping the floor rather than mopping, do it before the dusting.

d) Replenishing bedroom supplies


Replenish the bedroom supplies if required and place them as per the hotel policy.


e) Making the bed


Wash your hands before starting to make the bed.

—  Job breakdown involves the following steps:

1.      Strip the bed

2.      Straighten the mattress protector

3.      Place the bottom sheet

4.      Place the top sheet (Second Sheet)

5.      Place the blanket

6.      Place the Crinkle Sheet (Third Sheet)

7.      Fold back the top sheet and the crinkle sheet over the blanket

8.      Put the pillowcases on pillows and place on the bed

9.     Place the bedspread on the bed

f) Cleaning the bathroom

—  Put on protective gloves and an apron.

            Note that you have already emptied the sani-bin and disposed of soiled bath linen in         earlier steps. Before you begin, open the window if possible.

1.Even before starting to clean any surface in, apply the toilet cleaner to the toilet bowl so that it can sit for some time.

—  Some toilet cleaners may require that the WC be flushed first.

—  Proceed with other tasks in the bathroom while the cleaner does its job.

2.Damp-dust the door and door fixtures, the toilet-roll holder, and other fixtures.

3.Clean and disinfect the wall phone.

4.Clean the bath tub, surrounding tiles, shower area, and vanity unit using a wet sponge and neutral detergent.

—  Clean the mirror in the same way as flat glass.

—  Dry all the surfaces with a lint-free duster.

5.Clean the shower curtain using a damp-sponge.

—  Let the shower curtain hang loosely on the tap side of the bath tub, with the bottom of the curtain inside the tub.

—  This is important for avoiding the build-up of moisture.

6.Replenish toiletries and other bathroom supplies if required.

—  Tooth glasses should be replaced with clean ones covered in a wrapper with the message ‘sanitized for your use’.

7.Replace used towels with fresh ones.

8.Clean the outside and surrounding area of the toilet bowl.

9.Using a toilet brush, clean the inside of the toilet bowl, especially under the rim, and flush, rinsing the toilet brush in the flush water.

—  A bidet, if present, is also cleaned in the same way.

10.Apply a disinfectant solution on the toilet seat and the inside of the lid, and close the lid of the toiletbowl.

·         Place the disinfected strip with the sign ‘sanitized for your use’ around the bowl.

—  Check all electric appliances to see that they are in working order.

—  Mop the floor

—  Take a critical look around, leave the bathroom door open for air to circulate, and exit the bathroom.

g. Concluding work in the guestroom

—  While cleaning an occupied room, you may tidy the guest’s possessions and belongings scattered around, but never throw away anything, however small or significant.

—  A GRA should also refrain from disturbing the contents of drawers and closets.

—  They should not touch any valuables or money left in the room.

—  After cleaning, inform the floor supervisor so that he/she can inspect the cleaned room.

—  After accomplishing all your tasks, take a last critical look around the serviced room. 

Check-Out Room:- The guest has settled his/her account, returned the room keys, and left the hotel.


Cleaning a Check-Out Room (Departure/on-change/vacated)

—  A vacated room is one from which the guest has left, settling his/her account, returning the room keys, and departing the hotel.

—  This guestroom would have been occupied in the night.

—  The cleaning of a vacated room must be a little more thorough than cleaning an occupied room.

Procedure

—  The step by step procedure for cleaning the checkout room is explained below:

a)     Entering the guestroom

b)    Preparing to clean the room

c)     Cleaning the guestroom

d)    Replenishing bedroom supplies

e)     Making the bed

f)      Cleaning the bathroom   

g)     Concluding work in the guestroom

a. Entering the guestroom

—   

        Needless to say, the procedure of ‘entering the guestroom’ as this procedure does not apply for a check-out room as the room has been vacated can be ascertained from the room assignment sheet.

   —   But still before you can start your work in the room you must first knock the door.

—  Do so with your knuckles and not with your key. Knock normally twice.

—  Very loud knocking is not necessary.

—  When there is no reply from the room and you have twice knocked and then enter the room.

—  Some hotels have door bells as well which can be used before entering the guestroom. 

—  Upon entering the room, open the door wide and position the cart in front of the door with the shelves facing the door.

   —  Keep the door wide open during your servicing of the room.

b. Preparing to clean the room

1.Ventilate the room by drawing back the drapes and opening the windows.

—  While drawing back the curtains, check the curtain rings and tracks.

2.Remove room-service trays and used tea trays.

3.Switch on all electrical appliances such as lights, fans, air-conditioners, television, and so on, to check that they are in working order.

—  Switch them off after the check.

4.Empty ashtrays, wastepaper baskets, and the sani-bin from the bathroom into the trash bag on the cart.

c. Cleaning the guestroom


All the cleaning tasks for an occupied room apply to the cleaning of a vacated room too.

Additional tasks may be:

  —  Check for any items left behind by the guests who have departed.

  —  On finding such articles, follow the procedure for dealing with lost-and-found articles.

  —  Remove any cobwebs or dust from the ceiling.

  —  Wipe out drawers and closets from inside. Check coat hangers and replenish supplies if necessary.

  —  Suction-clean the carpet.

  —  Suction-clean all soft furnishings.

  —  Check whether any maintenance work is needed.

d. Placing of Correct Guest Supplies

—  The supplies are important in the hotels as a convenience for guests.

—  Well presented supplies tend to give the guest a good impression.

—  The guest supplies to be placed at their correct positions so that guest may feel the professionalism in the hotel. 

e. Making the bed


Wash your hands before starting to make the bed.

—  Job breakdown involves the following steps:

1.      Strip the bed

2.      Straighten the mattress protector

3.      Place the bottom sheet

4.      Place the top sheet (Second Sheet)

5.      Place the blanket

6.      Place the Crinkle Sheet (Third Sheet)

7.      Fold back the top sheet and the crinkle sheet over the blanket

8.      Put the pillowcases on pillows and place on the bed

9.     Place the bedspread on the bed

f. Cleaning the bathroom

—  Put on protective gloves and an apron.

Note that you have already emptied the sani-bin and disposed of soiled bath linen in earlier steps. Before you begin, open the window if possible.

1.Even before starting to clean any surface in, apply the toilet cleaner to the toilet bowl so that it can sit for some time.

—  Some toilet cleaners may require that the WC be flushed first.

—  Proceed with other tasks in the bathroom while the cleaner does its job.

2.Damp-dust the door and door fixtures, the toilet-roll holder, and other fixtures.

3.Clean and disinfect the wall phone.

4.Clean the bath tub, surrounding tiles, shower area, and vanity unit using a wet sponge and neutral detergent.

—  Clean the mirror in the same way as flat glass.

—  Dry all the surfaces with a lint-free duster.

5.Clean the shower curtain using a damp-sponge.

—  Let the shower curtain hang loosely on the tap side of the bath tub, with the bottom of the curtain inside the tub.

—  This is important for avoiding the build-up of moisture.

6.Replenish toiletries and other bathroom supplies if required.

—  Tooth glasses should be replaced with clean ones covered in a wrapper with the message ‘sanitized for your use’.

7.Replace used towels with fresh ones.

8.Clean the outside and surrounding area of the toilet bowl.

9.Using a toilet brush, clean the inside of the toilet bowl, especially under the rim, and flush, rinsing the toilet brush in the flush water.

—  A bidet, if present, is also cleaned in the same way.

10.Apply a disinfectant solution on the toilet seat and the inside of the lid, and close the lid of the toiletbowl.

·         Place the disinfected strip with the sign ‘sanitized for your use’ around the bowl.

—  Check all electric appliances to see that they are in working order.

—  Mop the floor

—  Take a critical look around, leave the bathroom door open for air to circulate, and exit the bathroom.

g. Concluding work in the guestroom

—  After cleaning, inform the floor supervisor so that he/she can inspect the cleaned room.

—  After accomplishing all your tasks, take a last critical look around the room keeping in mind that your last look will be the guest’s first look at the room.

Vacant Room:- A room in which no guest has slept the previous night and which is not yet occupied.


SERVICING A VACANT ROOM

—  The term ‘vacant’ room implies a different situation from a ‘vacated’ room.

—  A vacant room is one in which no guest has slept the previous night and which is not yet occupied.

—  This room would have already been serviced earlier when the last guest to have stayed in it departed from it.

—  Thus a vacant room needs only a light dusting and a check of all electrical appliances.

—  In the bathroom, the WC should be flushed.

—  In the event of a vacant room having been unoccupied for a long time, however, it may need to be cleaned in the manner of a vacated room.

—  A GRA should also look for signs of illegal occupation in the night by checking if the bed has been slept in, the bathroom supplies used, and so on.    

SERVICING VIP ROOMS

—  Very important person (VIP) rooms are always given priority for service.

—  The front desk should give advance information to housekeeping about the arrival of any VIP.

—  The cleaning of rooms meant to be occupied by a VIP must be as thorough as that for a vacated room.

—  What differs is the extra complementary amenities and giveaways that are kept in the VIP room.

—  These amenities may differ from hotel to hotel.

—  VIP rooms may also require some extra time during cleaning due to the thoroughness expected and the added amenities to be placed.

The inspection of a VIP room should also be more thorough.

              Under Repair Rooms:- The Guestroom is not assigned to any guest as repair work is being carried out.

DEALING WITH ‘UNDER REPAIR’ ROOMS

—  It is the housekeeping department’s responsibility to have guestrooms prepared for repair work by the maintenance department.

—  The housekeeping department can take a room out of service, declaring it as OOO, when major repair work is required in the particular room.

The housekeeping responsibilities here include:

—  Taking the room out of service, informing the front office of an OOO guestroom status, and hanging the OOO sign on the door knob.

—  Removing all guest supplies from the bedroom and bathroom and having them stored in the floor pantry.

—  Removing all the soft furnishing from the room and storing these in the linen room; sending launderable articles to the laundry.

—  Covering the mattress and the bed with dust sheets large enough to enclose the headboard too.

—  Disconnecting the telephone wrapping in a cover, labeling it, and storing it on a closet shelf.

—  Sending all easily movable furniture all accessories and loose articles and accessories to the floor pantry or store for storage ensuring that all the items leaving the room have a label stuck on them indicating the number of the room they were transferred from.

—  Covering the larger pieces of furniture left in the room with dust sheets.

—  Disconnecting the television and radio and covering them with large transparent polythene sheets.

—  Sending the carpets for shampooing.

—  Removing any flower arrangement or indoor plant, the latter handed over to the horticulturist.

—  Sealing all taps and sinks other than a single source of water supply.

—  Closing all the doors and windows to avoid any noise from disturbing other guests opening the windows to ventilate the room after the repairs are completed.

TURN DOWN SERVICE

—  The turn-down service is provided by the housekeeping department in the evening at deluxe hotels, as a special service to guests.

—  It is therefore also referred to as ‘evening service’ or sometimes ‘night service’.

—  ‘Turn down’ refers to making the bed ready for sleeping in by removing any bed spread or duvet and turning down the covers.

—  Along with this function, a few other tasks are carried out in the evening to make the guestroom environment conducive to and comfortable for a good night’s sleep.

—  To provide the turn-down service, a GRA enters the guestroom early in the evening to replenish supplies, generally tidy the room, and turn down the beds.

Procedure

—  Follow the usual procedure of announcing your business and entering the guestroom.

—  Empty and damp-dust the ashtray, replace matchboxes and generally tidy the room.

—  Empty the waste-paper basket.

Turn down the sheets:

  —  Remove the bedspread gently by folding it neatly in a three-way fold and put it away in the dresser drawer or on a shelf of a cabinet or cupboard.

  —  Turn back the top sheet, the blanket, and the crinkle sheet on one side in one operation to make a triangle fold. Turn down the sheets on the side the guest is most likely to use.

  —  Fluff up the pillows. For the turn-down service, the cotton pillow is placed on top and the foam pillow below it.

  —  Place the breakfast knob card on the pillow (though this depends on the hotel policy).

  —  Hang any scattered about-cloth left by the guest in the cupboard.

  —  Replace used glasses and replenish water jugs.

  —  Adjust the air-conditioner controls.

  —  If the bathroom has been used, damp-dust the vanity unit and bath tub, flush the WC, wipe the WC seat and mop away any marks on the floor.

  —  Replace soiled bath linen with fresh ones.

  —  Replenish bathroom supplies

  —   Empty the sani-bin.

  —  Pull the guestroom drapes closed.

  —  Switch off all lights except the bedside lamp to create a welcoming glow around the bed.

  Exit and lock the door if the guest is expected later.

SECOND SERVICE

—  This is the service provided at the specific request of a guest after the guestroom has already been serviced earlier in the day.

—  The guest may ask for this chargeable service after he has had visitors in the room for a party or meeting, as a result of which the room may have become dirty or disorganized.

Second service may include the following tasks:

—  Removing soiled dishes, bottles and glasses.

—  Remove room-service trays, if any.

—  Damp-dusting surfaces in the guestroom that are likely to have been used by visitors and guests.

—  Mopping the floor in the sitting area.

—  Making the bed if required.

—  Replacing glasses and refilling water jugs.

—  Cleaning the bathroom thoroughly, including the toilet bowl and placing the disinfected toilet strip.

—  Replacing soiled linen with fresh.

—  Spraying an air-freshener if the room has any residual odour of food or cigarette smoke.

—  Exiting and locking the door if the guest is out.

—  Recording the service provided appropriately so that it may be added to the guest’s bill.

Closing Down After Cleaning

—  Closing down after cleaning is as important as preparing to clean.

—  The equipment agents, and other supplies, should be stored away properly and the work area left neat and tidy for the staff coming in for the next shift.

Front of the house areas which are also known as public areas.

The public areas in a hotel comprise the  ‘front of the house’ areas ,such as:

—  entrances,

—  lobbies,

—  lounges,

—  the front desk,

—  guest corridors,

—  elevators, and restrooms;

—  functional areas such as

—  Restaurants,

—  banquet halls,

—  bar, and waiting rooms; and

—  leisure areas such as:

1.      Swimming pools,

2.      the spa, and the

3.      health club.

—  In other words, the areas of the hotel that are in constant view and frequented by guests are referred to as public areas.

—  The housekeeping department is responsible for the cleanliness and maintenance of these public areas in the hotel.

—  Like cleaning in other areas of the hotel, the cleaning routine for public areas can be divided into daily, weekly, monthly, and periodic tasks.

—  Daily cleaning tasks include dusting, emptying and bins, suction-cleaning upholstery, mopping hard floors, cleaning glass surfaces, arranging flowers, and cleaning toilet areas.

—  Weekly tasks include scrubbing floors, dusting walls, dusting and wiping lighting fixtures, cleaning and polishing hard surfaces, and vacuuming carpets.

—  Monthly tasks cover such activities as the spray-cleaning and buffing of floors and the polishing of furniture and other woodwork.

—  Periodic tasks include washing walls, stripping and re-polishing or re-sealing floors, shampooing carpets, and washing windows.

1.ENTRANCES

—  The guests get their first impression of the hotel from the entrance lobby.

—  Entrances, if not cleaned and maintained daily, can easily acquire a neglected look due to the heavy traffic and exposure, which can be very unappealing for an arriving guest.

—  The preventive maintenance of floors at the entrance is important, since this is the inlet point for dust and dirt trekked in by all the guests’ shoes.

—  If the dirt and grit are not prevented from entering the establishment at this stage, they will eventually become embedded in the floor and deteriorate the surface.

      a.      Flooring & Mats

The cleaning and maintenance tasks are listed below:

   

  —  The doormats and runners must be vacuum-cleaned daily to remove dust and grit.

  —  In the rainy season and during times of heavy traffic (such as in the high season), cleaning the mats twice a day or even more often may be called for.

  —  The floor at the entrance has to be mopped frequently throughout the day.

  —  Plants at the entrances should be watered when required.

     b.     Doors

Cleaning tasks include:

  

  —  Glass doors should be cleaned twice a day, and where public traffic is high, the frequency of cleaning may have to be even three or four times daily.

  —  Dirt, grease, and scuff marks on the door frames should be damp-dusted with an alkaline detergent and water, and re-wiped with clean water to remove all traces of the detergent.

  —  Wooden doors should be damp-dusted once daily. 

       —  A neutral detergent should be used with water for damp-dusting once a week to avoid the build-up of layers of dust.

  —  Brass knobs and handles should be polished weekly, and in case of lacquered brass, only damp-dusting is sufficient.

  —  Lights and lighting fixtures should be checked daily and cleaned weekly.

2.LOBBIES

—  These are areas provided as a common meeting point for guests near the reception.

—  Many lobbies are carpeted while others have hard flooring.

—  Cleaning processes for the two kinds of flooring will be different.

—  Floors in the lobbies need to be cleaned frequently.

—   Like entrances, these are also heavy-traffic areas.

—   Hence, cleaning should be scheduled for the night or early morning, when there are fewer people around.

Daily cleaning tasks:

—  Ashtrays, wastepaper baskets should be emptied and damp-dusted—if required, as often as twice or thrice a day.

—  Flower arrangements should be attended to daily and indoor plants watered as required.

—  Glass surfaces and windows should be cleaned with a glass-cleaner daily.

—  Doors, door handles, and knobs should be damp-dusted daily.

—  Carpeted areas should be suction-cleaned daily to remove dust and dirt.

—  Hard floors must be mopped or vacuumed daily.

—  Lights and lighting fixtures should be checked daily and cleaned weekly.

—  Furniture should be damp-dusted daily.

—  Telephones must ne damp-dusted with a disinfectant solution and wiped dry with a dry duster.

Periodic Cleaning tasks:

—  Some cleaning tasks need not be carried out daily.

—  These should be scheduled on a periodic basis, for once in a week, once in a month, once in six months, or once in a year.

—  High-level dusting, to clean ceilings and other hard-to-reach areas such as tops of fans and cornices, should be done once a week. Very high ceilings may be dusted once a month.

—  Elaborate chandeliers may be brought down and cleaned once in six months.

—  Upholstered furniture should be suction-cleaned with an upholstery attachment once a week.

—  Wooden furniture should be polished once a week.

—  Blinds and curtains should be suction-cleaned weekly.

—  Carpets should be shampooed once a month; but in case of heavy traffic or heavy soiling, the cleaning frequency could be once a week.

3. Front Desk

—  The front desk is the hub of activity in the ‘front of the house’ part of the property, since all arriving guests are registered to their rooms from here and many enquiries are made here.

—  Hence, the cleaning should be done at non-peak hours so as not to interrupt the flow of business.

—  When guests approach the front-desk during the cleaning process, cleaning should be stopped momentarily and the employee doing the task should step aside.

—  Cleaning tasks should in no way hamper the flow of work at the front desk.

—  The front desk in most hotels is a part of entrance lobby, so that all cleaning tasks for the lobby apply to the front-desk as well.

4. ELEVATORS

—  These must be cleaned at daytime when they are least used.

—  These should always be taken out of service for cleaning.

—  The necessary signboards indicating that cleaning is being carried out must be displayed prominently.

—  Elevator doors are usually made of steel and sometimes these may be covered with wooden panels.

—   Steel doors show grease marks from fingers easily. Elevators should be cleaned daily and a more thorough cleaning may be done on a periodic basis.

The tasks include:

1. Damp-dust the steel doors, inside and out, using a neutral detergent solution and then wipe clean using water. Dry with a clean duster.
2. Damp-dust the inside wall panels, door panels, and control panel.

—  A neutral detergent may be used for the purpose and the residue removed with a duster dampened with clean water.

3. Suction-clean the elevator floor if carpeted. If it is hard flooring, mop the floor.
4. Suction-clean the door tracks on all the floors using a crevice-cleaner attachment on the vacuum cleaner.
5. Lightly damp-dust the ceiling and light fixtures. These may be thoroughly cleaned periodically.
6. Clean any air-conditioning or ventilation dust using a suction-cleaner.
7. In addition, the company that installed the elevator must regularly service the elevator, checking for any technical fault.

STAIRCASE CLEANING

—  Like any other public area, staircases should be cleaned where there is least traffic.

—  The appropriate way to clean staircases is to divide them into half lengthways and clean one half at a time.

—   This is required not only to prevent dirty footprints on a wet floor but also as a safety precaution so that there are no accidents due to slipping on wet steps.

—  While cleaning staircases, care should be taken that dirt and debris do not fall downwards through the gaps in banisters and railings.

—  Any kind of sweeping should be directed towards the wall.

The specific tasks include:

—  Carpets should be suction-cleaned daily and any stain should be attended to immediately.

—  Hard-floored staircases should be suction-cleaned and then damp-mopped. They can be scrubbed weekly with a deck scrubber using a neutral detergent.

—  Damp-dust the wall skirtings weekly

—  Damp-dust the banisters and handrails daily.

Guest Corridor Cleaning

—  A long corridor should be divided into sections for cleaning.

—  As for staircases, the corridor should be divided into half lengths so that the other half is open for use while one half is being cleaned.

—  Appropriate cautionary signs should be used to indicate that cleaning is in progress.

The cleaning tasks include:

—  The carpet should be vacuum-cleaned daily.

—  It also needs to be shampooed once in six-months.

—  The wall skirting or baseboards all along the corridor should be cleaned.

—  Any finger mark or smudge on the walls should be spot-cleaned. Thorough cleaning of walls may be done weekly.

—  Sprinklers installed as part of a fire-fighting system should be checked and cleaned. Fire extinguishers should be dusted. Fire buckets should be dusted daily and filled with fresh sand once a month.

—  Lights and lighting fixtures should be checked and damp-dusted.

—  Air-conditioning vents should be cleaned weekly.

The exit and entrance doors on the corridor should be damp-dusted on both sides and the tracks cleaned.

Cleaning of Public Restrooms

—  This refers to the washrooms and toilets meant for use by the general public, and not restricted to guests registered at the hotel.

—  These need to be cleaned thoroughly twice a day at the minimum; when guest traffic is more, the frequency will have to be higher.

—  In lower traffic periods, frequent but light tidying may be required.

Some of the primary areas of concern are enumerated below:

—  Cleaning vanity units or wash basins and bidets.

— Cleaning of WCs, shower cabinets, and baths 

—  The daily cleaning processes for these are the same as followed in a guest bathroom.

—  The weekly cleaning of WCs involves the use of an alkaline detergent.

— Cleaning urinals

—  These may require the use of an acid cleaner frequently.

—  Toilet cleaner should be applied to all the inner surfaces of the urinal and allowed to stand for 10 minutes.

—   Any debris from the drainage channel should be removed. While the cleaner is left to sit, clean the surrounding surfaces, walls and the outer part of the urinal.

—  Then using a toilet brush, scrub the urinal bowl thoroughly and flush to rinse away the cleaner.

Banquet Hall Cleaning

—  These may be used for dinners, conferences, conventions, exhibitions, and so on.

—  When banquet halls have bookings for several functions on the same day, cleaning them becomes more of a challenge.

The cleaning process includes daily cleaning tasks and weekly cleaning tasks:

—  Sweep and mop the floor area well before the event. If the area is carpeted, a vacuum cleaner should be used. Spot-clean the carpets if any stain is present.

—  Assemble and arrange the furniture and audio-visual equipment required.

—  Damp-dust or suction-clean the furniture.

—  Table cloths, chair covers, and decorative bows should be placed if dirty.

—  Lighting fixtures should be checked. (They may be cleaned weekly. Chandeliers may be brought down and cleaned once in six months.)

—  The walls only need to be spot-cleaned in case of stains; otherwise, they may be washed periodically.

—  Flower arrangements, mineral water, glasses, and other specific requirements such as notepads and pencils should be provided and arranged neatly in place.

—  Incase another event has just concluded before the one scheduled to follow, take care to remove and replace all bottles and glasses. Replenish stationary and generally tidy the room up; then rearrange the furniture according to the requirement of the next event.

Dining Room Cleaning

—  These need to have visual appeal as well as meeting sanitation standards.

—  In many properties, housekeeping may be responsible for maintaining the dining areas in conjunction with the service staff of the dining room.

The cleaning tasks include:

—  Vacuuming the carpeted areas, moving out the dining chairs to clean under the tables; spot-cleaning any stain.

—  Damp-dusting the furniture daily; polishing wooden floor once a month, vacuuming upholstered furniture.

—  Wiping all glass surfaces with a proprietary glass-cleaner.

—  Spot-cleaning the walls.

—  Checking and cleaning the lighting fixtures.

—  Following the regular schedule of pest control.

Cleaning of Leisure Areas

—  Leisure areas in hotels include the:

—  Health club,

—  Saunas,

—  Swimming pool, spas and changing areas.

—  These are areas meant for the recreation and relaxation of guests.

1. Health Clubs

—  All hotels have an exclusive area for guests to exercise and work out in, perhaps using exercise equipment.

—  The equipment found in health clubs include treadmills, bench presses,  cycling machines, dumbbells, and so on.

—  The flooring in health clubs should be non-slippery and should not be polished to a very high shine.

—  The walls will usually have several mirrored panels.

—  The cleanliness of the whole area, including the equipment, is the housekeeping department’s responsibility.

The cleaning tasks include:

—  Damp-dusting equipment, after first making sure they are switched off.

—  Damp-dusting all furniture. Wooden furniture should be polished monthly.

—  Cleaning all glass surfaces, including windows and mirrors.

—  Remove any stain from the walls by spot-cleaning as soon as noticed.

—  Checking and damp-dusting all lighting fixtures.

—  Sweeping and mopping (or suction-cleaning) a hard floor.

—  Removing the soiled linen such as bath towels, hand towels, and so on, and replacing with fresh ones.

2.Saunas

Saunas are steam-bath cubicles made of wood or glass.

      

Cleaning Saunas

—  To clean saunas, a bleach should be added as a cleaning agent to the water and a nylon scrubber needs to be used.

—  A concentrated solution of bleach should be used in the most badly affected areas.

—  After cleaning with the bleach the sauna should be rinsed thoroughly with cold water to remove all residual bleach.

—   The sauna should then be left open to dry so that the fumes from the bleach dissipate.

—  A deodorizer may be used to counteract the smell of the bleach too.

3.Swimming Pool Cleaning

—  Regular cleaning and disinfecting of swimming pools is important from the point of view of hygiene.

—  If not cleaned to a regular schedule, swimming pools may become carriers of waterborne infections.

—  Swimming pool water becomes contaminated with body fats and oils, sweat, saliva, urine, cosmetics, and airborne dust particles.

—  Any repair and maintenance work needed in the swimming pools is done by the engineering and maintenance department.

—  The daily cleaning of the swimming pool usually comes under the purview of the housekeeping department.

—  The primary concerns in cleaning swimming pools are water clarity and water chemistry control.

—  Water clarity results from effective filtration to remove all particulate matter.

—  Water chemistry control implies the chemical safety of the water for swimming and involves the maintenance of a neutral pH to control the growth of harmful bacteria in the pool water.

—  If the water is too alkaline, the sides and bottom of the pool will become slippery and prone to black algae.

—  If the water is too acidic, it may deteriorate the pool finish and damage the pump.

—  Chlorine and bromine were earlier used for this purpose, now a days, ozone is increasingly being used instead for the treatment of pool water.

—  Ozone is injected into the water supply at the point where it enters the pool.

—  Ozone treatment also makes the pool water clear, sparkling, and attractive.

—  It does not affect the neutral pH of water. Moroever, ozone is odourless-unlike chlorine-and does not pose any health hazard to swimmers.

Cleaning Tasks

—  Any floating debris floating on the pool is collected by using a skimmer net attached to a long pole.

—  The bottom and sides of a swimming pool must be cleaned daily by pool personnel using special pool vacuum cleaning equipment (many hotels give this responsibility to the Maintenance Department).

—  In hotels which do not have filtration and water treatment equipment, pools should be emptied not less frequently than once a week and the walls and floors should be hand-scrubbed using wire brushes.

—  Pool edge tiles and overflow gutters should be hand scrubbed on a continuing schedule so that the total circumference of the pool is completed once every four days.

—  All outside terraces including those surrounding swimming pools are to be swept and wet mopped at least once daily depending upon the type of surface.

—  Serrated tiles which have a tendency to accumulate oily films from bathers’ feet should be scrubbed using strong detergent solution on a schedule which will maintain the area with its original colours intact.

—  Employees responsible for the cleanliness of swimming pool areas will inspect diving boards diving platforms and pool stairs daily to ensure that they are clean and safe.

—  Pool personnel are responsible for all pool side furniture including chairs, lounge tables, sun mats and garden umbrellas.

Back of the house areas

Where there are hundreds of employees behind the scenes, it is responsible for to assume that the areas where they work, eat, rest and bathrooms all have to be cleaned. Thus maintaining service corridor and elevators, employee washrooms cleaning is an important as the front of the house. Unfortunately top management in too many institutions fails to allot sufficient budget to keep the back of the house clean. It is undesirable that many employees areas are not cared for, at the same time that they are expected to keep the lobbies, guest rooms etc spotless. This kind of short sighted management ruins employee morale with its double standard of cleanliness. The well managed establishment keep their service in proper condition all the time.

The ‘back of the house’ areas are :-

      

       · Service Elevators

       · Employee’s Locker Room

       · Floor Pantry

       · Parking Area

1.Service Elevators:

·       

           The necessary signboards indicating that cleaning is being carried out must be displayed promenently.

        · Service elevators doors are usually made of steel. Those steel doors show grease marks finger easily. Elevators should be cleaned twice a day.

The tasks include:

·       

           Damp dust the steel doors, inside and out, using a neutral detergent solution & then wipe clean using  water. Dry with a clean duster.

          · Damp dust the inside wall panels, door panels, and control panel.

          · Suction clean the service elevator floor and mop the floor.

          · Suction clean the door tracks on all the floors using a crevice – cleaner attachment on the vacuum cleaner

          · Lightly damp dust the ceiling and light fixtures. These may be thoroughly cleaned periodically.

          · Clean any air-conditioning or ventilator dust using a suction-cleaner.

          · The company that installed the elevator must regularly service the elevator, checking for any technical fault.

2.Employee’s Locker Room:

      

      · This refers to the changing rooms and washrooms meant for use by the hotel employees.

      · Washrooms and changing roomsneed to be cleaned thoroughly twice a day at the minimum. 

      · In changing rooms cleaning of lockers should be on monthly basis. 

      · In washrooms, cleaning vanity units or wash basins.

      · Cleaning of WC’s and shower cabinets.

      · Cleaning of urinals.

     · After this mop the floor.

3.Floor Pantry:

       

     · Each housekeeping floor / sections will have a floor pantry to keep the par supply of linen, cleaning supplies, guest stationeries and amenities.

      · The floor pantry should always have the linen required for that floor in circulation.

      · Normally the floor pantry should be ideally located near the service elevator.

      · Should have locked shelves to store linen and supplies

      · The Room boy / attendant have to clean the pantry while beginning the shift and while ending the shift.

      · Pantry has to be neat and tidy always.

      · All the racks on the shelves have to set with linen.

      · The floor is swept thoroughly with Domex / Floor Cleaner / Bleach.

      · Dust all the racks and pipes on a daily basis.

      · Sweeping and mopping of pantry is done once in the morning after removing the trolleys, and once at the end of the shift.

       · The pantry has to be scrubbed with teepol solution once in a week.

       · The dustbin has to be emptied, washed and dried on a daily basis. 

       · Water cooler area is scrubbed daily and kept dry and clean. 

       · Washbasin is scrubbed and cleaned daily.

       · Floor supervisors should check the floor pantry for cleanliness on a daily basis.

4.Parking Area:

The parking area takes the load of pollution created by hotel owned vehicles and guests’ private vehicles. It is heavily polluted with dirt and dust. The parking area needs cleanliness with respect to the following terms −

• Control the ventilation.
• Control pollutant discharges occurring from broken drainage or water systems of the hotel.
• Remove fine-grained sediment particles on parking floor.
• Clean the area near lift.
• Hard-sweep the parking floor using street sweeping equipment.
• Collect and dispose the debris appropriately.
• Bringing presence of any unusual debris to the notice of public area supervisor

WORK ROUTINE AND ASSOCIATED PROBLEMS

      

      · It is impractical to take public area out of service for cleaning.

      · Most of cleaning activities are scheduled for low traffic hours and for night.

      · It may involve use of ladders.

      · Some hotels may have elaborate design features at enterance which are difficult to clean.

      · Glass doors easily develop streak marks as guest place finger on the surface.

      · Lobbies may have high ceilings & elaborate chandelier which are difficult to clean.

      · Elevators should be taken out of service for cleaning.

      · When banquets have booking for several functions on the same day, cleaning becomes a challenge.

      · The insides of saunas are prone to mould as they warm and moist over long periods.

     ·  If swimming pools are not cleaned properly then it may become carriers of water borne infections.

SELF ASSESSMENT

Q.1) List step by step procedure of cleaning a check-out room.
Q.2) Write the procedure of bed making for morning service of a room in a five star hotel.
Q.3) Explain how will you organize “Front of the house” and “Back of the house” area cleaning?
Q.4) Explain the difference in cleaning of an  occupied room and a vacant room.
Q.5) Categorize VIPs. What are the amenities and giveways provided to the VIPs?
Q.6) List ten precautions you would take as a GRA on the guest floor.
Q.7) Give Reasons why :
    a) The maids cart is placed in front of the open door facing into the room while cleaning a guest room?
    b) Before taking a guest room under repair, front office approval is required?