Housekeeping in Hotel Public Spaces

The work of the housekeeping department of any hotel or motel is the most unseen, but the most needed in many ways.

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All aspects of cleanliness and ancillary services attached to the property are under the scope of housekeeping. Good housekeeping of the public spaces as well as of the hotel rooms, helps retain many satisfied guests for the future.

As with many other services of star hotels, the housekeeping of public areas has undergone a remarkable change.

For example, the impressive cloak rooms that were bastions of sheer luxury with attendant opening the taps and offering you towels followed by hand lotion, and even an ashtray if you seemed inclined to have one, have now been outsourced in many properties to outside agencies.

The supervision is still that of the housekeeping department of the hotel, but the actual chores are being carried out by another company. However, the approach remains unchanged housekeeping in hotels is still geared to provide a level of cleanliness, hygiene and feel good factor that a visitor is expected to desire and welcome.

Housekeeping Challenges

Even today, if the bathroom amenities in the hotel are not well placed, the housekeeping department is easily blamed, even when this service and its overseeing are outsourced, for the final responsibility lies with the housekeeping department. Moreover, some jobs in the purview of housekeeping in hotels simply cannot be outsourced. For example, cleaning of hotel rooms shouldn't and cannot be outsourced for there is security of the guests involved.

Here it must be remembered that housekeeping is an ongoing process, requiring extensive training. Most hospitality properties would provide on the job training, which helps the housekeeping professional to keep himself/ herself abreast with the recent trends in housekeeping. However, besides training, which can be imparted, a basic aptitude or interest towards clean and hygiene issues is always required from the housekeeping professionals.