Introduction to the Housekeeping department Part 2

Introduction to the Housekeeping department Part 2

A Hotel survives on the sale of rooms, food and beverage and other minor operating services such as laundry, health club, telephone bills, flower arrangements etc. The sale of rooms constitutes nearly to 50 percent. In other words a hotel's largest margin of profit comes from the sale of room,  because a room once made can be sold over and over . A good hotel operation ensures optimal room sales to achieve maximum profit.

Apart from several other things, the sale of  room is dependant on the quality of room cleanliness, décor and room facilities and room safety. The criteria on which each guest decides whether the room is good or bad are  personal. Since their choice is varied,  the task of appealing to all kinds of guests becomes overwhelming. To make a room appealing to a guest is the basic task of housekeeping. It has to make sure,   that the basic human needs of comfort and security is ensured by the hotel organisation. Thus, personal effort taken by the housekeeping department in giving a guest a desirable and acceptable room has a direct bearing on a guests experience  in a hotel.

Thus,it is seen that the housekeeping department  plays a major role  in creating a brand and goodwill in the market. They can be the indirect marketers and sellers by giving a wow feeling to the customer by meeting their requirements  and  at the same time ensuring that the standards of the hotel are kept in mind.

Questions

            Q1. Write a brief introduction on the Housekeeping department.?

            Q2.What is the importance of the Housekeeping department?

Introduction to the Housekeeping Department 1

Hotel industry is the primary and leading industry in the service sector. It caters directly to the needs of the customers. When a customer comes to the hotel, the first thing that he would expect is a clean environment with a pleasant appearance. It is ensured by the hotel that customers would receive the service as per their requirements. All the departments play an important role in delivering the services to the customers.

When it comes to cleaning,  it is the housekeeping department in a hotel which is responsible for the cleanliness, maintenance and aesthetic upkeep of the hotel. Just as the nomenclature signifies the role of the housekeeping is to keep a clean, comfortable and safe house. It is an extension of basic home-keeping multiplied to commercial proportions. Therefore, just as we enjoy keeping a 'Sparkling Home' for ourselves and guests visit us at home, the housekeeping  department takes pride in keeping the hotel clean and comfortable, so as to create a “Home Away From Home . At home, it is generally  the lady of the house on whom the mantle or responsibility  of housekeeping falls. It is not surprising that this tradition extends to hotels as well, where the housekeeping department is headed by a woman in most cases and they are called as “Executive Housekeeper”.

The concept of housekeeping is simple, but when we consider a “house” of several hundred rooms and numerous public areas,  the tasks become gigantic. It takes a well organized approach and technical understanding to enable housekeeping in order  to cope with  the volume of work.