Hotel Efficiency: 7 Hotel Room Housekeeping Tips

Choosing accommodations can vary greatly from person to person. While some may lean towards luxurious options, others may want to spend their days in a cozy space. Yet, regardless of their preferences, one thing remains universal: the need for a clean room.

If your guest happens to find the room dirty and untidy, the unsatisfied guest will probably not book with you during their next travel. What is worse is that they can leave a bad review that can affect the decision of your future guests. This is why housekeeping can make or break someone’s experience at a hotel. 

Luckily the opposite can be used to your benefit. According to a study by trivago, 71% of the guests pick their hotel with an above-average cleanliness rate. With clean and tidy rooms you can expect guests to prefer your hotel rather than your competitor.

Here are some hotel room housekeeping tips that will make your guests pick you again and again.

What is housekeeping?

Housekeeping is a team of people who deal with the organization of cleaning and tidiness-related tasks within the hotel. They maintain the cleanliness levels within every room of the hotel including private rooms, common areas, and offices. Their duty is to make sure that the hygiene is up to standard.

What are the duties of housekeeping in a hotel?

First and foremost, housekeeping is responsible for ensuring the hotel’s cleanliness and tidiness, creating a comfortable environment for guests while also enhancing the overall guest experience to surpass expectations.

 In order to do so, housekeeping has some key responsibilities they must be doing frequently and thoroughly.

1. Cleaning rooms and common areas
2. Laundry
3. Changing linens and towels
4. Restocking guest amenities
5. Maintaining inventory
6. Tidying the rooms
7. Room inspections
8. Adherence to guest requests
9. Emptying the trash
10. Handling lost and found items

What are good housekeeping tips hotels can use?

Hotels strive to achieve effectiveness, efficiency, and guest satisfaction. To do so they need to have a systematic approach to cleaning. Hotels operate on tight schedules, with rooms needing to be turned over quickly to accommodate new guests. 

A systematic approach to cleaning ensures that tasks are prioritized and executed in the most time-effective manner possible. It’s not just about tidying up; it’s about creating an environment that not only meets but exceeds guest expectations. 

Here are 7 hotel room housekeeping tips that will make the job easier and leave the guests satisfied:

1. Have a system when cleaning: The professionals suggest that the way to clean fast and effectively is to clean from top to bottom and left to right. The reason for that is that if you start from the bottom the dust will fall to the floor when you move on to a higher place leaving the place looking and feeling dirty for your guests.
2. Train your staff: Your staff should know what to do and how to clean every situation and the best way to do so comes from the right training. 
3. Have a standard cleaning procedure: After a guest leaves, the cleaning staff should have a checklist in hand. 
4. Pay extra attention to most touched surfaces: There are some surfaces everyone constantly touches in hotel rooms such as door handles and light switches. Good housekeeping staff must pay extra attention to those areas to keep them clean.
5. Inspect the rooms and common areas: These places should be regularly checked for issues and dirt that were overlooked.
6. Guest amenities: Make sure that you have enough amenities and that every room has one. For example, If your guests want to wash their hands and they can’t find soap their opinion of your hotel might change for the worse.
7. Quick response: Your guest might have needs you may not have foreseen. Responding swiftly and solving their problems will most likely make you a place they would want to recommend to their friends.

How to create a housekeeping strategy

If you’re aiming for seamless coordination within your housekeeping team and maintaining constant cleanliness and order in your hotel, a well-crafted strategy is essential. Begin by taking stock of the tasks at hand and determining which responsibilities will fall under each employee’s role. This initial assessment sets the foundation for a structured plan of action. By clarifying who does what, you pave the way for efficient execution and accountability within your team.

Next, it’s crucial to establish clear guidelines for your housekeeping team to adhere to. These guidelines should encompass every aspect of the facility, spanning from guest rooms to public spaces, restrooms, and any other relevant areas. By providing comprehensive instructions, you ensure that every corner of your establishment receives the attention it deserves, maintaining high standards throughout.

The final step is to maintain regulation and make adjustments as needed. It’s an ongoing process of monitoring and fine-tuning to ensure that your housekeeping operations remain effective and efficient over time.

Bonus Tip:

This tip is for anyone looking to streamline their operations effortlessly through a user-friendly platform. HotelRunner PMS helps you save time and resources and focus on increasing your guest satisfaction. You can try HotelRunner PMS today!