Housekeeping Management Quiz

NAME ___________________________________ DATE ______________________________

The Role of Housekeeping in Hospitality Operations 1. Classifying hotels in relation to __________ provides the best measure of the work performed by a housekeeping staff. a. location b. service level c. size d. chain affiliation 2. During which hours of the day does the executive housekeeper have to schedule additional room attendants to provide turndown service for guests? a. 7 A.M. to 9 A.M. b. 11 A.M. to noon c. 3 P.M. to 5 P.M. d. 7 P.M. to 9 P.M. The general manager of a hotel generally reports to: a. the manager-on duty. b. the resident manager. c. the executive committee. d. the owner. Which of the following areas of a hotel is not a revenue center? a. front office department b. housekeeping department c. food and beverage department d. hotel-operated gift shop Which of the following hotel departments is not a back-of-the-house area? a. accounting department b. food and beverage service department c. housekeeping department d. maintenance department Which of the following hotel departments is not a front-of-the-house area? a. housekeeping department b. front office department c. hotel-operated gift shop d. food and beverage service department Which of the following reports would an executive housekeeper use to determine the number of check-out rooms that need to be cleaned? a. room status discrepancy report b. occupancy report c. sales booking report d. scheduled maintenance report

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Housekeeping Management Quiz

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Housekeepings physical check of rooms at 2 P.M. reveals that room 201 is occupied. However, the front office lists the room as vacant and ready for sale. This situation is best described as: a. a late check-out. b. a due out. c. a room status discrepancy. d. a sleeper. On February 1, a guest checks into room 233 and reserves the room for the next three nights. On February 2, the occupancy report from the front desk would list the status of room 233 as: a. DNCO (did not check out). b. a late check-out. c. a sleeper. d. a stayover.

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10. Which of the following maintenance activities is likely to be performed by the housekeeping staff? a. emergency maintenance b. scheduled maintenance c. equipment repairs d. routine maintenance

Planning and Organizing the Housekeeping Department 21. Final responsibility for the cleanliness and overall appearance of banquet and meeting rooms usually rests with the: a. general manager. b. convention services staff. c. banquet staff. d. housekeeping staff. 22. Housekeepings cleaning responsibilities are typically determined by the: a. general manager. b. executive housekeeper. c. rooms division director. d. manager of operations. 23. Area inventory lists can be used as a basis for developing: a. inspection checklists. b. performance standards. c. productivity standards. d. par levels of supplies. 24. Room inspections over the past week show that the work of three room attendants has been inconsistent. Before some of their assigned rooms could be declared vacant and ready for sale, they had to return to the rooms to clean areas they missed earlier. This situation indicates a problem in the area of: a. meeting the departments performance standards.

Housekeeping Management Quiz

b. c. d. meeting the departments productivity standards. developing room pars. developing frequency schedules.

25. During the first three months on the job, the new executive housekeeper at the 300room Spotless Inn significantly raised the performance standards for guestroom cleaning. The Inns guest satisfaction ratings soared to an all-time high and guest complaints about housekeeping service all but disappeared. However, departmental labor costs skyrocketed to 30% over budget. The general manager and controller are now demanding housekeeping staff reductions. The most appropriate action for the executive housekeeper to take would be to: a. refuse to cut staff and present a case for maintaining current performance standards to ensure increased occupancy in the future. b. cut staff by 10% and maintain current performance standards through a comprehensive inspection program. c. cut staff by 30% and increase productivity standards for the remaining room attendants. d. redefine performance standards in light of more realistic productivity standards and reduce staff accordingly. 26. Which of the following statements is true? a. A par is equal to one purchase unit. b. A par indicates the highest number of purchase units that should be in stock at any given time. c. A par indicates the lowest number of purchase units that should be in stock at any given time. d. A par is the standard number of items that must be on hand to support daily, routine housekeeping operations. 27. Which of the following would not be considered part of non-recycled inventories maintained by the housekeeping department? a. cleaning supplies b. guest amenities c. ironing boards d. bath soap 28. At 9:15 A.M., Jane Wright, the hotels director of sales, finds that an important client will be at the hotel at 11 A.M. to tour the property. She needs an executive suite prepared as a show room. No one answers the phone in the housekeeping department, so she rushes to the eighth floor, interrupts three room attendants cleaning check-out rooms, and directs them to clean and prepare suite 801. Trudy Smith, the eighth-floor housekeeping supervisor, becomes very upset when she finds the room attendants in 801. Preparing the show room will put her staff six rooms behind schedule on a busy day when they are already shorthanded. Trudy loses her composure, yells at the room attendants, and places an angry call to Jane Wright. From the point of view of Trudy, the housekeeping supervisor, which of the following management principles has been violated? a. Supervisors should have the authority and information necessary to guide the efforts of employees under their direction. b. Supervisors should be well-informed about the limits of their authority. c. Each employee should have only one supervisor. d. Employees should have the authority and responsibility to make decisions affecting their work areas. 29. Which of the following management functions best describes the work performed by an executive housekeeper in determining the number of employees needed to meet operational needs?

Housekeeping Management Quiz

a. b. c. d. coordinating staffing directing controlling

30. Which of the following management functions best describes the work performed by an executive housekeeper in supervising, motivating, training, and disciplining housekeeping employees? a. evaluating b. staffing c. directing d. coordinating Housekeeping Human Resource Issues 31. Which of the following is an example of a potential benefit to a lodging property that positively manages employment diversity? a. guaranteed increases in revenue and profit b. access to first-hand information about potential target markets c. access to information about competitors d. increased recruitment and training costs 32. Johanna was recently hired as the executive housekeeper of the 500-room Sun Resort Hotel. After reviewing personnel records, she discovered that the housekeeping department has been experiencing a low rate of retention. She interviewed several of her current room attendants asking them about the reasons behind the turnover. She learned several things including that many of the people who left were frustrated about always having to work weekends and not knowing what their schedule would be until the day before they worked. Some of this was due to the fluctuating occupancy that the property experiences because of the high rate of walk-in guests. What is something that Johanna could do to address these problems and increase retention rates? a. Recruit for employees through help wanted notices in grocery stores, laundromats, and churches. b. Design schedules that allow employees to take alternating weekends off. c. Offer a better benefits package. d. Contact government agencies through phone calls, personal visits, and faxing of hotel job openings. 33. What is the first step in the pre-recruitment process? a. defining job requirements b. determining where to recruit c. selecting recruitment strategies d. evaluating recruiting methods 34. What type of recruiting is taking place when an organization posts a position and employees sign a list indicating that they are interested in applying for it? a. External recruiting b. Employee referral programs c. Job bidding d. Telerecruiting 35. If an interviewer decides not to plan any questions in advance and directs the interview in whatever direction seems appropriate at the time, what kind of interview is he or she conducting?

Housekeeping Management Quiz

a. b. c. d. unstructured situational behavioral description semi-structured

36. What is an example of a rapport-building interview question? a. What are the early morning priorities for a guest service representative? b. How do you operate as a team player? c. In what ways do you expect your next job to differ from your present or last job? d. What three words best describe you? 37. One of the challenges that June Snow faced as the new executive housekeeper at the Sun and Fun Resort was to establish a formal training program that would raise the performance standards of the housekeeping department. Her first step was to develop a job list and job breakdowns for room attendants. Which of the following best describes June's actions? a. conducting a training needs assessment b. establishing systematic cross-training c. conducting a job analysis d. recreating job descriptions 38. Which of the following is the correct sequence of the four-step training method? a. prepare to train, practice, present the training, follow up. b. prepare to train, follow up, present the training, practice. c. prepare to train, present the training, practice, follow up. d. practice, prepare to train, present the training, follow up. 39. Positions that are usually scheduled to work regardless of the occupancy level of the hotel are called: a. compressed staff positions b. variable staff positions c. shared staff positions d. fixed staff positions 40. Which of the following focuses on an employee's job performance and outlines steps the employee can take to improve job skills and performance? a. job analysis b. performance appraisal c. referral program d. incentive program

Managing Inventories 41. Which of the following items are part of a non-recycled inventory managed by the housekeeping department? a. linens b. uniforms c. cleaning supplies d. guestroom alarm clocks 42. Which of the following statements about inventory management in housekeeping is true?

Housekeeping Management Quiz

a. b. c. d. Safety stock consists of those items with a long shelf life. A minimum quantity of inventoried items is the number of purchase units that are used up between the time that a supply order is placed and the time that the order is actually received. The term par refers to the standard number of inventoried items that must be on hand to support daily, routine housekeeping operations. Usage rate is the primary factor to consider when establishing par levels for recycled inventories.

43. The most important factor to consider when establishing linen pars is: a. monthly linen losses. b. emergency reserve stock. c. the hotels laundry cycle. d. linen usage rates. 44. Recently completed renovations at the 450-room Glitz Hotel increased debt payments and significantly strained the short-term cash resources of the hotel. At the last management meeting, cost control and cash management were the central topics. The general manager and department heads evaluated changes in purchasing practices, staffing levels, and other areas in which changes could immediately cut the cost of doing business. Several managers questioned the value of continuing the hotels on-premises laundry and suggested outsourcing laundry needs to a local commercial laundry operation. This change would immediately reduce payroll and provide extra cash for debt payments. After a brief discussion, the management team decided that outsourcing the laundry operation would not help the current situation because: a. laying off the laundry staff would lower the morale of other employees. b. cash from payroll savings and the sale of the hotels current laundry equipment would not be worth the trouble of contracting out laundry services. c. the purchase of an additional par of linens to cover laundry in transit by the commercial laundry would offset any immediate cash savings. d. commercial laundry operations are too unreliable to service the needs of the hotel. 45. Linen loss at the 500-room Walk Away Hotel has reached an all-time high. Susan, the executive housekeeper, readily admits that inventory control procedures have been neglected. Which of the following would be the most cost-effective practice by which Susan could tighten the inventory control of linens? a. Post a warning on all employee bulletin boards that anyone caught stealing linen will be prosecuted. b. Establish floor pars and issue linens on a daily basis only in amounts needed to bring each floor linen closet up to its par level. c. Establish issuing procedures for linens based on occupancy forecasts from the sales department. d. Take a physical inventory of all linens in use and in storage on a weekly basis. 46. Which of the following statements about inventorying employee uniforms is true? a. More uniforms need to be inventoried when they are laundered daily than when they are laundered weekly. b. The inventory level of uniforms for chefs, stewards, and other kitchen personnel is typically lower than levels needed for employees from other hotel areas. c. The number and kinds of replacement uniforms needed can be determined by comparing on-hand quantities to the par levels set for each type of uniform. d. Executive housekeepers should take a physical inventory count of uniforms once a year. 47. Which of the following is a guest loan item typically inventoried by the housekeeping department?

Housekeeping Management Quiz

a. b. c. d. pens and stationery cribs bath soap blankets

48. Anna, the executive housekeeper at the 600-room Flower Plaza Hotel, is preparing a capital budget for machinery and equipment purchases. She has been getting complaints from room attendants about guestroom vacuum cleaners. She knows that many of these vacuums are past their useful life. Which of the following inventory records should provide Anna with the necessary detail to prepare housekeepings capital budget request? a. issuing logs b. repair logs and inventory cards c. completed physical inventory forms d. invoices from the manufacturers 49. Which of the following statements about cleaning supply inventories in the housekeeping department is false? a. Inventory counts of cleaning supplies are made in terms of purchase units. b. Purchase units are counted in terms of normal shipping containers such as cases, cartons, or drums. c. The on-hand quantity of a cleaning supply item should never fall below the maximum quantity established for that item. d. Par levels for cleaning supply items are closely tied to the rates at which they are consumed in day-to-day housekeeping operations. 50. At the Guest First Hotel, the minimum quantity of guestroom soap is 4 cases. If dayto-day housekeeping operations uses 1 case of soap every 5 days and if soap is ordered every 30 days, what should be the maximum quantity of soap inventoried by housekeeping at any given time? a. 5 cases b. 9 cases c. 10 cases d. cannot be determined Environmental and Energy Management 11. Which of the following is an aspect of the triple bottom line that can be enhanced by environmentally sound policies in a hotel? a. social b. political c. human resource d. guest service 14. Which of the following is a way that an executive housekeeper can make his or her purchasing process "green"? a. Use local suppliers. b. Purchase large quantities of products far in advance. c. Look for linens with low thread counts. d. Purchase as many disposable products as possible. 15. How would a property be most likely to use effluent water as part of a water conservation program? a. to boil foods in the kitchen

Housekeeping Management Quiz

b. c. d. for washing towels in the on-premises laundry as a way to avoid installing low-flow toilets to irrigate the property's lawn and landscaping

16. Which of the following is an example of linen reuse program? a. a hotel that donates its used linens to charity b. a property that invites guests to use their linens for more than one day when they stay over c. a food service outlet in a hotel that sends used napkins to housekeeping for use as cleaning rags d. a hotel that invites guests to bring their own towels from home 18. The three R's of waste reduction are reduce, recycle, and: a. remember. b. recalculate. c. reuse. d. register. 19. Use of a HEPA filter would most likely be part of what type of environmental management program in a hotel? a. energy efficiency b. water conservation c. waste management d. indoor air quality Choose any position from housekeeping department (1 position only). Go through the Pre-Recruitment Process for the position chosen by the group (must be different each group). Just skip the second & the third step. Each group will be given 30 minutes to discuss. Each group have to present their points to their classmates.