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Unit of Competency: CLEAN AND PREPARE ROOMS FOR INCOMING

GUEST

INFORMATION SHEET NO. 2.2.1

Identify Rooms Requiring Services

Learning objectives:
After reading the information sheet, you should be able to identify:

Introduction
In order to service rooms in a timely fashion and to control labor costs,
every property will allocate rooms to individual staff for room preparation
duties. You may be regularly involved in preparing rooms on the same floor or
floors, or you may be required to prepare any rooms in the establishment as
occupancy levels dictate and as required on the basis of things such as staff
absenteeism.
The primary role of a room attendant is to clean rooms. Most room
attendants are required to clean approximately 12-20 rooms a day depending
on:
 Organization standards
 Types of rooms
 Status of room
 Other considerations

Services delivered by a room attendant

Room attendants are located are located in any tourism or hospitality
business that provides accommodation to their guests. Hotel and resort guests
have their expectations of how a room should be cleaned and presented prior
their arrival. Every trace of past guests must be removed, down to single
strands of hair and finger prints.

Role of room attendant

 Clean guest rooms
 Facilitates the comfort and satisfaction of guests ensuring that their
“home away from home” is clean, safe and presented in an appealing
manner
 Must also be friendly. Informative and discreet, and handle any requests
or problems relating to their guest room.

Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.

Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by:
HOUSEKEEPING NCII Page 1 of 13
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No.
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest
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Their department
Room attendant is in Housekeeping Department. The Housekeeping
Department is the spine of the hotel, employing the most of the people and is
responsible for;
 The cleanliness of the hotel
 Lost property
 Laundry and dry cleaning

In many hotels and resorts, the Housekeeping Department is part of the Room
Division. This division is responsible for all activities relating to accommodation
including;
 Reservations – taking individual and group booking
 Switchboards – handling incoming and outgoing calls, transfers and
inquiries
 Reception – responsible for checking in and out of guests, payments
 Concierge and bell service – handling guest luggage, inquiries and valet
service

Their supervisor
A room attendant will report to Senior Room Attendant or a
Housekeeping Supervisor. This person is responsible for the allocation of rooms
to room attendant and to check rooms upon completion of cleaning by room
attendant
The head of Housekeeping is called the Executive Housekeeper. This
person will report to the Room Division Manager.

Area of Responsibility
There are number of areas of responsibility room attendants must
manage as a part of their role. They are responsible for:
 Cleanliness and overall appearance of guest rooms
 Security of guest rooms and privacy of guests

Guest Relations
 Warmly greet guests and to be friendly and professional
 Work independently from pother colleagues and must handle any
problems that may arise
 Handle issues about the room or its furnishings or fixtures
Furniture –movable objects like sofa, table and chairs, tv..etc
Fixtures – objects/appliances attached to the wall like airconditioning
unit

Administration & Communication

 Ensure they understand what rooms they are to clean and in which
order. Administration and communication is vital to ensure rooms are
returned “clean” ready for new guests
Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.
Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by:
HOUSEKEEPING NCII Page 2 of 13
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No.
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest
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Daily activities
Following is a list of activities a room attendant may be required to
complete on a daily basis
A. Prepare for work
 Collect master keys
 Collect daily room allocation sheets
 Stock housekeeping trolleys
 Stock and store supplies
 Determine the order of cleaning of rooms
 Identify any special requests

B. Enter room
 Knock on door in compliance with policy
 Open door
 Place trolley in door path

C. Clean room
 Open curtain and windows for ventilation
 Remove used guest amenities and rubbish
 Clean shower, tubs, sinks and bathroom items
 Change linen and make beds
 Check for damaged linen items
 Inspect rooms for safety hazards and for the operating condition of
equipment and report defects to the maintenance department
 Dust and clean room decorations, appliances and structural surfaces
(wall, fixtures, window sills and vents)
 Dust, brush, polish vacuuming furniture
 Replenish guest amenities and supplies
 Check. Record and replenish mini bar
 Prepare room for guest arrival and respond to special guest request
 Deliver and retrieve items on loan to guests
 Perform rotation cleaning duties
 Vacuum and sweep carpets and other floor surfaces
 Mop floor surfaces as needed
 Record room status on work assignment sheets
 Phone supervisor or reception updating status of room
 Close door
Fittings – objects attached on the wall like electrical wiring, lavatory
fiitings, plumbing materials

Maintain storage areas and trolleys

 Return trolleys to storage room
 Remove used and soiled linen from housekeeping cart
Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.
Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by:
HOUSEKEEPING NCII Page 3 of 13
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No.
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest
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 Dispatch soiled linen to the laundry

 Replenish linen and guest amenities to normal stock levels on trolleys
 Handle lost property
 Clean cleaning equipment including mops and vacuum cleaners
 Remove rubbish
 Clean storage room floor

Close shift
 Return work allocation sheets
 Return keys

Personal characteristics required of a room attendant

A. Knowledge
 Of working condition of all items
 Of hotel and room facilities
 Of the cleaning equipment and chemicals
 Of correct procedures of cleaning
 Of safety and security
B. Skills
 To be able to perform cleaning duties in thorough and efficient
manner
 To perform manual handling safely and efficiently
C. Attributes
 Hardworking
 Physically strong
 Ability to follow instructions
 Good time management
 Attention to detail
 Professional attitude
 Ability to work independently
 Previous customer service experience is an advance
 Good communication skills
 Good organizational skills

Grooming and personal presentation standards

A. Clothing
 Clean at the start of each day
 Replaced if soiled to a unsuitable standard
 Worn in the correct manner
 Shoes to be suitable for the role
B. Name badge
 Must wear their name badge at all times
 Normally worn on chest on the left

Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.

Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by:
HOUSEKEEPING NCII Page 4 of 13
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No.
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest
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C. Hair
 Short and neat cut for men
 Tight or pulled back hair for women
 Natural hair color
 Men to have well trimmed facial hair or clean shaven
D. Nails
 Short and well trimmed
 No bright nail polish
 Clean on a regular basis
E. Jewellery
 One dress ring or wedding ring
 Suitable watches
 On other jewellery such as bracelets, earing, nose rings or
necklaces
F. Make-up
 No excessive make-up
 No visible tattoos

G. Odor
 No excessive perfumes
 Should use deodorant on a regular basis

H. Personal hygiene
 Bath or shower before work
 Teeth must be brushed
 Hands and face must be washed and cleaned

I. Personal belongings
 No personal bags on work areas
 No mobile phones

Enterprise policies and procedures for the provision of housekeeping

services
Policies and procedures are very important and must be adhered to. They
help to ensure health, safety, security and privacy of the organization, its staff
and guests, including their assets and belongings.
Policy – rule or code of conduct
Procedure – step by step instructions

Examples of housekeeping policies

 Zero tolerance on theft
 Guest room doors must be open while cleaning is in progress
 Protective clothes to be worn when cleaning
 Guest information is confidential

Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.

Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by:
HOUSEKEEPING NCII Page 5 of 13
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No.
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest
 6

Examples of housekeeping procedures

 Accessing a room
 Making a bed
 Cleaning a window
 Cleaning a bathroom
 Mopping a floor
 Handling lost property

Who creates policies and procedures?

Policies and procedures may be created by:
 Housekeeping department –for specific use in that location
 Head office – for use throughout the chain of properties
 Manufacturer – to identify the correct methods for use and maintenance
of products

Types of policies and procedures

Policies and procedures in housekeeping normally relates to the correct
handling, use, cleaning, storage and use of protective items relating to:
 Equipment – cleaning equipment
 Chemicals – cleaning products
 Furnishings – beddings, tables, couches, kitchens, tv, carpets
 Fittings – lights, electrical appliances, air conditioners
 Clothing – uniforms and protective clothing

The role of communication in the provision of housekeeping services

Most staff will never enter a guest room except for a room attendant. It is
important that room attendant s are the eyes and ears for the hotel, either to
update the status of the rooms or co-ordinate any appropriate services to be
performed, including maintenance, in a timely manner. It is also their duties to
report any illegal activities and incidents that maybe incurred inside the room.

Positions room attendants communicate with

 Receptionists – to identify vacant rooms and clean rooms, especial
requirements and requests of incoming guests, and coordinates internet
access
 House attendants- to replenish items like cleaning products,
equipment, linen, room supplies, removal of dirty items and collection
and return of laundry and dry-cleaning
 Maintenance – to fix, replace items, faulty furnishings and others that
required fixing.
 Mini bar – for replenishing items in the mini bar
 Room service – for collection of used room service trays
 Security –if there are issues which they cannot resolved

Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.

Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by:
HOUSEKEEPING NCII Page 6 of 13
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No.
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest
 7

At the beginning of each shift, most housekeeping departments will have a

short staff briefing session with the Head Housekeeper to verify the staff who
have attended for work, discuss updates, address room servicing problems,
address guest complaints, housekeeping standards, upcoming trainings and
room allocations for each staff.

Types of rooms

 Single room – a room with

single bed, good for one person

 Doubles – a room occupied

by two persons with one
double bed

 Twins – room with two or more

single beds, good for 2
persons

Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.

Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by:
HOUSEKEEPING NCII Page 7 of 13
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No.
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest
 8

 Suites – room with a parlor or living room connected to one or more full
sized bedrooms, equipment with luxury amenities, and sold a higher
price than standard rooms. It contain:

 Bathroom
 Bedroom
 Lounge/living area
 Kitchen
 Balcony area
 Lobby or vestibule

Status of room
 Check out room – also known as “departing room”, takes longer to clean
since a full service is required. Approximately 30 minutes is allocated.
 Occupied room – also known as “stay room” where guest will be staying
for another night. It won’t take long to clean, approximately 20 minutes
is allocated.
 Vacant room – rooms that are not being used and ready for sale by
reception. It still require some attention like inspection, general dusting,
flushing of toilet, checking if the refrigerator is working properly and
ensuring that the room has not been occupied by a guest for whom no
information exists.

Identifying the rooms to be serviced

Which room are cleaned first?

 General rule: departing room are cleaned before stay room to allow
the check-out rooms to be placed back on the board by Reception for sale
and to enable guests with booking to be shown directly to their rooms
rather than have them wait while the room is readied.
 You can be contacted during your shift and asked to clean a specific
room immediately as the guest is waiting at Reception for their room.
 You can be contacted during your shift and asked to attend a certain
room because the initial room preparation was not up to standard or
because there has been an accident in the room that requires immediate
attention
 You must always respect “Do not Disturb”(DND) signs, but if the sign has been
displayed on the room throughout your entire shift, you must notify the
Head Housekeeper to check if the guest is not ill.

Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.

Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by:
HOUSEKEEPING NCII Page 8 of 13
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No.
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest
 9

 “Please Make Up My Room” signs can provide some guidance as to what rooms
must be cleaned. It is a standard procedure to clean these rooms before
trying to clean stay rooms that do not display this sign.
 You should monitor use of rooms that are shown on your list as “Vacant”. If
you see guests using these rooms, then the relevant internal procedure
must be followed. These may include notifying the Floor Housekeeper or
Head Housekeeper, notifying Reception or the Security.
 It is not your job to challenge guests who are staying these rooms. Not only is
this rude as the person could be a legitimate walk-in guest who has just
been checked-in and roomed, but it may jeopardize your personal safety
 You may be required to check guest number in occupied rooms – for example,
you may be required to advise Reception or Housekeeping if a room
designated as “S” (single appears to be occupied by two or more people)

CODES DESCRIPTION

OCC Occupied Occupied by paying guest

VR Vacant Ready Ready for occupancy
VD Vacant Dirty still being made up; on change
OOO Out-Of-Order room is under renovation or not fit for
occupancy
BLO Blocked Reserved for a guest who is expected to arrive
the day
NS No Show room is reserved but not used or reservation has
been cancelled
SO Slept Out guest is assigned a room but did not sleep on
his bed
VC Vacant Clean Room is vacant and clean; ready for new
occupants
DL Double Lock room is double lock
DND Do not Disturb room is on a do not disturb sign
MUR Make Up Room guest is requesting to make up his room

INFORMATION SHEET 2.2.2

Access and Enter Guest Room Appropriately

Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.

Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by:
HOUSEKEEPING NCII Page 9 of 13
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No.
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest
 10

Learning objective
After reading this information sheet, you should be able to demonstrate
proper procedure in accessing and entering rooms.

Introduction
All guest rooms must only be accessed after following the house
procedures that apply. Theses procedures relate to service delivery and
security. They also function to help avoid embarrassment to both guests and
staff.

Keys and cards

Keys or cards (using magnetic-strip or RFID technology) are commonly
used to access guest rooms. It can be produced to open one or more doors.
 Guest key – provide access to guest’s room and some restricted area
 Floor master key –opens every door on a particular floor or corridor
 Department-specific master – opens every door in the housekeeping area
 Venue master – opens every door in the property

Standard procedure to access rooms

 Knock on door quietly – use knuckles not keys or any other items as it
could mark the door and call out ”Housekeeping!”
 Count to five
 If no answer, knock again, and then use your key to enter
 Take one step into the room and announce out “Good
Morning/afternoon, housekeeping to service your room”
 If the guest is still in bed, undressed or distressed, quickly and quietly
leave the room
 If the guest is awake and up, say “Housekeeping, would you like your
room serviced?”
 Comply with their request – you may be invited to service the room, just
do a quick tidy, replace the towels, soap and leave, or asked to come
back at a later time
 Once you have gained access to the room, the door should be left wide
open – to provi9de notice to a returning guest that someone is in their
room
 The trolley should be parked across the entrance, or near the entrance to
the room (according to house policy). This allows the Floor Housekeeper
or other management staff to identify where room attendants are and
makes it easier to obtain items from the trolley
 It is a standard procedure for trolleys to be left outside the room being
cleaned, and never to be taken inside a guest room
 Where the trolley is allowed to be taken inside the room, a large sign
should be placed outside the door, reading ”Cleaning in Progress”. This
prevents the guest from returning to their room and being startled to find

Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.

Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by: Page 10 of
HOUSEKEEPING NCII
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No. 13
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest
 11

an employee in there and again to enable easy location of staff

management.

Daily Productivity Report for Room Attendant

Room Room Time Time ACCOMPLISHMENT

No. Status In Out Bed Bathroom Replenish Floor Other task
Made-Up Made-Up Linen/ Cleaned/ accomplished
Supplies vacuumed
123 OD 8:05 8:25 √ √ √
124 VR 8:28 8:30 √
130 VD 8:40 9:10 √ √ √ √ √

Room Status Code:

OD Occupied Dirty VD Vacant Dirty

OC Occupied Clean VC Vacant Clean
VR Vacant Ready DND Do not Disturb
OOO Out of Order BLO Blocked
DL Double Lock SO Slept Out

Prepared by: Verified/Noted by:

_______________________ ______________________
Room Attendant Supervisor

Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.

Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by: Page 11 of
HOUSEKEEPING NCII
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No. 13
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest
 12

Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.

Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by: Page 12 of
HOUSEKEEPING NCII
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No. 13
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest
 13

Competency-based Learning Date Developed: Document No.

Material for April 10, 2017 Issued by: Page 13 of
HOUSEKEEPING NCII
Module Title: Developed by: Revision No. 13
Clean and Prepare Rooms for BUENA D. JARO
Incoming Guest