Introduction

The rooms’ division areas all must function together in order for the hotel to maximize efficiency. Each area needs the other in a symbiotic relationship that mirrors a successful sports team: each position working together for the benefit of the entire team.

 

The engineering and maintenance division

It is a division that maintains the hotel property structure and grounds as well as electrical and mechanical equipment. Every piece of equipment, fixtures and furniture in the guestrooms, hallways, linen and laundry rooms, public areas and employee locker rooms must be in perfect working order at all times.

The number of items that may be in need of repairs in a single guestroom can be substantial: beds, chairs, desks, TVs, radios, lights, doors, toilets, faucets, walls, heating and air conditioning.

It is therefore imperative that good communication exists between the two departments at all times. For instance, if a guestroom lock is broken, maintenance must be notified, the room must be put out of order, the work performed, the area cleaned, and the room put back in vacant-ready status.

 

The human resource division

This division administrates employees’ paper work, monitors attendance, maintains good relations with labor unions, and ensures employees’ safety and working conditions. When considering personnel staffing communication between this division and housekeeping is vital. For instance housekeeping may be in need of an employee. The human resource fills employee requisition, advertises for the position, pre-screens candidates, and conducts the first interview and checks references. It sends the final candidates to housekeeping for a second interview and hiring selection.

The human resource is involved in orientation of new housekeeping employees that is the company’s philosophies, compensation package, pay schedule, and rules and regulations are explained in detail to the new workers. The human resource also ensures that the new employees fills out all necessary forms related to legal residency, income tax and personal information.

Good communication with human resource will result in hiring right employees to fill housekeeping vacancies.

 

Food and beverage division

There must be good cooperation regarding the pick up of room service material from guest room areas. Housekeeping must see to it that hallways are free from trays, carts placed by guests and section housekeepers therefore calls to room service must be regularly placed to remind this department to clear all areas.

The laundry room must provide the food and beverage department with clean napery on a daily basis. The laundry manager must request that all the soiled linen be delivered to the laundry room on time, properly sorted out and free from food scraps and table debris.

Furnishing clean uniforms to cooks, waiters and bartenders is usually the responsibility of the housekeeping department and therefore effort must be made to establish good relationship between the departments.

 

The sales and marketing division

This department sells the product and services offered by a hotel property. The housekeeping must provide the front desk with a listing of rooms that are ready for occupancy so guests can check in. Poor communication between these departments leads to delays in guest check in. And if this happens, the property’s reputation will suffer. The front desk provides housekeeping with night clerk’s room report. It informs housekeeping early in the morning of the status of all guestrooms in the property as it appears on the front desk records.

Cleanliness is one of the most important reasons for guests to choose a particular lodging property whose responsibility falls to housekeeping department. Therefore there must be good communication between sales and housekeeping if customer satisfaction is to be achieved. For instance if sales and marketing has guaranteed late check out, to a large group of guests attending a convention without notifying housekeeping, some of the rooms might not be cleaned in time to be available for a tour group to check in that same evening.

Communication between sales and marketing and housekeeping is also necessary when specific rooms and suites must be available for inspection to meeting planners who are considering the property for a possible convention. If the rooms in question have not been impeccably cleaned, the company executive might well take their business elsewhere.

Accounting division

A hotel’ overall financial health rests solely on its ability to make and collect money. A hotel must be able to track or account for this revenue. Accounting is the process of tracking and analyzing cost and revenue information. A hotel should therefore CPAs staff. Good accounting practices serve to lessen any potential tax and audit implications.

In hotel property the purchasing agent often reports to the controller. The executive housekeeper is communicating with the accounting office when placing orders for equipment and supplies for the department. Housekeeping must provide accounting with all information regarding wages and salaries for instance pay increases, hours worked per week, overtime, bonuses awarded to workers and so on.

The executive housekeeper must also provide accounting with monthly inventory information in order to ascertain expenses of controllable goods and percentage costs. In addition to ensuring a permanent and accurate record of all financial transactions accounting should furnish housekeeping manager or agent with a concise statement of the financial position with regard to the property in his charge, including cost of management and repairs. It enables control to be kept over expenditure and financial success or failure of policy to be measured.

 

The security division

Security refers to the prevention of fire and other emergencies. There are so many security hazards on the ‘floors’ that liaison is particularly important and the housekeeper cooperates by endeavoring to see that her staff are aware of them and reporting anything of a suspicious nature.

The hotel should ensure that there is good communication between the two departments. It should have one or more security officers on their staff to prevent crime and to protect guests and their staff from such dangers as theft, bomb threat, fire or assault. The security division therefore patrols the property, monitors the supervision equipment and ensures safety and security of guests, visitors and employees.

 

References

Ismail A. Front Office Operations and Management, 2001

Rawles R.J Housing Management, 1959

Branson, J.C. Hotel, Hostel and Hospital Housekeeping, 1998

Matt A. Casado Housekeeping Management