Front Desk and Housekeeping
The rooms department of a lodging establish- ment is directly and solely involved with all aspects of the sale, occupancy, and servicing of guest rooms. The department manager is usu- ally called the resident manager, although the title is somewhat misleading in its implication that this manager lives on the premises; most do not. Synonymous titles include rooms manager, rooms director, director of rooms operations, and, simply, hotel manager (not to be confused with the general manager).
The rooms department is usually a combi- nation of two principal operating depart- ments: the front office and the housekeeping department. The manager in charge of the front office oversees several subdepartments:
reservations, front desk, bell staff, PBX, trans- portation, possibly concierge, and any other form of guest reception function.
The manager in charge of housekeeping functions is most commonly known as the ex- ecutive housekeeper. Depending on the size of the hotel, subdepartments within the housekeeping sphere of operations (e.g., in- house laundry, recreation department), and, in some cases, corporate policy, the person in charge of housekeeping may have any one of
a number of titles, all considered synonymous with executive housekeeper. A few such titles are:
• Housekeeper
• Housekeeping manager
• Director of services
• Director of internal services
• Director of housekeeping operations For the purposes of this article we refer to this manager as the executive housekeeper.
There was a time when most executive housekeepers worked under the direction of the front office manager. They were, in fact, not executives but people who had worked their way up from a maid’s position, with little or no managerial training. Today, however, the size, cost, and complexity of housekeeping operations have put the executive house- keeper on an equal footing with other depart- ment managers. As a result, executive housekeepers are now seen as sharing equally in responsibility under the resident manager for the operation of rooms departments.
The hotel industry is a highly labor- intensive hospitality business. More total employees may be involved in food and bev- erage (F&B) operations than in any other de- partment. Because of the diversity of F&B operations (restaurants, lounges, banquet services, and kitchen), there are plenty of managers to control the total operation. In housekeeping, however, a single department head (the executive housekeeper) is responsi- ble for the largest staff, operating cost center, and physical area of the property.
Today’s modern executive housekeeper must be a trained manager skilled in plan- ning, organizing, staffing, directing, and con- trolling operations. He or she must also be skilled in employee and human relations,
have a superior understanding of cost con- trols, and have a strong technical background in purchasing, decorating, and renovation.
Last but not least, the executive housekeeper must be an able delegator. Without strong ex- pertise and the inclination to pass tasks to others, convey the necessary power to act, and, finally, hold others accountable for their actions, the executive housekeeper must per- sonally perform all working functions. This writer has never yet found the person who could make 3,000 beds in one day.
ORGANIZATION
H
ousekeeping organizations are as varied as types and sizes of hotel. Except for bed-and- breakfast operations, the trend today is away from the small, 80-room mom-and-pop hotel.It is therefore appropriate to discuss hotels of a size that might be considered a model ap- propriate to the greatest variation—say, 200 or more rooms. Most hotels would have iden- tical functions, but size might dictate that one person perform several functions in a small hotel. Obviously, the larger the facility, the greater the need for a large staff with enough individuals to fill each unique function. Con- sider then, the following hotel:
• A modern suburban corporate transient hotel
• 350 rooms
• Two restaurants (one 24-hour and one dinner house)
• Banquet area with 15,000 square feet of meeting space
• Room service
• Kitchen to support all food services
• Main lounge with nightly entertainment
• Banquet beverage service and service bar outlets for both restaurants and room service
• Outdoor pool and winter indoor pool with health club facilities, sauna, and steam room
• Game room (video games, pool, and table tennis)
• In-house laundry for rooms department and banquet linen
• Two company-owned gift shops.
• Front desk fully computerized with a property management system
Hotel Organization
Prior to investigating the housekeeping de- partment organization, it is appropriate to vi- sualize an organization for the entire hotel.
The organization diagram in Figure 5.1 could easily be that of the model hotel just described.
Note the position of the executive house- keeper within the organization. Executive housekeepers may occupy greater or lesser positions in any organization. Some executive housekeepers report directly to the general manager; others even hold corporate execu- tive positions. Others report to the chief of maintenance. In this case, however, the execu- tive housekeeper is a middle manager—a full department head, equal to the front office manager and other principal department heads within the staff. Two junior managers report to the executive housekeeper, the housekeeping manager, and the laundry man- ager. Both the executive housekeeper and the front office manager report to the resident manager, who is a member of the property ex- ecutive committee. This committee is the top
policymaking body for the property under the general manager.
The Housekeeping Organization
Figure 5.2 describes a typical housekeeping department organization, suitable for the model hotel.
Note the utilization of the two principal assistants. The housekeeping manager is the first assistant to the executive housekeeper and is in direct charge of all guest rooms in
the hotel. This emphasizes the delegation that has taken place in that the housekeeping manager is not just an assistant to the execu- tive housekeeper but a junior manager with a functional responsibility. This part of the or- ganization can be managed in several ways.
Each individual room attendant can be sched- uled independently, or attendants may be grouped into schedule teams, with the same hours on and the same time off. In this illus- tration, team staffing and scheduling are pre- sented because this approach is more efficient for daily scheduling.
The laundry is another specific function
General Manager
Executive Secretary
Director sales and marketing
Chief engineer
Resident
manager Controller Personnel
director
Food and beverages director
Front office manager
Executive Housekeeper
Catering director
Executive chef
Restaurant manager
Beverage manager
Reservations manager
Front desk manager
Guest services
PBX manager
Housekeeping manager
Laundry manager
Sous
chef Steward Banquet
chef
Administrative assistant HOTEL ORGANIZATION
(THROUGH DEPARTMENT HEAD)
Top management—
executive committee.
Hotel policymaking body.
(Middle management)
(Bells) (Junior management)
Figure 5.1 Hotel Organization (Through Department Head)
to which a junior manager is assigned. In this case, the required technical expertise is more specific. It includes knowledge of commercial laundry machinery and equipment, knowl- edge of piecework production, the utilization of chemicals, and their effects on an expensive inventory of linen.
Both junior managers and the executive housekeeper have line supervisors who re- port directly to them. (Below the manage- ment level, we recognize an hourly structure for employees who are paid by the hour at a given wage rate as opposed to being on salary.) Each supervisor has one or more Figure 5.2 Housekeeping Department Organization
Executive Housekeeper
Room attendant
Room attendant
Room attendant
Room attendant
Room attendant Housekeeping
manager
Laundry manager
Floor supervisor
Floor supervisor
Floor supervisor
Floor supervisor
Night supervisor
Linen room supervisor
Senior housekeeping aide
Recreation supervisor
Night housekeeper
Night housekeeping
aide
Linen room attendant
Lobby housekeeper
Lobby housekeeping
aide HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT
ORGANIZATION
(Indefinite size and scope to be determined at a later time.)