A must-read for housekeeping managers: How to do a good job in housekeeping
Guest room is the main product of the hotel, and it is a place for guests to stay, rest, meet guests and negotiate business. The housekeeping department is the department that provides accommodation services to guests, and it is also an important business department of the hotel.
It can be said that “the guest room is the heart of the hotel”. If a hotel’s heart stops beating, everything that operates at that hotel, including marketing, front office, finance, engineering, etc., is meaningless. Therefore, the position of the housekeeping department in the hotel is very important. To be a competent housekeeping manager, one must fully understand the role of the housekeeping department, formulate work objectives and plans accordingly, and effectively perform the duties of a manager.
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housekeeping status
As a qualified housekeeping manager, understanding the role and status of the housekeeping department is the basic requirement for doing well in the job. The more thorough the degree of understanding, the more the level of vision can be improved, and the more professional the degree of professionalization will be.
- Room revenue is the main source of hotel operating income
Room revenue generally accounts for more than 50% of the hotel’s operating income, and some hotels even exceed 70%.
For general hotels, room revenue is the main part of the hotel’s operating income, and hotels with catering and other income are only supporting roles, their GOP rate (total gross profit margin) will be relatively high.
The revenue from rooms is also the main part of the hotel’s gross profit, and its operating cost is much lower than that of the catering business. Therefore, at present, most hotel investors will pay great attention to the investment ratio of room funds, the quantity of room configuration and the quality of room decoration.
- Room service is the main indicator to measure the quality of hotel service
Every guest who stays in a hotel, in addition to the first impression left by the lobby and front hall, can gain the trust and satisfaction of the guests mainly depends on the situation of the guest room. The quality of room service directly affects the satisfaction of guests to the hotel.
The level of room service can be said to reflect the service level of the entire hotel, and it is also the main indicator to measure the quality of a hotel’s management and service.
- Rooms are the benchmark for “price” and “value”
When guests choose to stay in a hotel, the first concern is the price, whether the price is affordable, whether it is “value for money”, and then other related issues.
Whether the guest’s evaluation of the room price is “value for money”, the room is a benchmark for “price” and “value”. The reason why the hotel’s “returning guests” return and the reason why the hotel’s “loyal guests” are loyal is still the main determinant of the condition, price and service of the room.
- Guest rooms are the bridge connecting market sales and customer consumption
Only when guests stay in the room, the hotel’s equipment and facilities can function. The business activities of the hotel marketing department, including advertising, reservation marketing, visiting customers and signing contracts, are carried out with room-centric products.
For example, if many hotels want to do a good job in meeting products, without exception, they will use the original room agreement customers as their main business resources to develop.
Therefore, the linkage between guest rooms and customers is very obvious, and customers and agreement units have played a role in promoting the hotel’s vivid image of “living advertisements”.
- The service and management procedures of the housekeeping department are the “elevation” of the hotel
Among the various work regulations of the hotel, the work regulations of the housekeeping department must be the most orderly, the most detailed, the most rigorous, and the most quantifiable indicators.
The management and service procedures of the housekeeping department, including the work flow, sanitation inspection system, security measures, staff training procedures, etc., the level of standardization, institutionalization and proceduralization of its operation reflects the scientificity and quality of a hotel’s service and management procedures. Normative “level”.
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Housekeeping Manager Responsibilities
After understanding the importance of the housekeeping department, the responsibilities of the housekeeping manager are also clear. Zhang Zhongdong, a special writer of Ctrip Hotel University, sorts it out into the following 12 points:
- Formulate specifications
Formulate various business objectives and business management systems of the housekeeping department, organize and promote the implementation of its various plans, organize the preparation and review of the work procedures and work evaluation methods of the housekeeping department.
- Supervision and regulations
Responsible for supervising and guiding the staff of the housekeeping department to strictly abide by the rules and regulations of the hotel and the department, and implement services in strict accordance with the job process and service standards. Training of floor supervisors in the housekeeping department.
- Check the workplace
Supervise, guide, and inspect the daily work of laundry, warehouse, and public areas.
- Pay attention to special guests
Responsible for checking VIP rooms, welcoming VIP guests, visiting sick guests and long-term guests, and accepting complaints from guests, trying to eliminate possible adverse effects and establishing a good image of the hotel among guests.
- Understand customer demands
Collect the opinions and requirements of the guests in order to find problems in time, improve the work continuously, and improve the service level. Regularly make appointments with important guests who have a long-term relationship with the hotel, listen to their opinions humbly, and continuously improve and perfect the work.
- Do a good job in external communication
Responsible for coordinating the work of the housekeeping department, communicating and cooperating with all relevant departments, and paying attention to strengthening the contact and communication with the hotel industry counterparts.
- Urge guest room safety
Responsible for supervising and inspecting the safety and fire prevention work in the management area of the housekeeping department, strengthening relevant training, ensuring that every employee in the department is familiar with fire emergency measures, actively cooperating with the security department to keep all fire passages unobstructed and fire-fighting equipment intact, ensuring guests Safety of life and guest property.
- Understand the use of consumables
Supervise, inspect and control the consumption of various items and supplies in the housekeeping department and the use of various equipment and facilities.
- Develop a maintenance plan
Assist the engineering department to do a good job in the maintenance work plan of various equipment and facilities in the guest room department, and actively participate in the renovation and expansion of the guest room. Check fire-fighting equipment, do a good job of safety and fire prevention and theft, and assist in the investigation of criminals.
- Do a good job in employee management
Plan and implement the staffing situation of the housekeeping department, and have the right to suggest the promotion of staff according to the assessment results and business ability, and be responsible for the employment, training and work evaluation of the personnel above the head of the department.
At the same time, we care about the improvement of the thinking, life and business water quality of the employees in the department, and continuously improve the quality of the employees in the department.
- Report the situation of the department
Preside over the daily business of the department and the regular meetings of managers and foreman, participate in the weekly regular meeting of department managers hosted by the general manager, report the relevant work goals, progress and problems of the department, and help enhance the influence of the department.
- Control department spending
Formulate the operating budget of the housekeeping department, control various expenditures, and review the filling, analysis and filing of various work reports and important archives. Responsible for the management of housekeeping, equipment depreciation, maintenance, cost control (budget), safety, etc.
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Competencies Needed by Housekeeping Managers
- Practical operation ability
①Familiar with the work flow
As a housekeeping manager, you must know the floor, PA group, laundry room work in charge, the work arrangement of each branch and the work operation process and procedures of each employee, and must guide and correct the employees in the work. The ability to make mistakes in work requires the ability to personally operate and demonstrate.
②Excellent job professional skills
Each branch and position of the housekeeping department has some particularly important operational skills. For example, when the PA group is maintaining the marble floor crystal surface in the maintenance hall, how to make the marble bright as a mirror surface, it is necessary to pay attention to the correct ratio of crystal powder and the grinding time during the process of making the crystal surface, especially in the process of making the crystal surface. During the grinding process, it is necessary to ensure that the marble surface is wet to prevent dry grinding and cause serious wear on the marble surface.
Therefore, as the manager of the housekeeping department, you should pay special attention to the training essentials and details when formulating the training plan for each branch of the department. The training process combines theory with practice, more on-site training, and revision of our operating procedures and precautions in actual operation.
③ Staff management and training capabilities
Each branch of the housekeeping department must have certain multi-skilled employees. For example, the post of laundry room clerk requires the ability to know, be familiar with, and understand the fabric characteristics of various clothes, and be familiar with dry cleaning and water washing techniques.
Therefore, as the manager of the housekeeping department, you need to pay special attention to supervise the laundry room foreman in the daily management work, and provide guidance and training on the correct operation and maintenance of the laundry equipment, as well as the correct use of the detergent, so that the laundry room staff can be proficient in a variety of washing. technology, become a multi-skilled employee in washing, dry cleaning technology.
- Communication skills
① Ability to communicate across departments
As a housekeeping manager, you must be good at uniting all forces that cannot be united, and you must be good at learning to communicate effectively with those who disagree with you. In this way, you can truly be a professional master who has the ability to deal with anyone, and can effectively improve the work efficiency of your department.
②Training the service awareness of front-line employees
In the daily work of the housekeeping department, front-line employees are the main body who directly face the guests and serve the guests.
Therefore, as a department manager, you should inform the employees of the department that the products provided by the hotel to the guests are services, and the level of service quality directly represents the image of the hotel. How to be detailed in the service process? It is not simply what the guest asks, you provide the guest, but before the guest asks, we can think what the guest thinks, provide what the guest wants, and give the guest a surprise, so that they can be in the thousands of people. With you in mind, with your hotel in mind.
- Macro management ability
①The ability to grasp the overall situation and recognize the relationship between the part and the whole
A star hotel is composed of multiple departments. Each department is inseparable from the support and cooperation of other departments. For example, guests staying in guest rooms need the food and beverage department to provide breakfast service and in-room meal delivery service. Therefore, there is an inevitable relationship and cooperation between departments.
What we enjoy in these processes is a process with high-quality service and a smooth process. Therefore, understanding the department and the relationship between this department and other departments of the hotel is a must-have ability for department managers.
②Think about the problem from the perspective of the hotel as a whole
We must build on our strengths and make up for our weaknesses. For example, our hotel is a garden-style resort and leisure hotel by the Taihu Lake, with a unique geographical location, which is our advantage, so our “weakness” must be shortened.
To this end, it is summed up as “five tops”: first, standardization in management; second, hardware level; third, environmental characteristics; fourth, service level; fifth, marketing and marketing.