The attributes of housekeeping personnel are crucial for maintaining high standards of cleanliness, organization, and guest satisfaction in various establishments such as hotels, hospitals, and residential complexes. Here are some key needs for these attributes:

GROOMING:
Most essential especially for floor and public area supervisors, room attendants, and housemen who are in guest contact. Such staff would be normally uniformed, hence each staff member must ensure that his/her uniform is crisp, clean, and well-pressed. Lady staff must wear light make-up and restrict their jewellery to the minimum such as wedding bands and ear tops. A light cologne is preferred to a heavy perfume. Hair must be tied in a bun or won short. Most hotels have maid’s caps for chambermaids. It keeps the hair in place as well as ensures hygiene. Shoes must be low-heeled and sturdy as housekeeping staff work long hours on their feet.

PERSONAL HYGIENE:
A guest would be quite revolted if he saw that the people who service his bed and room are dirty and unhygienic. Housekeeping staff must have clean hair, manicured fingernails, clean hands, and feet, and must take steps to ensure that no body or mouth odor is present. Staff must report to the doctor in case of infections cuts or bruises as this affects personal and guest safety.

HONESTY:
This is very essential attribute for housekeeping staff, especially Room Attendants who have access to all guest rooms. Guest belongings, sometimes invaluable are often found lying around in the room. The temptations to thieve are great it is only the personal quality of discipline and integrity that checks these temptations. “Lost and Found” again gives housekeeping staff a chance to smuggle out the guest belongings that are lost inadvertently. Honesty ensures that the procedure laid down for such cases is strict.

COURTESY:
Room attendants, and floor and public area supervisors are always in contact with guests. It is often that a guest requests some housekeeping service or the other. It is essential that while talking to guests in such moments, it should be done with utmost politeness and charm. Guests will certainly remember pleasant staff as this adds to his or her positive experience.

TACT AND DIPLOMACY:
Often guests may request comforts and services that are outside the management policy. It takes a lot of tact and diplomacy to decline without hurting a guest’s feelings. Occasionally, room attendants are confronted with embarrassing situations both for the guests and the staff members. It is tact alone that can diffuse such a situation.

EYE FOR DETAIL:
It is one of the greatest qualities that housekeeping staff must have. It is with this quality that the finer aspects of housekeeping are taken care of and it is what determines a good service from an average one. This quality enables housekeeping staff to take into consideration the minutest details.

PHYSICAL FITNESS:
Most work in housekeeping is manual. A housekeeping member when on duty is on his/her feet almost continuously. It would require a sturdy physical constitution to cope with the demands of housekeeping work. This quality is essential and must be stressed at the time of recruitment of housekeeping staff. This can be ascertained through the personal medical history of candidates as well as by medical examination by the company doctor. This quality may also be observed during the probationary period of the employee.

CO-OPERATIVENESS:
Housekeeping staff need to be cooperative to achieve efficiency in the hotel. For example, if they are not willing to clear rooms for sale in the stipulated time, the front office will be unable to sell a room to earn more revenue or may be faced with an irate customer who has a confirmed reservation but is waiting to be allotted a room because it is being attended to by the housekeeping department.

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HOTEL HOUSEKEEPING

Hotel Housekeeping: Operations and Management
Paperback
July 2015 Edition
Author:
G. Raghubalan & S. Raghubalan

Hotel, Hostel and Hospital
Housekeeping
Paperback
January 2019 Edition
Author:
Joan C. Branson, Margaret Lennox

Content of notes

Attributes

ATTRIBUTES OF HOUSEKEEPING PERSONNEL