Hotel Public Area cleaning is different from cleaning of guest rooms. It is not possible to take public areas, out of service‟ for the purposes of cleaning so all cleaning activities are scheduled for low traffic hours and for might.
Usually, the day shift concentrates on keeping the public areas neat and tidy in appearance. More thorough cleaning of the public areas is carried out during the early hours/morning shift which starts at 4 AM or 5 AM, depending on the category of the hotel and areas to be cleaned, or during the night/graveyard shift.
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Hotel Public Area Cleaning
Hotel Public Area cleaning is generally scheduled on a basis of labour analysis, i.e. it shows an average for how many labour hours it takes to complete a task. The design of the public area is also taken into consideration in calculating the number o labour hours. A team concept with each worker assigned to a particular task may work best in a large open area i.e. one worker dust, the other empties wastebaskets and a team of two workers vacuum clean the area.
A lobby may be divided into bays/sections defined by architectural elements such as sunken or raised floor areas, partial walls or columns – is more easily cleaned by one person assigned to all duties within each bay. Restrooms should be permanently assigned to one attendant who will become an expert in using the special chemicals and equipment required for restrooms.
All supplies and equipment should be suitable and where necessary specialized for the job. A specially designed cart stocked with all necessary supplies i.e. vacuum cleaners, dusting materials, microfibre floor mops etc. is standard equipment for the lobby staff.
- Cleaning of Lobby
- Cleaning of Public Rest Rooms
- Cleaning of Elevators and Escalators
- Cleaning of Restaurants
- Cleaning of Banquet Halls
- Cleaning of Front Desk
- Cleaning of Summing Pool and Spas
- Cleaning of Health Club
Cleaning of Lobby
The lobby is an area provided as a common meeting point near the front office. Its appearance can play a vital role in creating a favourable impression on a new arrival or a conference planner/tour operator who is deciding on a venue for the conference or a group of tourists.
The lobby area is subject to the most wear and tear. Lobby floor/floor covering must withstand a steady stream of foot walls and the effects of snow, rain, sand or mud. Suitcases and luggage trolleys roll through all day. Guest and visitors leave behind a rumpled newspaper, paper waste and empty cups of tea and coffee.
It is the duty of the Housekeeping staff deputed for cleaning of the lobby to carry out all cleaning activities without disturbing the guest or visitors.
Day Cleaning: The following activities are carried out during the day cleaning operations:
- Cleaning/emptying of ash trays, sand urns and waste paper baskets. Removing of all debris from a lightweight basket.
- Cleaning of the entrance throughout the day. Mopping, dusting of the entrance should be carried out at regular internal throughout the day.
- Straightening of furniture moved by guest as and when required.
- Placing of flower arrangement at appropriate locations at the front office/lobby.
- Emptying of waste paper basket as and when required during the day.
Overnight Cleaning: Most of the cleaning activities in the lobby are carried out during the night time when traffic is low. The might cleaning activities include the following:
- Dusting, vacuuming and cleaning of elevators/escalators after taking them out of service.
- Vacuuming cleaning of all carpeted areas.
- Spot cleaning of carpets/shampooing of carpet.
- Dusting of all furniture and front office area.
- Emptying and cleaning of all ash trays
- Polishing of all guest elevators, cleaning of elevators floors and walls.
- Cleaning of all glass surfaces/mirrors.
- Removing of fine marks and spots from walls and woodwork.
- Polishing of metal handles, rails and door knobs.
Cleaning of Public Rest Rooms
Public restrooms must be cleaned and sanitized throughout the day depending on the traffic flow in the hotel. A gentleman cloak room attendant and ladies powder room attendant are deputed to take care of the public restroom throughout the day. The following activities are carried out at the public restrooms:
- Cleaning of the rest rooms after placing a sign, tape or plastic come at the entrance notifying that cleaning activity is under progress.
- Replenishment of public rest room supplies i.e. toilet paper, tissue paper, soaps towels etc.
- Emptying of hampers placed for collecting dirty towels.
- Emptying and cleaning of ash trays at regular intervals during the day.
- Mopping the floor dry at regular intervals, washing of tiles at regular intervals.
- Damp dusting the door and floor fixtures, toilet roll holder.
- Cleaning the mirror/wiping dry of mirror at regular intervals.
- Cleaning and wipe drying of toilet seat, outside and inside.
To carry out the above activities there is a cupboard close to the locker room. It is stocked with all materials required for cleaning and maintaining the public restroom i.e. towels, paper towels, tissue paper, soap liquid soap, toilet paper, disinfectant, moisturizer etc.
Cleaning of Elevators and Escalators
Like the lobby, these are in regular use throughout the day and are cleaned thoroughly each night. Elevator floor carpets are usually the most difficult areas to clean/keep clean. They are subjected to constant wear and tear. Most hotels are now using carpets which can be removed and washed or cleaned thoroughly rather than carpet cleaning in situ.
The following cleaning activities are carried out in the elevator during the day and night. While the cleaning activity is being carried out the elevator is taken out of service and a notice/signboard is placed conveniently displaying the some:
- Damp dusting of steel doors inside out using a mild detergent. Wiping dry with a clean duster.
- Vacuum cleaning of carpet.
- Damp dusting of ceiling and light fixtures.
- Cleaning of air conditioning/ventilation duct.
- Removing of finger marks from walls using a damp cloth.
- Suction cleaning of door tracks using a crevice cleaner attachment.
- Regular serving of elevator as recommended by the manufacture.
Escalators: Escalators are cleaned during the night/graveyard shift:
- Tar and gum are removed from step off plates.
- Metal grids are cleaned regularly.
- Railings must be dusted at regular internals.
- Glass shields are polished once a week.
Cleaning of Restaurants
In many hotels, the housekeeping department is responsible for maintaining the front of the restaurant area while the F & B dept. (Kitchen stewarding dept) clean the kitchen. In some hotels, cleaning of restaurant and kitchen may be let out to contact services.
The bulk of the cleaning activities are carried out after the closure of the restaurant. The housekeeping staff assigned to cleaning duty use a housekeeping trolley stocked with a trash bags, vacuum cleaners, cleaning chemicals dusters, mops, microfibre cloth, etc. It is better to employ two members of the Housekeeping staff to carry out the work efficiently.
- The following cleaning activities are carried out by the house keeping staff during the might:
- Moving out of chairs, tables, removing of all crumbs on the seat and back of the chair using a whisk broom or a vacuum cleaner.
- Vacuum cleaning of carpets.
- Spot cleaning of any stains using suitable detergents.
- Damp dusting of all furniture, polishing of wooden furniture on regular intervals.
- Wiping of all glass surfaces with a proprietary glass cleaner.
- Wiping of window ledges, tables legs, metal floor vents with a damp cloth.
- Wiping of side boards, hostess desk, cashier‟s desk with a microfibre, cloth.
- Wiping and disinfecting of telephones.
- Dusting and polishing of metal chairs, removing of finger marks from chrome fittings.
- Polishing of foot rail and metal train on the bar.
- Washing/of bar stools, bar front with appropriate cleaner cleaning.
- Spot cleaning of carpets.
- Cleaning the front of restaurant counter including counter tops.
- Cleaning the foot plate which opens the restaurant door.
- Cleaning and checking of lighting fixtures.
- Cleaning and wiping dry of dance floors.
During the day the cleaning activity is limited to the cleaning of tables, replacing of table cloths and napkins, resetting of tables for the next service, picking up of debris using a small broom and dustpan. During the day the primary assignment of the day shift is to keep the floors of the restaurant as neat as possible.
The first priority is dealing with spills. Liquid spills of oil-based foods such as gravies, sauces, salad dressings; wine spills especially of red wine and coffee must be attended to immediately. The stains should be diluted immediately before they set in. The stain removal kit should be stored in a cupboard near the restaurant.
Spot treatment of carpets immediately after the stain occurs helps to prevent a permanent stain on the carpet. Any spilled bite of food should be swept up before they are stepped on and ground into the carpet pile. This makes vacuuming and shampooing easier and more effective. Complete stain removal is carried out during the lean period is night or graveyard shift.
Cleaning of Banquet Halls
Meeting and functions held at Banquet Halls are meticulously planned. Each event is planned weeks/months in advance. Each department of the Hotel has prior information as to when the function will begin, the number of people attending the function and when it will conclude.
This information is vital for the Housekeeping department as cleaning after a large function requires a large number of cleaning staff who has to be scheduled for the cleaning activity. In many hotels, banquet cleaning is a joint effort between the F & B department and the housekeeping department.
Banquet house attendants are responsible for sweeping large pieces of debris and breaking down of banquet wet up while the House Keeping department is responsible for cleaning the shell of the room is walls, windows, floor and ceiling. The following cleaning activities are carried out during the cleaning of the Banquet Room:
- Sweeping and mopping the floor.
- Vacuum cleaning of carpet, removal of stains from carpet. Carpet shampooing at regular intervals.
- Damp dusting of all furniture.
- Replacement of all dirty linen including table cloth, chair covers etc.
- Wiping of all light fixtures with a microfibre cloth. Checking of all light fittings to see that they are functioning properly.
- Periodic cleaning of walls. Spot removal of stains where necessary.
- Arrangement of flowers at appropriate places.
- Removal of all glasses and bottles. Replenishment of mineral water bottle and glasses.
Cleaning of Front Desk
The front office is one of the most important departments in a hotel. It is the hub of activity since all check-in guest is registered at the front desk. All the time there are guests or visitors soliciting information or making a request.
All cleaning activities have to be carried out during non-peak hours so as not to interrupt the flow of business. Front Office is part of the lobby and the cleaning activity is generally the same as for the lobby. The following activities are carried out during the cleaning of the front office:
- Cleaning/emptying of ash trays, sand urns and waste paper baskets.
- Cleaning of all entrance, mopping, dusting the entrance at regular intervals.
- Straightening of furniture moved by guest as and when required.
- Placing of appropriate flower arrangement at the front desk.
- Damp dusting of counter. Care should be taken to remove any scuff marks from guest shoes.
- Damp dusting of telephones, computers with a disinfectant solution.
- Damp wiping of furniture. Suction cleaning of all upholstered furniture.
- Vacuum cleaning of carpeted area, Shampooing of carpet at regular intervals.
- Removing of fine marks and spots from walls and wood work.
- Polishing of all metal finishes, rails and door knobs.
Cleaning of Summing Pool and Spas
Cleaning of summing pool and spas on a regular basis is very important from the point of hygiene. If they are not cleaned on a regular basis these areas are liable to become carriers of water borne infections swimming pool water gets contaminated with sweat, saliva, wine, airborne dust particles etc. Ideally swimming pool water should be as pure as drinking water.
The daily cleaning of the swimming pool is usually done by the Housekeeping department while any repair or maintenance is carried out by the engineering and maintenance department.
The two important points taken under consideration in the cleaning of swimming pools is water clarity and water chemistry control. Water clarity results from effective filtration to remove all particulate matter. When filters are not effective they may need cleaning by a backwash cycle, in which a reversed water flow is created through the valves. This force the discharge of debris into the sewer system.
Water chemistry control implies the chemical safety of harmful bacteria in the pool water. This is done by using ozone for the treatment of pool water. Ozone is injected into the water supply at the entry point. It also makes the pool water clear, sparkling and attractive and does not affect the neutral ph of water. Ozone is odourless and possesses no health hazard to swimmers.
Following activity are performed during cleaning:
- Skimmingthesurfaceofpoolwaterforfloatingdebriswiththe help of a skimmer net. Cleaning of any glass surface. Damp dusting of metal furniture.
- Sweeping and mopping of floor surfaces. Spot cleaning of walls. Wiping of all light fixtures, checking to ensure all lights are functioning. Removal of all soiled linen, its replacement with fresh stock. Replenishment of all guest toiletries.
Cleaning of Health Club
All-star category hotels have a Health Club for their guest to exercise and work out with exercise equipment. The equipment found in the health club includes treadmill, bench presses, rowing machines, cycling machines. The floor in the health club should not be slippery and should not be polished to a very high shine to prevent anti-skid properties. The walls usually have mirrored panels on all sides. The health club should also have shower cubicles and locker facilities. The cleanliness of the health club is usually the responsibility of the House Keeping Department. The following activities are carried out doing the cleaning of Health Club:
- Damp dusting of all exercise equipment.
- Damp dusting of all furniture, polishing of furniture on a periodic basis.
- Cleaning, wiping of all windows, glass surfaces, mirrors.
- Spot removal of any stains.
- Wiping of all light fixtures, checking to ensure all lights are functioning.
- Sweeping and mopping of floor using a disinfectant.
- Removal of all soiled linen, its replacement with fresh stock.