Housekeepers have one of the most important roles in a hotel---making sure the establishment looks clean and is sanitary. One of the main duties of a housekeeper is making sure each hotel room has enough hygiene products, stationery, clean drink ware and refreshments in the mini-bar. Because the amount of details may seem overwhelming, hotels often provide housekeepers with checklists to use.
Housekeepers should take all the linens off a bed and lay a clean under-pad on the mattress before placing clean fitted sheets over the mattress and pad. They should then place clean sheets and blankets over the bed, centering them, and tucking them in using "hospital corners." Housekeepers should also replace pillowcases and cover the bed with a clean bedspread.
Housekeepers ought to dust on a daily basis and pay special attention to furniture, woodwork, picture frames, door and windowsills, all shelves, heating and air conditioning units and vents, lamps and electronic equipment. In addition, housekeepers must remove any cobwebs and should dust any vents in the walls and ceilings.
While vacuuming the carpet in a room, housekeepers should remove any spots found on the carpet. They should also use the vacuum attachment to remove dust from vents and corners of the room.
Bathrooms must always be clean and sanitary so mold and bacteria do not accumulate. When cleaning a bathroom, a housekeeper should always clean and disinfect the toilet, toilet seat, bathtubs and sinks. After cleaning bathtubs, shower curtains and sinks, they are to be dried with a clean towel. In addition, housekeepers are to clean the mirrors and the top of the vanity, polish all the chrome, replace used soaps and shampoos, refill the toilet paper and place new towels in the bathroom.
Refreshing the furnishings is about paying attention to small details. Housekeepers must remove all the garbage from wastebaskets and place new liners in the receptacles. In addition, they should replace burned out light bulbs, place clean cups and ice buckets in the appropriate location, restock stationery items and make sure the curtains hang correctly and do not need mending. Housekeepers are also responsible for making sure the smoke detectors work, the batteries in the remote control are in good working condition and the mini-bar is stocked.
Since housekeepers are in hotel rooms more often than maintenance crew, they are responsible for letting maintenance workers know when an item in the room needs attentions. Examples of such things include paint touch-ups, thermostats that do not work, ripped window screens, loose tiles in the bathroom and so on.
