HOUSEKEEPING CONTROL DESK is the central hub of the housekeeping department. This is the area in the department where all information is received and from where messages are conveyed to housekeeping and other staff present in various parts of the hotel. Thus, the control desk may be considered the nerve center for to and fro communication in the housekeeping department.
The location of control desk is normally adjacent to the Executive Housekeeper’s office. This desk is manned 24- hours otherwise the lifeline of housekeeping communication would stop.
Role of housekeeping control desk; is to facilitate communication to various parts of hotel. This role can be exercised in many forms which are as follows;
1. Receiving guest requests
2. Forwarding the guest request to the concern person/section/department
3. Receiving maintenance regarding guest rooms, guest floors, public area and other sections related to the housekeeping department
4. Updating mini-bar consumption by the guest in rooms on daily basis or providing the consumption to the front desk before guest check-out from the property
5. Updating guest room status (DL, DND, OCC, DIDP, VDI, VCL, OOO, OS, SOP, WC, NL, EHK, HWC etc.)
6. Providing room alerts regarding departing guests, expected arrivals to the room attendants and supervisors
7. Issuing and managing the guest room keys used by the attendants, supervisors and manager.
8. Maintaining different register used by the daily functioning of the department
9. Maintaining and managing the lost found records and articles respectively.
10. Updating notice board on daily/shift basis
11. Coordination with other departments
FILES AND REGISTER MAINTAINED AT CONTROL DESK
Register maintained at housekeeping control desk are:
1. Key control register: Most important register maintained by the control desk, as all the keys handed over to the different housekeeping staff, as per shift has to sign for the particular key.
KEY CONTROL SHEET Date…………….. | |||||||
Key code/ floor/section | Name of the staff | Signature | Time out | Issued by | Time in | Signature | Received by |
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2. Log book: It is used to record all the important information regarding guest/guest room and messages (inter or intra)to be forwarded to the next shift.
HOUSEKEEPING LOG BOOK SHIFT………………….. TIME ……………………….. DATE…………………………. | ||
AREA | MESSAGE | REMARK |
…………………………………… | …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… …………………………………… | ……………………………….….. |
……………………………….. NAME & SIGNATURE | ||
3. Maintenance register: it is used to record all the maintenance work required in guest rooms and public area.
MAINTENANCE REGISTER DATE………….. | ||||
AREA | MAITENANCE | GIVEN BY | FORWARDED TO | REMARK |
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4. Guest message/call/request register: To note down any relevant messages pertaining to guest rooms and adjoining areas. E.g. Maintenances, requests, special instructions etc. It helps in keeping a track of the completion of the activity and the duration of the same.
GUEST CALL REGISTER | |||||||
DATE | AREA | MESSAGE | GIVEN BY | TIME IN | GIVEN TO | TIME OUT | ACTION TAKEN |
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5. Babysitting register: babysitting is provided as service by most of the hotel
BABY SITTING REGISTER | ||||||
Date & time | Room no./ area | Name of the guest/age &number of children | Time of baby sitting | Name & signature of housekeeping staff delegated | Remarks | |
FROM | TO | |||||
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6. Lost and found register: Any personal item/article of guest found anywhere in the Hotel premises is recorded in this Register with the relevant details.
LOST &FOUND REGISTER | ||||||
S. no. | Date | Description of item | Name of the guest | Room no./location | Reported by | Deposited by |
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7. Missing and breakage register: the entire item missing or broken form/in the guest room should be recorded properly.
MISSING/BROKEN ITEM | ||||||
S. no. | Date | Description of item | Room no./ location | Name of guest | Reported by | Signature |
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Files maintained at housekeeping control desk are:
8. Room checklist file-all the room inspection checklist, filled by supervisor, kept at the control desk
9. Carpet shampoo file: in this r all carpet cleaning record file;
10. Room status file:this file contain previous housekeeping room status reports, which kept in order for reference
11. Duty roaster file: all the records related to the duty roster of different shifts are filed in a register for the future reference.
12. Inventory Checklist File: This file records all the inventory checklists (filled/ compiled by the GRA, supervisors)
Gate Pass: An employee is required to possess a gate pass, issued and authorized by the head of the department whenever a hotel property is removed from the hotel. It may be for repair or cleaning purpose or discarded item or auctioned article or gift given by the guest to any employee.
In these entire cases gate pass is issued by the head of the department an approved by the security head. And when an employee receives any gift from the guest, he/ she have to request for acknowledgement letter, stating that the specified item is the gift from the guest (NOTE: most of the properties discourage employees to accept any gift from the guest).
Gate passes are made either for returnable articles or no-returnable articles. For returnable articles triplicate copy of the same is generated-one copy retain within the department, second for the employee record and third copy goes to security department. Security department has to track the return of the articles and maintain record for the same.
For non-returnable articles two copies are prepared, one goes to the security department and second goes to the employee for ant future reference.
SAMPLE GATE PASS
ABC HOTEL FOR RETURNABLE/ NON-RETURNABLE MATERIAL | |||
S. NO. | ITEM DESCRIPTION | QUANTITY | REMARK |
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AUTHORIZED BY ……………………………….
TIME OUT………….. TIME IN……………….. DATE………………..
NAME AND SIGNATURE OF SECURITY OFFICER…………………………………………………..
NAME AND SIGNATURE OF THE EMPLOYEE……………………………………………………….. | |||
LOST AND FOUND PROCEDURE Housekeeping comes into contact with many items left behind by guests, thus lost and found department of many hotels is maintained in housekeeping.
The lost and found items are classified as follows:
1. Valuable items.
2. Non valuable items.
3. Perishable items.
Procedure:
1. Any guest item found in the hotel premises must be reported and handed in to the Housekeeping control desk immediately, for proper recording and storing process. Only Housekeeping Department is authorized to keep Hotel Lost and Found articles. However, certain items found after events in banquets i.e. banners or furniture may be kept in Banquet Store due to their large size under the condition that Housekeeping is informed, so that these items can be included in Lost & found Records.
2. Executive Housekeeper or his/her assistant are responsible to notify the guest who left their items through their corporate e-mail addresses (whenever possible) with copy to Director of Sales.
3. Length of keeping-time for Lost & Found items are as follows:
· 24 hours for perishable items such as food, fresh drinks, flowers etc.
· 3 months for non-valuable items such as soft drinks, less expensive clothes, toiletries etc.
· 6months-1 year for valuable items such as documents, cash, jewelry, credit card, ATM card, ID card, passport, cellular phone, camera, unopened wine or champagne etc.
4. Dirty clothes are laundered before kept in Hotel Lost and Found Store. After laundering, clothes are wrapped in non-transparent bag or envelope.
5. Record is maintained on a two-copy booklet. Lost & Found Slip contents are: finding date, finding location, guest’s name (if any), article description, and finder’s name & signature.
6. Lost & Found data are recorded in Lost & Found Logbook and in the computerized guest profiles.
7. Lost & Found reports are sent by email to Duty Manager with copy to Assistant Manager and Telephone Operator on daily basis
8. Guest can collect lost and found article by them/ with help of authorized representative/ item can also be sent to their address, after verifying the details of guest and item
9. Any Lost & Found articles not claimed after the designated keeping-time will be released to the finders/ given for charity, as per the organizations policies.
KEY CONTROL
Key-cards: A key is a device which is used to open a lock. A system of key control is essential to the security of a lodging property. All keys whether metal or electronic should be adequately controlled.
Metal room keys are being replaced by electronically coded key-cards. A keycard, while not actually considered a key, is a plastic card which stores a digital signature that is used with electronic access control locks. It is normally a flat, rectangular piece of plastic. The keycard is used by presenting it to a card reader; wiping or inserting of magnetic stripe cards, merely being brought into close proximity to a sensor.
Key-cards have the capability of being randomly coded at the point of registration, which re-emphasizes the guest perception of room security. Key-card control is computer-based and therefore creates the necessary audit trail automatically. Master keys can be changed in a matter of a few keystrokes and lost key-cards are easily removed from the system. One of the best security features is the ability of the computer to investigate each door lock and get a printout of everyone who accessed a particular room.
Types of keys: Most lodging properties use at least three types of keys:
1. Emergency keys,
2. Master keys,
3. Guestroom keys.
1. Emergency Key: The emergency key opens all guestroom doors, even when they are double locked. It can be used, for example, to enter a room when the guest needs help and is unable to reach or open the door. The emergency key should be highly protected and its use strictly controlled and recorded; it should never leave the property. One procedure for emergency keys is to have them locked in a safe or safe deposit box and signed out by the individual needing one. The log should be dated and signed by the individual taking the key.
2. Master Key: A master key is designed to open a set of several locks. A master key opens all guestrooms that are not double locked. Depending upon the need, the master key may be further established as
1. Housekeeping attendant master key
2. Floor supervisor master key
3. Grand master key
1. Grand Master Key: Key operates all locks in the Hotel except double lock doors
2. Floor Supervisors Master Key: Key operates all sections on the floor/ floors supervised by the particular supervisor.
3. Housekeeping Staff Master Key: Key operates all rooms serviced by particular room maid or housekeeping staff.
Principles in key control system
· Keys should be stored separately and securely.
· No unauthorized person should be allowed access to any key, either to examine or handle it
· Keep a log book of all keys signed out.
· Establish protocol for distribution of keys.
· Use keys that do not identify the property’s name, address, logo, or room number.
· Perform an annual key audit
· When keys are lost or stolen; locks program is to be changed/renew
· Place well-secured key-box/board at the housekeeping control desk
Key-Belts: It is a belt/ tag, which ties/hang around waist or attached in trouser loop. It is used by the housekeeping attendants and supervisor so that key will remain attached to the body during their shift. It is used to manage the safety of the key card used by the employees.
Changing door locks
Whenever a new key or a new lock is required, a request needs to be raised by the Front office/ Housekeeping department (Approved by General Manager).
The engineering department will check for swapping/ re-keying from one door to another (if possible) and then, the key card/door lock needs to be decoded as per the new placement.
For new keycards (after the approval), the Engineering department will contact the supplier/ service provider company. For new key cards, coding will be done by the check-in computer (front office) and read by the lock on the hotel room door. All the record needs to be frequently supervised by the head of the maintenance department/ housekeeping department/ General Manager. And, log for the same changes has to be updated.
HANDLING TELEPHONE CALL
While taking a message the following procedure has to be followed:
1. The telephone must be answered within the first three rings
2. Greet the guest/ caller warmly.
3. Announce the department and introduce yourself, whenever possible/ required.
4. Announce the guest's name (as it appears on the telephone screen) and ask “How May I Assist You”?
5. Listen to the Guest requests/messages properly and note them in the guest ‘Guest Call Register’
6. Repeat and confirm the message/request with the guest/caller.
7. Thank the guest for calling the housekeeping department.
8. Pass the message immediately to the concerned person or department.
9. When taking a message, the staff member must ensure the accuracy and adequacy of the information and pass it on to the appropriate person.
10. Follow up with the concerned person and take updates on the task until it is completed.
Reference VIDEO:
for control Desk
