21 DIFFERENT RECORDS & REGISTERS MAINTAINED IN THE HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT

PL. Sridevi Sivakami

epgp books

 

 

 

 

1. Introduction

 

Success is not created by one person but by a team that comes together as one.

 

This statement becomes true if various departments are seen as organs of the body then the housekeeping department can be seen as a mesh of the nerves that keeps coordination with various organs to achieve its objectives. No work in the industry is complete without coordination and documentation. The housekeeping department is not an exception either. It needs to coordinate within the department itself and with the other departments in the hotel business for while working on daily basis and completing documentation formalities while working.

 

2. Objectives

 

After reading this module you will be able to understand the

 

Ø  importance and role of the housekeeping control desk

Ø   list the forms, formats and register maintained at the housekeeping control desk

 

3.   Importance of Housekeeping Control Desk

 

The housekeeping control desk is the hub or a single point of contact for all hotel housekeeping staff. At the control desk, the new information is fetched and it is distributed among the relevant staff. As the housekeeping work is mainly oriented towards providing the best service to the guests, this department needs to work towards sharing information without any communication gaps. This desk also needs to ensure that the coordination among the housekeeping staff and with all other departments of the hotel goes smooth .One of the main functions of te control desk is ensuring smooth coordination between Housekeeping and other departments such as maintenance , front office ,food and beverage , security ,sales and marketing and so on.

 

Apart from maintaining the intra and inter departmental channels of communication, it is the control desk which receives messages from in house guests over the telephone .In most hotels , this is the area where housekeeping employees report for work ,collect the respective keys, signs for them ;peruse the log book : get their briefing and at the end of their shifts, report back to. The main physical feature visible in most control desk areas is the key cabinet on the wall, where all floor master keys and store keys are kept under lock and key themselves .Another common features here is a large notice board displaying notices , general information ,duty rosters ,cleaning schedules ,VIPS list of work crews and groups and so on . One of the most important roles of the control desk is maintaining various important records, registers, forms and formats so that they are available and easily accessible foe references to managers and supervisors .Needless to say , the control desk in manned round the clock for efficiency and smooth communication in the department at all times.

 

4.     Functions of Housekeeping Control Desk

 

Ø  Collecting all requests made by the guests.

Ø  Briefing the staff about the routine or special event preparation before the staff turns up their sleeves.

Ø  Assigning routine duties / changed duties to the housekeeping staff.

Ø    Collecting work reports from staff.

Ø    Collecting check-out room number and updating it to the floor supervisor.

Ø    Handling  key  cabinet  that  contains  the  keys  of  all  floors’  master  keys  and housekeeping store keys.

Ø  Maintaining various records of forms and registers.

 

5.   Main Functions of Housekeeping Control Desk

 

a.  The control desk receives messages from in-house guests over the telephone and transmits it to the floor staff.

b. In most hotels, this is the area where housekeeping employees report for work; collect the respective keys, sign for them; read the log book; get their briefing and at the end of their shift, report back.

c. Maintaining various important records, registers forms and formats so that they are available and easily accessible for reference to managers and supervisors.

d. The communication role commences with a large display board for housekeeping staff. The housekeeping desk displays the following information

 

Ø  Room members of groups in the house.

Ø  Room members of crew in the house.

Ø  Night cleaning schedule.

Ø  VIPs in the house.

Ø  Weekly cleaning schedules.

Ø  Daily roster of supervision and staff.

 

6.   Registers maintained in the housekeeping department are:

 

a.       Log Book

b.       Maintenance Work Order Form

c.       Housekeeping Call Register

d.      Guest Loan Item Register

e.       Lost And Found Register

f.        Occupancy Report

g.       Room Status Report/Housekeepers Report

h.       Room Transfer Report/Room Change Report

i.         Special Cleaning Register

j.         VIP In-House List

k.       VIP Arrival List

l.         Key Control Register

 

7.    Official Records and Personal Papers: In general official records and provides guidance for identifying records. Executive Branch officials and personnel are responsible for safeguarding official records of the Federal Government. These records are of critical importance in ensuring the Government continues to function properly. Unlike many private corporations, the Federal Government has explicit rules and regulations for information management. Official Records are defined by The Federal Records Act of 1950 defines records as “. . . all books, papers, maps, photographs, machine readable materials or other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, made or received by an agency of the United States Government under Federal law or in connection with the transaction of public business and preserved or appropriate for preservation by that agency or its legitimate successor as evidence of the organization, functions, policies, decisions, procedures, operations, or other activities of the Government or because of the informational value of data contained in them

 

7.1.Records Retention.: Records, including information stored in any automated storage media, include those documents which the Agency creates or receives, and covers records which have permanent or temporary files. The destruction or other disposition of Government records is prohibited by law

 

Ø  Permanent Records.

Ø   Temporary Records.

Ø  Non record Material.

 

7.2. Personal Papers

 

Personal papers are documentary materials or non records belonging to an individual that are not used to conduct agency business. They are related solely to an individual’s own affairs or used exclusively for that individual’s convenience. They must be clearly designated as such and kept separate from the agency’s records.

 

7.3.Electronic Records Management: Records management requirements for the creation, maintenance, use, and disposition of electronic records are the same as for records in paper form; however, additional measures to ensure creation and maintenance of accurate and complete documentation are needed for records created or received through office automation applications. The standard for trustworthiness of computer records includes:

 

Ø  Records that were created in the course of normal business;

Ø   Equipment was operational the day the computer record was prepared;

Ø  The integrity of data entry is enhanced by having procedures for verifying data entry;

Ø  Methods used to prevent data loss are provided;

Ø   The reliability of computer programs;

Ø   The time, method, and completeness of preparing printouts

 

8.Important Registers Maintained by Housekeeping: The registers are used to record important information. They are very helpful when the shifts and staff on duty changes, and while working too. The registers serve the purpose of keeping clear and timely records thereby fostering good communication. Here are some important registers maintained by housekeeping control desk:

 

a. Departure Register :It is kept to track the changes of guest room status such as V, VD, or VC after the guest has checked out. It also tracks the amount of Mini bar beverages consumption in the Guest rooms.

 

b.Expected Arrival Register :It keeps the track of pre-registered guests and their profile as Regular/VIP/Other, Marital status, expected check-in time, and any special request to be fulfilled.

 

c. Room Status Register :This register records the list of all rooms and their current status such as V, VC, OOO, OOS, etc.

 

d. Guest Call Register :It records the instructions or notes relevant to the guest rooms and adjacent area. It is very useful in keeping the track of activities and their durations.

 

e. Guest Loan Register :This register is maintained to record the delivery and recovery of the loan items given to the guests. The general format of this register is as follows:

 

f.  Missing Article Register: If any article owned by the hotel (other than consumable items) is found missing in a Check-Out room, then it is recorded in this Register.

 

g.Guest Supplies Control Register: This register is maintained to record guest supplies. The general format is as shown below:

  1. Log Book: Another important register kept for reference at the housekeeping control desk is the log book. The log book is used to record all message that staff from an earliar shift want to convay to the employees on the next shift. All supervisors reporting for work should peruse the log book for the any important message left for them by the staff of the previous shift. The format of the log book is

 

n.SOPs Book :A book containing all the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to be followed in the housekeeping department usually available for reference at the control desk.

 

o.Departure Register: This register is maintained at the control desk to record departures from guestroom. The format of a sheet in the departure register is shown

  p. Guest Messages Register: The housekeeping control desk also acts as a point of cotact for in -house guests who require any housekeeping- related service. The housekeeping control desk is responsible for taking these guest message and passing them on to the concerned staff. The message could be about the provision of certain guest loan items or a request for a second service, and so on. A format of a sheet in the guest register is given in exibit14.5.

 

q. Carpet Shampoo Register: This records the carpet- cleaning schedule that has been followed, recording each such project as it is completed. The format is given in exibit14.6.

 

r. Babysitting Register: Babysitting is provided as a service by most hotels’ housekeeping department for guests who have small children. The guests requiring the service contact the housekeeping control desk and the desk attendant enters the request in the babysitting register.

 

9. Checklists and Reports in Housekeeping :

Here are some of the various housekeeping checklists and reports automatically generated by the hotel management software.

 

9.1.Checklists

 

Usually checklists help to ensure all work is done appropriately without anything left to be completed. There are various checklists referred and filled by the housekeeping staff. Some important ones are:

  •  Guest Supplies Checklist
  •  Guest Room Cleaning Checklist
  •  Guest Bathroom Cleaning Checklist
  •  Beach Area Cleaning Checklist
  •  Swimming Pool Cleaning Checklist
  •  Garden Keeping Checklist
  •  Housekeeping Standard Checklist for SPA
  •  Housekeeping Standard Checklist for Fitness Centre

9.2. Reports

 

The reports are useful to study past records of occupancy, cleaning schedules, and predict the future status of the rooms. Let us see the reports generated for housekeeping department:

 

9.2.1.Housekeeping Report

 

This can be generated at the end of each shift to report the housekeeping status of each room.

Here is a sample/ model how a house keeping report will look

 

9.2.2. Housekeeping Occupancy Report

 

This report shows the list of guests who have checked-in the hotel with details such as number of adults and children, number of nights, and housekeeping status.

 

This report is generated for the occupied rooms, rooms expected to be occupied, checked-out rooms, and vacant or blocked rooms.

 

This report is generated for scheduling rooms for cleaning.

10. Conclusion:

 

Housekeeping control desk is the nerve centre of all communication from and to the housekeeping department .The housekeeping control desk sometimes called as housekeeping central because of its key role in the house keeping department .The documentation and files maintained at the control desk are discussed in detail, with the sample formats for a clear understanding of the kind of work the control desk is responsible for

 

you can view video on DIFFERENT RECORDS & REGISTERS MAINTAINED IN THE HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT

Web link

  • https://www.commerce.wa.gov.au/books/inc-guide…western…/types-records- be-kept
  • www.hospitality-school.com/housekeeping-control-desk
  • ttps://www.tutorialspoint.com › … › Coordination and Work Records
  • www.bngkolkata.com/web/files-and-register/
  • epgp.inflibnet.ac.in/epgpdata/uploads/epgp_content/…/15245662076.11Q1.pdf
  • v2020eresource.org/content/files/housekeeping_management