BÁO CÁO TIỂU LUẬN THI KẾT THÚC HỌC PHẦN TÊN HỌC PHẦN NGHIỆP VỤ PHÒNG KHÁCH SẠN ĐỀ TÀI DEVELOPING SERVICE QUALITY IN 5 STARS HOTEL HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT UNDER INFLUENCE OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC

BỘ TÀI CHÍNH
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC TÀI CHÍNH – MARKETING
KHOA DU LỊCH

BÁO CÁO TIỂU LUẬN
THI KẾT THÚC HỌC PHẦN
TÊN HỌC PHẦN: NGHIỆP VỤ PHÒNG KHÁCH SẠN
LỚP HỌC PHẦN: 2021702053103
SINH VIÊN THỰC HIỆN:
1.Võ Thị Yến Như

1921007184

2.Đặng Thi Thùy Duyên

1921007078

3.Trần Ngọc Anh

1921007058

4.Ngô Thị Tuyết Anh

1921007054

5.Nguyễn Cao Gia Hân

1921007090

LỚP: CLC_19DKS03
BẬC: ĐẠI HỌC

CHUYÊN NGÀNH: QUẢN TRỊ KHÁCH SẠN

TÊN ĐỀ TÀI
DEVELOPING SERVICE QUALITY IN 5 STARS HOTEL HOUSEKEEPING
DEPARTMENT UNDER INFLUENCE OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC
GIẢNG VIÊN MÔN HỌC: Mr.s Ngô Thanh Phương Quỳnh

HỌC KỲ 2 - NĂM HỌC 2020 – 2021


BỘ TÀI CHÍNH
TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC TÀI CHÍNH – MARKETING
KHOA DU LỊCH

BÁO CÁO TIỂU LUẬN
THI KẾT THÚC HỌC PHẦN

TÊN ĐỀ TÀI
DEVELOPING SERVICE QUALITY IN 5 STARS HOTEL HOUSEKEEPING
DEPARTMENT UNDER INFLUENCE OF COVID-19 PANDEMIC

GIẢNG VIÊN MƠN HỌC: Mr.s Ngơ Thanh Phương Quỳnh


COMMITMENT
I am Vo Thi Yen Nhu I commit that numbers and information in The Course
Report are collected from the experiences, book and internet by my teamwork while
all of the theories are referred to specialist scientific journals (citing and referencing as
required); The content discussed in the report is a summary of individual experiences

and research NOT PLAGIARIZING from other materials and sources.
I hereby confirm that all information provided on this application form is
correct and I agree to take full responsibilities to the laws and university for the
information provided.
GROUP LEADER
Vo Thi Yen Nhu


PHIẾU NHẬN XÉT VÀ CHẤM ĐIỂM CỦA GIẢNG VIÊN
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Điểm chấm: ……………
Điểm làm tròn: ................... Điểmchữ:..………...........................................………

Ngày ....... tháng ........ năm...........
GIẢNG VIÊN XÁC NHẬN


GROUP MEMBER MARKING TABLE
Group name: Pineapple
Class: CLC_19DKS03
Date: 09/07
MEMBERS
No.

Role

WORK DUTY

TOTAL
EVALUATION
(2)

SIGNATURE

Full name

Student ID

Võ Thị Yến Như

1921007184

Leader

Introduction, Chapter 1, Word

25%

Như

Trần Ngọc Anh

1921007058

Member

Chapter 2 – 2.1, Word

25%

Ngọc Anh

Ngô Thị Tuyết Anh

1921007054

Member

Chapter 2 – 2.2

25%

Tuyết Anh

Đặng Thị Thùy
Duyên

1921007078

Member

Chapter 2 – 2.3

25%

Duyên

Nguyễn Cao Gia Hân

1921007090

Member

Chapter 3

25%

Hân

1

2
3
4
5


CHAPTER 1:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TABLE OF CONTENTS.............................................................................................I
TABLE OF CHART..................................................................................................III
TABLE OF PICTURE..............................................................................................IV
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................V
CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW HOTEL DEFINITION.........................1
1.1

HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT.............................................................1

1.1.1

Definition...................................................................................................1

1.1.2

Categories.................................................................................................2

1.1.3

Types of Hotels..........................................................................................2

1.2

GUEST SATISFACTION AND SERVICE QUALITY...............................6

1.2.1

Definition of Housekeeping.......................................................................6

1.2.2

Role of Housekeeping................................................................................6

1.2.3

Housekeeping Department Organizational Chart.....................................7

1.2.4

Different sections in the Housekeeping......................................................8

1.2.5

Housekeeping Staffing Calculation...........................................................9

1.2.6

Main responsibilities of Housekeeping....................................................10

1.2.7

Cleaning equipment used in Housekeeping.............................................11

1.3

THEORY OF SERVICE QUALITY...........................................................12

1.3.1

Definition of Service Quality...................................................................12

1.3.2

Definition of Guest Satisfaction...............................................................13

1.3.3

The importance of satisfaction.................................................................13

1.3.4

The relationship between Guest Satisfaction and Service Quality...........14

1.4

Theory of service quality..............................................................................15

1.4.1

Service Quality Model.............................................................................16

1.4.2

SERVQUAL.............................................................................................18

1.4.3

Five Importance Dimensions...................................................................19

1.4.4

Research result of existing scientists, related to this model.....................20

CHAPTER 2: HOUSEKEEPING EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION IN REX
HOTEL
2.1

22
HOTEL INTRODUCTION........................................................................22


2.1.1

Hotel history and development in Rex Hotel...........................................22

2.1.2

Hotel products & service in Rex Hotel....................................................23

2.1.3

Hotel organization chart..........................................................................36

2.1.4

Hotel departments functions and responsibilities in Rex Hotel...............36

2.2

HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT INTRODUCTION...........................41

2.2.1

Housekeeping organization chart............................................................41

2.2.2

Job responsibilities..................................................................................41

2.2.3

Details of existing workflows in The Housekeeping Department.............49

2.3

Research method and results.......................................................................54

2.3.1

Method.....................................................................................................54

2.3.1.1

Definition..........................................................................................54

2.3.1.2

Implementation Process...................................................................55

2.3.2

Results.....................................................................................................57

2.3.2.1

Analysis of factors affecting the quality of room service in hotels....57

2.3.2.2 The main causes/problems causing service quality to decline under
the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic............................................................59
2.3.2.3

Swot model analysis and damage assessment...................................61

CHAPTER 3: DISCUSSION..................................................................................64
3.1

Hotel service quality practices.....................................................................64

3.1.1

To upgrade our technical facilities..........................................................64

3.1.2

Improving recruitment and training of human resources.........................64

3.1.3

Improving preventive quality management..............................................66

3.1.4

Improve the quality of additional services at the department of room.....66

3.2

Applied service quality practices.................................................................67

REFERENCE............................................................................................................. 69


CHAPTER 2:

TABLE OF CHART

Chart 1.1: Housekeeping Organizationl Chart For 5 Star Hotel.....................................8
Chart 1.2: Conceptual Model of Service Quality.........................................................18
Chart 2.1: Hotel organization chart in Rex Hotel.........................................................36
Chart 2.2: Housekeeping organization chart................................................................41
Chart 2.3: Implementation Process..............................................................................55

Chart 2.4: International visitors to Vietnam in March 2010-2020 (million visitors)....60
Chart 2.5: Graph of tourist arrivals and hotel room occupancy 2019-2020..................60
Chart 2.6: Business results for the last 5 years and 6 months of 2020 (billion VND). .63


CHAPTER 3:

TABLE OF PICTURE

Image 1.1: Cleaning Equipment Used in Housekeeping..............................................12
Image 2.1: Logo of the Rex Hotel................................................................................22
Image 2.2: Rex Hotel...................................................................................................22
Image 2.3: The Premium room in Rex Hotel...............................................................24
Image 2.4: The Governor Suite room in Rex Hotel.....................................................25
Image 2.5: The Deluxe room in Rex Hotel..................................................................25
Image 2.6: The Rex suite room in Rex Hotel...............................................................26
Image 2.7: The Imperial Suite room in Rex Hotel.......................................................27
Image 2.8: The Executive Governor Suite room in Rex Hotel.....................................27
Image 2.9: The Executive Premium room in Rex Hotel..............................................28
Image 2.10: The Executive Suite room in Rex Hotel...................................................28
Image 2.11: The Presidential Suite room in Rex Hotel................................................29
Image 2.12: The Rooftop Garden Bar..........................................................................30
Image 2.13: The Hoa Mai Restaurant..........................................................................31
Image 2.14: The Cung Dinh Restaurant.......................................................................31
Image 2.15: The Paredise Coffee Lounge....................................................................32
Image 2.16: The Vertical Garden.................................................................................33
Image 2.17: Swimming pool in Rex Hotel...................................................................34
Image 2.18: Beauty and Health care............................................................................35
Image 2.19: Gymnasium..............................................................................................35
Image 2.20: Tennis Court.............................................................................................35

CHAPTER 4:

INTRODUCTION

Reality has proven that over the years, Vietnam's tourism has had a rapid growth,
gradually improving its image and position in the regional and international tourism
market, and at the same time affirming its role in tourism. its role and position in the
national economy. According to statistics of the Vietnam National Administration of
Tourism in 2019, the tourism industry has attracted more than 18 million international
visitors to Vietnam, domestic tourists reached 85 million, total tourism revenue
reached 755,000 billion dong. Tourism activities have actively contributed to the cause
of industrialization and modernization of the country and the process of international
economic integration, implementing the foreign policy of multilateralization and
diversification of the Party and State.
However, since February 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 in the world has
immediately seriously affected the tourism industry. Vietnam's tourism industry has to
face unprecedented difficulties. Since March 2020, Vietnam has stopped welcoming
international visitors, leaving only domestic tourism activities. But the domestic
tourism market has also been affected by social distancing measures during the
outbreak.
In 2020, the whole country has 3,339 travel businesses, including 2,519
international travel businesses, 820 domestic travel businesses, but 90-95% of travel
businesses temporarily stop operating. Also in 2020, there were 201 travel companies
applying for a new license, but 338 companies applied to have their license revoked.
International travel companies have switched to domestic travel business. 26,721
instructors, with 16,965 also switching to domestic instruction or changing careers.
More than 30,000 accommodation establishments with 650,000 rooms across the
country, but the room capacity is only 20-25% in the provinces and cities; In some key

tourist areas, many hotels were forced to close or change their use because they could
not stand it.
The World Tourism Organization forecasts that international tourism will take
three to four years to recover. Meanwhile, at this time, the COVID-19 pandemic has
eroded the capacity of businesses, most tourism businesses are facing financial
difficulties to restore operations, many businesses transfer or redirect their businesses.
business; employees incomes are reduced, the psychology of limiting spending greatly


affects tourism consumption of the majority of people, market demand declines; Many
support policies, despite having policies, have not yet reached businesses and
employees in the tourism industry.
This forces the tourism industry to focus on developing domestic tourism.
Tourism must simultaneously perform a "dual task": ensuring the safety of people's
lives and health while maintaining production and business. According to experts, in
2021, domestic tourism will be an important lever for the industry to recover from the
"storm" of COVID-19, in which the safety factor is still considered by tour operators
and tourists. put on top.
To meet the current actual needs, localities and businesses need to pay more
attention to new tourism trends to make appropriate changes. The needs of customers
have completely changed after the COVID-19 epidemic, guests who go for a short
time, go many times, go in small groups, pay more attention to health, combo products
(airplanes and hotel rooms)… Therefore, in 2021, investors and businesses will also
change according to customer trends.
That is why topic: “Developing service quality at 5 star hotel room under the
impact of Covid-19” is worth studying. The essay talks about the causes and factors
affecting service quality and solutions during the Covid-19 epidemic season. The essay
is researched according to the SERVQUAL model by qualitative method

1
CHAPTER 5:

LITERATURE REVIEW HOTEL DEFINITION

5.1 HOUSEKEEPING DEPARTMENT
5.1.1 Definition
Hotel is a building, symbol, company or business entity that provides services
accommodation, food and beverage providers and other service facilities where all the
services are intended for the people, whether they are staying overnight at the hotel or
those who only use the facilities. According to the experts the definition of hotel:
Rumekso states that hotel is a building which hires the rooms with the facilities
such as food and beverage which is run well to get the benefits. Sulastiyono (2007)
says that hotel is an accommodation that gives the facilities like rooms, food and
beverage and other supporting facilities such as sport area, and laundry.
According to Tarmoezi and Manurung hotel is a building that provides the rooms
with the supporting facilities such as the food and beverage. Base on the definition,
hotel is not only selling the room but hotel is one of accommodation that sell the other
facilities.
Steadmon in Fadmawati also states that a hotel may be defined as an
establishment whose primary business is providing lodging facilities for the general
public and which furnishes one or more of the following services.
Yoeti explains hotel must have 4 elements or main requirements. They are Physic
infrastructure and facilities, quality of product and service, employees’ attitude, and
competitive price.
1. Physic infrastructure and facilities, includes:
a. Parking area
b. Some types of room with bedroom facilities (night table, TV, video, music
channel, and bathroom)
c. Telephone, fax, business centre

d. Lobby
e. Restaurant (coffee shop, Indonesia restaurant and Oriental restaurant), bar,
meeting rooms, room service.
f. Room or shop rental
g. Sport and recreation facilities


2
h. Laundry
i. Office room
2. Quality of product and service, includes of tangible products and intangible
products.
3. Employees’ attitudes, means:
a. Able to serve guest honestly.
b. Have knowledge, ability and attitude fit with their position.
c. Have feel of possess and responsible to their job, also have good personality.
d. Awareness that advances of their career in hotel depends on the number of
guests which use hotel service, so the employee should be able to
communicate and have good relationship with guests.
4. Competitive price based on management decision and fix with the value that
not always cheap.
From the explanation above, writer concludes that hotel is a big building that
provides paid lodging and has some facilities and service for the guest. Hotel has some
department to support the activity of sell the product.
5.1.2 Categories
1 Star hotel provides a limited range of amenities and services but adheres to a
high standard of facility – wide cleanliness.
2 Star hotel provides good accommodation and better equipped bedrooms, each
with a telephone and attached private bathroom.
3 Star hotel has more spacious rooms and adds high – class decorations and

furnishings and colour TV. It also offers one or more bars or lounges.
4 Star hotel is much more comfortable and larger and provides excellent cuisine
(table D’hôtel and A la carte), room service, and other amenities.
5 Star hotel offers most luxuries premises, widest range of guest services, as well
as swimming pool and sport exercise facilities.
5.1.3 Types of Hotels
Hotel are classified according to the hotel size, location, target markets, level of
service, facilities, number of rooms, ownership and affiliation etc.
1. Size:


3
Or number of rooms, Under 150 rooms,150 to 299 rooms, 300 to 600 rooms,
more than 600 rooms. These categories enable hotels of similar size to compare
operating procedures and statistical results.
2. Target Market.
Hotel target many markets and can be classified according to the markets they
attempt to attract their guests. Common type of markets include business, airport,
suites, residential, resort, timeshare, casino, convention and conference hotels.
Business Hotels: These hotels are the largest group of hotel types and cater
primarily to business travelers and usually located in downtown or business districts.
Although Business hotels primarily serves business ravellers, many tour groups,
individual tourists and small conference groups find these hotels attractive. Guest
amenities at business hotels may include complimentary newspapers, morning coffee,
free local telephone calls, Break fast etc. In addition to this facilities like access to
business centre, personal computer, Wi-Fi and fax machines also provided to the guest.
Airport Hotels: These type of hotels typically target business clientele, airline
passengers with overnight travel layovers or cancelled flights and airline personnel.
Some hotels might give free transport between hotel and airport. Some hotels also
provide meeting facilities to attract guests who travel to a meeting by air and wish to

minimize ground travel. Another attraction of these hotels is instead of charging the
guest on a daily basis guest can also pay for their room on a hourly basis.
Suite Hotels: These kind of hotels are the latest trend and the fastest growing
segments in the hotel industry. Main attraction of these hotels is guestrooms with a
living room and a separate bedroom. In exchange for more complete living room suite
hotels generally have fewer and more limited public areas and guest services than
other hotels. This also helps keep suite hotel's guestroom prices competitive in the
market. Professionals such as accountants, lawyers, business men and executives find
suite hotels particularly attractive as they can work and also entertain in an area
besides the bedroom.
Extended Stay Hotels: Extended stay hotels is somewhat similar to the suite
hotels, but usually offers kitchen amenities in the room. These kind of hotels are for
travellers who want to stay more than a week and does not want to depend on the
service of the hotel. Extended service hotels usually does not provide any F & B


4
service or Laundry service etc. These kind of hotels are considered by guests as
“Home away from home”.
Apartment Hotels: Apartment/Residential hotels provide long-term or
permanent accommodation for Guest. Usually guest makes a lease agreement with the
hotel for minimum of one month up to a year. These lease agreements are renewed on
a yearly basis. Guest rooms generally include living room, bedroom, kitchen, private
balcony, washing machines, kitchen utensils etc. Residential hotel also provided
Housekeeping, laundry, telephone and in some hotels a restaurant and lounge etc will
be present on the premises.
Resort Hotels: Resort hotels are usually located in the mountains, on an island,
or in some other exotic locations away from city's. These hotels have recreational
facilities, scenery, golf, tennis, sailing, skiing and swimming. Resort hotels provide
enjoyable and memorable guest experiences that encourage guest to repeat to the

resort.
Bed and Breakfast Hotels: These are houses with rooms converted into
overnight facilities, this can size up to 20 to 30 guest rooms. They are also known as
“Home Stay's”. The owner of the B&B usually stay on the premises and is responsible
for serving breakfast to guest. Due to the limited services offered at these hotels the
price for room is very less than any full service hotel.
Timeshare and condominium Hotels: Another new type or segment of the
hospitality industry is the timeshare hotels. These are sometimes referred to as
"Vacation – interval" hotels. Timeshare hotels are where the guests who purchase the
ownership of accommodations for a specific period. These owners may also have the
unit rented out by the management company that operates the hotel. Condominium are
similar to timeshare but the difference between the two lies in the type of ownership.
Units in condominium hotels only have one owner instead of multiple owners , each
for a limited amount of time each year. In a condominium hotel, an owner informs the
management company if when he/she wants to occupy the unit.
Casino Hotels: Hotels with gambling facilities may be categorized as a distinct
group called Casino Hotels. Although the food and beverage operations in casino is
luxurious their functions is secondary to and supportive of casino operations. Casino
hotels attract guest by promoting the gambling and other entertainments.


5
Conference Centres: These type of hotels focus on meeting and conferences and
overnight accommodation for meeting attendees. They also provide high quality
audiovisual equipment, business services, flexible seating arrangements, flipchart etc.
These hotels mostly located outside the metropolitan areas and have facilities like golf,
swimming pools, tennis courts, fitness centres, spas etc.
Convention Centres: Convention hotels are larger in size compared to
conference centres and likely to have more than 1500 rooms. These hotels are huge
and have sufficient number of guest rooms to house all the attendees of most

conventions, even the size of the meeting rooms, ball rooms, exhibit rooms are quite
huge. They usually cater to convention market for state, regional, national, and
international associations.
3. Levels Of service
World class service: These are also called luxury hotels, they target top business
executives, entertainment celebrities, high – ranking political figures, and wealthy
clientele as their primary markets. They provide upscale restaurants and lounges,
concierge services and also private dining facilities. Guestrooms are oversized, heated
and plush bath towels, large soaps bars, shampoo, shower caps and all amenities.
Housekeeping services are given two times a day including turn-down service. Above
all luxury hotels give personalized service to the guest and have a relatively high ration
of staff members to guests.
Mid-Range Service: Hotels offering mid-range service appeal ti the largest
segment of the travelling public. This kind of hotels does not provide elaborate service
and have a adequate staffing. They also provide uniformed service, food and beverage
room service, in room entertainment's and also Wi-Fi. Property may offer a speciality
restaurant, coffee shop and lounge that cater to visitors as well as hotel guests. Type of
guests who like to stay at these hotels are business people, individual travellers, and
families. Rates are lower than luxury hotels as they provide fewer services, smaller
rooms and a smaller range of facilities and recreational activities.
Economy/Limited Service: These hotels provide clean, comfortable, safe,
inexpensive rooms and meet the basic need of guests. Economy hotels appeal
primarily to budget minded travelers who wants a room with minimum services and
amenities required for comfortable stay, without unnecessary paying additional cost


6
for costly services. The cliental of these hotels include families with children,
travelling business people, backpackers, vacationers retirees etc. These type of hotels
might not offer food and beverage facilities.

4. Ownership and Affiliations
Ownership and affiliation provide another means by which to classify hotel
property. There are two types one is Individual and another is chain hotel.
Independent Hotels: They do not have identifiable ownership or management
affiliation with other properties. That means these properties doesn't have any
relationship to another hotel regarding policies, procedures, marketing or financial
obligations. Example for the same would be family owned and operated hotel that is
not following any corporate policies or procedures. The advantage of a individual
property is its autonomy. An independent hotel however does not get the advantage of
board advertising exposure or management insight and consultancy of an affiliated
property.
Chain hotels: These kind of ownership usually imposes certain minimum
standards, rules, policies and procedures to restrict affiliate activities. In general the
more centralized the organization the stronger the control over the individual property.
Some chain have strong control over the architecture, management and standards of
affiliate properties. Others concentrate only on marketing, advertising and central
purchasing.
5.2 GUEST SATISFACTION AND SERVICE QUALITY
5.2.1 Definition of Housekeeping
Housekeeping may be defined as ‘provision of a clean, comfortable, safe and
aesthetically appealing environment’. By another definition, “housekeeping is an
operational department in a hotel, which is responsible for cleanliness, maintenance,
aesthetic upkeep of rooms, public areas, back areas and the surroundings”.
The term Housekeeping outside the hospitality, hospitals refers to the
management of daily duties and chores involved in the running of a household, such as
cleaning, cooking, home maintenance, shopping, and bill payment etc. These daily
recurring tasks may be performed by any members of the household, or by other
persons like butler or maids who are hired for the purpose.
5.2.2 Role of Housekeeping

7
Housekeeping department in hotel ensures the cleanliness, maintenance, and
aesthetic appeal of all rooms and public areas. The housekeeping department not only
turnarounds (prepares and clean guestrooms) on a timely manner it also cleans and
maintains everything in the hotel so that the property is as fresh and attractive similar
to the day when it opened the doors for the business.
The effort that the housekeeping makes in giving a guest a desirable room has a
direct bearing on the guest’s experience in a hotel. There are more employees working
in the housekeeping department when compared to any other hotel departments.
Being responsible for the turnaround of the rooms in a timely manner,
housekeeping primary communications are with the front desk/reception team. Each
room status is updated on a regular basis from the housekeeping to the front desk and
vice versa. With new technologies available a room status update can be done via
the hotel software, telephone systems, housekeeping mobile applications etc.
Housekeeping also coordinates closely with the maintenance or engineering
department, as the housekeeping staff identifies different types of maintenance issues
while cleaning the rooms and reports to the maintenance team for rectification or
replacement. Example snags or issue with the TV, AC, Heating unit, Plumbing,
Lighting, Electrical faults, Furniture, Toilet, Vanity, Tub, Towels racks, Ventilation
issues etc.
The role of housekeeping can change depending upon the type or category of the
hotel, for example only in a luxury or full – services hotel evening or turndown
services are offered by the housekeeping department. The housekeeping department is
one of the major “Support Centre” in the hotel as it doesn't generate any major
revenue for the hotel.
Housekeeping is considered as a “back of the house” department even though
they have some direct contact to the guests; like for example while cleaning rooms,
picking up laundry, providing evening or turndown services etc.
5.2.3 Housekeeping Department Organizational Chart

Housekeeping organizational chart provides a clear picture of the line of
authority, the housekeeping department in a large hotel or 5 Star Hotel is headed by the
executive housekeeper. He/she reports to the general manager, or to the resident
manager, or the room division manager in a large hotel. In the case of a chain of


8
hotels, the executive housekeeper also reports to the director of housekeeping, who
heads the housekeeping departments in all the hotels of that chain.
The deputy housekeeper assists the executive housekeeper and looks after the
various areas of responsibility in the hotel, that is, floors, public areas, the linen room,
desk control and staffing etc.
The Housekeeping Organizational Chart in a large hotel also contains multiple
supervisors for each section of the housekeeping like the Laundy, Desk Control, Floor
Supervisor, Public Area Supervisor, Night Supervisor etc. each of these supervisors
reports to the Assistant Housekeeper or the Executive housekeeper.

Chart 5.1: Housekeeping Organizationl Chart For 5 Star Hotel

(Source: setupmyhotel.com)
5.2.4 Different sections in the Housekeeping
Executive Housekeeper's office: An Executive housekeeper has to plan,
counsel, brief and meets her subordinates. It should preferably be a glass – paneled
office so as to give her/him a view of what is happening outside the office. The office
should be led by a cabin for the secretary who would control movement into the
housekeeper's office.
Desk control room: This room acts as a nerve system centre for coordination
and communication with the front office and other departments. The desk control room

9
should have a large notice board to pin up staff schedules and day to day instructions.
The desk control room is the point where all staff report for duty and check out at the
duty end.
Linen room: This is the room where current linens are stored for issue and
receipt. The room should be large airy and free from heat and humidity. It should have
adequate shelves, easily accessible to stack all linen. It should be secured and offer no
possibilities of pilferage. The linen room should have a counter, across which the
exchange of linen takes place. The room should preferably be adjoining the laundry so
as to supply linen to and from the laundry.
Linen room store: This room stores the stock of new linen & cloth materials for
uniform, etc. the stock maintained should be enough to replenish the whole hotel at a
time. However, these stocks are only touched when the current linen in circulation falls
short due to shortage, damage or loss. The room should be cool and dry with ample
shelves, generally 6 above the ground.
Uniform room: This room stocks the uniform in urgent use. It is possible that
smaller hotel may choose to combine the uniform room with the linen room. A
separate uniform room really depends upon the volume of uniforms in circulation. The
only difference will be that the uniform room would have adequate hanging facilities
as many uniforms are best maintained when hung.
Tailor's room: This room is kept for house tailors who attend to the stitching and
patch-up work of linen and uniforms. Room is avoided if the mending and the
stitching jobs are done in contract basis.
Lost and found section: This section should be small and airy with cupboards to
store guest articles lost and maybe claimed later.
Flower room: This should be an air-conditioned room to keep flowers fresh. The
room should have a work table, a sink with a water supply and all necessary tools
required for flower arrangement.
Laundry: This is an important section under housekeeping which is responsible
for the cleaning of all fabrics used in the hotel. The section should be adjacent to the

linen room so as to avoid excessive steps. Laundry should ensure the cleanness and
drying of all guest clothes, employee uniforms and linen to the best-assured standard.
5.2.5 Housekeeping Staffing Calculation


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Compared to other hotel departments, the housekeeping department employs the
largest workforce in most hotels. Manpower thus becomes a major operating expense.
Good management of the housekeeping department depends on achieving a balance
between the workload and the staff strength. When calculating staff strength, it must
be remembered that each property will have its individual requirements.
The factors to be considered here are the type of hotel, location of the hotel,
traditions and customs of the locality, the size of the hotel (in terms of the number of
rooms), the occupancy rate of the hotel, management needs and policies, the quantity
of work to be done per room, the quality of work expected, the standards to be met,
The time needed to do the work, the frequency with which the work needs to be done
etc.
The staff strength of the housekeeping department mainly depends on the size
and structure of the hotel, that is, whether it has a compact structure with clusters of
rooms, the number of rooms per cluster or floor, the expanse of the public areas and
landscaped areas, and so on. The general rule of thumb that aid in determining staff
strength in the housekeeping department is given below.
5.2.6 Main responsibilities of Housekeeping
 To ensure well furnished and maintained guestrooms and public areas.
 To ensure excellence in housekeeping sanitation, safety, comfort and aesthetics for
hotel guests.
 To oversee the coordination of and administer all housekeeping programs and
projects.
 To act as a source of contact in interdepartmental communications, vendors,
professional agencies etc.

 To act provide a budget, budget control, and forecasting related to housekeeping.
 To achieve the maximum efficiency in ensuring the care and comfort of guests & in
the smooth functioning of the department.
 To establish a welcoming atmosphere.
 To ensure courteousness, reliable service from all staff to the guest.
 To ensure a high standard of cleanliness and general upkeep in all areas for which
the department is responsible.


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 To provide linen in rooms, restaurants, banquet halls, conference halls, health clubs
etc, as well as to maintain an inventory for the same.
 To provide uniforms for all the staff & maintain inventory for the same.
 To Cater to the laundering requirements of hotel linen, staff uniforms, and guests.
 To provide & maintain the floral decorations and to maintain the landscaped areas
of the hotel.
 To select the right contractors & ensure the quality of work is maintained.
 To co-ordinate renovation and refurnishing of the property in consultation with the
management & with interior designers.
 To co-ordinate with the purchasing department for the procurement of guest
supplies, cleaning agents, equipment, fabrics, carpets, & other items used in the
hotel.
 To deal with lost & found articles.
 Carpet shampooing and maintaining.
 Dealing with any guest queries, complaints & requests as they occur.
 To keep the general manager or administrator informed of all matters requiring
attention.
5.2.7 Cleaning equipment used in Housekeeping
Efficient cleaning and maintenance are dependent upon high-quality cleaning
equipment, correctly using. Though only 5-10% of the overall cost incurred on

cleaning is accounted for by cleaning equipment and agents, selecting the ideal
equipment plays a major role in the cleaning process. There will often be several ways
of carrying out any particular cleaning task and different types of equipment that can
be employed for it.
It is the executive housekeeper’s responsibility to select the most appropriate
piece of equipment according to the hotel’s requirement. Most types of cleaning
equipment fall under the category of recycled items, but a few large pieces of items
may be considered as fixed assets. The correct choice of quality cleaning equipment
could save costs due to breakdowns, reduce fatigue and ensure overall efficiency in
operations.


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The equipment used in the cleaning of the surface, furniture and fittings in a hotel
building includes both Manual Equipments and Mechanical Equipment.

Image 5.1: Cleaning Equipment Used in Housekeeping



(Source: setupmyhotel.com)
Manual Equipment: Manual equipment can include all types of equipment
that clean or aid in the cleaning process by directly using manoeuvre, operation
and energy of employees. Examples of Manual cleaning equipment are
Brushes, Mops, Brooms, Cloths, Polish applicators, Containers, Buckets etc.



Mechanical Equipment: The various pieces of mechanical equipment used in
the housekeeping department are usually powered by electricity or gas. The

staff should be well-trained in the operation of this equipment since incorrect
usage will not only lead to inefficient cleaning but may also become a safety
hazard. Examples of mechanical equipment used in housekeeping are Vacuum
cleaners, Electric brooms, Wet-and-dry vacuum cleaners, floor maintenance
machine for scrubbing,buffing polishing etc.

5.3 THEORY OF SERVICE QUALITY
5.3.1 Definition of Service Quality
There are a number of different “definitions” as to what is meant by services
quality. In its simplest form service quality is a product of the effort that every member
of the organization invests in satisfying customers. In its broadest sense service quality
is defined as superiority or excellence as perceived by the customer.
 The delivery of excellent or superior service relative to customer expectations.
 Quality is behavior – an attitude – that says you will never settle for anything less
community, your stockholders or colleagues with whom you work every day.


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 When we want to be effective – delivering good quality to the customer – we must
produce services that meet “as much as possible” the needs of the consumer.
 Quality is providing a better service than the customer expects.
One that is commonly us defines services quality as the extent to which a service
meets customer’s needs or expectations. Today the most popular model of service
quality in use is service quality gap model, perceived service quality as the difference
between consumer expectations and their perceptions.
5.3.2 Definition of Guest Satisfaction
Customer satisfaction is defined as a measurement that determines how products
or services provided by a company meet customer expectations. Customer satisfaction
is one of the most important indicators of consumer purchase intentions and loyalty.
5.3.3 The importance of satisfaction

Maximise customer lifetime value
Many businesses underestimate the cost of acquiring a new customer. It is much
more cost-effective to invest in retaining existing customers rather than constantly
chasing new ones. If you focus on customer satisfaction, then those that buy from you
are much more likely to buy from you again.
This increases the lifetime value of that customer, i.e. The amount they spend
with you over their entire lifetime. When customers keep coming back to buy from
you, your return on investment from their customer acquisition cost increases. The
bottom line is: satisfied customers are more loyal and loyal customers are more
profitable for your business.
Minimise customer churn
Customer churn refers to those customers that stop buying from you, whether
that’s after their first purchase or after several years of being a loyal customer.
Customer churn can be very costly for your business because it means you need to go
back to focusing on getting new customers. As mentioned above, a satisfied customer
is more likely to remain loyal, therefore decreasing customer churn.
Positive brand exposure
Word of mouth is important to any business. Disgruntled customers will go
online and complain about your business or its products, they’ll write negative
reviews, and they’ll recommend your competitors over you. By improving your


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customer satisfaction, you not only avoid this, but you also benefit from positive word
of mouth. Satisfied customers will recommend you to friends and family, talk
positively about you online, and, hopefully, write positive reviews on places like
Google, Facebook, and Yelp.
Increase revenue
All businesses want to increase their revenue and grow their business, but they
might not always have the resources to invest in actively growing it. Once you’ve got

your customer satisfaction strategy right, it becomes an effective way to grow your
business and its revenue passively.
While you focus on improving other areas of your business, satisfied customers
keep coming back to buy from you and they keep recommending you to their peers or
writing positive reviews online. This keeps a steady and, hopefully, increasing revenue
stream coming in without you having to constantly work on it. Of course, customer
satisfaction is something you should review on a regular basis to ensure you’re still
hitting the nail on the head.
5.3.4 The relationship between Guest Satisfaction and Service Quality
The concepts of service quality and customer satisfaction have been the centre of
attention in both marketing theory and practice over the past two decades
(Sureshchandar et al. 2002:363; Spreng & Machoy, 1996:201). In previous research
studies (Cronin & Taylor, 1992; Patterson & Johnson, 1993) on service quality and
customer satisfaction, there appears to be an agreement among the researchers that
service quality and customer satisfactions are separate variables that have a close
relationship. Cronin and Taylor (1992:56) note that the difference between the
perceived service quality and customer satisfaction is based on the notion that service
quality is an attitude associated with a long term, overall evaluation, whereas customer
satisfaction is associated with both transaction and long term relationship.
The results by Sureshchandar et al. (2002:363) indicate that service quality and
customer satisfaction are independent but closely related variables (highly correlated),
which means that an increase in one will lead to an increase in another. The research
study conducted by Taylor and Baker (1994:172) in four service industries found that
there is a positive relationship between service quality and customer satisfaction. The
positive relationship of service quality and customer satisfaction is further reinforced