Housekeeping - By Ram Sundar Mondal

Housekeeping is the backbone and most important department in the resort. The reason for this statement is simple: without housekeeping to clean the rooms, the reservationists, the front desk agents, and hotel sales departments would have nothing to sell.

The public areas would soon become messy and littered, the glass and brass in these areas would become dirty and streaked, the restrooms in the public areas would begin to smell and run out of necessary items, the hallways on each floor would be dusty and dirty, and the lobby would become uninviting.

It needs little imagination to think of what different places in a hotel would look like if they were not cleaned every few hours or at least daily. Housekeeping is usually one of the largest departments in a hotel.

In spite of its importance, however, some resorts and hotel employees in this department are underpaid and overworked, which usually results in a very high turnover rate. This rate is generally ten to one hundred times the rate for other departments. This turnover rate costs the company thousands of rupees in recruitment, training, lost productivity, and in some states, overtime costs.

Successfully running such a department takes unique skills and a unique individual. In most hotels and resorts, the housekeeping manager is called the Executive Housekeeper. This position is generally standard in most full-service hotels. Many limited-service operations have followed suit and have someone designated as the Executive or Lead Housekeeper.

Many hotels have elevated the position to 'Executive Staff level.' It should also be noted that along with the Executive Chef, the Executive Housekeeper is amongst the highest-paid positions in many hotels. This is done, primarily, to retain and reward an employee who is performing an extremely necessary, difficult, and thankless job.