An organization’s layout is extremely important in shaping its overall efficiency, functionality, and success. A well-planned layout can improve workflow, streamline operations, and boost productivity. The layout facilitates efficient communication and collaboration among employees by carefully organising departments, workstations, and amenities, promoting a cohesive and synergistic work environment. Furthermore, a well-planned layout considers ergonomics, comfort, and aesthetics, all of which contribute to employee satisfaction, morale, and engagement. A pleasant working environment improves employee well-being and productivity. Furthermore, the layout is critical in guaranteeing staff safety and security by providing proper paths, emergency exits, and safety measures. For organisations with customer-facing areas, the layout has a direct impact on the customer experience since it affects navigation, accessibility, and overall usability.
The layout of the Housekeeping Department
The layout is dependent on the size of the hotel as well as physical space available. Factors taken into consideration while planning the layout are
- Total number of guest rooms
- Number of food & beverage outlets as well as function rooms
- Amount of manpower required
- The volume of business anticipated
- Number of jobs contracted out
- The flow of traffic ( people and equipment)
The following areas constitute the layout of the housekeeping Department
- Housekeeping Office – This is the main administrative centre for the department. It must be an independent cabin to provide the Housekeeper with silence to plan his work. It also provides the housekeeper with the privacy to counsel her staff or hold departmental meetings. It should preferably be a glass-panelled office with blinds so as to give housekeeper a view of what is happening outside his/her office. The cabin should have one entrance/ exit door. The office should be preceded by a cabin for the secretary who would control movement into the housekeeper’s office. The room should have ample built-in shelves, cupboards with locks to store all files.
- Control Desk Room – This is the main communication centre of housekeeping manned 24hrs a day. It is from here that all information is sent out and received concerning the department. It is the nerve centre for coordinating with FO, Banquets, etc. The control desk should have a telephone & a notice board to pin up staff schedules, day to day instructions. The control desk is a point where all staff report for duty and check out at the duty end. It would normally adjoin the Housekeeper’s office.
- Linen Room – This is the room where current linen is stored for issue & receipt. The room should be large, airy and free from heat & humidity. It should have adequate shelves, easily accessible, to stack all linen. It should be secure & offer no possibilities for pilferage. The linen room should have a counter across which the exchange of linen takes place. The room preferable should be adjoining the laundry so that the supply of linen to & from the laundry is quick & smooth.
- Uniform Room – This room stocks the uniform in current use. In a smaller hotel uniform room may be combined with the linen room. A separate uniform room may depend on the volume of uniform in circulation. The only difference would be that the uniform room would have adequate hanging facilities as many uniforms are best maintained when hung.
- Tailors Room / Sewing Room – This room is kept for in house tailors who attend to the stitching & mending of the linen & uniform. If the house policy is to contract out all tailoring and mending work, the tailor room could be avoided. It should be large enough to accommodate sewing machines, an ironing table, work table and place for items to be repaired or stitched.
- Lost & Found Section – This should be a small space away from the thoroughfare, secure, cool & dry with a cupboard to store all guest articles that are lost & may be claimed later.
- Flower room – This is an air-conditioned room to keep fresh flowers for such flower arrangements as the hotel may require. The room should have work tables, a sink & water supply.
- Equipment store – This will room to store bulky equipment like floor scrubbing machines, vacuum cleaners, roll away beds and mattresses. The room should be clean & dry. It should also be securely locked to avoid pilferage.
- House Keeping Stores – This is a room for storing items such as guest supplies, cleaning agents etc.
- Floor Pantry – This is also known as Maid’s Service Room. Each guest floor must have floor pantry to keep a supply of linen, guest supplies, equipments, etc for that floor. It is the nerve centre for the floor. The floor pantry should keep one full set of linen for that floor over and above what is in circulation in the room. The pantry should be away from the guest view & situated at the service landing near the service elevators. It should have shelves & cupboards to stock all linen & supplies. There should also be sufficient space for parking the maid’s trolley. It should have a sink with a water supply. Since the floor pantry is used to stock expensive items such as linen, cleaning equipment etc, it should remain locked at all times when not in use. The key to the floor pantry is kept with the GRA of the floor and a duplicate is with the floor supervisor. The following should be provided in a floor pantry
- Cupboards to store guest supplies, cleaning agents and equipment
- Shelves and racks to store fresh room linen
- Linen trolleys to store fresh and soiled linen ( also used for transporting linen to and from linen room)
- A notice board to display information like VIPs in house, guest loan items etc.
- A sink with hot and cold water facility to wash or disinfect glasses, fill drinking water in flasks, and for flower arrangements
- Guest loan items like rollaway beds, cribs and bed boards
- Some hotels also keep extra items like a shoe shine machine, vending machine or a small dishwasher.