Housekeeping Management

Streamlining Housekeeping Tasks

RDP’s Housekeeping Forecast, Scheduling, and History module is designed to improve the process of completing the tasks assigned to the property’s housekeeping department. This software module is included with the core system at no additional charge.  The module has three major elements, which are forecasting housekeeping requirements, daily housekeeping scheduling, and history.

Housekeeping Forecast, Scheduling & History

The housekeeping module is designed to forecast the total number of housekeepers needed each day in the future based on current guests in-house and expected arrivals/departures.  For example the forecast report may indicate that a total of 124 rooms will be dirty tomorrow for a total cleaning time of 101 hours.  The following day shows 214 dirty rooms with a total cleaning time of 194 hours.  Use this information to plan the work schedules for housekeepers to make sure there are not too few or too many housekeepers each day.   Features include:

  • Forecast cleans up to 365 days in advance.

  • Store individual estimated clean times in user-defined tables based on room type and clean type (daily clean, checkout clean, “midweek tidy”, etc.).

  • Various Crystal Reports are available which can be modified as needed.

  • Assign different “clean patterns” for each guest.  For example, in a condominium rental, one guest can have “checkout only” cleaning while another can purchase “full daily cleaning.”

The housekeeping module can automatically create a cleaning schedule each day for each housekeeper based on the number of dirty rooms, estimated clean time per room,  and number of  housekeepers.  A housekeeping status screen is the core element which tracks each housekeeper and auto-refreshes as rooms are cleaned, inspected, and other tasks are performed.   Features include:

  • Automatically assign dirty rooms to housekeepers based on total cleaning time
  • Print daily cleaning schedule for each housekeeper
  • Track status from dirty to “ready for inspection” to “clean and ready for guest”
  • Rooms can be marked clean automatically using the in-room phone

The third major element of the housekeeping module is historical reporting.  It is possible to measure the performance of each housekeeper by tracking the estimated clean time and actual clean time, as well as variance. You can also track each time a room was cleaned and by whom.  For example, if a guest checks in to a dirty room, you can determine which housekeeper erroneously marked the room as clean.  Features include:

  • Various Crystal Reports available for customization.
  • Enter actual cleaning time and compare to forecasting time using the phone in the room.  For example, the housekeeper can press *1 from the phone when they enter the room, which stores the start clean time in housekeeping history.  When done, they press *2 to mark the room as “ready for inspection.” The end clean is stamped on the room.  The system reports the actual clean time per room, forecasted time, and variance to track housekeeper performance.
  • Inspectors can enter comments or notes on each clean.
  • Inspectors can use the phone in the room to mark the room as “ready for guest,” which also stored the time the inspector finished.  Reports are available showing how much time elapsed between the housekeeper marking the room as “ready for inspector” and the the time the inspector completed the inspection.
  • Track all cleans per housekeeper and tracks all cleans per room.
  • Assign a Clean Quality to the room. Run reports that show an average clean quality by housekeeper.

Housekeeping Status Screen

The Housekeeping Status screen provides one screen for the head housekeeper to manage all housekeeping functions.  A sample of the Housekeeping Schedule screen is shown below.  Important features to note about the Housekeeping Status:

A housekeeping board shows all the dirty rooms that one housekeeper should clean that day, along with special notes and other information about the room or the guest.

Creation of the housekeeping boards can be performed each day based on the following factors:

  • Number of Dirty rooms at the property
  • Duration of time it takes to clean each room type (this is configurable)
  • Number of housekeepers available
  • Logical cleaning order based on maid zones, building floors, or other custom order

Each housekeeping board can be printed and given to one or more housekeepers for execution.

The Monitor Status screen can be used by the head housekeeper to show a current snapshot of the room status.  As rooms are cleaned, the housekeepers can use a phone in the room to change the room status to ready to inspect or clean.  The display will refresh within seconds (this is configurable).

The Today’s Summary displays at the top.  In the example below, there were 33 dirty rooms to start the day.  Currently, there are 10 dirty rooms, 11 rooms ready to inspect and 12 rooms have been cleaned and are ready for guests.  This summary can be automatically refreshed every minute.

The housekeeping summary is also displayed as a pie chart in the lower left.

  • Red – Dirty rooms that need to be cleaned
  • Yellow – Clean rooms marked ready to inspect
  • Green – Clean and inspected rooms ready for the guest
  • Blue – Rooms marked clean at board creation, now dirty

The Today’s Schedule section below shows a summary of the rooms for each board.  This summary area can be expanded to show detail for each dirty room.

The boards can be printed from the screen below and given to housekeepers for cleaning.

Checkboxes below in the Show Rooms section control the display to determine which rooms to display on the housekeeping schedules. For example, just dirty rooms or only rooms ready to inspect, or any combination can be displayed.

Flow of Events

The flow of events in the RDPWin Housekeeping Scheduling is as follows:

The housekeeping module is designed to forecast the total number of housekeepers needed for each day in the future based on current guests in-house and expected arrivals/departures.  This information can be used to accurately plan the work schedules of housekeepers to ensure there is enough staff to cover the cleaning for that day.

The rooms are automatically marked dirty during the night audit when nightly room charges are posted.

System tables are created once to store the Clean Time for each room type or room for each Clean Type.

The system creates cleaning schedules based on the number of dirty rooms, the number of housekeepers available, and the Clean Time from the table above.

The housekeepers clean the rooms in the order printed on their daily schedule. This order is configurable to make sure the rooms are cleaned in a logical order, since room number sequence may not be the most efficient order to clean rooms.  For example, rooms can be cleaned in a pre-designed order such as 101, 102, 106, 213.

With the mobile housekeeping module, room attendants can use a tablet to display their cleaning schedules and mark when cleans are started and completed.  Alternatively, if the optional housekeeper phone interface is installed, the housekeeper can press a key on the in-room phone to indicate they have started cleaning.  This stamps the clean start time into the housekeeping history file.  Housekeepers can press a different key to indicate they have completed the clean, which stamps the end time and marks the room ready to inspect.  Reports are then available showing the actual cleaning time per room, as well as the expected cleaning time and variance.

The housekeepers change the room status from dirty to ready to inspect as rooms are cleaned.  The inspection step is optional and can be turned off so rooms can go directly from dirty to clean.  The room status can be changed various ways, as follows:

  1. With the mobile housekeeping module, room attendants can use tablets to start and finish their cleans, which changes the room status immediately.
  2. The housekeeper can use the phone in the room to directly change the room status using RDP’s optional phone housekeeping interface.  For example, the housekeeper may dial “*2” to change the room to ready to inspect.  This changes the room status immediately. It also stamps the ending time for the clean into the housekeeping history files.
  3. The housekeeper can call the front desk or the housekeeping department to ask them to change the room status using the Housekeeping Status
  4. Housekeepers can mark the room as ready to inspect or clean on their schedule and use a workstation to change the room status later.  This procedure delays changing the room status and is not suggested.

If your property uses an inspector, the system prints reports of rooms Ready to Inspect.  After the room is inspected, the inspector has the following options:

  1. With the mobile housekeeping module, the inspectors can use tablets to display their lists of rooms ready for inspection and mark rooms as clean.
  2. The inspector can mark the room as clean, using the phone in the room.  If the optional housekeeper-phone interface, this action will also stamp the time the inspector finished into the housekeeping history file.  This allows you to view reports showing how much time elapsed between when the housekeeper marked the room as ready to inspect and the inspector finished.
  3. If the inspector determines that the room is not properly cleaned, the room status can be changed back to dirty again using the phone in the room.  This room then appears on the head housekeeper’s status display within seconds, who can then assign a housekeeper to re-clean the room.

Housekeeping is a 24-hour job at many hotels.  For example:

  1. A guest may check-in to the hotel at 11:00 a.m. and check out at 2:00 p.m.
  2. The system marks this room as dirty upon checkout.
  3. The Housekeeping Status screen will show this new dirty room within seconds.
  4. The head housekeeper can assign this dirty room to a housekeeper’s schedule for cleaning.

The housekeeping system interfaces to RDP’s Work Orders and Asset Management system.  For example, assume the housekeeper discovers that the TV is broken.  The RDPWin system has the capability to:

  • Generate a work order
  • Mark the room room “out of service”
  • Assign work orders to specific maintenance personnel and track their progress
  • If RDP’s Condominium Owner billing module is installed, the owner can be billed for the repairs

The housekeeping system include a separate Housekeeping Billing Module. Each clean type can be assigned who and how much will be billed each time that particular clean occurs. For example, a check-out clean could be billed directly to the owner of unit’s account at $40/hour. If a check-out clean takes two hours to complete, the owner will be automatically billed $80.

Additionally, cleans can be billed directly to the guest’s folio. If the guest requests a special clean that is not included in the rate, simply schedule the clean and the charge automatically appears on the folio.

After the clean has occurred, generate the payables directly to the housekeeping vendor. Invoices or statements and checks can be printed directly from the RDP system.

It is possible to measure the performance of each housekeeper by tracking the Estimated Clean Time and Actual Clean Time, as well as variance. You can also track each time a room was cleaned and by whom.  For example, if a guest checks in to a Dirty room you can determine which housekeeper marked the room as Clean. A clean quality can be assigned to each room. Reports that average the clean quality by housekeeper are available.

Housekeeping Billing

The Housekeeping Billing Module automates the process of charging owners and guests for housekeeping services, as well as generating payables, statements, and checks to the housekeeping vendor. Configure the amount of time each clean requires per room type or room number, and assign the hourly rate to each housekeeper or housekeeping vendor. The system automatically calculates the cost and charges the appropriate owner or reservation.

The flexibility within the housekeeping module allows each room type or room number to have a different clean time for each type of clean. Assign the hourly rate for cleans that are billed to the owner, and a different amount can be assigned to cleans billed to reservations. The system calculates the charges based on the amount of time it takes to clean each room and the hourly rate.

Billing the owners for the housekeeping services occurs during the month end process, to save time and allow for auditing of each housekeeping transaction. This process also allows the user to adjust the price of the clean or not charge the owner at all.

Once the cleaning has been completed, a payable can be generated on the housekeeping vendor’s account based on the hourly rate of the vendor. This can be different than the hourly rate charged, in order to include a markup amount. Send the vendor a statement showing all cleans that occurred, and print a check directly from RDP.

RDP’s Housekeeping module is available immediately and is designed to run a busy housekeeping department from one screen.  For more information, call RDP Sales directly.

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