April is the ideal month for housekeeping departments to focus on those projects that often go overlooked most of the year. Now that winter is over, focus on knocking out this list of spring cleaning projects early in the season before occupancies increase.
Furniture. Shampoo and steam clean the fabric upholstery of furniture in public areas of the hotel. Make sure you follow the manufacturer’s recommendations when doing this. Before the wedding season kicks off, don’t forget to also clean all fabric banquet seating and apply a stain-resistant solution to the cushions for easier cleanup in the future. Treat leather furniture and surfaces with moisturizing cream to prevent them from fading, cracking, or hardening. Use a wet/dry vacuum to clean draperies in public areas.
Flooring. Strip and reseal stone, tile, and wooden floors in public areas such as the lobby, public restrooms, food and beverage outlets, and elevators. Use a wet/dry vacuum to shampoo all carpeted surfaces including door mats, bell carts, and courtesy van floors that have accumulated dirt, salt, and sand from the long, harsh winter. Don’t forget to shampoo and extract carpeted areas behind the hotel’s front desk, employee offices, gift shops, and other outlets, function rooms, and athletic facilities.
Fixtures. Clean chandeliers and high ceiling lights in function rooms and public areas. It may be necessary to rent staging or a portable lift to reach these areas. If the chandeliers are expensive or unique, consider outsourcing this responsibility to a specialty contractor that is fully insured.
Equipment. Inspect and clean rollaway beds, cribs, portable refrigerators, and handicap accessible equipment. Inspect all housekeeping and laundry equipment and scrub down the surfaces on attendant carts, moveable laundry bins, floor buffers and shampooers, and vacuums. Report any deficiencies to engineering for repair.
Employees. Post a notice for staff to remove personal items from lockers. Scrub down the lockers, spray for pests, and repair or repaint as necessary. Take an inventory of and visually inspect all issued uniforms as well as surplus supply. Separate ragged, unserviceable, and obsolete uniforms and replace as needed.
William D. Frye, Ph.D., CHE is coauthor of AH&LEI’s textbook Managing Housekeeping Operations.
Photo Credit: Cleaning via Bigstock
