PUBLIC AREA CLEANING

The public areas in a hotel comprise the ‘front of the house’ areas such as
entrances, lobbies, lounges, the front desk, guest rooms; functional areas
such as restaurant, banquet halls, bar and waiting rooms; and leisure areas
such as swimming pools, the spa , and health club. In others words, the
areas of the hotel that are inconstant view and frequented by guests are
referred to as public areas. A neat and clean public area is reflective of the
cleanliness standards throughout the hotel property, because guests see
these areas first and form an overall impression of the hotel based upon
these.. The housekeeping is responsible for the cleanliness and maintenance
of these public areas in the hotel.. Many hotels get their public areas cleaned
by contractors. Like cleaning in other areas of the hotel, the cleaning routine
areas can be divided

Frequency of cleaning-

Frequency of cleaning may be divided according to the frequency of their

scheduling, which depends upon

 The level of soiling

 The type of surface
 The amount of traffic
 The type of hotel
 The cleaning standards set.

Employees should be given the procedures and frequencies for carrying

out various tasks outlined in a handbook or manual.

Daily tasks-These are the routine operation carried out on a day to day
basis by the staff of the housekeeping department. These include

 the regular servicing of guestroom.

 cleaning of bathrooms and toilets ring
 suction cleaning of floors and floor covering
 dusting
 vacuum clean daily to remove dust and grit(soft and hard surface).

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 empty ashtrays, dustbins, sanibins and sand urns.
 Suction cleaning upholstery.
 Mopping hard floors.
 Cleaning glass surfaces.
 Arrange flowers.
 Cleaning toilet areas
 Wooden doors should be damp dusted once daily.(used neutral
detergent)
 Lights and lighting fixture should be checked daily.
 Any stain on the carpet or upholstery should be removed as soon as
occur.
 Telephone must be damp dusted with disinfectant solution and wiped
dry with a dry duster.
 Railing and fixture should be damp dusted.
 Damp wipe the furniture.
 Damp wipe the counter top of any counter area.
 Remove garbage.

Weekly cleaning tasks-

These, as the term implies, are routine tasks carried out on a weekly
basis. These may include –

 The polishing of metal surfaces.

 Dusting of hard to reach areas.
 Scrubbing floors.
 Dusting walls.
 Dusting and wiping lighting fixture.
 Cleaning and polishing hard surface.
 Vacuuming carpets.
 Brass knobs and handles should be polished weekly.
 Polishing brass ware.
 Cleaning ceiling fans.
 Clean high ceiling for cobwebs.

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 Dust ceiling.
 Clean window glasses and frames.
 Clean all vertical walls.
 Scrub all enamel painted walls.
 Cleaning room vents and duct of any area.
 Scrub staircase walls.
 Scrub stone dados.
 Clean art work.

Periodic tasks (Deep cleaning)-Deep cleaning refers to the incentives

cleaning schedule in which periodic cleaning tasks are scheduled for
monthly, quarterly, half yearly or annual frequencies. Deep cleaning is
essential at periodic intervals since regular daily or weekly cleaning,
however efficient, is too superficial to present an attractive ,fresh looking
environment to guest over long term.

Many tasks involved in deep cleaning are complicated and time

consuming ones, requiring special equipment, techniques, expertise and
group effort. Due to their specialised nature, they may be contracted out
to an expert in the field.

Deep cleaning task include the following-

 Shampooing carpets.
 Vacuum cleaning upholstery, mattresses and bed bases.
 Rotating and turning mattress.
 Thorough cleaning of furniture and polishing of wooden furniture.
 Stripping, re-sealing, re –polishing and buffing floors.
 Cleaning hard to reach areas such as ceilings, top edges of door, air
conditioning vents and so on.
 Cleaning ornate lighting fixtures such as chandeliers.
 Through cleaning of walls, windows and curtain tracks.
 Cleaning signage board.
 Through washing of bathroom floors, walls, fixture, fittings and shower
curtains.

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 Laundering of washable soft furnishing.
 Cleaning facade, outer glasses of the building or small water bodies all
around the property.

Cleaning procedure of various public areas

ENTRANCES-

The guests get their first impression of the hotel from the entrance and
lobby. Due to this reason, some hotels may have elaborates or dramatic
design feature at the entrance, cleaning which may be a difficult
proposition for the housekeeping department. Entrance, if not cleaned
and maintained daily, can easily acquire a neglected look due to the heavy
traffic and exposure, which can be very unappealing for an arriving guest.

Flooring and mats-

Key features here are the doormats and runners that act as the reservoirs
for dust and dirt rubbed away from the shoes. One doormat or runner
should be placed just outside the entrance to prevent most of dirt and
soil being brought in with the guest’s shoes another doormat or runner
must be placed just inside the entrance, to remove any remnants of dust
from the shoes so that they do not leave any footprints on the floor.

Other cleaning and maintenance tasks for this area are listed below.
 The doormats and runner must be vacuum cleaned daily to remove dust
and grit.
 In the rainy season and during times of heavy traffic, cleaning the mats
twice a day or even more often may be called for.
 The floor at the entrance has to be mopped frequently throughout the
day.
 Plants at the entrances should be watered when required.

Doors
 Glass doors should be cleaned twice a day and where public traffic is
high, the frequency of cleaning may have to be even three or four times

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daily. A proprietary glass cleaner may be used for the cleaning or a
vinegar and water solution may be used for glass that is not too soiled.
 Dirt, grease and scuff marks on the door frames should be damp dusted
with an alkaline detergent and water, and re wiped with clean water to
remove all traces of the detergent.
 Wooden doors should be damp dusted once daily. A neutral detergent
should be used with water for damp dusting once a week to avoid the
build up of layers of dust
 Brass knobs and handles should be polished weekly and in case of
lacquered brass, only damp dusting is sufficient.

LOBBIES-

These are areas provided as a common meeting point for guests near the
reception. Many lobbies are carpeted, while others have hard flooring.
cleaning processes for the two kinds of flooring will be different. Floors in
the lobbies need to be cleaned frequently since these are spaces where
guests interact, relax and check in. Like entrance, these are also heavy
traffic areas. Hence cleaning should be scheduled for the night or early
morning when there are fewer people around.

Daily cleaning of lobbies-The daily tasks should be scheduled so that

the lobby may be cleaned with the least inconvenience to guest.

 Ashtrays, sand urns and wastepaper baskets should be emptied and

damp dusted –if required as often as twice or thrice a day.
 Flower arrangement should be attended to daily and indoor plants
watered as required.
 Glass surfaces and windows should be cleaned with a proprietary glass
cleaner daily.
 Doors, door handles and knobs should be damp –dusted daily. If the
fixtures are made of lacquered brass, they need not be polished; damp
dusting should suffice. A more thorough cleaning of the doors, including
their tracks, should also be carried out once a day.
 Carpeted areas should be suction cleaned daily to remove dust and dirt.

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 Any stains on the carpet or upholstery should be removed immediately.
 Hard floors must be mopped or vacuumed daily.
 Lights and lighting fixtures should be checked daily and cleaned weekly.
 Furniture should be damp-dusted daily. Occasional tables should be
cleared and cleaned frequently during the day.
 Telephone must be damp dusted with a disinfectant solution and wiped
dry with a dry duster.

Periodic cleaning of lobbies-

Some cleaning tasks need not be carried out daily. These should be
scheduled on a periodic basis, for once in a week, once in six months, or
once in a year.

 High level dusting, to clean ceilings and other hard to reach areas such
as tops of fans and cornices, should be done once in a week. Very high
ceilings may be dusted once a month.
 Elaborate chandeliers may be brought down and cleaned once in six
months.
 Upholstered furniture should be suction cleaned with an upholster
attachment once a week.
 Wooden furniture should be polished once a week.
 Blinds and curtain should be polished once a weekly.

Carpets should be shampooed once a month, but in case of heavy traffic

or heavy soiling the cleaning frequency could be once a week.

FRONT DESK-

The front desk is the hub of activities in the front desk part of the
property, since all arriving guests are registered to their rooms here and
many enquiries are made here. Hence the cleaning should be done at no
peak hours so as not to interrupt the flow of business. When guests
approach the front desk during the cleaning process, cleaning should be
stop momentarily and employee doing work at the task should step aside.
Cleaning task should in no way hamper the flow of work of front desk.

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Specific cleaning tasks-The front desk calls for some exclusive cleaning
tasks as well

 Empty wastepaper baskets as and when required in the day.

 Damp dust the desk, taking care to wipe under the telephone wires and
computer cables. The front panel of the desk should be damp dusted and
a neutral detergent should be used to remove scuff marks from guest’s
shoes.
 Any railing and fixture should be damp dusted. If made of brass, they
should be polished according to a schedule.
 Damp dust all the telephone with a disinfectant solution and wipe with a
dry duster twice daily.
 Damp dust the computer components and fax machine and wipe with a
dry duster twice a day.
 Any smears on the computer screen may be wiped with a proprietary
glass cleaner .it should be ensured while cleaning the computers that the
machines are switched off.
 Suction clean the carpet under the desk .If the floor is uncarpeted, mop
the hard floor.
 Damp wipe the furniture. Upholstered furniture should be suction
cleaned with an upholstery attachment.

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It includes floor scrubbing cleaning of hard to reach areas, thorough
clean of furniture and fixtures and windows.

STAFF CAFETARIA:-
Its cleaning responsibility may be of either housekeeping or kitchen
stewarding department depending on the hotel to hotel. It needs to be
cleaned frequently before and after breakfast, lunch, high tea and dinner.
Day cleaning will include brooming and moping of floors, cleaning of
tables and bain-marie and emptying of dustbins. Night cleaning includes
scrubbing of floors on daily basis.

GENTS AND LADIES LOCKERS:-

It may be cleaned by either housekeeping or utility trainees. Day
cleaning includes brooming and moping of floors, cleaning of bathroom
and emptying of ashtrays and dust bins.
Periodic cleaning includes scrubbing of floors.

FAÇADE CLEANING –
Façade means face of the hotel i.e. how the building looks like to a visitor
as he stands in front of the hotel. In many hotels routine cleaning is
carried out by housekeeping. However, specialised cleaning is carried out
using contractual firms who have special equipments and trained
personnel for the job.
 For high windows of facade, cradle car is used while cleaning
 Cleaning should fasten their belt and wear a helmet for safety
precautions.
 Trolley should be equipped with all the required cleaning agents and
equipment.
 Facade ledges to be cleaned for bird droppings by using hard broom or a
hard bristle brush.
 Cobwebs to be removed by using a cobweb brush.
 Paint / Polish etc is suitable carried out using correct equipments and
agents.

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PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS
 In high traffic areas guest movement is high; therefore more regular
mopping of the floor is required.
 More vigilance of housekeeping staff needed.
 Care to be taken while deciding cleaning timings.
 More chances of accidents, so precautions need to be taken.
 Especially the public washrooms to be cleaned very frequently.

How to overcome challenges:

 Draft cleaning schedules very carefully.
 Keep sign boards to divert traffic.
 Use light and easy to use cleaning equipments and agents.
 Train the staff on SOP