Manpower Planning of the Housekeeping Department in a Hotel

By Sumit Manwal, Founder, Hospitality Vacancy

Too few housekeepers and rooms are late; too many and labour costs climb. Manpower planning is how a hotel gets the balance right.

Here is how housekeeping manpower is planned in a hotel.

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The staff strength of the housekeeping department mainly depends on the size and structure of the hotel, that is, whether it has a compact structure with clusters of rooms, the number of rooms per cluster or floor, the expanse of the public areas and landscaped areas, and so on. The general rule of thumb that aid in determining staff strength in the housekeeping department is given below.

Thumb rules for determining staff strength

Executive housekeeper: 1 for a 300 room property

Assistant housekeepers: 2 (1 per morning and evening shift)

Floor supervisors: 1 per 60 rooms for the morning shift; 1 for the evening shift; 1 for the night shift.

Public area supervisors: 1 for each shift

Linen/uniform room supervisors: 1

Room attendants: 1 per 16 rooms for the morning shift; 1 per 30 rooms for the evening shift (if turn down service is provided)

Linen and uniform room attendants: 2

Housemen: depends on the size of public areas and functions expected, but on average, 1 per 60 rooms

Desk attendants: 1 per shift

Tailors/upholsterers: 2 (may differ depending on the size of the hotel)

Horticulturist: 1

Head gardeners: 1 per 20 horticulturists

Gardeners: 1 per 4500 sq. ft of landscaped area

Planning Duty Roasters: Duty roasters specify the allotment of jobs, hours of duty, and days off for each member of the staff. To make for an even share of duties, the roaster should be rotated every five weeks. Duty roasters must be simple in format, easy to interpret, clearly written, and displayed on the staff notice board at least a week in advance.

Advantages for a duty roaster

• Planning a duty roaster in advance helps to ensure:
• The exact number of staff required to be on duty at any given occupancy.
• That staff working hours are as per their employment contract.
• That regular off-days are availed for enhancing productivity.
• Knowledge of which employees are present on the premises in instances of emergencies.
• Accuracy in attendance and payroll reports.

Steps in making a roaster: the steps in making a duty roaster are as follows:

Step 1: Ascertain occupancy levels and events expected in the hotel. This information is provided by the sales and marketing department at the beginning of the financial year. On a daily and a weekly basis, more specific reports of occupancy are available through coordination with the front office department. The overall forecasts of occupancy must be considered before scheduling the employees’ annual leave. These forecasts also help the executive housekeeper to follow the staffing to ensure sufficient staff at peak periods and avoid excess labor during slack periods.

Step 2: Ascertain the spread of duty hours to be scheduled in the duty roaster, whether 12 hours, 16 hours, or 24 hours. Decide whether the positions will work for 5 or 7 days per week.

Step 3: Ascertain the type of shift-straight shift, break shift, rotating shift, or any other alternative scheduling-to be used.

Step 4: Ascertain the number of full time and part time staff on the payroll.

Step 5: Ascertain the number of labor hours per day and per week required for various positions.

Step 6: Incorporate coffee breaks and mealtime allowances in the roaster.

Step 7: Ascertain that each employee gets a weekly off day after 6 working days. Provide for compensatory offs. Schedule one reliever per 6 employees.

Step 8: Ascertain closed days and restricted holidays, and any contingency planning that may be needed.

FAQ

What affects housekeeping staffing levels?

Hotel size and occupancy, room types, standards of service, public area size, equipment and the time needed per room.

Why plan for relief staff?

To cover weekly offs, leave and absence without overloading the remaining team.

Your next step

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• Hotel professionals: Create your free candidate profile and browse the latest hotel jobs.

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About the Author

Sumit Manwal is the founder of Hospitality Vacancy (since 2017) and has 20+ years of experience in hospitality. He received the "Excellence in Hospitality Sector of Uttarakhand" award, presented by Shri Dhan Singh Rawat ji (January 2023), and the Dainik Jagran inext Uttarakhand Ratan Samman for Excellence in Hospitality & Education, presented by Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari ji (2023). He helps hotels build reliable teams and professionals grow their careers.

📧 Contact: manwal@hospitalityvacancy.com | 🔗 LinkedIn