English for Hotel Housekeeping
You probably know that if you work in the tourism and hospitality industry, you need to learn a specific type of English. Many people think that if you work as a
housekeeper or room attendant, you don’t really need to know hotel English. This is mostly because you don’t really interact with guests as much as someone working as a receptionist would do. However, if you are working in an English-speaking country or are part of an international team, you will still need to understand spoken and written English. and even specific English for hotel housekeeping.
In housekeeping departments, you are often given lists and charts. Knowing how to understand these and the specialist vocabulary on them is essential for you to do your job correctly. Additionally, you will be given many instructions, and might even have to respond to direct requests from guests.
Room Assignment Sheets
Room assignment sheets will tell you which rooms need to be cleaned, and provide many other details. Hopefully, your supervisor or manager will explain all these codes and the requirements during your training. Of course, every hotel is different, and some phrases will have different requirements linked to them. However, it definitely doesn’t hurt to be one step ahead and learn some of these English for hotel housekeeping phrases now!
Some common words and phrases (and their abbreviations) you might see on these sheets are:
Room status – usually this would be a heading one of the columns, it would then be followed by a comment (usually abbreviated) that tells you what you need to do (or not do) to the room. You can also add or correct the room status yourself.
Occupied clean (OC) – this means a guest is currently staying in the room but it has already been cleaned/does not require further service.
Occupied dirty (OD) – a guest is currently staying in the room and requires service.
Vacant clean (VC) – vacant is the same as unoccupied. Nobody is staying in the room and it is already clean (maybe nobody checked-in since the last time you clean the room).
Checked-out (CO) / Vacant dirty (VD) – the guest has already checked-out / nobody is in the room and it requires fully cleaning.
Due-out – a guest is required to check-out, but hasn’t yet done so. Depending on your hotel policy, you may be required to politely ask them to check-out if it is already past check-out time.
Stayover – the guest is staying an extra night. This might be a last minute decision so is usually noted on your room assignment sheet. For example, initially your assignment sheet might say room 103 is ‘due-out’ but they might arrange with the front desk to stay an extra night. Hopefully, this information will be reported to the housekeeping supervisor/manager, who will then change your room assignment sheet as soon as possible.
Slept-out – a guest is staying in the room, but perhaps didn’t sleep in the bed the night before. This is noted because usually you won’t need to change/make the bed, and generally less work will be required in the room.
Do not disturb (DND) – this is very important! It means that the guest does not want the room serviced, they will usually hang a ‘do not disturb’ sign on their door. Do not knock on their door!
Very important person (VIP) – this is also very important. If you see this note, it means the guest is somebody extra special. Usually, you are required to do or provide something extra in the room. You would have gone through this in training. It could be providing extra mini-bar drinks and snacks, folding towels in a certain way, or just adding something special to the room.
Instructions
Aside from your room assignment sheet, you will also be given direct instructions. When you first join the housekeeping team, you will probably undergo some training as every hotel cleans and sets up rooms differently. This is where it will be very important to pay attention to some key vocabulary!
You might be given instructions using some of these verbs and phrasal verbs:
Scrub – if you’re asked to scrub something, it means you need to clean it properly by rubbing very hard (with a scrubbing brush, cloth or sponge). Example: scrub the toilet using the toilet brush and the pink spray.
Wipe – wipe is a more soft and gentle form of scrub. If you need to wipe something, you will probably use a sponge or cloth, and move it over the surface. Example: wipe the table with a clean cloth.
Polish – similar to wipe, polish would involve moving a cloth over a surface, but you would rub it continuously until the surface is smooth and shiny. Example: polish the mirror with this special cloth.
Rinse – after using chemicals on certain objects, you might be required to rinse them. This means to wash with clean water to remove all the chemicals. Example: after cleaning the glasses, make sure you rinse them and then polish them.
Change – in English for hotel housekeeping, the verb change will be used to mean to take something and replace it with something else (usually new, fresh or clean). Example: For long term guests, we change the towels every 2 days, and we change the bed-sheets every 4 days.
Throw out – if you throw something out, it means you put it in the rubbish/trash/garbage. Example: throw out ripped, stained or really old towels.
Tidy up – this means to generally clean and organise something. Example: we can tidy up leaflets left on the table, but we are not allowed to touch the guest’s belongings.
English for hotel housekeeping – mop the floor
The words and phrases given in this list a just a few of the many you will hear. Hopefully you can see a difference between general English and English for hotel housekeeping. In fact, some words or phrases might have different meanings when used in English for hotel housekeeping. Remember, if you’re ever confused about certain instructions it is best to ask your supervisor or manager because every hotel works differently.
ผู้จัดทำ
น.ส ภัทราภรณ์ มุ่งมี
น.ส วาริณี บุญมี
น.ส ณัฐริกา อะพรรัมย์ BE 3/2
ผู้โพส
นางสาว ศุภลักษณ์ ชาติชาวนา BE 3/2