In this last period at Ok Hostel I have learned a really important part for the management of an hostel: the housekeeping. It is fundamental because it represents a criterion to define the level of an hostel. Our hostel has a really positive feedback in Hostelworld.com and Booking.com.
The first important thing to keep in mind when you manage the housekeeping is the organisation of the team: it is necessary to have a lot of personnel on Sunday, Monday and Thursday because these are the days with more check out and check in.
At the OK Hostel we have three cleaning turns scheduled per day: 8:00 – 16:00; 10:30 – 18:00; 14:00 – 23:00. It is important that each turn has enough person in order to assure an efficient service from the Hostel. The most critical moment is between 12:00 (check-out time) and before 15:00 (check-in time).
Moreover, the hostel has to respect and follow the instructions of a cleaning protocol. During the first turn, they have to clean the kitchen, the toilets, the common spaces and the bedrooms, in general. Furthermore, they help the receptionists to prepare the breakfast during 8:00-10:30.
During the second turn, from 10:30 to 18:00 the laundry brings all the clean sheets and towels which have to be put in stock for the following days. They take a look at the bedrooms and toilets and they check if a second cleaning is necessary. The same cleaning standards are required also for the last turn. At last they collaborate at the organisation of the dinner. In fact, they support the chef, the bar responsible and the receptionists.
The best standards of cleaning depend on the synergy of the receptionists with the responsible maintenance and the coordinator of the housekeeping. I have learned that the most important thing to organise the housekeeping is to create a solid team which is able to face all the demands that a hostel of 200 beds has to handle.
