Download Housekeeping Operations Exam: Questions and Answers and more Exams Hospitality and Tourism in PDF only on Docsity!
Managing Housekeeping Operations -
Ch. 1-6 Exam. Latest Edition 2025-
2026. Questions and Correct Answers.
Graded A
Anna, the executive housekeeper at the 600-room Flower Plaza Hotel, is preparing a capital budget for machinery and equipment purchases. She has been getting complaints from room attendants about guestroom vacuum cleaners. She knows that many of these vacuums are past their useful life. Which of the following inventory records should provide Anna with the necessary detail to prepare housekeeping's capital budget request? issuing logs repair logs and inventory cards completed physical inventory forms invoices from the manufacturers - ANSrepair logs and inventory cards Area inventory lists can be used as a basis for developing: inspection checklists. performance standards. productivity standards. par levels of supplies. - ANSinspection checklists.
At 9:15 a.m., Jane Wright, the hotel's director of sales, finds that an important client will be at the hotel at 11 a.m. to tour the property. She needs an executive suite prepared as a show room. No one answers the phone in the housekeeping department, so she rushes to the eighth floor, interrupts three room attendants cleaning check-out rooms, and directs them to clean and prepare suite 801. Trudy Smith, the eighth-floor housekeeping supervisor, becomes very upset when she finds the room attendants in 801. Preparing the show room will put her staff six rooms behind schedule on a busy day when they are already shorthanded. Trudy loses her composure, yells at the room attendants, and places an angry call to Jane Wright. From the point of view of Trudy, the housekeeping supervisor, which of the following management principles has been violated? Supervisors should have the authority and information necessary to guide - ANSSupervisors should have the authority and information necessary to guide the efforts of employees under their direction. At the Guest First Hotel, the minimum quantity of guestroom soap is 4 cases. If day-to-day housekeeping operations uses 1 case of soap every 5 days and if soap is ordered every 30 days, what should be the maximum quantity of soap inventoried by housekeeping at any given time? 5 cases 9 cases 10 cases
on budget. cannot be determined. - ANSunder budget. During the first three months on the job, the new executive housekeeper at the 300-room Spotless Inn significantly raised the performance standards for guestroom cleaning. The Inn's guest satisfaction ratings soared to an all-time high and guest complaints about housekeeping service all but disappeared. However, departmental labor costs skyrocketed to 30% over budget. The general manager and controller are now demanding housekeeping staff reductions. The most appropriate action for the executive housekeeper to take would be to: refuse to cut staff and present a case for maintaining current performance standards to ensure increased occupancy in the future. cut staff by 10% and maintain current performance standards through a comprehensive inspection program. cut staff by 30% and increase productivity standards for the remaining room attendants. redefine performance standards in light of more realistic productivity - ANSredefine performance standards in light of more realistic productivity standards and reduce staff accordingly.
During which hours of the day does the executive housekeeper have to schedule additional room attendants to provide turndown service for guests? a. 7am-9am b. 11am-noon c. 3pm-5pm d. 7pm-9pm - ANS7 pm to 9 pm Final responsibility for the cleanliness and overall appearance of banquet and meeting rooms usually rests with the: general manager. convention services staff. banquet staff. housekeeping staff. - ANShousekeeping staff. For the past two months, actual expenses of virtually every department at the Impending Doom Hotel were significantly over budgeted amounts. At the weekly management team meeting, the general manager demanded an explanation from each department head before the end of the day. Which of the following should be the first area investigated by the executive housekeeper when preparing a response for the general manager? Examine staff scheduling practices.
How can the operating budget be used as a tool to control expenses? - ANSThe operating budget can serve as a guide line for spending. The operating budget is a very valuable control tool. It can be used to monitor a course of operations during a specified period so you would be able to see/control expenses. How could an incentive program be used as a motivational technique for housekeeping employees? - ANSIncentives give employees recognition. If they reach there goal they receive rewards, it makes the job more entertaining -motivates employees to be more productive -recognizes and rewards good performance -demonstrates the organizations commitment to gust satisfaction by providing a work environment that encourages employees to take care of the guest How do the concepts of minimum quantity and maximum quantity work together to control non-recycled inventories? - ANSpage 201- How have linen reuse programs contributed to water conservation? - ANSnot washing linens everyday
How would a property be most likely to use effluent water as part of a water conservation program? to boil foods in the kitchen for washing towels in the on-premises laundry as a way to avoid installing low-flow toilets to irrigate the property's lawn and landscaping - ANSto irrigate the property's lawn and landscaping If an interviewer decides not to plan any questions in advance and directs the interview in whatever direction seems appropriate at the time, what kind of interview is he or she conducting? unstructured situational behavioral description semi-structured - ANSunstructured Johanna was recently hired as the executive housekeeper of the 500-room Sun Resort Hotel. After reviewing personnel records, she discovered that the housekeeping department has been experiencing a low rate of retention. She interviewed several of her current room attendants asking them about the reasons behind the turnover. She learned several things
Establish issuing procedures for linens based on occupancy forecasts from the sales department. Take a physical inventory of all linens in use and in storage on a weekly basis. - ANSEstablish floor pars and issue linens on a daily basis only in amounts needed to bring each floor linen closet up to its par level. Midway into the year, actual room sales were significantly below forecasted levels at the Cut & Slash Hotel. This forced the general manager to reduce every department's budget for the rest of year by 20%. The food and beverage director would have to reduce food costs by changing menu offerings. The director of sales would have to travel less frequently to meet with prospective clients and meeting planners. Henry, the executive housekeeper, felt that he had very little to do--after all, his department's expenses were tied to a cost per occupied room. Since occupancy levels fell, so should have housekeeping's expenses. Is Henry right or wrong? Henry is right because housekeeping's actual labor expenses as well as actual expenses for linen, laundry, and cleaning supplies must already be 20% under budgeted levels. Henry is right only if he adjusted staffing levels to conform with actual daily occupancies during the fi - ANSHenry is right only if he adjusted staffing levels to conform with actual daily occupancies during the first half of the year.
Name the three basic service-level categories of hotels. What are typical characteristics of each? - ANSa. Economy Hotels - meets the guests basic needs, inexpensive rooms, between 50 and 150 rooms, guests most likely to stay here: families with children, tour bus groups, business travelers, vacationers, retirees, and groups of conventioneers. b. Mid-Market Hotels - between 150 and 300 rooms, uniformed service, full food and beverage service, guests most likely to stay here: business travelers on expense accounts, tourists, or families that take advantage of special rates. c. Luxury Hotels - world-class service, upscale restaurants and lounges, concierge service, nightly turndown service, guests most likely to stay here: top business executives, entertainment celebrities, high ranking political figures, and other wealthy people. On February 1, a guest checks into room 233 and reserves the room for the next three nights. On February 2, the occupancy report from the front desk would list the status of room 233 as: a. DNCO (did not check out) b. a late check-out c. a sleeper d. a stayover - ANSA stayover
compressed staff positions variable staff positions shared staff positions fixed staff positions - ANSfixed staff positions Recently completed renovations at the 450-room Glitz Hotel increased debt payments and significantly strained the short-term cash resources of the hotel. At the last management meeting, cost control and cash management were the central topics. The general manager and department heads evaluated changes in purchasing practices, staffing levels, and other areas in which changes could immediately cut the cost of doing business. Several managers questioned the value of continuing the hotel's on-premises laundry and suggested outsourcing laundry needs to a local commercial laundry operation. This change would immediately reduce payroll and provide extra cash for debt payments. After a brief discussion, the management team decided that outsourcing the laundry operation would not help the current situation because: laying off the laundry staff would lower the morale of other employees. cash from payroll savings and the sal - ANSthe purchase of an additional par of linens to cover laundry in transit by the commercial laundry would offset any immediate cash savings.
Room inspections over the past week show that the work of three room attendants has been inconsistent. Before some of their assigned rooms could be declared vacant and ready for sale, they had to return to the rooms to clean areas they missed earlier. This situation indicates a problem in the area of: meeting the department's performance standards. meeting the department's productivity standards. developing room pars. developing frequency schedules. - ANSmeeting the department's performance standards. Some estimates indicate that a hotel's energy and water costs can be reduced by as much as _____ by training employees in efficient operating practices. 5 percent 10 percent 25 percent 40 percent - ANS10 percent The general manager of a hotel generally reports to:
remember. recalculate. reuse. register. - ANSreuse. The Work Order System: - ANSThree part forms are used to communicate the need for repairs to engineering/maintenance. Housekeeping department fills out a work order. One copy to housekeeping two copies to engineering Chief engineer keeps one copy gives other to tradesperson. Tradesperson performs the task and returns the completed form to housekeeping. Tips for Effective Interviewing: - ANS• Do your homework before the interview.
- Establish the appropriate setting .• Establish a rapport.
- Know the job. Types of Interview Questions: - ANS• Rapport-building questions
- Behavioral questions
- Fitness questions
- Job competency questions
- Closing questions
Use of a HEPA filter would most likely be part of what type of environmental management program in a hotel? energy efficiency water conservation waste management indoor air quality - ANSindoor air quality What additional areas may housekeeping be responsible for cleaning, depending on the property's service level? - ANS•Meeting rooms •Dining rooms •Banquet rooms •Convention exhibit halls •Hotel-operated shops •Game rooms•Exercise rooms What are some alternative scheduling techniques? - ANSSome alternative scheduling techniques include: Part-time employees, flexible work hours, compressed work schedules and job sharing What are some important elements of indoor air quality programs? - ANS- introduction and distribution of adequate ventilation air -control of airborne contaminants -maintenance of acceptable temperature and relative humidity
The executive housekeeper is involved in the planning process that leads to the formulation of the budget. (Entails informing rooms division manager and general manager what expenses the housekeeping department will incur in light of forecasted room sales) Ensures that the department's actual expenses are in line with budgeted costs and with the actual occupancy levels What are the four basic methods an executive housekeeper can use to control expenses? - ANSaccurate record keeping, effective scheduling, careful training and supervision, and effective/efficient purchasing What are the fundamental management functions that should be carried out be every hotel manager? - ANSPlanning, organizing, coordinating, staffing directing, controlling, evaluating What are the main benefits of conducting physical inventories? How often should physical inventories be taken? - ANSTypical, the physical inventory is taken at the end of each accounting month to provide the executive housekeeper with important cost-control information needed to monitor the department's budget What are the systems used by the front desk and housekeeping to track current room status? - ANSa. Occupancy report
b. Housekeeping status report c. Room status discrepancy d. Room Rack What are the three elements of a waste management program? - ANSreduce reuse recycle What areas are most housekeeping departments responsible for cleaning in a hotel? - ANS•Guestrooms •Corridors •Pool and patio areas •Management offices •Storage areas •Linen and sewing rooms •Laundry room •Back-of-the-house areas, such as employee locker rooms What basic responsibilities does the executive housekeeper have in terms of purchasing supplies? - ANSmakes sure that the hotel's money is well spent and the maximum value is received from products purchased for use Executive housekeeper needs to know how to obtain the best value when purchasing the department
