Topic Wise Notes: Accommodation Operations
Please note: The answers provided below, are just for reference. Always consult your college professor if you have any queries.
Q.1. Discuss in detail the functions of the housekeeping department of a hotel.
Housekeeping department in hotel ensures the cleanliness, maintenance, and aesthetic appeal of all rooms and public areas. The housekeeping department not only turnarounds (prepares and clean guestrooms) on a timely manner it also cleans and maintains everything in the hotel so that the property is as fresh and attractive similar to the day when it opened the doors for the business.
The effort that the housekeeping makes in giving a guest a desirable room has a direct bearing on the guest’s experience in a hotel. Thre are more employees working in the housekeeping department when compared to any other hotel departments.
Being responsible for the turnaround of the rooms in a timely manner, housekeepings primary communications are with the front desk/reception team. Each room status is updated on a regular basis from the housekeeping to the front desk and vice versa. With new technologies available a room status update can be done via the hotel software, telephone systems, housekeeping mobile applications etc.
Housekeeping also coordinates closely with the maintenance or engineering department, as the housekeeping staff identifies different types of maintenance issues while cleaning the rooms and reports to the maintenance team for rectification or replacement. Example snags or issue with the TV, AC, Heating unit, Plumbing, Lighting, Electrical faults, Furniture, Toilet, Vanity, Tub, Towels racks, Ventilation issues etc.
The role of housekeeping can change depending upon the type or category of the hotel, for example only in a luxury or full-service hotel evening or turndown services are offered by the housekeeping department. The housekeeping department is one of the major ‘Support Centre’ in the hotel as it doesn’t generate any major revenue for the hotel.
Housekeeping is considered as a ‘back of the house’ department even though they have some direct contact to the guests; like for example while cleaning rooms, picking up laundry, providing evening or turndown services etc.
OR Explain duties and responsibilities of: (a) Floor Supervisor
Duties and Responsibilities
Supervise the handing over of soiled linen to the laundry and the requisitioning of fresh ones from housekeeping.
Ensure the supply of equipment and maintenance and cleaning supplies to floors and public areas.
Issue floor keys to room attendants.
Supervise spring cleaning.
Report on maintenance work on her floor.
Coordinate with room service for clearing.
Maintain par stock for the respective floors/ floor pantry.
Coordinate with the front office manager.
Facilitate the provision of extra services to guests, such as baby sitters, hot-water bottles, and so on, on request.
Immediately report any safety or security hazard to the security department or to the management.
Check on scanty baggage.
Prepare housekeeping status reports.
Supervise cleaning on the allotted floors and areas- including guestrooms, corridors, staircases, and floor pantries of the allotted floors.
Report on standards of individual staff performance.
(b) Housekeeping Desk Supervisor
Coordinate with the front office for information on departure rooms and handing over of clean rooms.
Coordinate with other departments for smooth functioning and efficiency.
Receive complaints on maintenance and housekeeping.
Maintains registers kept at the control desk.
Receive special requests from guests.
Act as a pivotal person in receiving and disseminating information amongst housekeeping staff.
Maintain the latest reports regarding room occupancy, VIPs, the status of rooms, and so on, so that work can be delegated to attendants and supervisors accordingly.
Attend to all phone calls received at the control desk.
Be responsible for guestroom keys given to room attendants and to store the keys and maintain a key register.
Q.2. (a) Explain any five essential qualities of a housekeeper.
Personnel attributes of housekeeping staff in the hospitality industry play an important role. It enhances the images of the property as well as the quality of personalization that only humans can give. These attributes are based on the following term.
Pleasant Personality A result of good grooming and presentation in front of the guest. The way the staff looks is the first impression on the guest and by this look, the guest judges the quality of service/ standards provided by the organization. All HK staff should be well-groomed. Clean Crisp Uniform If long hair -Tied neat hair Minimum jewelry Light makeup Aftershave/ Perfume – not too strong H/k Attendants may be given Hair caps. Clean Footwear- comfortable, low heels Mannerisms to avoid- scratching, digging into nose/ ear, chewing gum, etc in public
Physical Fitness “ A Strong Heart and Good Feet “to cope up with 24 X 7 operations and also a labor-intensive department
Personal hygiene It is important since it reflects the hygiene standards of the organization.
Bathe daily- no body odor
Nails Clipped and clean
Mouth- Odour free
Scalp – clean, dandruff free
Infection- report immediately …..Cuts and wounds- covered
Eye for detail The critical power of observation distinguishes good service from average. This is important to make a flawless room.
Cooperation H/k involves a lot of teamwork.
Adaptability Technology is fast upgrading hence all H/k staff should be open to accept these changes and adapt accordingly
Honesty It is essential since it is the H/k staff who have access to the guest rooms even when the guest is not present in the room
Tact & Diplomacy To cope up with the different types of guests since H/k staff come in close contact with them. They should be able to handle problem guests also without being rude or hurting his/ her sentiments.
Right Attitude Includes
Optimism
Ready to learn from own mistakes
Proactive and anticipate guest needs
The display even temper, courtesy, and good humor.
Calm demeanor Helps in the time of emergencies when a person does not panic and handles the problem effectively.
Courteous To both guests and colleagues.
Punctuality Reporting for duty on time displays commitment to work.
Good Memory Especially in the case of repeat guests. It feels nice if someone remembers the guest likes, dislikes or wish, etc.
(b) Draw the organization chart of housekeeping department of a 300 room 5- star hotel.
Q.3. What do you mean by “Cleaning Schedules/Cleaning Frequency”. Explain the different cleaning schedules practiced in hotels with appropriate examples.
Frequency of Cleaning
Cleaning tasks 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 and the cleaning standards. Employees should be given the procedures and frequencies for carrying out various tasks outlined in the book or manual. This information may also be displayed in the floor pantries
Daily Cleaning
These are routing operations carried out on a day-to-day basis by the staff of the housekeeping department. These include the regular servicing of guestrooms, cleaning of bathrooms and toilets, suction cleaning of floors and the floor coverings, and so on.
Periodic Cleaning
1. Weekly Cleaning
These, as the term implies, are routine tasks carried out on a weekly basis. Weekly cleaning schedules are made and these normally include some cleaning tasks that are time consuming or tasks that cannot be done on a daily basis. Example :
Monday- Polishing Brassware
Tuesday- High dusting
Wednesday- Scrubbing of Bathroom Tiles
Thursday- Vacuuming under heavy furniture
Friday- Scrubbing of balconies/terrace
Saturday- Changing paper underliner in drawers
Sunday- Cleaning the window Ledges
2. Fortnightly Cleaning
A fifteen-day cleaning schedule.
3. Deep Cleaning
It refers to the intensive cleaning schedule in which periodic cleaning tasks are scheduled for monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, or annual frequency. This is done for areas and surfaces which cannot be cleaned on a daily basis. This kind of cleaning is conducted in close coordination with the maintenance department. Example, carpet shampooing, Rotating and cleaning mattresses, Ceilings, light fittings, fans, signage boards, laundering of soft furnishings.
4. Spring Cleaning
This is a term used for annual cleaning of guestrooms and public areas in off-season periods and low occupancy periods. This involves a complete overhaul of the rooms by undertaking few steps as: Removal of carpets from the room for shampooing, Polishing wooden furniture, shampooing upholstery (sofas), Painting on walls, Redecoration, Cleaning air conditioning vents and Airing the room.
Special Cleaning
These cleaning may be occasional; for example cleaning a room which is handed over from the project team to housekeeping, cleaning a room after the preventive maintenance of a room has been done, cleaning a room after it has undergone a major renovation, etc.
Apart from the above cleaning there can be:
Evening service (Or Turn- Down Service): this is the service given to a room in the evening to prepare the room for the night. This service should be done prior to the guest retiring for the night. Second Service: this is a service given to the VIP guest staying in the hotel or on the guest’s request. This normally happens when a guest has/ had a party or meeting in his room & would like his room to be put in order as a consequence. This may be charged by the hotel.
OR Explain any five cleaning procedures used in housekeeping department.
Orthodox/ Traditional cleaning: In this method, the Guest Room attendant completes all the cleaning tasks in one room before proceeding to another room. On average, a GRA may be required to clean about 12-20 room in 8 hours duty.
Block cleaning: In this method, GRA moves from one dirty room to another and completes the same task in every room before returning for starting the next task on the list. This involves blocking several rooms at a time and usually, more than 1 GRA are involved in cleaning at a time. Different GRA’s pick up different tasks. (Bed making, Toilet Cleaning, Room cleaning, replenishing supplies).
Team cleaning: This is a combination of the two methods mentioned above. In this method two or more GRA’s work in the same room taking up different tasks so that room is cleaned quickly before moving on to the same room. A team of 3 GRA’s may be assigned 30-35 rooms in a day.
Deep cleaning: It refers to the intensive cleaning schedule in which periodic cleaning tasks are scheduled for monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual frequency. This is done for areas and surfaces which cannot be cleaned on a daily basis. This kind of cleaning is conducted in close coordination with the maintenance department. Example, carpet shampooing, Rotating and cleaning mattresses, Ceilings, light fittings, fans, signage boards, laundering of soft furnishings.
Spring cleaning: This is a term used for annual cleaning of guestrooms and public areas in off-season periods and low occupancy periods. This involves a complete overhaul of the rooms by undertaking a few steps as :
Removal of carpets from the room for shampooing
Polishing wooden furniture, shampooing upholstery (sofas)
Painting on walls
Cleaning air conditioning vents
Airing the room
Redecoration
Q.4. Explain how computers have helped in conducting daily housekeeping operations in hotel efficiently and smoothly?
1. Rooms Management
Arrival and departure as well as occupancy figures.
Occupancy Forecast
V.I.P. and other special arrivals.
Guest history and other special requests (e.g Bed boards, vases, flower arrangement, disabled facilities, etc.
Out of order record giving reasons(e.g. redecoration, maintenance problem, etc.)
Room change (when a guest moved from one room to another) and also the room type change.
Complimentary or staff room.
Rooms sold for various purposes (special) and room arrangement thereof e.g. interview rooms.
Inter-Connecting rooms sold for friends or in a family plan.
Sleep-out (where the guest has slept out).
Walk-out (confirmed reservation guests walk out to other hotels).
Overstays (where the guest who was supposed to be leaving has decided to stay on).
Occupancy status of the room and the number of persons in the room.
V.I.Ps’ in the house.
Clear rooms required on priority.
Sick guests if any.
This information will mostly be in a two-way flowing from the reception to the housekeeping and vice Versa.
From the housekeeping side, the information may be fed into the computer from the keyboard.
If the computer is linked to the telephone system, information on room status may be dialed indirectly by the floor supervisor.
2. Forecasting GRA Requirement
Computers may be used to forecast the total number of GRAs needed each day in the future, based on the current in-house occupancy and staffing and the expected arrivals/departures over the forthcoming period. These can forecast staffing requisites up to 365 days in advance, given the right inputs.
3. Housekeeping History & GRA Performance
It is possible to measure the performance of each GRA by tracking the estimated clean time’ and the ‘actual clean time’, as well as the variances. Since supervisors use the intercom in the room to mark the room as ‘ready for guests’, the computer can also store the time at which the supervisor finished the inspection.
4. Stock-Control
All types of housekeeping stocks may be controlled by a computer including:
Linen Inventories
Cleaning Agents
Cleaning Equipment
Uniforms
Guest Supplies
Soft Furnishing
Bedding
Spare carpets and curtain/upholstery fabric etc.
By keeping efficient stock control, purchases and budgeting will be made easier and information on stock levels etc. will be readily available.
5. Housekeeping Records
All the housekeeping records may be kept on the computer. For example,
Room type with standard content design and color scheme;
Housekeeping Items’ purchase details like
Name of supplier
Date of purchase
Cost of Item,
Problems if any,
Method of cleaning, and
Maintenance.
6. Work Methods These should be identified for use in training periods or where special cleaning operations are carried out.
7. Files Computer files take the place of traditional files reducing the need for filing cabinets.
8. Word-Processing The computer used as a word processor takes the place of a traditional typewriter, so all correspondence could be prepared in this way. A standard letter could also be kept in memory.
9. Planning System A well-organized housekeeping department has a planning system in operations.The computer is ideal for keeping such records and preparing forecasts for example, on window cleaning, redecoration, etc.
10. Energy Saving Computers can be used to control heat, light, power, and telephone usage.
Other IT Applications in H/K Some companies also offer tray detection technology.When a guest puts a tray outside of the door, housekeeping is alerted from a triangle sensor on the tray that triggers another sensor in the doorway.This immediately alerts the staff to the waiting tray by way of a blinking light.The housekeeping staff can also be alerted when a room is available for cleaning by the guests.In this application, guests click a button, which sets off another sensor, to indicate they are gone and the room can be cleaned.
Use of Computers in housekeeping
Many hotels have invested heavily in information technology infrastructure and networking that deploy the latest technical advances in their operations. The new technologies which are gaining entry into the hospitality segment are Wi-Fi (wireless fidelity), radio frequency identification, and the possibility of tracking inventory and guest data through the convergence of cellular and wireless technologies, GPS (Global Positioning System), VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), handheld communication devices and so on. Hotels either provide Wi-Fi as a value-added amenity to the guest or offer the service at a cost to their guest. Wi-Fi is provided in guest rooms as well as public areas, lobbies, meeting rooms, lounges, and so on.
In The House-Keeping Department
WLAN (Wireless Local Area Network) technology is enabling a wide range of hospitality applications in the housekeeping department. Housekeeping staff can now conduct room checks after a guest vacates the room through the handheld Wi-Fi enabled device to report the status of the room.
They also communicate with security personnel instantly over e-mail in case of an emergency.
Staff can also ensure from a remote spot that fire extinguishers are charged, emergency lights are functioning, and so on.
Check and communicate inventory invention for guest room supplies and the stocking of minibars in order to ensure that provisions are replenished in an efficient manner.
Computers are now being used in many housekeeping departments for room management, inventory control, and linen management.
Computers can now be linked to the telephone system in each individual guest room. This technology greatly reduces the cost of individual wiring in each guest room. For e.g. an interface can be created between the telephone systems of the hotels’ computer network by the guest room attendant dialing a specific sequence of numbers on the phone from the specific guestroom. Once connected the computer immediately recognizes room no. to which it is being connected.
Housekeeping operations modules are widely available such as forecasting attendant requirements, daily housekeeping scheduling, tracking housekeeping history, and monitoring room attendant’s performance.
There is also a module to track the status from dirty room to ready room for inspection and a cleaned room that is ready for the guest.
Many hotels also offer a detection technology when the guest puts the tray outside the door, housekeeping is alerted from a triangle sensor on the tray that triggers another sensor in the doorway. This immediately alerts the staff to the waiting tray with a blinking light.
The housekeeping staff can also be alerted when the room is available for cleaning by the guest. In this application, the guest clicks a button, which sets off another sensor to indicate they are gone and the room can be cleaned.
Occupancy report, discrepancy report, list, or under repair rooms can be sent to the front office through the WLANs system by which manual work can be avoided.
The housekeeping module can also schedule the servicing of guest request, for e.g. if a guest calls the front desk and request for a crib or extra towels, the front desk can simply input this request into the computer and it then appears on the main housekeeping monitor screen. A guest request notification can also be sent to the room attendants automatically to the handheld wireless PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) or cell phone by way of text message or e-mail.
WLANs allow guest to share hi-speed internet connections, browse the web, access their corporate networks, remotely yet securely, access the business center from their rooms, organize video conference, play games online, and use multiplayer gaming options.
Q.5. Write short notes on the following (any four):
(a) Floor Maintenance Machine
Automatic floor scrubbers. Automatic floor scrubbers, also known as auto scrubbers, are a type of floor cleaning machine that are used to scrub a floor clean of light debris, dust, oil, grease or floor marks. … Floor scrubbers are a more hygienic alternative to traditional cleaning methods such as a mop and bucket.
(b) Detergent
Detergents are those cleaning agents, which contain significant quantities of a group of chemicals known as ‘Surfactants’ (chemicals that have water and soil attracting properties). A number of other chemicals are frequently included to produce detergents suitable for a specific use.A good detergent should –
Reduce the surface tension of water so that the cleaning solution can penetrate the soil
Emulsify soil and lift it from the surface
Be soluble in cold water
Be effective in hard water and a wide range of temperatures.
Be hard on the surface that has to be cleaned. Clean quickly and with little agitation.
Suspend soil in a cleaning solution, and once the soil is removed, to hold it in suspension and not let it redeposit.
Rinse easily and leave no streaks or scum
Be economical to user
Be harmless to the skin and article.
Be bio-degradable
(c) Dry Mops
Mops should be shaken well after use outdoors.
The mop heads should be easily detachable so that they can be frequently washed in hot water with detergent.
The use of soap-free detergent will prevent the formation of scum that clogs the fibres of the head.
The mop must be worked up and down in at least two changes of clean, hot water.
The clean mop should then be tightly squeezed out, shaken well to get rid of excess moisture. and left to dry in the open air.
Once dry, the mops may need to be re-impregnated.
(d) Wall finishes
Wall coverings maybe purely decorative, in which case, ability to bring colour, pattern, texture, light or shade to the room maybe of the greatest importance. On the other hand the covering maybe required to give an easily cleaned and hygienic surface. The choice is very wide and the style should suit the purpose, furnishing and the architectural aspects of the room. The type of finish selected will depend largely on: –
Contribution to décor: – The colour, texture and pattern will influence the apparent warmth and dimension of the room and the level and type of illumination used. The type of room, it’s existing size and decoration must be considered.
Ease of cleaning: – Smooth, hard, impervious surface, preferably light coloured can be cleaned easily; whereas textured surfaces tend to attract and hold dust.
State of existing surface: – textured and patterned finishes can be used to mask poor surfaces.
Resistance to abrasion and knocks: – Hard surfaces will be best for this purpose.
Stain resistance: – A non-porous surface has more resistance than porous ones.
Durability: – Surfaces subject to abuse, knocks, stains and abrasion require finishes that are resistant, can be cleaned easily, inexpensively restored or repaired whenever required.
Life expectancy: – Where décor of the room is intended to change relatively frequently, less expensive finishes are appropriate.
Insulation: – How-much-ever possible finishes with good sound insulation properties should be selected.
Cost: – While comparing cost of different finishes, not only should the cost of the material and its application be considered; but also the cost of it’s damage restoration and expected frequency of complete redecoration should be borne in mind.
(e) Floor seals
Floor seals are semi-permanent finishes applied to the flooring to render it impermeable to protect the surface from dirt, stain and other liquids and to provide an easy to maintain surface. The floor surface must be clean and dry before a seal is applied or it will not ‘key’ to the surface.
These act as a protective barrier by preventing the entry of dirt, grit, liquids, grease, stains, and bacteria. They prevent scratching and provide an easily maintainable surface. The right type of seal should be applied to each type of floor for effective protection and an attractive appearance. According to their functions, floor sealers can be finishing, protective, or a combination of both.
They are also grouped as permeable, semi-permeable, and impermeable, according to their penetrability vis-a-vis water. Permeable seals can be used on wood, cork, stone (except slate), and magnesite floors. Impermeable seals should be avoided on these floors as the moisture naturally found within these floors will then get entrapped and may cause disintegration of the flooring. Impermeable seals may be used on PVCs, thermoplastic tiles, and rubber floors.
(f) Abrasives
The cleaning action of abrasives depends on the presence of fine particles which when rubbed over a soiled hard surface, dislodges the soil, removes tarnishing, and surface scratches from meat surfaces. Abrasives can be divided into:
Hard surface cleaners
Metal polishes.
Abrasives depend on their rubbing or scratching action to clean dirt from hard surfaces. The extent to which they will rub or scratch a surface depends on the nature of the abrasive material and on the size and shape of the particles. The use of abrasive will depend on the surface to be cleaned and the type of dirt to be removed. Whenever possible fine abrasives should be preferred to coarser ones. E.g. glass, sand, emery paper, steel wool, nylon pads, powdered pumice, feldspar, calcite, fine ash, precipitated whiting, filtered chalk, jeweler’s rouge (fine abrasive), etc. they are available in natural, liquid, paste or powdered form.
(g) Co-ordination with security
The coordination here is mainly concerned with the prevention of fire and thefts and the safekeeping of keys and lost property.
Housekeeping personnel should also report anything of a suspicious nature or movement in a hotel immediately to the security staff.
Housekeeping has to coordinate if they see any anti-social activities in the guest room such as gambling, smuggling, and so on.
The security department is responsible for conducting training sessions on handling emergency situations for the staff. e.g they conduct fire drill to train staff to gear up in a fire emergency
(h) Duties of houseman
Clean carpets
Shift beds, chairs, and other heavy furniture.
Cart linen to and from floors.
Clean the swimming pools. garden paths and such outdoor surfaces
Clear out the garbage.
Polish all brassware.
Help room attendants in their work in guestrooms.
Clean all doors, windows, and ventilators.
Corridor cleaning
Cleaning the floor pantry
Takedown and re-hang curtains as needed.
Clean fire-fighting equipment.
Keep the fire buckets filled with sand.
Take on heavy cleaning of areas such as shafts and terraces.
Wash walls draperies, chandeliers, and other hard-to-reach areas.
Q.7. Differentiate between: (a) Stain and Tarnish
Tarnish : Oxidation or discoloration, especially of a decorative metal exposed to air.
Stain : A stain is a discoloration that can be clearly distinguished from the surface, material, or medium it is found upon. They are caused by the chemical or physical interaction of two dissimilar materials.
(b) Galvanising and Lacquering
Galvanizing : Galvanization or galvanizing is the process of applying a protective zinc coating to steel or iron, to prevent rusting.
Lacquering : the process of applying lacquer, a liquid made of shellac dissolved in alcohol, or of synthetic substances, that dries to form a hard protective coating for wood, metal, etc.
(c) Hardwood and Softwood
| Hardwood | Softwood |
|---|---|---|
Definition | Comes from angiosperm trees that are not monocots; trees are usually broad-leaved. Has vessel elements that transport water throughout the wood; under a microscope, these elements appear as pores. | Comes from gymnosperm trees that usually have needles and cones. Medullary rays and tracheids transport water and produce sap. When viewed under a microscope, softwoods have no visible pores because of tracheids. |
Uses | hardwoods are more likely to be found in high-quality furniture, decks, flooring, and construction that needs to last. | About 80% of all timber comes from softwood. Softwoods have a wide range of applications and are found in building components (e.g., windows, doors), furniture, medium-density fiberboard (MDF), paper, Christmas trees, and much more. |
Examples | Examples of hardwood trees include alder, balsa, beech, hickory, mahogany, maple, oak, teak, and walnut. | Examples of softwood trees are cedar, Douglas fir, juniper, pine, redwood, spruce, and yew. |
Density | Most hardwoods have a higher density than most softwoods. | Most softwoods have a lower density than most hardwoods. |
Cost | Hardwood is typically more expensive than softwood. | Softwood is typically less expensive compared to hardwood. |
Growth | Hardwood has a slower growth rate. | Softwood has a faster rate of growth. |
Fire Resistance | More | Poor |
(d) Leather and rexines
Rexine is the registered trademark of an artificial leather leathercloth fabric produced in the United Kingdom by Rexine Ltd of Hyde, near Manchester, England. It was made of cloth surfaced with a mixture of cellulose nitrate (a low explosive also used as the propellant in firearms rounds), camphor oil, pigment and alcohol, embossed to look like leather.
Leather is a natural durable and flexible material created by tanning animal rawhides and skins. The most common raw material is cattle hide. It can be produced at manufacturing scales ranging from artisan to modern industrial scale.
(d) Conventional Cleaning and Block cleaning
Orthodox/ Traditional cleaning: In this method, the Guest Room attendant completes all the cleaning tasks in one room before proceeding to another room. On average, a GRA may be required to clean about 12-20 room in 8 hours duty.
Block cleaning: In this method, GRA moves from one dirty room to another and completes the same task in every room before returning for starting the next task on the list. This involves blocking several rooms at a time and usually, more than 1 GRA are involved in cleaning at a time. Different GRA’s pick up different tasks. (Bed making, Toilet Cleaning, Room cleaning, replenishing supplies).
Q.8. What do you understand by Eco-friendly products in housekeeping? Name three eco-friendly products.
Toiletries
More and more hotels are opting for toiletry ranges evolved after research and experimentation on the potent healing, curative, and therapeutic properties of herbs, their extracts, and essential oils on the skin and hair, especially as laid down in Ayurveda. These products are also not tested upon animals and tend to be biodegradable. Some of the herbs and natural substances frequently used in toiletries such as shampoos, conditioners, creams, lotions, and so on are aloe vera, liquorice, citrus fruit, Indian gooseberry, neem, sunflower, basil, pumpkin, cucumber, turmeric, sandalwood, apricot, mace, clove, nutmeg, coriander, rose, henna, clay (especially China clay), alum, and honey.
Textiles
Some international chains and ecotels are experimenting with textiles made of bamboo fibres as an environmentally sustainable material for bed and bath linen and uniforms. Bamboo is one of the world’s most prolific, regenerative crops and is grown without the use of any pesticides or fertilizers. Fabrics made of bamboo are naturally antibacterial and hypoallergenic. Bamboo fibres are usually blended with cotton (65%: 35% or 40%: 60%) to yield more absorbent, softer, and smell resistant luxury bath linen than normal ones. Bamboo fabrics have a unique silky texture and are superior to cotton in terms of softness, durability, and comfort and are therefore ideal for the manufacture of bed linen. The fabrics do not pill. The bamboo fibre under the microscope shows various gaps and holes and hence the fabrics made out of it can rapidly absorb and evaporate moisture, making them exceptionally comfortable. Moreover, bamboo is cool in summer and warm in winter.
Energy-conserving Products
Housekeepers are now looking for products and equipment that help conserve energy. One such product is the jet hand-dryer that produces bi-directional jets of cold air jets that come to a head at 68 m/s to leave wet hands bone dry in seconds, in an alternative to the conventional hot-air drying process. The dryer is activated by placing the hands in the dryer bin, whereby the jet starts up automatically. The product’s primary advantage is the enormous power saving due to its low energy consumption compared to the conventional hot-air model: this machine runs at 700W, whereas the conventional hot-air dryers run at 2000W. This leads to huge savings in power bills-often as much as 67 per cent.
Housekeepers and interior designers today also have at their disposal energy-efficient lamps that consume a mere 9W of power and give the same light output as a 60W bulb. This can reduce power tariffs by as much as 80 per cent without taking away the aesthetic appeal of the property. Some trends in lighting that have been gaining momentum in Indian hotels are the use of luminaries and LEDs with sensor technology, compact luminaries and compact halogen lamps.
OR Define detergent. What are some of the qualities of a good detergent?
Reduce the surface tension of water so that the cleaning solution can penetrate the soil
Emulsify soil and lift it from the surface
Be soluble in cold water
Be effective in hard water and a wide range of temperatures.
Be hard on the surface that has to be cleaned. Clean quickly and with little agitation.
Suspend soil in a cleaning solution, and once the soil is removed, to hold it in suspension and not let it redeposit.
Rinse easily and leave no streaks or scum
Be economical to user
Be harmless to the skin and article.
Be bio-degradable
Q.9. A How would you clean following surfaces: (i) Brass door handle
Tarnish on a brass surface is in the form of green colour corrosion which is caused due to exposure of the metallic surface to the atmospheric conditions. It is called verdigris.
Dust the brass surface using a dry duster
Make a solution of washing soda in hot water and dip the article for 2-3 min. This helps in loosening of dirt from the surface of the article.
Dry the surface
Apply tamarind and salt paste. Rub the article with the same paste till the tarnish is removed or the brass develops a reddish tinge.
Dip the article in washing soda solution ( neutralising)
Rinse with fresh water and dry.
Shake the Brasso bottle well and apply little quantity of Brasso on the article surface with the help of a rag.
Buff it well with a duster till the article gets a shiny appearance
(ii) Glass window
Put aside the curtains carefully so that they do not get dirty while cleaning window.
Dust the wooden or the metal frame with a rag to remove the loose dirt on it. If wooden frame, lightly wipe with a cloth wrung out thoroughly in dilute vinegar solution & if the frame is of metal scrub it with detergent solution.
Dust the window pane giving attention to the corners & edges clean it with a tooth brush.
Make a solution of teepol & add a few drops of ammonia to it. Then apply this on the window pane with a sponge.
Wipe clean with a cloth dipped in clean water.
With the glass wiper remove the excess water.
Make a pad of newspaper& buff the glass surface by moving in one direction either vertically or horizontally.
Finish off with polishing & buffing of metal frame & handles.
B Write full form of:
(i) EPNS : Electro Plated Nickle Silver
(ii) OOO : Out Of order
(iii) HWC : Handle With Care
(iv) WC : Water Closet
(v) SB : Scanty baggage
Q.10. Fill in the blanks:
(a) Bronze is an alloy of copper and tin. (b) Chamois leather is used for cleaning glass and silver polishing. (c) Vacuum is used to remove excess water from floors. (d) Sweeping is done before Dusting. (e) Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc. (f) pH scale denotes the acidity and alkalinity of substances. (g) Saponification is a reaction in which fats/oils reacts with alkali to form soap. (h) Faucet is another term for taps. (i) Brasso is used to polish brass. (j) Parquet is a floor finish.
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