A housekeeper is employed within a private house or a hotel, in order to keep the place spic and span, and to manage the other employees within the housekeeping sector and make sure they are all completing their duties to the required standard.
Ultimately, the role is supposed to make sure that the entire building is clean and comfortable for its occupants, and that the housekeeping staff are trained and doing their jobs to the best of their ability.
The housekeeper is also the point of contact for the whole department, in bigger roles, and they would liaise with the bookings department in a hotel, for example, in order to relay back to their whole team when the right time to clean a room was.
Salary & benefits
For a housekeeper working in a hotel, she could expect between £18,500 and £21,000, but this can raise considerably given the amount of lavish hotels that are commonplace in the cities of England today, and that tips are commonplace within the industry.
There’s scope to become a housekeeper on a cruise, or in a five-star resort in Barbados, which means there is plenty of possibility within the role.
Working hours
This could be a nightmare, as because the housekeeper has a level of responsibility, they are often the first ones in and then the last ones out, meaning it is the kind of role you need to be exceptionally committed to.
The hours can be awful, but it is simply a part of the way of life of the housekeeper – fulfilling the mother role not only to the clients, but also to the staff.
Entry
There are no set qualifications for the role, but you’ll almost certainly need to have relevant experience in the catering and hospitality fields to be considered for such an important supervisory role.
It’s also possible to start on a lower level than this, working as a room attendant or a housekeeping assistant and working your way through the ranks to eventually become the housekeeper of an institution.
Training & progression
When you begin your role as a housekeeper, you would more than likely receive training on site to show you the specific nuances of any particular role in the company that you are part of.
On top of this, you could work towards some professional qualifications, such as the NVQ Diploma in Hospitality Supervision and Leadership, or a Diploma in Tourism Management. Either of these could help you ultimately move up to a senior management position.
The Institute of Hospitality would be a good place to start looking for more options once you’ve taken on a housekeeper role, and offers a host of opportunities to those looking to explore their industry in more depth.