Hotel housekeeping checklist for small teams

Why a small team needs a written housekeeping checklist

In a large hotel, housekeeping has supervisors, inspectors and training programs. In a small property, the standard lives in the head of the person who has always cleaned the rooms. That works until that person is on holiday, the season peaks, or a new helper starts on a Saturday with twelve departures. A written checklist turns the standard into something anyone can follow and anyone can check.

A good checklist does three things:

• It sets the order of work, so nothing is forgotten and nobody walks back and forth across the room
• It defines "done", so the person inspecting and the person cleaning agree on what a finished room looks like
• It makes training fast, because a new helper can follow it from the first shift

Keep it short enough to use. A checklist that runs to six pages will not be read on a busy morning. The lists below are grouped so you can print the part you need, laminate it and keep it on the cart, or follow it on a phone.

Before you start: the morning housekeeping plan

Housekeeping starts before anyone picks up a cloth. The first task every morning is to know which rooms need what.

• Check today's departures, arrivals and stayovers in the reservations calendar
• Mark rooms with same-day arrivals as priority, especially early check-ins
• Note special requests on arriving bookings: extra bed, cot, twin setup, allergies, pets
• Assign rooms to each person, balancing checkouts and stayovers
• Check the cart: linen, towels, amenities, cleaning products, rubbish bags, gloves
• Note rooms blocked for maintenance, so nobody cleans a room that is out of order

A hotel housekeeping software board that turns departures into dirty rooms automatically and flags arrivals saves most of this planning time.

Checkout room checklist: full turnover

A checkout room is cleaned fully for the next guest. Work from top to bottom and from the far end of the room towards the door, so dust falls onto surfaces you have not cleaned yet and you do not walk over a clean floor.

• Knock, announce yourself and wait before entering, even when the room shows as vacant
• Open windows to air the room if the weather allows
• Check for items left behind and record them with the room number and date
• Remove rubbish and empty all bins, including the bathroom bin
• Strip the beds and check the mattress protector and pillows for stains
• Collect used towels and bathrobes and place them in the linen bag, not on the floor
• Report any damage, missing items or maintenance issues before cleaning over them
• Dust from high to low: light fittings, picture frames, shelves, headboard, bedside tables, desk, chairs
• Wipe switches, door handles, remote control, phone and any tablet or clock in the room
• Clean mirrors and glass surfaces without streaks
• Make the beds with fresh linen, corners tight, pillows even
• Check the wardrobe: hangers complete, safe open and empty, spare blanket and pillow in place
• Clean and check the kettle, coffee machine, cups and glasses, and restock tea, coffee and water
• Check the fridge or minibar, clean it and restock according to your list
• Vacuum carpets and under the bed, then mop hard floors from the far corner to the door
• Check curtains and blinds for stains and operation
• Test lights, TV, air conditioning or heating, and set them to the standard position
• Place the welcome items: room information, Wi-Fi details, any card or treat you leave for guests
• Close windows, switch off lights and lock the door
• Mark the room as clean on the housekeeping board

Bathroom checklist

The bathroom is where guests notice every missed detail. Clean it with separate cloths from the bedroom, and use separate cloths for the toilet.

• Apply cleaning product to the toilet, shower and basin first, so it works while you do other tasks
• Remove hair from the drain, shower tray, bath and floor
• Scrub the shower walls, tray or bath, and rinse
• Clean the shower screen or curtain; replace the curtain if stained
• Clean the basin, taps and counter; polish taps until dry
• Clean the toilet inside and out: bowl, seat both sides, lid, cistern, base and the floor around it
• Clean mirrors and the light above them
• Wipe tiles at splash height and the grout lines that collect dirt
• Replace towels, bath mat and amenities to your standard count
• Check toilet paper: one roll in use, one spare
• Empty the bin and replace the liner
• Mop the floor and leave the room dry
• Check the extractor fan works and the drain runs freely
• Smell test: the bathroom should smell of nothing, not of strong product

Stayover room checklist

A stayover room has a guest who is staying another night. The service is lighter and respects the guest's belongings. Agree your stayover standard in advance: some properties service daily, some every other day, and some on request. Tell guests which one applies.

• Respect the do not disturb sign and note the room for later service
• Do not move the guest's personal items, papers or devices; tidy around them
• Make the bed, and change linen according to your policy or when requested
• Replace towels left on the floor or in the bath, and hang reused towels if that is your policy
• Empty bins and remove visible rubbish
• Clean the bathroom surfaces, toilet and basin, and restock amenities
• Wash or replace cups and glasses, and restock tea, coffee and water
• Vacuum visible floor areas
• Report anything unusual to the front desk rather than acting on it yourself

Room inspection checklist

Inspection is the final check before a room is released for arrival. In a small team this may be the owner or the most experienced housekeeper, and in the smallest properties it can be a two-minute self-check. Walk into the room as a guest would and look at it with a guest's eyes.

If a room fails inspection, send it back with a note of exactly what needs correcting. When it passes, mark it inspected so the front desk knows it is ready for arrival.

Public areas checklist

Guests judge the whole property, not only the room. At a small hotel, the entrance, breakfast room and corridors are cleaned by the same team, so include them in the daily plan.

• Entrance and reception: floor, door glass, desk surface, brochures in order
• Corridors and stairs: vacuum, handrails, light switches, no stored items in the way
• Breakfast room: tables, chairs, floor, coffee station, crumbs under tables
• Guest toilets: same standard as the room bathroom, checked several times a day in busy periods
• Outside: entrance steps, bins, ashtray area, parking signage

Weekly and monthly deep cleaning checklist

Some tasks do not fit into a daily turnover but are essential over time. Plan them on quiet days and rotate through the rooms, blocking one room at a time in the calendar if needed.

• Wash or replace mattress protectors and pillow protectors
• Rotate or flip mattresses according to the manufacturer's advice
• Clean behind and under furniture that is not moved daily
• Wash curtains or have them cleaned, and dust blinds slat by slat
• Descale kettles, shower heads and taps
• Clean the inside of windows and window frames
• Wash walls near beds and light switches
• Clean the extractor fan cover and air conditioning filters
• Check grout and silicone in bathrooms and report mould early
• Inspect furniture for loose handles, wobbly legs and damage

Running housekeeping with a small team

The checklist tells people what to do. The organization tells them in what order and when. A few habits make a big difference for a small team.

• Clean priority rooms first: those with early arrivals, then other arrivals, then remaining checkouts, then stayovers
• Pair work on heavy days: one person on beds, one on bathrooms, moving room by room
• Keep the front desk informed in real time, so a guest waiting for early check-in can be told the moment the room is ready
• Report maintenance issues immediately with the room number, not at the end of the day
• Keep a lost property log with date, room and description
• Review the checklist once a season and remove steps nobody needs

The link between housekeeping and the front desk is where small properties lose the most time, usually with phone calls and shouted questions across the corridor. A shared board where the status of each room changes from dirty to clean to inspected removes most of those questions.

Housekeeping in Innkeeper

Innkeeper includes a housekeeping board on every plan. Departures become dirty automatically, arrivals are flagged, and each room moves from dirty to clean to inspected with one tap, so the front desk sees what is ready without asking.

• The Inn plan ($49 per month, up to 10 rooms) includes the housekeeping board with clean, dirty and inspected status
• The Hotel plan ($149 per month, up to 30 rooms) adds housekeeping assignments by staff with a mobile checklist
• The Boutique plan ($499 per month, up to 80 rooms) adds maintenance tickets linked to rooms
• Room blocks for maintenance close the room on every channel through the channel manager software

See every feature on the hotel housekeeping software page, the check-in side on the hotel front desk software page, and compare plans on the hotel PMS pricing page.