Housekeeping Terminology

Mini bar – A fixture in modern guestrooms, this is a miniature refrigerator stocked with juices, liquor, and snack for the convenience of guests.

Murphy bed – This refers to a bed that folds up into the walls and looks like a bookshelf or cupboard when folded away, being named for a leading manufacturer of such beds. It may also be called a Sico bed ( after another leading manufacturer of foldaway or wall beds )

Nightstand – A nightstand is a small stand or cabinet designed to stand beside a bed or elsewhere in a bedroom, as a place to put anything likely to be required during the night; also called night table.

Operating Budgets – These forecast the expense and revenues for the routine operations of the hotel during a certain period.

Operating expenses – Those cost that the hotel incurs in order to generate revenue in the normal course of doing business.

Operating supplies – The items essential to day-to- day housekeeping operations, including guest supplies and cleaning supplies.

OOO – Out of Order is the status of a guestroom that is not rentable because it is being repaired or redecorated.

OPL – On premises laundry. An in house area in the hotel where linen and uniforms are washed, dry-cleaned and pressed.

On change room – A room in need of housekeeping service before it can be registered to an arriving guest.

Timeshares – vacation interval hotels. These involve individuals purchasing the ownership of accommodations for a specific period of time, usually one or two weeks a year. These owner then can occupy the unit during that time. Owner may also have the unit rented out by the management company that operates the hotel.

Tent cards – Hotel publicity cards in the shape of tents placed in guestrooms.

Terrazzo – Flooring which consists of marble, granite and other decorative chips set in cement.

Turn down service – A special service provided by the housekeeping department in which a room attendant enters the guestroom early in the evening to re stock supplies , tidy the room and turn down the covers on the bed in preparation for the night.

Tooth glass – A glass placed on the vanity unit as a guest supply and used for gargling or to keep the guest’s toothbrush, dentures, or other similar items in.

Water closet – Sanitary fitting consisting of the toilet bowl and the cistern.

Vanity area – A unit comprising a wash basin and mirror, surrounded by flat area where soap, dental kits, saving kits, and tooth glasses are kept.

Vacant – The status of a room in which no guest has slept the previous night and which is not yet occupied.

Wi-fi – Wireless fidelity. This is an amenity provided nowadays by world class hotels. Wi fi enables guests to access a wide range of information, applications, and computing resources without connectivity problem.

Zero base budgeting – Zero base budgeting refers to hiring employees while taking into account the actual occupancy for a specified period of time.