Housekeepers are, usually, perceived to be the support staff of a hotel/lodge who is involved in the cleanliness and facilitating the distribution of necessary items to guests. The housekeeping job is considered to involve long-working hours and elements of ‘surprise’ as a hotel needs to cater to every need of a guest, which in several cases is unexpected.
“A woman is well-suited for a housekeeping job, as she is a natural player in this job. She is conditioned to handle unexpected crisis or the ire of individuals, right from her handling of affairs in her house,” says Meeta Chowdhury, an employee in the Housekeeping department of the Landmark Group of Hotels.
Satish Chandra, who runs a grooming academy and offers 6-month course on Hospitality Management in New Delhi, has this to say, “Most participants of this course are women and this course touches upon the various functional aspects involved in a Housekeeper’s role. Apart from the basic training on Housekeeping, this course focuses on developing soft skills such as being a good communicator and managing guest relations.”
Nisha Chandra, an aspiring Housekeeper who wants to make it big in the Hospitality industry says, “I have an aesthetic sense towards various things in life, which I feel, is an important attribute to becoming a successful housekeeper. One needs to have an eye for detail and the ability to manage last-minute pressures.”
“I believe a course in Housekeeping from a good institute does good to harness your latent talents and also fetch you a good job in the demanding market.”
Leela Manchanda, who has taken voluntary retirement after last serving as an Executive Housekeeper with the Taj Group of Hotels says, “Today, every hotel or enterprise requires the services of a housekeeper. It is quite in contrast to the little demand that existed when I joined the hotel industry.”
“The pay structure has improved and the introduction of modern equipments has made the lives of housekeepers easier and reduced their workload.”
Sheila Mohan, who works in the Housekeeping department for a reputed hotel in Bangalore, disagrees. “The amount of time and hardwork that we put in is disproportionate to our salary. Even though there is a huge amount of mechanization of service equipments, the numbers of guests/travellers have also doubled – leading to additional work pressure and longer working hours for us – to which we are not duly compensated.”
“I feel the Indian hotel industry needs to revise the entire salary structure of its staff, else, one can see the growing attrition rate in this sector.”
Today, the housekeeping profession is not only confined to the hotel industry. There is a huge demand for housekeeping professionals in corporate houses, hospitals and other civic agencies.
Meera Singh, who heads Housekeeping operations in a MNC in Gurgaon says, “We have women housekeeping employees who undertake all kinds of activities such as floor cleaning, regular maintenance of workplace and window-pane cleaning.”
“In fact, in my team, there are 2 women housekeeping employees who are proficient in window-pane cleaning and climb up high-storey building, such as till the 15th floor.”
With more and more women assuming challenging functional roles, housekeeping in its new context has emerged as a sought-after career option, as apart from the hotel industry, there is a burgeoning demand for such professionals in the corporate and hospital sectors.
- Suniet Bezbaroowa (views expressed in the article are that of the author)
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