CHAPTER 4: ACCESSING ROOMS FOR SERVICES
LESSON 13: Room Status, Door Signs, and Types of Guests
LESSON 14: SAFETY AND SECURITY OF GUESTS
OBJECTIVES:
Identified the important of housekeeping terminologies used in
housekeeping.
Observed the guests safety and security in hotel establishment.
LESSON 13: Room Status, Door Signs, and Types of Guests
Status the condition of the rooms in a hotel
Table 7: Room status
Abbreviation Room status Meaning
OCC Occupied A guest is currently staying in the
room
OR Occupied and ready The room has been cleared and
currently occupied by a guest
OD Occupied and dirty The occupied room needs to be
cleaned
OV Vacant and clean The room is cleaned, inspected, and
ready for occupancy
R Ready The room is ready and available for
occupancy
C/l Check -in The guest has registered in the room
C/O Checkout The guest has settled his or her
account, returned the room keys, and
left the hotel.
DNCO Did not check out The guest has settled his or her
account but has left without informing
the front office.
Skipper The guest has left the hotel without
settling his or her account.
S/O Stay over The guest is not scheduled to check
out on the day.
D/O Due out The room is expected to be vacant
within the day.
DL Double lock The room has been locked so that the
guest cannot re-enter until he or she
is cleared by an hotel official.
OOO Out of order The room needs to be repaired
immediately
DND Do not disturb The guest occupying the room has
requested not to be disturbed.
RS Room refuses service The guest refuses to conduct any
housekeeping to the room he or she is
occupying.
Door Signs
Signs that are posted on the door or its knob are used as communication symbols
to indicate the special instructions for each room.
For instance, a guest hangs a DND sign on the door to express that he or she does
not want to be bothered. The housekeeping attendant must then take note of this.
The following procedures must be followed in handling DND rooms.
1. Check whether the guest occupying the DND room is staying over or checking
out.
2. The management then calls the guest to confirm if they would like to have their
room serviced or if they are staying over.
3. If there is no response, knock on the room and personally determine its status.
4. If the guest still refuses to have room service, take note of it on the assignment
sheet.
Likewise for the refusal of service card, a housekeeping attendant must take note
of the rooms with this sign. However, he or she must check whether the guest would
already like to have his or her room serviced.
Some hotels use a red card to indicate that the room must be given the utmost
priority and serviced as soon as possible. After the room has been cleaned, the
housekeeping attendant must remove the card.
Guest types
The treatment for each guest varies on each type of guest. Guests may be classified
into the following
1. Free independent travellers or foreign individual tourist ( FIT ) refers to
guests who are traveling alone.
2. Joiner. This is a type guest who stays with another guest in the same room.
3. Very important person ( VIP )This is comprised of prominent guests such as
high-ranking officials, executives, among others who require special treatment.
VIP guests must be given utmost priority treatment from their arrival, room
service, checkout, among other.
LESSON 15: SAFETY AND SECURITY OF GUESTS
Receptacles container that is used for holding something
Ventilationprocess or act of ventilating or providing fresh air to the area.
Key and Key Cards
Guest keys are used to open guest rooms and other public areas.
Floor keys are used to access each room in a particular floor or corridor.
Department – specific master keys are utilized to access every room in the
housekeeping area.
Venue master keys are used to open every door in the establishment. These key must
be handled responsibly by a housekeeping attendant. He or she must never lose or
misplace these keys. Likewise, he or she must not lend it to anyone, not even to co-
employees to ensure the security of guests.
Risks in Safety and Security of Guests
There are a lot risks and problems that may be encountered by guests once safety
and security measures are neglected.
Some of these include the following;
1. Fire may be caused by improper use of cigarettes or malfunctioning of electrical
equipment.
2. Infestation may be triggered by presence of pests and insects.
3. Trips and falls may be brought by slippery floors, presence of unwanted items
on floors, or defective furniture.
4. Harassment and attacks from other guests or employees may also happen.
5. Fraudulent practices like stealing of items or identities may also occur.
Here are some tips to ensure the safety and security among guests.
1. Remove blocks or potential hazards in aisles, passageways, and stairs.
2. Return cleaning tools and materials in proper place.
3. Do not leave hazardous chemicals in positions that are not stable as they
might fall.
4. Dispose chemical receptacles according to manufactures instructions.
5. Pile materials in safe manner.
6. Clean floors and wipe wet floors.
7. Put warning signs.
8. Put fire fighting gadgets in a safe accessible place
Guest Room Safety Measures in Hotels
“Prevention is better than cure” is always a good practice.
Adequate security will result to a better and safer guest experience. Otherwise, if
security among guests will be taken for granted, repercussions not just to guests
belongings but also to the hotel itself might occur. This is the reason why hotels have
safety features and protocols to avoid crimes.
The following safety measures:
1. Closed-circuit television ( CCTV ) cameras must be placed in isolated and
quiet areas of the hotel.
This is used to monitor the activities in the hotel.
2. Do not give the key card to any guest. Do not hand the keys to other guests.
Unless the guest of the room requested to do so.
3. Do not share guest information easily. Personal information of the guests
must be kept confidential.
4. Briefing must be provided to all housekeeping staff prior to the start of
duty. A housekeeping attendant represents the hotel establishment, so he or she
must be reminded that anything wrong he or she will do may in still repercussions
to the hotels reputation.
5. Always wear appropriate uniform. Hotel staff are identified through complete
uniform.
There are factors that contribute to accidents that put the hotel guests security at
risk.
Human factor.
Humans are prone to commit mistakes.
Most accidents are due to irresponsibility or lack of knowledge.
Hence, information on how to keep the hotel, its guests, and employee safe is
important.
During pre-orientation, it is important to pay attention to the training especially
those that pertains to safety practices in the hotel.
Presence of mind and caution are important pointers to avoid accident.
Unsafe workplace.
Although most hotels follow the standard safety procedures and provide safe
workplace and gears for housekeeping attendants, it is still important to know
what ought to be be safe at all times.
Some evidences of an unsafe workplace are improper structures of stairs,
buildings, and floors as well as unsafe practices of people at the workplace.
An eye for these hazards is helpful to avoid them.
REFERENCES:
https://www.wikipedia.org.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S7GMNFoClZw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g1puqpqEXeI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mOUvhsTJcRk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBf6BTX1bmM
