Hotel room attendants, also called housekeepers, clean up after guests and prepare the rooms for new guests. They must also ensure privacy and confidentiality for guests, in addition to addressing questions and concerns and reporting maintenance issues or other problems. This job is sometimes labor-intensive and can require you stay on your feet for several hours. Because they sometimes interact with guests, room attendants must represent the hotel in a positive light.

Cleaning and Preparing Rooms

The bulk of a room attendant’s job consists of cleaning hotel rooms from top to bottom, both during a guest’s stay and in preparation for the next guest. Hospitality careers website HCareers notes that attendants typically start cleaning at the furthest end of the room and move toward the door. They clean all surfaces and replace bed linens, then move on to the bathroom, where they replace the towels and clean showers, bathtubs and toilets. After finishing the bathroom, the attendant typically vacuums before leaving the room.

Customer Service

Though their jobs are usually associated with cleaning, attendants or housekeepers also interact with guests, handling complaints and answering questions. The Grande Rockies Resort notes that attendants should serve as an example to the rest of the staff by always being polite and professional not only with customers, but also with fellow employees. Because a hotel serves guests from all over the world, speaking more than one language is a plus.

Other Duties

Room attendants typically report to the housekeeping supervisor and often must come to work early enough for a briefing with her. The supervisor keeps all of the attendants informed of anything that impacts their job duties, and also gives them their room assignments for that day. Attendants usually receive a log listing every room they must clean. They must also note on these assignment sheets that they have cleaned each room, in addition to turning over items left behind by guests to the lost and found department and ensuring that room keys are handled securely.

Physical Demands

Hotel room attendants need considerable physical strength for many of their duties. The Tallman Hotel for example, notes that its attendants might be on their feet for up to five hours and be required to push or pull loads of up to 75 pounds. The hotel also points out that attendants must be able to grasp, bend and stoop. The Grande Rockies Resort lists “performing very physical labor” in its job description and notes that attendants might have to move heavy objects.