HOUSEKEEPING OPERATION: HOUSEKEEPING INVENTORIES

THE Executive Housekeeper is responsible for two major types of inventories.

An executive housekeeper is responsible for supervising the maintenance and

housekeeping staff and is answerable for any problem associated with housekeeping.
Their work doesn't involve the actual day-to-day cleaning duties, but just overseeing
them.
The duties of executive housekeepers are highly responsible, as they directly deal with
the hygiene and health issues. The executive housekeepers are generally recruited in
hotels, hospitals, organizations, institutes, colleges, etc. The executives keep a watch on
the housekeepers' work and see to it that they meet the management's standards.

The executive housekeeper directs and controls the work of the building's maintenance staff. He
or she maintains a cleaning schedule and assigns duties to each staff member and ensures that
all the assigned tasks are completed well in time.

Housekeeping inventories refer to the stocks of purchased operating supplies, equipment and other items
held for future use in housekeeping operations. There are two types of housekeeping inventories:

1. Recycled inventories are for those items and pieces of equipment that have relatively limited
useful lives but are used over and over again.
Example: Cleaning equipment and other machines, linen, uniforms and guest loan items.
Like: Brushes, vacuums, washing machine, laundry steamer, polisher, include linen, blankets,
pillows, duvets, uniforms, guest loan items, and some machines and equipment.

2. Non-recycled inventories include items that are used up during the course of routine
housekeeping operations.
Example: Cleaning supplies, cleaning agents and small piece of equipment and amenities.
Like: detergents, mop heads, glass cleaner, metal cream, floor wax, Non-recycled inventories.

Par Levels
One of the first and most important tasks in effectively managing inventories is determining the par
level for each inventory item. Par refers to the standard
number of inventoried items that must be on hand to support daily, routine housekeeping operations.

Par levels are determined differently for recycled and non-recycled inventories.

The number of recycled inventory items needed for housekeeping functions is related to the
operation of other property functions.

For example, the par level of linen depends upon the property’s laundry cycle.

In Housekeeping, managing the inventory of non-recycled inventory items a property needs is

related to the usage rates of different items during daily operations.
For example, par levels of particular cleaning supplies depend upon how fast they are consumed
through routine cleaning tasks

Inventory levels for recycled items are measured in terms of a par number – or a multiple of what is
required to support day-to-day functions.

Inventory levels for non-recycled items are measured in terms of a range between minimum and
maximum requirements. When quantities of a non-recycled inventory item reach the minimum level
established for that item, supplies must be re-ordered in the amounts needed to bring the inventory
back to the maximum level established for the item.

Linens
Linen is the most important recycled inventory item under the executive housekeeper’s
responsibility. Next to personnel, linen costs are the highest expense in the housekeeping
department. Careful policies and procedures are needed to control the hotel’s inventory of linen
supplies. The executive housekeeper is responsible for developing and maintaining control
procedures for the storage, issuing, use, and replacement of linen inventories. One mark of an
excellent executive housekeeper is the ability to maintain minimum supplies, yet never run short.
Since supplies on a shelf represent money, a general manager appreciates department managers
who keep their inventories as low as possible.

Setting Up of Inventory System

• Set up centralized storage areas for cleaning supplies, guestroom supplies, laundry supplies, etc.

  Secure these storage areas, giving access only to designated housekeeping personnel.

• Organize the items in a logical order, perhaps alphabetically, by vendor, or by size

• List the items on the inventory in the order of storage. Include the vendor, the quantity per case,
(especially for guest soaps, shampoos, conditioners,
and body lotions), the price per item etc. to make ordering a quick process.

• Review specials which suppliers may offer.

• When striving for minimum inventories, it is important to allow proper lead times. How much time
passes from the moment the purchase order leaves the property until the product is received?

• Count every item and record under “Beginning Inventory”

• Select a responsible person to record all items purchased and received. Before new items can be
placed in storage, they must be recorded on the inventory as “Items received this period”

• At the end of the month (or whatever time frame is used), again take inventory. Count every item in
the storage room and record totals under “Total items in Stock” Multiply each by its “Price per Item”
and record under “Total Value in Stock”

• From the sum of “Beginning Inventory” and “Items Received this Period” subtract “Total items in
Stock” This will be the number of items consumed during the month (Number of Items Used).
Multiply each by its “Price per Item” and record results under “Value of Items Used).
• Divide “Number of Items Used” by the number of rooms occupied during this inventory period to get
“Items Used per Occupied Room.” This figure can now be multiplied by the number of rooms
expected for the next period to yield the “Forecast Item Need,” and orders can be placed.

Types of Linen
The executive housekeeper is generally responsible for managing the inventory of three main types
of linen: bed, bath and table.
Bed linens include flat sheets, fitted sheets, duvet covers, pillow cases, base covers, mattress, and
pillow protectors, and mattress converters. Pillows and duvets, blankets and bedspreads etc.

Bath linens include bath towels, hand towels, guest hand towels, washcloths (facecloths), and bath
mats

The housekeeping department may also be responsible for storing and issuing table linens for the
property’s food and beverage outlets.
Table linens include tablecloths and napkins. Banquet linens are a special type of table linen. Due
to the variety of sizes, shapes, and colors, banquet linens may need to be kept separate from other
restaurant linens in the inventory control system. The basic principles and procedures for managing
linen inventories also apply to blankets and bedspreads.

Establishing Par Levels for Linens

How to make an inventory

spreadsheet in 5 easy steps
Whether your business is big or small — or you’re selling in-store, online, or
both — if you have inventory, you need to track it. What’s the best way to
do that? An inventory spreadsheet.

Similar to a budget spreadsheet, an inventory spreadsheet tracks the

products that go out and what you need to bring back in to replenish your
stock.

Inventory spreadsheets also help business managers keep inventory

organized and spot any anomalies — such as if you’re supposed to have a
product in stock, but it isn’t in your warehouse.

It’s a useful tool to gauge your existing merchandising efforts and determine
how customers are engaging with your business. An inventory spreadsheet
can help you pinpoint where you can improve — so you’re not wasting
money on inventory consumers don’t want or missing sales as a result of
out-of-stock products.

Big businesses with hundreds or thousands of stocks will have complex

inventory spreadsheets, while small and medium-sized companies will have
simpler inventory spreadsheets. 

What is inventory management? As you’ll learn throughout this guide, it’s

the core of any product-based business. It’s also a process that involves
ordering, storing, and making use of inventory. But there’s more to it than
that — it’s about knowing when to restock certain items, how much to make
or reorder, how much you should pay for goods, and more.
In our inventory mgt. you can create a spreadsheet or download pre-filled Excel inventory
template to help you in managing your inventory.
Product details
Add the name of each item you carry and include product characteristics  so
you can easily identify which version you’re talking about. These might
include

Barcoding your inventory can save you time, money, and the hassle of manually tracking and
managing your products. When used with inventory management software, barcodes help you
get instant access to the status of your inventory, including descriptions, availability, cost, and
location.

 SKUs, barcodes, and/or serial numbers- SKU (Stock Keeping

Unit) is a product code that you can use to search and identify
stock on hand from lists, invoices, or order forms. It is a term that
is typically used when talking about inventory management.
 Cost per unit
 Sale price
 Location
 This additional information is helpful if you sell a product in many
colors and/or sizes. Think about it this way: If you’re running out of a
 black shirt in large, you don’t want to mistakenly reorder an extra-
large white shirt.
 If you sell perishable items, include the expiration date in this section.
Quantity
 You can’t track inventory levels without including how much of each
product you have on hand. Quantity info can also help you track the
value of the inventory you’re currently carrying, which makes
budgeting easier. These calculations will come in handy if you use
formulas in your spreadsheet.

Reorder details
To avoid out-of-stock products — and missed sales — include pertinent
reorder information, such as

 Supplier
 Minimum order quantity
 Order processing speed
 Reorder/ place another order if the stocks easily moves.

Order frequency
 Once you’ve been in business for a few months, you should get a
better sense of how frequently you have to reorder each item you
carry. We suggest including this order frequency in your inventory
spreadsheet as an additional fail-safe measure to avoid going out of
stock.
 Once you have these four basic columns, you’ve mastered the basics
of how to make an inventory spreadsheet. Save it and update the
document on a weekly or monthly basis.
ITEMS/ DESCRIPTION LOCATION/AREA QTY/ ON HAND UNIT QTY SOLD ITEM PRICE TOTAL PRICE QTY DAMAGED TOTAL DAMAGE PRICE QTY TO ORDER D
Tools
plate kitchen 100 pcs N/A Php 158 15,800 5 pcs Php 790 50 pcs A
glass Kkitchen 250 pcs N/A 95 23,750 10 950 5 PCS0 A
spoon
fork
kitchen knfe small
kitchen knfe mdm
kitchen knife large
Equipment
blender kitchen 1 unit/pc N/A 2500 2500 N/A N/A N/A D

Vegetables
letuce kitchen 3.25 kg. .250grms Php 275 893.75 .136grms Php 37.40 N/a or --- B
tomato kitchen 1 kl. .750 grms. 25 25 n/a n/a 1 kl. B
Fruits
apple kitchen 3 kg. 0.25 156 468 .145grms 22.62 N/a or --- C

ITEMS/ DESCRIPTION LOCATION/AREA QTY/ ON HAND UNIT GUSESTROOM QTY SOILED / OUT LAUDRY ROOM ITEM PRICE TOTAL AMOUNT QTY TO ORDER SUPPLIER REMARKS
Room
bath towel laundry room 500 pcs 125 pcs 58 pcs 317 pcs Php 1,250 Php 62, 5000 N/A E
hand towel
face towel
Other Ameneties
tissue housekeeping room 2000 pcs 125 pcs 300 pcs 1575 pcs 35 70,000 425 pcs or 500 pcs F brand name / 2ply
shampoo sachet
toothbrush