Room Attendant Definition
Room attendants, also known as hotel room attendants, hotel housekeeping attendants or hotel housekeepers and maids, are responsible for the cleaning and upkeep of hotel and motel rooms. These are generally entry-level positions and require little to no formal education. As a result, wages are generally low, which leads to a high rate of turnover in the field.
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Duties
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Room attendants perform all cleaning duties in hotel and resort rooms. They vacuum carpets and floors; change bed linens and bathroom towels; remove trash; and clean all bathroom surfaces, including tubs, sinks and showers. Room attendants also dust and polish furniture and mop dirty floors. They restock complimentary toiletries in the bathroom and other hotel provided amenities as well. Room attendants are also responsible for inspecting hotel rooms for safety hazards or broken items and reporting the issues to maintenance. When they locate lost items, they must report those to a supervisor as well.
Training
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Some room attendant positions require a high school diploma or GED, but others have no formal education requirements. Most hotels and other accommodations hold on-the-job training for new room attendants and housekeeping staff, which may be done via video or the Internet.
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Working Conditions
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Hotels and other accommodations are open 24 hours a day, so service employees often work in shifts. In general, room attendants perform their duties during the day, but housekeeping staff must be available both day and night to respond to guests’ requests and other emergencies. Weekend work is also required. Room attendants usually have both full- and part-time employment opportunities available to them. Working in a hotel can be difficult because guests may be demanding and rooms must be cleaned in a timely, efficient manner without disturbing guests.
Salary
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According to PayScale, the median hourly wages for room attendants with one to four years of experience ranged from $7.43 to $9.21 as of July 2010. Those with five to nine years of experience were paid between $7.89 and $10.05 per hour, while those with 10 to 19 years of experience earned between $7.91 and $11.51. Room attendants with more than 20 years of experience earned as much as $13.63 per hour.
Employment Outlook
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The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that wage and salary jobs in hotels and other accommodations, including room attendant positions, will grow by 5 percent between 2008 and 2018, which is a slower rate than the average for all occupations. As the population continues to grow, new hotels are expected in be built throughout the country, creating opportunities for room attendants and other hotel staff. In addition, many openings result from the need to replace attendants who leave the occupation.
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References
- Photo Credit hotel image by Aleksandr Popov from Fotolia.com
