Hotel Room Inspection Checklist
Picture this- a customer walks into a hotel room, subconsciously notices some dust on the entrance door and almost immediately, the quality of the hotel diminishes in the eyes of the customer. It's hardly even a voluntary act. A little act of neglect can mar the reputation of a hotel room. This is why going through a thorough room inspection checklist is necessary.
Think of it as a safety precaution. It's not enough that the room has been cleaned by housekeeping. Sometimes little details are overlooked and the main purpose of a room inspection is to ensure that those details are detected and taken care of - before they are noticed by a customer.
In this article, we've drafted a comprehensive list of the most essential and generally applicable hotel room tasks(cleaning, maintenance and amenities included) that must be cross-checked before the arrival of a customer.
Read more: Hotel Checklists To Improve Your Hotel Service Delivery
The Hotel Room Inspection Checklist
There are a handful of tasks to be inspected in a hotel room and while these tasks might vary from hotel to hotel based on different factors, these are mostly applicable. The tasks have been divided into sub-categories to ensure that they can be easy to follow.
Entrance Inspection
This includes inspection of tasks to be done from the hotel room doorway to the entrance of the room.
- The first thing to look out for is the exterior door/frame. It must be properly polished and free of any dust, scratches, or stains.
- Check to make sure the entry door locks are functional. Pay attention while opening and closing the door to make sure it opens easily and quietly.
- Guests value privacy and security, therefore, you want to be certain that the peephole on the door is working right. Make sure that it is clear, and people from outside can’t look through it.
- The safety of your guests is important. That is why you should make an emergency exit available. Even though crises don’t always happen, knowing that there is an emergency exit in the event of one is encouraging.
- Make sure there is a fire extinguisher and the fire alarm is in good working condition.
- Make sure the set of light switches that are accessible upon entry of the room (Entry light switch) works.
- Once a customer enters a room, they most likely want to put down their luggage. Upon inspection, the Luggage rack must be cleaned and in good condition.
- Ensure that the necessary room cards are available. These cards include but are not limited to the following: Make my room card, Laundy card, DND card, etc.
Room Inspection
These include tasks in the guest room which include the beddings, walls and ceilings and, essential amenities.
- Comfortable room temperature upon arrival. People book hotel rooms expecting to be comfortable. Ensure that the AC is in good working condition. You don’t want a guest to start sweating in the middle of the night due to the low temperature of your property.
- The next thing you should check is the Carpet and/or flooring of the room. To ensure that the carpet and flooring are in good condition, ensure that the carpet is not fraying and the floors are spotless and have no wet spots.
- Make available the hotel’s food and drink menu. You want your guests to seamlessly place orders for food and drinks when they want.
- Check if the Bed frame is sturdy and clean. The headboard must be in good condition too.
- Make sure the bedding is clean and free of stains. The pillows should be fluffed and the Mattress should be firm. Check the edges of the bedspread to make sure it's free of rips.
- Test each light switch and make sure they all work. Lighting malfunctions are one thing you want to avoid. Apart from the illumination the lights bring, we dare say that the lights in your hotel rooms are the most crucial part of your aesthetics.
- Inspect the windows and the drapes(if any). Windows should be clean and free of creaks. The drapes should be dust-free. Ensure that both the windows and drapes open and close easily.
- Check the Lamps to make sure they work properly. The desk lamp and standing lamp should be free of dust.
- Unless your hotel has a no smoking policy, clean ashtrays should be made available in the rooms. You don’t want your guests to see ashes left by the previous guests in their newly booked room.
- Take a close look at the furniture. They should be clean, free of stains, scratches and have no traces of water or cleaning material used on the surfaces.
- The walls should be clean and free of cobwebs, scratches, or nicks.
- Make sure that all the pictures or art on the walls are hung straight. The wall mirror should be hung straight and wiped to be spotless.
- Make sure the Tv remote is working. The Tv should be put off and remotes should be placed where they are visible. The Telephone should be working.
- Although laundry services should be provided by the hotel, an electric iron should be made available alongside an ironing board. Guests may need to straighten out their clothes themselves.
- To help guests organize their clothes properly, hangers should be available in the closet (minimum of 3).
- In the event of a wardrobe malfunction, guests will be delighted to find an emergency sewing kit in their rooms.
- Make sure the mirrors are clean and clear. The desire for your guests to properly see how they look in their outfits shouldn’t be underrated.
- Check that the desk essentials are available. There should be one bible, hotel pen, memo pad. The nightstand drawers should be functional (draw and retract easily and quietly) and should be clean.
- A clean and empty Trash can should be made available. You don’t want dirt to discourage your guests from staying, or extending their stay.
- Ensure the Minibar is in order, your guests shouldn’t need to step out before they can get a drink. Don't forget to add drinking glasses.
- Wine openers should be available in case guests need to open their drinks.
- Wifi should be functional in all parts of the room. It has become a necessity for hospitality providers and their guests, don’t look at it as a luxury.
- Ensure that the clock is visible, in good working condition, and set to the right time.
- Place a copy of your hotel directory on one of the side tables. This helps your guests know everything they want to know about your hotel.
- Make sure the intercom in the room works, the inability to reach customer support may frustrate the guests.
Bathroom Inspection
We can all agree that the one part of a hotel room that requires extra attention while cleaning and during an inspection, is the bathroom. Essential tasks and amenities to look out for are:
- Both sides of the toilet seats should be clean.
- Ensure that the toilet flushes correctly and all drains are clean and non-obstructed.
- A fresh supply of towels and robes is to be made available, especially since hotel towels are usually white and stains are more visible on them.
- Make sure the bathroom is free of odors. Bad smell is very discouraging, even when a guest likes everything else about your services, if there is an odour in your bathroom, they won’t be able to stay.
- All toiletries (soaps, shampoos, conditioners, paper towels, and toilet paper rolls) should be replaced..
- Water/pressure works perfectly and is in good condition
- A clean and empty trash can should be made available.
- Hairdryers are very important for guests to comfortably dry their hair.
To get the best results out of your bathroom cleaning check out our post on the ultimate hotel bathroom checklist .
Miscellaneous
This includes miscellaneous items and amenities that should be provided in an ideal hotel room. However, these items are relatively optional.
- a coffee maker should be made available
- one teabag, filler pack coffee (decaffeinated coffee too for more options).
- An Iron and Ironing board should be provided
- A Fridge in good condition
- Clean ashtrays (at least one)
- Tourist brochures
- The Hotel food and drink menu
- An ice bucket
- Provide pens and writing pads.
-Make smoke detectors available.
- Put toilet tumblers close to the sink
- Provide a mop and a bucket for the bathroom
- Provide a luggage rack
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