Confessions Of A Housekeeper
I have been a housekeeper at a local hotel for the past three years
. Prior to this job I held the same position at a different hotel for five years, so in total I've been doing this for 8 years total.
A typical day for me begins early in the morning, usually around eight. When I arrive at the hotel, I have to make sure the coffee is ready for the people who stay at the hotel at night. Then I begin getting all of the sheets and towels, as well as washcloths that I will need for the day. Loading everything on my cart, I begin to go from room to room and clean. There are several people working in housekeeping in the hotel, so I only have one hall to clean unless there is someone who is not at work that day. If that happens, I have to cover for that person and work two halls. At the end of the day I have to make sure all of the trash cans are empty and the front office is clean for the next shift.
Being a white female in this job has its advantages and disadvantages. People are generally nice to me while I am doing my work. However, there are some people, especially men, who like to think that since I clean for a living I can clean their home as well. There have been remarks made from people who I believe have had too much to drink, but overall I enjoy what I do. Most of the time when someone says something to me I ignore it and go about my business.
I speak Spanish on a regular basis. I took courses while I went to college. Knowing Spanish has helped me very much. People from all over the world stay in a hotel and knowing how to talk to them means I can meet their needs to the best of my ability.
I would rate my job as an eight. I like doing what I do, but I would like to get a raise. I feel as though I work a lot of hours and the things I have to clean are rather disgusting at times and I would like to be compensated fairly.
One of the things I have learned the hard way is that people can be real pigs sometimes. College students especially can party very wildly and the mess they leave behind is unbelievable. When I started out in this job, I would try to clean the rooms at the specified time, but if they hadn't woken up yet, it would take them a long time to get ready and I would end up cleaning their rooms later on anyway, and I had lost a lot of time, when I could have been cleaning other rooms. So now, I wait until later clean up after college students.
Something I would have liked to learn beforehand is the things that I would have to clean. I clean toilets and beds and floors. After a crazy weekend, the mess can be bad. The reason I got started doing this job is because I was pregnant with my son and needed a job. This was the first thing I found available. I like working by myself and pacing myself in my work. If I could do things differently, I would have kept looking for something else.
One of the strangest things I have seen in my job is a woman had a baby while staying at the hotel. She had come at night and we knew she was pregnant, but she said she was not due to give birth for about two weeks. Well, those two weeks turned into two hours. She went into labor while in her room, and before the ambulance got there she delivered a baby girl.
Good days come often. I enjoy seeing children playing in the pool and coming up to me thanking me for cleaning their room for them. Parents also enjoy it when I clean the room for them so they don't have to. But, sometimes I have to deal with the most irritating people, the older, drunk males. They won't take no for an answer and they can get pretty wild at times. They think you should bend over backwards and do everything they ask of you. They also leave their room a huge mess. Whenever this happens, I try to think that alcohol is the one to blame for their behavior so I can get through it.
Overall my job is not stressful. I dread when the weekends arrive though. But if I pace myself, I can get the rooms done and be out of the hotel by the afternoon. I make about nine dollars an hour. I would say this is not enough for how much I do, but it is enough for me to live on and pay my bills.
The thing I am most proud of is when I've worked the entire hotel by myself. We were not busy so there were not many rooms to clean, but we were short on help. I started at the first room on the list and worked my way around the entire hotel. I did have to stay longer than usual, but when I left I was very satisfied with my work and so was my boss.
Some of the things I would like to forget are when every room is booked for a holiday weekend. This means we will have to keep up with all of the demands for towels and fresh sheets as well as the normal duties. Honestly, you don't need any special school courses to work in this field. Usually, not even a high school diploma is required, however, if one wants to move up the ladder, going to college is a good idea.
I would tell my friend to try this job and see where it goes. If they like to clean they will do great, but some people just don't like it. I take about a week off for vacation. I do get some holidays off, but not every single holiday. There are some people who think that cleaning hotel rooms is fun because you work in a hotel. Although there are days that we get to play around, even swim in the pool, we generally do our work and go home.
It is rewarding to know that I've helped people relax and enjoy their vacation, simply because they don't have to clean their homes or even make their beds. In five years I would like to have a managerial position in a hotel. I am a single mother who has accomplished a lot and will continue to do so. I love this field, so I will pursue something else in it.
by: Eric Shanman
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