What does a housekeeper do?
Housekeepers are responsible for taking care of their employers' houses. They are usually tasked to do work related to cleaning. Their primary responsibilities include sweeping, vacuuming, and mopping floors, managing recycling, taking out the trash, dusting surfaces, cleaning the bathroom, among others. They are also responsible for doing laundry, folding clothes, and storing clothes in cabinets. They may also be given additional responsibilities such as shopping for groceries, managing and stocking the pantry, cooking, walking pets and watering the plants. Housekeepers should be responsible, trustworthy, and knowledgeable on housework.
Housekeeper responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real housekeeper resumes:
- Train and manage several maids and achieve significant improvements in their productivity.
- Demonstrate compassion and customer service to patients.
- Remove smudges from vertical surfaces such as doors, door frames, light switches, partitions.
- Used rags, vacuum, dusters, sponges, and scrapers.
- Utilize good math skills while multitasking.
- Like fixing there shoes, fixing the kids stuff animals.
- Train to handle large amounts of money and simple quick math
- Clean mirrors, washbowls, sinks, toilets, showers and urinals.
- Clean and sanitize kids tables, high chairs and the daycare itself.
- Used hand and power tools such as ladders, vacuum cleaners and mops.
- Remove debris from driveways, walkways and sidewalks to keep veterans from falling.
- Clean restroom: sinks, counters, toilets, urinals, dispensers, etc.
- Operate various hand tools, such as; buffers, sweepers, and blowers.
- Clean windows, glass portions or mirrors using chemical cleaners, sponges, or squeegees.
- Service clients personal homes doing housekeeping and personal business using special cleaning solutions that merry maids provide.
Housekeeper skills and personality traits
We calculated that 25% of Housekeepers are proficient in Customer Service, Cleanliness, and Patients. They’re also known for soft skills such as Interpersonal skills, Mechanical skills, and Physical strength.
We break down the percentage of Housekeepers that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Customer Service, 25%
Exemplified the second-to-none customer service delivery for which Make A Difference is nationally renowned in all interactions with customers.
- Cleanliness, 14%
Prioritize and updated room status after approving cleanliness and condition in accordance with departmental standards to meet customer satisfaction.
- Patients, 9%
Developed and maintained a positive relationship with patients to ensure patient satisfaction.
- Guest Rooms, 6%
Ensured confidentiality and security of guest rooms.
- Good Judgment, 4%
Showed good judgment when an angry guest who didn't have his room key demanded I open his door.
- OSHA, 3%
General maintenance and OSHA requirements performed to maintain sanitary conditions in an outpatient facility.
"customer service," "cleanliness," and "patients" are among the most common skills that housekeepers use at work. You can find even more housekeeper responsibilities below, including:
Interpersonal skills. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a housekeeper to have is interpersonal skills. Their role and responsibilities require that "janitors and building cleaners must interact well other cleaners and the people who live or work in the buildings they service." Housekeepers often use interpersonal skills in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "extended customer service and interpersonal skills. "
Mechanical skills. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling housekeeper duties is mechanical skills. The role rewards competence in this skill because "janitors and building cleaners need to understand general building operations and should be able to make routine repairs, such as to leaky faucets." According to a housekeeper resume, here's how housekeepers can utilize mechanical skills in their job responsibilities: "documented deficiencies, including mechanical and/or electrical problems from guest rooms to housekeeping supervisor. "
Physical strength. Another skill that relates to the job responsibilities of housekeepers is physical strength. This skill is critical to many everyday housekeeper duties, as "janitors and building cleaners often must lift and move heavy cleaning materials and equipment." This example from a resume shows how this skill is used: "worked in conjunction with the physical plant department on maintenance issues. "
Time-management skills. housekeeper responsibilities often require "time-management skills." The duties that rely on this skill are shown by the fact that "janitors and building cleaners must plan and complete tasks in a timely manner." This resume example shows what housekeepers do with time-management skills on a typical day: "clean room on time laundry as needed front desk on call"
The three companies that hire the most housekeepers are:
- Marriott International5 housekeepers jobs
- Aimbridge Hospitality3 housekeepers jobs
- Hilton2 housekeepers jobs
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Compare different housekeepers
Housekeeper vs. Maid
Maids are individuals who perform domestic chores like ironing, grocery shopping, cleaning, and laundry. Primarily, maids oversee the maintenance of wardrobes, serve meals, and lay out clothes. They can carry out their job independently and adhere to the strict schedules set for them. They maintain the cleaning records as well as the supply inventory in organizations or residences. Maids are expected to be equipped with physical capabilities, along with cleaning, time management, customer service, and organizational skills.
There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, housekeeper responsibilities require skills like "cleanliness," "patients," "good judgment," and "osha." Meanwhile a typical maid has skills in areas such as "taking care," "bed sheets," "clean rooms," and "customers homes." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.
Maids really shine in the construction industry with an average salary of $27,826. Comparatively, housekeepers tend to make the most money in the telecommunication industry with an average salary of $29,665.On average, maids reach similar levels of education than housekeepers. Maids are 1.0% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Housekeeper vs. Guest room attendant
A guest room attendant's main specialty is in servicing and cleaning guest rooms. Your job as a room attendant is to ensure that all rooms and bathrooms are made inviting and clean for guests. You may also be required to attend to guest queries and provide knowledgeable answers to them. That's not all; your job responsibility may also include picking and providing necessary amenities for guests.
Each career also uses different skills, according to real housekeeper resumes. While housekeeper responsibilities can utilize skills like "patients," "guest rooms," "good judgment," and "patient rooms," guest room attendants use skills like "guest service," "strong customer service," "clean guest rooms," and "hotel guest rooms."
Guest room attendants may earn a lower salary than housekeepers, but guest room attendants earn the most pay in the hospitality industry with an average salary of $29,238. On the other hand, housekeepers receive higher pay in the telecommunication industry, where they earn an average salary of $29,665.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Guest room attendants tend to reach similar levels of education than housekeepers. In fact, they're 0.5% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.1% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Housekeeper vs. Room attendant
A room attendant is responsible for managing guest rooms, ensuring its safety and comfortability for the guests. Room attendants' duties include maintaining the cleanliness of rooms by following cleaning schedules, inspecting the furniture and other room items, reporting any damaged furniture for immediate replacement, replacing bed and bathroom amenities, restocking foods and emptying trash containers, and responding to guests' inquiries and requests. A room attendant must have excellent customer service and organizational skills to keep the highest customer satisfaction.
There are many key differences between these two careers, including some of the skills required to perform responsibilities within each role. For example, a housekeeper is likely to be skilled in "patients," "guest rooms," "good judgment," and "patient rooms," while a typical room attendant is skilled in "hotel guests," "math," "clean guest rooms," and "dependability."
Room attendants make a very good living in the hospitality industry with an average annual salary of $29,051. On the other hand, housekeepers are paid the highest salary in the telecommunication industry, with average annual pay of $29,665.Most room attendants achieve a similar degree level compared to housekeepers. For example, they're 0.8% more likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.0% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Housekeeper vs. Cleaning and maintenance worker
Even though a few skill sets overlap between housekeepers and cleaning and maintenance workers, there are some differences that are important to note. For one, a housekeeper might have more use for skills like "cleanliness," "patients," "guest rooms," and "good judgment." Meanwhile, some responsibilities of cleaning and maintenance workers require skills like "plumbing," "bathroom fixtures," "office buildings," and "general maintenance. "
Cleaning and maintenance workers enjoy the best pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $26,444. For comparison, housekeepers earn the highest salary in the telecommunication industry.In general, cleaning and maintenance workers hold similar degree levels compared to housekeepers. Cleaning and maintenance workers are 0.0% less likely to earn their Master's Degree and 0.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Types of housekeeper
Updated January 8, 2025
