5 essential elements of a housekeeping cart
Housekeepers use a variety of trolleys and carts to clean rooms in hotels and accommodation. The housekeeping cart needs to suit the requirements of the hotel to ensure they efficiently clean all the vacant rooms during turnover periods.
What is a housekeeping cart?
A housekeeping cart or trolley is used by a room attendant, chamber maid or housekeeper to move essential supplies from room to room while they are being cleaned.
Depending on the configuration of the housekeeping cart, it may have shelves for clean towels, bath mats, pillows and sheets, amenity caddies for replenishing soap and shampoo stocks, space for cleaning materials, laundry bags for dirty and soiled bedding to go into, and a platform or hook for a vacuum cleaner.
How to safely stack a housekeeping trolley
The best procedure for a housekeeping trolley is to stack heavier items at the bottom level and not on the top surface of the cart. This ensures that items do not fall off the cart during transport around the hotel and do not cause injury or look untidy.
Housekeeping carts can have open shelves, partially open shelves or closed in cabinets. The cabinets are the most secure but take more time between each clean to open and close doors. Public area carts have enclosed cabinets for aesthetics and security.
As most housekeeping staff only have twenty minutes to clean a room thoroughly, every second counts. However, if the housekeeping cart is going to be left in the corridor while the attendant is in the room, security is important.
In room housekeeping carts
In room housekeeping carts are designed to be taller with a smaller wheel base so that they can be wheeled completely into the room while it is being cleaned. This makes them very secure.
It is also essential that they are easy to manoeuvre in what might be a tight space. In room housekeeping carts can be left behind the door to prevent guests from entering while the room is being cleaned.
Steel housekeeping carts vs plastic housekeeping carts
Steel housekeeping carts are considered to be heavy duty but the Forbes Industries plastic housekeeping carts are reinforced by their steel frames. Plastic carts have an attractive matt finish, while the steel carts are powder coated.
What are the five essential elements of a housekeeping cart?
The five main characteristics of a housekeeping cart are storage capacity, durability, safety and security, ease of maintenance, stability and handling.
Storage capacity - Housekeeping carts are available in many sizes from the Trolleymate which is ideal for the small property to very large for servicing multiple floors in a multi-storey hotel. Motorised housekeeping carts are ideal for hotels with long corridors as they reduce strain and the effort required to push them fully loaded along a corridor.
Durability - All the housekeeping carts, apart from mini rollers, have a steel base and wraparound bumper to protect walls and corners. Housekeeping carts have to cope with a lot of weight and be easily moveable. The frames and bases are designed to cope with the heavy-duty nature of the work. They have been made to last and come with a guarantee.
Safety and security – Housekeeping carts have been specially designed for large hotel groups with partial hoods for the top shelf of the cart. These ensure that items are not stacked on top of the cart, from where they might go missing. Cabinet housekeeping carts can be locked and in room housekeeping carts or mini rollers can be taken into the room while the cleaning is done.
Ease of maintenance - Wipe clean surfaces make the housekeeping cart easy to keep clean and hygienic. The laundry bags are replaceable and canvas housekeeping bags are machine washable while the vinyl bags can be wiped clean.
Stability and handling - Housekeeping carts have large wheels that make them easy to move around the hotel. They have been specifically designed to be stable and safe to use by housekeeping staff. In room carts have swivel locking wheels to make them easy to move in smaller spaces.
Talk to our sales team about the right housekeeping cart for your hotel accommodation. There is a wide choice of carts to choose from and each of them has different benefits. For example, you may need a small cart for a boutique hotel or a large commercial housekeeping cart for a multi-storey hotel with hundreds of bedrooms.