The Bathroom Standard
Five steps for cleaning and setting up a bathroom in a fixed order, top to bottom and dry last. One hair on a white tile makes a guest doubt the whole room.
- Who
- Room attendants, checked by the floor supervisor
- When
- Every bathroom, at every daily service and departure clean
- You need
- Colour-coded cloths, squeegee, torch, a full towel and amenity set
- Measured by
- A separate cloth for toilet, basin and glass
- No hair, no water spots, no damp towels
- Amenities in one line, labels forward
5 steps
01
Strip and air
Switch on the extractor or open the window. Take out every used towel and bath mat, empty the bins and remove used glasses. Nothing goes on the floor: used linen goes straight into the trolley bag.
Say this
“309 stripped: 4 towels, 1 mat, 2 glasses out.”
Common mistake Piling used towels on the floor to clean around them. The floor is cleaned last, and now it is the dirtiest surface in the room.
02
Top to bottom
Clean in one direction: vents and lights, mirror, shower walls, bath, basin, toilet, then the floor. The red cloth is for the toilet only and never touches the basin, a glass or the mirror.
Say this
“Red for the toilet, blue for the basin, yellow for glass and mirror.”
Common mistake Using one cloth for the whole bathroom to save a minute. It takes one guest with a phone to make that the hotel’s story.
03
Dry everything
Squeegee the shower glass and wall tiles, then dry every tap, shower head and drain cover with a dry microfibre cloth. Look at them from the side: a wet tap leaves a spot that looks like dirt.
Say this
“Chrome dried, glass squeegeed, no spots from the side.”
Common mistake Leaving surfaces to dry on their own. The water goes and the limescale marks stay, each one visible from the bath.
04
Hair check
Wipe the floor, the bath edge and around the toilet base with a damp cloth, then check the plugholes, the shower drain and behind the toilet with a torch. One hair makes the whole room look uncleaned.
Say this
“Drain, plugholes, toilet base: torch check done.”
Common mistake Checking only where you cleaned. Hair collects behind the toilet and on the shower ledge, at a seated guest’s eye level.
05
Set up
Hang one bath towel, one hand towel and one face cloth per guest, folds facing out and edges level. Line up the amenities on their tray, labels forward, and fold the bath mat over the edge of the bath.
Say this
“Set for 2: towels hung level, amenities lined up, mat on the bath.”
Common mistake Leaving a half-used soap beside a new one. The guest sees two and can’t tell which one is theirs.
The Bathroom Set-Up
Thirteen checks in the order of the clean. Tape it inside the trolley lid so the attendant sees it in every bathroom without looking for it.
- Extractor on or window open before you start
- Used linen straight into the trolley bag
- Red cloth for the toilet only
- Mirror cleaned, then checked from the side
- Shower glass squeegeed top to bottom
- Every tap, shower head and drain dried
- Plugholes and shower drain free of hair
- Behind the toilet checked with a torch
- Toilet roll folded, a spare in place
- Towels hung level, folds facing out
- Amenities in one line, labels forward
- Bath mat folded over the bath edge
- Floor dry before you leave
On day one, brief the colour code with the real cloths in hand. After that, brief two items a day, and the supervisor checks those two items in every bathroom inspected that day.
The Standards Library.
No. 53 · Housekeeping
The Bed Standard
Five steps for a bed made the same way in every room, linen checked before it goes on. A marked sheet gets found at midnight, when nobody can change it.
No. 54 · Housekeeping
The Replenishment Standard
Five steps for counting, charging and restocking the minibar and room amenities. A wrong charge found at checkout costs more goodwill than the item earned.