How to Plan Hotel Housekeeping Shifts: Hours, Cost, and Coverage (with Free Calculator)
Getting housekeeping staffing right is a daily puzzle: too few attendants and rooms aren’t ready on time; too many and payroll creeps up. This guide shows a simple, repeatable way to estimate hours and cost—then sanity-check it with our free Housekeeping Time & Cost Calculator.
What you should estimate every day
- Check-outs (full turns)
- Stay-overs (light service)
- Minutes per room for each (your brand standard—e.g., 25 min CO, 15 min SO)
- Number of housekeepers on the roster
- Breaks & lunch (paid or unpaid)
- Hourly pay rate (fully loaded if you prefer)
- Optional shift start time (to project end times)
The quick math (so you can sense-check results)
Total cleaning minutes = (Check-outs × CO minutes) + (Stay-overs × SO minutes)
Hours per housekeeper = (Total cleaning minutes ÷ Round to nearest ÷ 60) ÷ # of housekeepers
Paid time per housekeeper = Cleaning hours + (paid lunch + paid breaks)
Cost per housekeeper = Paid hours × hourly rate
Team cost = Cost per housekeeper × # of housekeepers
Step-by-step: from arrivals to a realistic roster
- Enter volumes: today’s check-outs and stay-overs.
- Set minutes per room: start with your SOPs (e.g., 25/15). Bump up for suites or deep-cleans.
- Add headcount: how many room attendants are scheduled.
- Breaks & lunch: toggle whether they’re paid; include length and count.
- Pay rate: enter an hourly rate (use fully-loaded if you want a truer cost).
- Shift start: add a start time to see the Estimated End Time in 12-hour format.
- Review KPIs: total team minutes, hours per housekeeper, paid vs. unpaid time, and daily labour cost.
Try it now: open the calculator, plug in today’s numbers, and share the results in your morning briefing.
Benchmarks you can start with (adjust to your brand)
- Check-outs: 20–35 minutes
- Stay-overs: 10–20 minutes
- Breaks & lunch: 1 × 30-min lunch + 1–2 × 10–15-min breaks
- Rounding: 15-minute rounding for quick plans; 1–5 minutes for payroll accuracy
Scenario planning: three common hotel days
1) Turnover-heavy weekend
High check-outs, fewer stay-overs. Increase headcount or extend shifts. If you’re tight on people, raise CO minutes slightly and watch the Estimated End Time—then pull support from public-area or runner roles.
2) Midweek corporate
Fewer check-outs, more stay-overs. Drop minutes for eco-declines, run the calculator, and consider staggering start times to match late check-out patterns.
3) Mixed group & suites
Keep standard rooms at baseline, but model suites as a separate run with higher minutes. Combine totals to plan coverage realistically.
Tips to reduce time without sacrificing quality
- Front-load readiness: prioritize rooms with early arrivals or VIP notes.
- Zone intelligently: cluster assignments by floor/wing to cut walking time.
- Standardize carts: eliminate mid-shift stock runs with a pre-shift checklist.
- Use “opt-out” stay-overs: adjust stay-over minutes downward when guests decline service.
- Track actuals: review yesterday’s minutes vs. plan and update today’s SOP minutes.
Why planners and GMs like a calculator-first approach
A daily, data-driven estimate keeps housekeeping aligned with arrivals and revenue.
It reduces guesswork, stabilizes labour costs, and helps you communicate trade-offs:
“Add one attendant” vs. “shift end moves to 4:45 PM.” For a fast, visual estimate your team can act on, use the Housekeeping Time & Cost Calculator.
FAQs
Are breaks and lunch included in cost?
Only if you mark them as paid. The tool separates cleaning time from paid time so your cost is accurate.
What if I need to hit a target shift length?
Adjust housekeepers or minutes per room until Estimated Hours / Housekeeper matches the target shift. (Ask us if you want a “reverse calculator” mode.)
How do I handle suites or deep cleans?
Run a second pass with higher minutes for those rooms, then add the totals to your plan.
Next step: Build today’s plan with the
Housekeeping Time & Cost Calculator.