Director of Housekeeping

Sonesta Hotels•Chicago, IL

2d•$90,000 - $100,000

About The Position

The Director of Housekeeping leads all housekeeping and laundry operations across the hotel, driving cleanliness standards, operational excellence, guest satisfaction, and team performance. The role oversees guest rooms, suites, public areas, back-of-house spaces, laundry, linen management, and hotel facilities while partnering with Front Office, Engineering, Operations, and hotel leadership to ensure smooth operations and guest readiness. The Director recruits, trains, coaches, schedules, and develops housekeeping and laundry teams; maintains sanitation, presentation, and brand standards; and monitors guest satisfaction, cleanliness scores, reviews, inspections, and service recovery. The position also manages productivity, labor, budgets, inventory, supplies, equipment, purchasing, vendors, and operational expenses; ensures compliance with procedures, sanitation requirements, OSHA regulations, chemical handling guidelines, and safety policies; and supports VIP arrivals, group business, special projects, deep cleaning, renovations, and transitions. The role analyzes performance data and helps build a collaborative, energetic, guest-focused culture aligned with Sonesta’s People People philosophy.

Requirements

Strong knowledge of housekeeping and laundry operations, room inspection standards, inventory management, labor management, and hospitality service standards.
Experience managing housekeeping budgets, operational forecasting, staffing plans, productivity metrics, and vendor relationships.
Strong leadership, communication, organizational, and problem-solving skills.
Ability to multitask and thrive in a fast-paced hospitality environment.
Flexible availability for mornings, evenings, weekends, holidays, and on-call support as needed.
Passion for hospitality, leadership, teamwork, operational excellence, and creating exceptional guest experiences.

Nice To Haves

Five or more years of progressive housekeeping, hotel operations, or hospitality leadership experience.
Previous experience as a Housekeeping Director, Executive Housekeeper, Rooms Division leader, or hotel operations leader.
Knowledge of sanitation standards, OSHA regulations, chemical handling procedures, and hotel safety requirements.
Experience using hotel operational systems, housekeeping management systems, and reporting tools.

Responsibilities

Lead housekeeping and laundry operations across guest rooms, suites, public areas, back-of-house spaces, and hotel facilities.
Recruit, train, coach, schedule, and develop housekeeping and laundry teams.
Maintain hotel cleanliness, presentation, sanitation, and brand standards throughout the property.
Monitor guest satisfaction, cleanliness scores, online reviews, room inspections, and service recovery opportunities to support continuous improvement.
Partner with Front Office, Engineering, Operations, and hotel leadership to support seamless operations and guest readiness.
Oversee room inspection programs, productivity, labor management, inventory control, linen management, and departmental budgets.
Manage housekeeping supplies, equipment, vendor relationships, purchasing, and operational expenses.
Ensure compliance with operational procedures, sanitation standards, OSHA regulations, chemical handling guidelines, and safety policies.
Support VIP arrivals, group business, special projects, deep cleaning initiatives, and renovation or transition activities as needed.
Maintain housekeeping closets, laundry areas, storage spaces, and employee work areas in clean and operationally ready condition.
Analyze operational KPIs, productivity reports, labor metrics, and housekeeping performance data to identify improvement opportunities.
Foster a collaborative, energetic, guest-focused culture aligned with Sonesta’s People People philosophy.
Perform other duties as assigned.