Automate and optimize hotel housekeeping scheduling
Every hotel has a property management system (PMS) that knows which rooms check out today and a housekeeping app that tells attendants where to go. Most still split the board by floor each morning and adjust by hand as checkouts come in. Let's decide which attendant cleans which room, in what order, so every room is ready before its guest arrives.
One solve plans every room, every attendant, and every route
Timefold solves room assignment and room order as one optimization problem. Skill certifications, room vacancy, meal breaks, shift and authorized overtime limits, and lone-worker protection are enforced as hard constraints, so every task list can actually be worked. Within those rules, the model covers as many rooms as possible and gets them ready by their deadlines, then before guests arrive, with the least walking, waiting, and overtime.
Where Timefold goes beyond a board split by floor
Four places where a board split by floor falls short. Timefold bakes each one into the model.
Deadlines drive the order
Rooms are sequenced around checkout times and the next guest's arrival, with early and VIP arrivals pulled ahead.
Travel is measured, not guessed
Corridor walking, wing changes, and elevator rides with the cart are part of every route.
New attendants get simpler days
Fewer floor changes for new hires, and preferred floors for everyone where possible.
Short staffing is visible early
Rooms that can't be cleaned in time are flagged at planning time, so the supervisor can call in help before check-in.
Housekeeping is where the labor gap hurts most
Hotels are short of attendants, the ones they have turn over fast, and labor costs keep climbing. Every minute lost to walking, waiting, or overtime comes out of a team that is already stretched.
Hardest department to staff
In industry surveys, housekeeping tops the list of staffing gaps.
Brings new attendants
So task lists have to work for someone in their first week, not just the veterans.
Of walking or waiting per room
Across hundreds of rooms a day, they become hours of attendant time.
Is a guest in the lobby
And a front desk apologizing for something housekeeping couldn't see coming.
Constraints the model expresses today
When scheduling works, everything works.
Less waste. More control. Teams that trust the plan.