# Hotel step 7: room board, front-desk screen and housekeeping

> Watch every room's live status by floor, open a full-screen front-desk board, and let housekeepers move rooms from dirty to clean on a phone.

Source: https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/hotel/step-7-room-board-and-housekeeping/  
Last updated: 2026-10-30  
Product: SmartPOS Hub (https://smartposhub.com)

Two screens keep rooms moving: the **Room board** for the front desk and **Housekeeping** for cleaners. Both show the same live statuses, so the desk knows the moment a room is ready to sell again.

## Before you start

- Rooms have floors ([step 2](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/hotel/step-2-floors-room-types-and-rooms/)).
- In **Hotel (HMS) › Settings › Housekeeping**, choose whether rooms become dirty automatically after check-out.
- Housekeepers have their own logins with **Hotel: housekeeping (change room status)**.

## The room board

**Hotel (HMS) › Room board** shows every room by floor. Filter by **Floor**, **Room type** or search a room or guest. The counters (**Available**, **Occupied**, **Arrivals**, **Departures**, **To clean**, **Out of order**) filter the board when clicked. Click a room for its details and actions, such as marking it out of order with a reason and an **Out of order until** date.

![Room board with counters for available, occupied, arrivals, departures, to clean and out of order, and room tiles by floor](https://docs.smartposhub.com/_astro/hotel-room-board.g2-Y4W_V.png) (web app page: `/hms/room-board`)
*Each tile shows the room, its type code, status, guest and nights left.*

Click **Front desk screen** for a full-screen version for one location and floor on a wall screen or tablet. It refreshes by itself. See [Screens & displays](https://docs.smartposhub.com/modules/screens-and-displays/).

![Room board on a phone with floor and room type filters, Front desk screen button and status counters](https://docs.smartposhub.com/_astro/hotel-room-board-phone.CvLZxwO5.png)
*The room board also works in a phone browser.*

## The housekeeping routine

1. Housekeepers open **Hotel (HMS) › Housekeeping** (or **Hotel › Housekeeping** in the SmartPOS Business app).
2. Filter to **Dirty** to see the rooms to clean.
3. Tap **⋮** on a room and choose **Cleaning** when starting.
4. When finished, set it to **Available**, or to **Inspected** if a supervisor checks rooms first.
5. Rooms needing repairs go to **Maintenance** or **Out of order**.

![Housekeeping page with dirty, cleaning, available and occupied counters, status filter chips and room tiles by floor with arriving and leaving hints](https://docs.smartposhub.com/_astro/hotel-housekeeping-board.BOeCPxc4.png) (web app page: `/hms/housekeeping`)
*Arriving and Leaving hints tell cleaners which rooms to do first.*

Below the board, the **Status log** records every change with who made it.

![Housekeeping in the SmartPOS Business app with dirty, cleaning, available and out of service counters and Start and Clean buttons per room](https://docs.smartposhub.com/_astro/hotel-app-housekeeping.DfMbw9j1.png)
*Housekeepers tap Start, then Clean, in the SmartPOS Business app.*

## Tips and mistakes to avoid

- Clean **arriving-today** rooms first; the board marks them.
- Give each housekeeper their own login so the status log shows who cleaned which room.
- Use **Out of order until** for repairs so the room comes back automatically.

## Next step

  - [Step 8: Restaurant, spa and bookkeeping](https://docs.smartposhub.com/business-types/hotel/step-8-restaurant-spa-and-bookkeeping/)
  - [Screens & displays](https://docs.smartposhub.com/modules/screens-and-displays/)

## Frequently asked questions

### What do the room colours mean?

The board shows vacant clean, inspected, vacant dirty, being cleaned, occupied with nights left, arriving today, departing today, reserved and out of order. The counters at the top double as filters.

### Can housekeepers change a room that has a guest in it?

No. Rooms with a guest in house are protected, so a cleaner can't mark an occupied room as available by mistake.

### Is every status change recorded?

Yes. The Status log on the Housekeeping page lists each change with the date, room, from and to status, note and who changed it.

### How do I show the room board on a big screen?

Click Front desk screen on the Room board. It opens a full-screen board for one location and floor that refreshes by itself. Sales › Screens & displays also lists a link per floor.

### Which permission does a housekeeper need?

Only Hotel: housekeeping (change room status). Give housekeepers a role with just that permission.