---
title: Hotel Housekeeping Room Status Codes Explained | bedsKey
description: What vacant clean, vacant dirty, inspected, occupied, DND, out of order and out of service mean, who sets each one, and a simple daily housekeeping workflow.
canonical: https://bedskey.com/blog/housekeeping-room-status-guide/
updated: 2026-10-05
publisher: bedsKey (Innovate Solution)
---

# Hotel housekeeping room statuses explained, with a daily workflow

**In short:** Room status tells reception which rooms can be sold and housekeeping which rooms need work. The usual statuses are vacant clean, vacant dirty, inspected, occupied clean, occupied dirty, do not disturb, out of order and out of service. The workflow runs best when attendants update status from their phones, so reception sees each change immediately.

Published 2026-10-05 · bedsKey product team

## The room statuses

| Status | Code | Meaning | Ready for a new guest? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vacant clean | VC | Empty and cleaned, not yet inspected | Depends on whether you require inspection |
| Vacant dirty | VD | Empty and needs cleaning, usually after a check-out | No |
| Vacant inspected | VI | Cleaned and passed by a supervisor | Yes |
| Occupied clean | OC | Guest in house, room serviced today | — |
| Occupied dirty | OD | Guest in house, room still to be serviced | — |
| Do not disturb | DND | The guest has asked not to be disturbed | — |
| Out of order | OOO | Cannot be used until repaired; taken out of sellable inventory | No |
| Out of service | OOS | Held back briefly, for a minor fault or a deep clean | Not until released |

## Out of order vs out of service

An out-of-order room has a real problem — a broken air conditioner, a leak — and is removed from what you can sell, which also affects how occupancy is calculated. An out-of-service room is held back for a short time and goes straight back on sale once released. Set a reason and an expected return date for both, so rooms are not blocked longer than needed.

## A daily housekeeping workflow

1. **Morning list.** Departures join the task list as guests check out; a room with a guest arriving the same day is marked high priority.
2. **Assignment.** Rooms are dealt to the attendants on duty by priority, floor and workload.
3. **Cleaning.** Attendants update each room from their phone and tick the required checklist lines before marking it finished.
4. **Inspection.** A supervisor passes the room or sends it back with a reason.
5. **Release.** Reception sees inspected rooms immediately and allocates them to waiting arrivals.
6. **Requests and faults.** Extra towels or an iron are delivered, and charged to the folio if they carry a fee; faults found in a room become maintenance tickets.
7. **End of day.** Unfinished rooms carry over to tomorrow's board, labelled with the day they came from.

## What to measure

| Measure | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Rooms cleaned per attendant per shift | Whether the roster matches the workload |
| Average time per room | Where training or supplies slow the team down |
| Send-back rate after inspection | Whether the cleaning standard is being met first time |
| Rooms ready by check-in time | Whether arriving guests are kept waiting |

## How bedsKey supports this workflow

bedsKey Housekeeping has a live room board with every status above, an automatic task list with same-day turnarounds marked high priority, one-button assignment by priority, floor and load, cleaning checklists, inspection and send-back, guest requests charged to the folio, a deep-cleaning rota, carry-over, fault reporting from the room and a productivity report. Attendants use the iOS and Android app, and reception sees each update instantly.

## Frequently asked questions

### Should rooms be inspected before they are sold?

Many hotels sell only inspected rooms to protect their standard; smaller properties may sell vacant clean rooms to save time. Choose one rule and apply it consistently.

### How many rooms can one attendant clean in a shift?

It varies widely with room size, check-out versus stay-over cleans and your service standard. Measure your own time per room for a few weeks and plan rosters from that.

### Who should mark a room out of order?

Usually maintenance or a supervisor, with a reason and an expected return date, so the room is not sold and does not stay blocked longer than needed.

## Read next

- [Housekeeping](https://bedskey.com/features/housekeeping/)
- [Mobile Staff Apps](https://bedskey.com/features/mobile-staff-apps/)
- [What is occupancy rate?](https://bedskey.com/glossary/occupancy-rate/)
- [Front Desk](https://bedskey.com/features/front-desk/)
- [All articles](https://bedskey.com/blog/)

## Talk to bedsKey

Book a demo: https://bedskey.com/contact/ · sales@bedskey.com