Director of Rooms

The Director of Rooms and Residences leads the Rooms Division and the hotel's residences services, with overall accountability for service delivery, profitability, cost control, asset care and colleague engagement. The role ensures a consistent Raffles experience for hotel guests, individual residence owners and residents, while delivering residential services within the hotel's approved management and service agreements. The scope includes Front Office, Concierge, Raffles Club Lounge, Royal Service, Housekeeping, Laundry, Transportation and residences services. The role is accountable for Rooms Division and residences service profitability, budget delivery and cost control, alongside guest and resident satisfaction, brand standards and operational efficiency. Housekeeping reporting line: The Director of Housekeeping reports directly to the Director of Rooms and Residences, who has full operational and financial oversight of Housekeeping and Laundry, while the Director of Housekeeping is responsible for the day-to-day delivery through the departmental teams. KEY ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES Rooms Division operations • Lead the departments within the division, conduct daily briefings and weekly management meetings, and maintain clear ownership of operational priorities and follow-up actions. • Maintain complete knowledge of hotel and residence services, room types and layouts, rates, packages, promotions, occupancy, arrivals and departures, pickup, availability and scheduled group activities. • Oversee departmental rosters and Manager on Duty schedules in line with staffing guidelines and labour forecasts, adjusting coverage to business demand. • Coordinate Front Office, Housekeeping, Royal Service and related teams to deliver timely room readiness, accurate room status, smooth arrivals and departures, and effective handling of guest requests. • Anticipate sell-out and overbooking situations, coordinate alternative accommodation when required, and ensure affected guests receive appropriate communication and follow-up under hotel policy. • Review out-of-order and out-of-service rooms daily with Engineering and Housekeeping, track defects and work orders, and confirm completion dates and readiness before returning rooms to inventory. Housekeeping & Laundry • Set and enforce cleaning, presentation and inspection standards for guestrooms, suites, villas, hotel-managed residences and all assigned public and back-of-house areas, including washrooms and leisure areas. • Conduct regular inspections with the Director of Housekeeping, review room and public-area audit results, and ensure corrective actions are completed and checked. • Oversee daily cleaning, turndown, deep cleaning and periodic maintenance programmes, coordinating access and timing with Front Office, residences services and Engineering. • Approve departmental staffing plans and monitor productivity, attendance, overtime and casual or outsourced labour against approved budgets and required service standards. • Control linen, uniforms, guest supplies, cleaning chemicals and amenities through agreed stock levels, secure stores, accurate inventories, controlled issuance and regular consumption reviews. • Oversee Laundry quality, turnaround times, equipment care and outsourced service performance; investigate losses, damage, excessive consumption and recurring service failures. • Ensure safe cleaning practices, appropriate chemical handling, pest-control coordination, lost-property procedures and respect for guest and resident privacy and property. Service quality and guest experience • Work closely with Guest Experience and Butler leadership to anticipate preferences, coordinate personalised service and resolve complaints promptly, with clear follow-up and corrective action. • Develop and enforce SOPs, review guest feedback and TrustYou results, and lead action plans for LQA, Forbes service standards and other applicable quality audits. • Tour the property regularly, act as a Raffles brand ambassador and introduce relevant best practices that improve service consistency and operational efficiency. Residences operations and resident relations • Lead the delivery of hotel-managed residences services within the agreed operating scope, ensuring that service commitments, responsibilities and escalation routes are documented and understood. • Serve as the senior operational contact for individual residence owners and residents, maintain regular communication and manage expectations with discretion and professionalism. • Coordinate resident onboarding, arrivals, planned absences, departures and move-in or move-out arrangements with relevant hotel teams and appointed property representatives. • Maintain accurate records of authorised occupants, contact details, preferences, contracted services and access permissions, with appropriate confidentiality and controlled access to information. • Oversee residence cleaning arrangements, service schedules, inspections and optional services; clearly communicate agreed inclusions, additional charges and access requirements. • Ensure resident requests and complaints are logged, assigned and tracked through to closure, with response and resolution targets, updates and escalation for overdue or recurring issues. • Coordinate maintenance and preventive works with Engineering, monitor progress and communicate disruption and completion arrangements to residents; escalate unresolved defects to the Hotel Manager. • Work with Security and relevant teams on authorised access, contractor visits, key control, emergency arrangements and protection of resident privacy and belongings. • Monitor residential service providers within the role's remit, review service quality and coordinate matters affecting agreed common areas with the appointed property-management representatives. • Review residence service arrangements and propose operational improvements that protect service quality and profitability; ensure approved changes are communicated clearly and applied in line with the relevant service agreements. • Minimum five years of luxury hotel experience in Rooms Division leadership, ideally within a resort or ultra-luxury brand, with a strong Front Office background. • Proven experience overseeing housekeeping and laundry operations, including cleaning standards, staffing, productivity, inventories and cost control. • Experience in branded residences, serviced residences or comparable owner and resident relations is strongly preferred. • Ability to interpret operational service agreements, define service responsibilities and coordinate residential services with Finance, Engineering, Security and property representatives. • Proven ability to lead large multicultural teams in a high-volume environment with empathy, presence and emotional intelligence. • Strong understanding of luxury guest and resident expectations, personalised service, cultural sensitivities, confidentiality and service recovery. • Strong financial and operational judgement, including expense budgeting, forecasting, cost allocation, expense control and analysis of departmental profitability. • Experience using property-management systems, preferably Opera Cloud or similar, and operational reporting tools. • Excellent communication, relationship management, conflict resolution and problem-solving skills, with the ability to remain calm under pressure. • Commitment to Raffles service values, anticipatory care and thoughtful personal touches that create lasting guest and resident relationships.