5 Essential Laundry Room Tips Every Hotel Should Follow
A hotel laundry room is responsible for processing linens across your property, including guest rooms, the pool, gym, restaurants, and other amenities. All of these areas must meet guests’ expectations or you’ll risk poor reviews and reduced bookings. Consistently impressing travelers with plush, like-new towels, crisp sheets, and clean, fluffy bedding takes a streamlined laundry process that includes high-quality linens, state-of-the-art equipment, and thorough training. If you think your laundry room has all the elements for success in place but you’re still struggling to produce clean linen consistently and efficiently, review these tips to boost your performance today.
1. Use White Linens for Guest Rooms & Amenities
White linens give any hotel room an airy, bright feel, but that’s not why they are the frequent choice of hoteliers. The color white is preferred because it doesn’t fade from laundry chemicals so the linens never look dingy or worn. Stains on an all-white background are also easy for attendants and housekeeping to spot and separate for extra treatment, which helps ensure these linens do not make it back into circulation until the stain has been removed.
2. Start With High-Quality Textiles
If you want your linens to feel luxurious, you need to start with quality fabrics. The right care and equipment can uphold a towel or sheet’s quality, but no laundry process can improve a low-grade linen. Selecting fabrics made with superior materials and construction will not only feel better to guests, but will hold up to frequent laundering to reduce linen replacement costs.
3. Take Advantage of Modern Equipment & Technology
The technology and features in modern equipment for hotels can help ensure quality sanitizing standards are met for every linen type. When each load is processed correctly, guests can count on receiving the same fresh, fluffy towels whether they ask for a resupply on the first or last day of their stay. Employ a repeatable, consistent wash process using programmable commercial washers. These preset cycles designate a bath time, rinse action, and extraction speed for each fabric type, load size, or soil level. This, along with automated chemical injections, makes wash cycles more effective and efficient. Rather than relying on attendants to monitor dryer loads, select a moisture percentage and let the machine’s sensors automatically stop the cycle when it is reached. This electronic monitoring prevents overdrying, which damages fabrics, and ensures items do not have any residual dampness, which can mildew and give them a musty smell.
4. Invest in a Commercial Scale & Use It
Whether you are auditing your linen supplies or weighing a load, a commercial laundry scale is the best way to get efficient, accurate counts and measurements. Washers and dryers are rated for specific capacities and their machine programs are based on those cycle volumes. Weighing, rather than guessing, ensures the cycle program is accurate and repeatable to eliminate errors and provide consistent results. Loading a dryer within capacity tolerances also ensures there is appropriate airflow and room for linens to tumble freely to efficiently dry linens without damaging them. Running below-volume loads should be avoided whenever possible because it wastes utilities and labor hours and can reduce available supply inventory needed for guest room turnover and amenities.
5. Thoroughly Train Your Staff
Equipment and linens are large expenses for hotels, so it is vital your staff is trained to operate commercial washers and dryers correctly and safely to protect your investment. Training hours may be difficult to justify because it can stretch your resources thin, especially with the high hospitality turnover rates, but skipping onboarding steps can result in damaged machines, increased linen replacement costs, frequent rewashes, or possible injuries. Effective training can yield invaluable laundry attendants who can spot issues before they become major problems and provide routine upkeep to extend the lifespan of your investments. If your staff is trained but you’re seeing inconsistent results or frequent issues, consider scheduling an operational analysis or training session with a Western State Design expert.
Now that you know the secrets to consistently fresh, clean hotel linens and better guest satisfaction, it's time to implement this advice into your laundry room. If you have questions or equipment needs, contact us for a consultation or recommendation—we have a long history of working with hotels leading them to become more efficient and economical.
