Hotel Laundry Operations: How to Optimise Them

The laundry room, along with the kitchen, is one of the most resource demanding areas in your hotel, as it consumes high amounts of water, electricity, time and effort on a daily basis. Keeping the bed sheets, towels, and various linens clean, ready to be used is a non-stop process, so naturally you would want to minimise your expenditure and optimise the laundry department for maximum performance. Here to help your laundry operation run smoothly and efficiently by conserving precious resources, labour, and cutting down on expenses are the essential tips you need to implement across the board.

Regular appliance and equipment maintenance

Because of their constant use and strain, laundry appliances and subsequent equipment such as the ironer and the garment steamer are prone to regular breakdowns, subpar performance due to wear and tear, and other costly problems.

Fortunately, adhering to regular maintenance and upkeep by employing a qualified laundry mechanic can tremendously improve machine performance and prolong the lifespan of your appliances and equipment. When your laundry equipment is running smoothly and efficiently, your room attendants are able to do their jobs, and in turn, your guest satisfaction is guaranteed.

Operating at optimal capacity

Your laundry appliances such as the commercial-scale washer are manufactured and designed to operate at a certain capacity that should have been established prior to their purchase. If your employees overload, or even underload, the capacity of the washer on a regular basis, you are risking damaging the appliance and significantly shortening its lifespan and effectiveness.

Not only will the washer produce subpar results in terms of cleanliness and vibrancy of the materials, but it will also drain more energy and water in order to compensate for the inadequate use. Under loading is also a major problem as it can cause imbalances and produce damage to internal bearings. Make sure your laundry team weighs every load to fit the capacity of the washers.

Regular ironer and steamer upkeep

The ironer and garment steamer are the two most valuable pieces of equipment in your laundry department, as not only do the sheets and towels need to be pressed to perfection, but guests' clothes also need to be restored to their former shiny, clean, and spotless glory.

That's why your laundry service doesn't only have to include a durable and potent garment steamer on hand, but you also need to make sure the ironer is operating flawlessly in order to conserve energy, labour time, and avoid negative feedback from your guests.

Cut down on folding times

Forget about manually folding and pre-sorting various towel types, but rather embrace modern technological advances and equip your laundry department with a contemporary towel folder that can be operated by one employee with the time and labour efficiency of numerous workers.

Contemporary models can even distinguish between bath and hand towels, and even bath mats, so your employees won't have to lose precious time and energy on pre-sorting them before folding. This will allow you to cut down on labour costs and get twice as much done in half the time.

Take the day off and maintain efficiency

When your hotel's occupancy falls below 50%, there is no need for the laundry department to keep working. You can send your employees home, and give them the day off, as they can easily pick up the extra work tomorrow. This will not only help you save labour, but you will also be able to save a whole day's worth of energy and other precious resources.

Additionally, in order for this tactic to work, you need to keep your linen and terry supply well-stocked with clean pieces ready to be used at a moment's notice by your room attendants. Be sure to keep at least three whole turns of linen and terry in order to maintain efficiency, and increase guest satisfaction.

The laundry room can easily become one of the most expensive departments in the entire hotel, one that is difficult to maintain financially long-term. However, by following these useful tips you will have no problems optimising your laundry service and making long-term financial savings while elevating efficiency and productivity.

Lillian Connors
Senior Digital Marketing Strategist
Bizzmark