If your property is ready to make the switch from on premise laundry to a hotel laundry service, congratulations: You’re about to take important steps toward saving money, time, resources and on your environmental impact. That’s if you do your homework to choose the right vendor.
Too often, properties move away from on premise laundry and into an outsourcing arrangement where they don’t understand the costs and aren’t clear about their rights. Making sure you have all of the information you need before making a decision can ensure that you maximize your savings and value.
With that in mind, here are some tips on how to transition to a hotel laundry service.
Calculate Your Current Laundry Costs
If you aren’t already benchmarking your laundry costs separately from your property’s other expenses, this first step may take some time, but it’s worth the investment.
Some costs to consider:
Water, utilities and environmental impact: Many online tools and in-person consultants can help you audit your current water and utility costs and benchmark against similar properties.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR program offers a range of benchmarking tools on its Portfolio Manager website to measure and track energy and water consumption, in addition to greenhouse gas emissions.
Labor: Calculate the labor costs for everyone associated with your on premise laundry, including not just housekeeping, but also the maintenance and facilities staff who keep your commercial laundry equipment running smoothly.
Equipment: Your commercial laundry machines not only cost you the purchase price, they’re depreciating in value every year you own them, and you have to pay to maintain them. All of those expenses figure in to their overall cost.
Visit the Facilities
Your housekeeping and management staff know your on premise laundry operation inside out, and they know what standards they – and your guests – have come to expect.
The best way to know for sure whether a potential hotel laundry service partner will be up to those standards is to take a tour of their plants for yourself. Check out their high-tech equipment, watch their sorting process and see how efficiently their employees work.
Get Enough Information to Estimate Your Future Laundry Costs
When you’re gathering quotes from hotel laundry service providers, get a clear picture of how they charge. By the pound? Pay as you go that allows you to pay only for occupied rooms? If you have the answers upfront, you won’t have as many questions later.
You’ll also want to know their policies for safeguarding linens in transit and accountability if there are losses or damage.
Choose a Provider with a Commitment to Being Green
Sustainable laundry practices are good for the environment – and they’re good for business. Commercial laundry service providers who are committed to being eco-friendly will process your linens as efficiently as possible, using less water, energy and no toxic chemicals.
The right provider will have the equipment and experience to ensure your linens are handled as sustainably as possible.
Plan for Transforming Your Laundry Room into (Fill in the Blank)
Transitioning to a hotel laundry service means you can reclaim the space that’s currently being occupied by your bulky commercial laundry equipment and turn it into a profit center.
That square footage can generate revenue by becoming a new or expanded spa, co-working space for guests, conference rooms, restaurants or retail outlets.
Every day, more properties make the smart switch from on premise laundry to a hotel laundry service. With the right information and the perfect partner, it can save natural and labor resources, leaving you with more time to do what you do best.
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