On Premise Laundry
Introduction
Hotels may elect to have either an on premise laundry or use an off-site laundry. The decision on which one to use may be influenced by the size of the hotel, its location or its star rating.
What is an on premise laundry (OPL)?
This is where the laundry is situated somewhere within the hotel premises. The hotel will be able to process all hotel linens for use in hotel rooms and restaurants. In some cases, the hotel may also have a dry cleaning facility which will enable them to process all items needing to be dry-cleaned including guests’ clothing and hotel soft furnishings.
Where there is an OPL, the hotel will own all the laundry equipment, all linen items and employ all laundry staff. The hotel will also be responsible for maintaining all laundry equipment.
These are advantages and disadvantages to having on OPL
What is an on premise laundry (OPL)?
Advantages of having an OPL
The hotel has total control over the quality of linen used because they can select and buy the quality and quantities required
The hotel has total control over the quality of the laundering and finishing processes
The hotel has total control over the scheduling of staff working hours and the scheduling of maintenance and repairs i.e. Staff may be rostered off during quiet periods and rostered for extended hours if necessary during very busy periods
Where the OPL also processes guest dry cleaning and laundry, the revenue generated from this will help to offset some of the operating costs.
Disadvantages of having an OPL
The hotel will have to outlay a large amount of initial capital expenditure to purchase all laundry equipment including its installation and ongoing maintenance
The hotel will have to outlay a large amount of capital expenditure to purchase all hotel room and restaurant linens and its ongoing replacement
The hotel will need to find a location for the installation of a laundry facility. This may mean that space that could be used for revenue generation, such as a restaurant or additional guest rooms, may be sacrificed for this purpose
There will be additional staff to recruit, train and manage
The hotel will need to purchase all laundry supplies such as chemicals, trolleys, packaging, and coat-hangers
The hotel will incur additional utility costs including gas, electricity, water and sewage costs
There will be a “noise and vibration” factor associated with washing machines and dryers. The laundry will need to be located well away from guest rooms and guest areas
The hotel will need to have ample storage areas to store both clean and soiled linen
In the case of major machine breakdowns, laundry staff may be idle and production halted, causing disruption and linen shortages to the operation.
Advantages of using an off-site laundry
All capital expenditure of machinery and linen is the responsibility of the laundry service provider
All utility, maintenance and staffing costs are borne by the laundry service provider
Regular scheduled deliveries and collection times
The hotel will know all unit processing costs and can budget accordingly.
Disadvantages of using an off-site laundry
Off-site laundry providers may not accommodate requests from hotel owners to purchase specific styles of linen items. (Five star hotels may have to use the same quality linen as a two star property, for example)
The hotel operator does not have full control over the quality of linen processing
The hotel will need staff to count all clean linen received and check against the delivery docket. Shortages and damaged linen will need to be managed so that pre-determined stock levels can be maintained
Because the laundry is located off-site, there is less flexibility and, should there be a need for certain items such as additional napkins, the level of service to the guests may be compromised because of an inability to make an extra delivery to the hotel or to make an urgent delivery when there are shortages.
Dealing with outside Laundry contractors
Should the hotel decide to use contractors for the supply of laundry or dry cleaning services, it is extremely important that initial negotiations cover all aspects of servicing the hotel’s operation and that a written contract is agreed upon for a definitive time. It is also prudent for the key Hotel operations personnel to inspect the laundry to ensure that volume can be handled and to ensure a high standard of cleanliness and hygiene is maintained. References from current clients should also be reviewed.
Issues that should be covered in a contract should include but are not limited to:
The quality of linens provided specifying fibre content and sizes of all items
The items that are to be provided or washed. This will depend on whether linen will be leased from the laundry or owned by the hotel and washed by the laundry
The par levels to be maintained by either party
Days of the week that soiled laundry will be collected and clean items delivered including frequencies of these e.g. twice a day or three times a week
Approximate delivery times – these must meet the needs of the hotel
The provision of transport equipment – whose responsibility is this? Will trolleys or bags be used?
Provision of service in the case of major equipment breakdowns or emergencies (e.g. fire at the laundry)
Procedures for rewash of linen received with stains (to avoid additional costs)
Procedures for replacing linen that is worn or damaged (what is and isn’t acceptable)
Procedure for charging the hotel should there be abuse of linen by hotel staff
Procedure for incorrect deliveries or shortages
How linens will be packed (consider logistics of the hotel)
Procedure for compensation should the laundry damage hotel linen, staff uniforms or guests’ laundry and dry-cleaning. This is usually stipulated on the guest laundry docket to protect all parties
Provision of the necessary summary sheets, guest laundry dockets and laundry bags for placement in the hotel rooms (who will pay for these and what do they look like?). How will processed guest laundry and dry cleaning be presented and packaged?
Pricing for guests and staff laundry including possible discounts
Procedure for stocktakes
Unit price per item processed
The security of all hotel linens
Contact persons at the laundry and/or hotel to deal with issues arising from the contract
Payment terms
Length of contract
Termination and renewal of contract.
Identify the equipment that may be found in an on – premise laundry
Depending on the size of the laundry premises and the size of the hotel it needs to service, equipment types and sizes will vary considerably.
The following is a list of the main types of equipment used for processing hotel linens:
Washer-extractors (also known as washing machines). These vary in size and can hold between 5kg and 200 kg of soiled linen. They wash linen and also extract most of the residual water content by spinning in the last cycle
Continuous batch washers. These are only used where there is a large volume of washing such as in a five star 500 room hotel where linen is changed every day. The machine resembles a tunnel and is controlled via a computer programme which can direct the loading, unloading, and drying of linen through automation, reducing the need for several staff members
Tumble dryers. These are used to dry towels primarily and can again vary largely in their capacity – from 5 kg to 80kg
Flatwork feeders. Used to assist in feeding sheets and table linen on to the flatwork ironer. They are comprised of a series of clips which automatically feed sheets on to the ironer
Flatwork ironer. This is a machine that irons and dries sheeting and table linen in one pass
Flatwork folder-this is attached to the flatwork ironer and is pre-programmed to mechanically fold sheets and table linen. The folding mechanism can be switched off when ironing small items like napkins
Roller irons. These are found in small laundries for ironing small items like napkins and pillow cases. Larger versions can be used for ironing sheets. The item is passed through the ironer and returned to the operator for manual folding. The final result is inferior to the larger flatwork ironer but in motels where the sheets are a blend of 50%polyester and 50% cotton the result may be satisfactory. They are labour intensive. They would not usually be suitable for ironing sheets made of 100 % cotton
Towel folding machines. These are machines where dry clean towels are fed manually on to the towel folder and automatically folded. They may be single lane or multi-lane. The towel folding machines can be pre-programmed for producing different folds
Presses. Hothead presses are used mainly to press clothes but can also be used to press small items like napkins and pillowcases. Pressing in this way, however, is labor intensive and not recommended for large quantities.
The following is a list of the main types of additional equipment needed if processing hotel soft furnishings, guest dry cleaning, and staff uniforms
Polymark machine. This is a machine that is used to identify guest garments by attaching heat stamp labels on to each garment. These labels withstand the laundry and dry cleaning processes but can be easily removed and do not damage the garments if used correctly
Spotting board. This is a specially designed table used for spotting garments prior to being washed or dry cleaned. Stains are treated according to their classification with specific spotting chemicals. The spotting table uses a steam hose which can be used to assist in the removal of stains and can also generate air to dry the fabric after stain removal. It is operated by using foot pedals. This piece of equipment should only be used by experienced and trained staff
Dry cleaning machine. This is a machine that is used to dry clean items that cannot be washed in water. They operate similarly to a washing machine but use a solvent to clean. The main solvent in use today is perchloroethylene. The machine cleans and dries the garments in one cycle
Identify the equipment that may be found in an on – premise laundry
Different types of presses.
These are many and varied. There are presses designed specifically for pressing trousers and others designed to press shirts
Small trolleys and weigh scale. Trolleys are needed to collect guest dry cleaning bags from guest rooms and also for sorting garments into categories for washing and dry cleaning. A scale is needed to ensure machines are not overloaded
Mobile trolley with hanging rack for delivering guest items back to the rooms
Sorting table for receiving and marking items
Shelves or pigeon holes for sorting and collating finished items
Shirt folding machine. This is a template that can be used to fold shirts and tee shirts only.
Identify the equipment that may be found in an on – premise laundry
Miscellaneous equipment that will be needed for the laundering operation of linen
This includes the following:
Trolleys for transporting soiled linen from the rooms to the laundry
Trolleys for transporting clean linen within the laundry. Please note that clean linen should NEVER be transported in the same trolleys in which soiled linen has been carried. If the trolleys are to be used for both purposes, they must be fully sanitised between each use or have the fabric liner changed and washed
Trolleys for transporting linen back to the floors
Weigh scales. These are used to weigh soiled linen before placement into the washing machines so that they are not overloaded. If washing machines are overloaded or under loaded, the wash result will be inferior
Fabric bags for collection of linen
Shelving for linen storage
Chemical pumps and chemicals
Press pads. Covers on the ironing machines and presses need to be clean and regularly changed.
Identify the equipment that may be found in an on – premise laundry
Miscellaneous equipment that will be needed for the laundering and dry cleaning of soft furnishings and guests’ clothing and staff uniforms
This includes:
Packaging materials such as baskets or cardboard boxes, plastic bags, coat hangers
Marking tape and tags
Dry cleaning dockets and plastic bags
Spotting chemicals, spatulas, and tamping brushes.