For hoteliers who are simultaneously concerned about the environmental impact of their laundry services, as well as the cost of doing laundry in-house, outsourcing their laundry may be the answer. According to Joe Ricci, president and CEO of TRSA—the association for linen, uniform, and facility services—traditional hotel laundries may be sapping hoteliers’ monetary resources. “It costs millions of dollars to install laundry facilities, and hotels often simply do not have the volume of laundry required to reap the benefits,” says Ricci.
“Larger laundry volumes drive down costs, which includes water and energy as well as dollars,” he explains “What we found is, hotels are not loading the machines to capacity because they just don’t have the volume. So, they’re running a washing machine that can accommodate 250 pounds of laundry with only 150 pounds. It uses the same amount of water and the same amount of energy to move the machine, but it’s not as efficient because it’s not at capacity.”
Using an outside service to handle laundry helps hoteliers cut down on water and energy costs and reduces their carbon footprint. Another benefit of outsourcing is that it frees up square footage previously used for laundry to be utilized for something else, like an expanded kitchen or a fitness center.
For hoteliers interested in using an outsourcing service, Ricci advises being knowledgeable about best management practices. TRSA’s “Clean Green” ranks laundry services based on their performance in key areas such as boiler reuse technology, boiler heat recovery, and waste water treatment. Hoteliers should also inquire about the type of equipment a service uses, how the service determines its rates (by pound or by piece of laundry), and the coordination pickups and deliveries.
