Are you managing or running an accommodation business, such as a hotel, short-term accommodation, or an Airbnb let? If yes, changing linen is one of the core aspects of your business as it can make or break your overall guest experience. Nothing appeals to most guests than clean and well-presented linen. Ensuring that every guest is greeted with a thoroughly clean and stain-free linen is an indication that the accommodation provider takes hygiene into consideration, and that will form a good basis for the guests to rate the overall cleanliness of the accommodation within seconds.
In the accommodation sector, it is expected that providers and operators change bed linens after every guest stay. For some guests on a longer stay, the policy on the time interval between changing linens may vary, but one can expect it every 3 to 7 days or upon a guest’s request. ONS reveals that the average guest stay is 11 days in England, 10 days in Scotland and 9 days in Northern Ireland.
Based on the average stay duration, one would anticipate a change of linen during a stay in most cases and a change after every guest departure. Assuming an average Airbnb occupancy rate of 70%, would mean around 2 guests per month on an average stay of 10 days per guests. This will mean at least replacing the towel and linen at least twice a month, and could rise to four times if linens are changed within each stay. This builds up the need for more linens and towels or a quicker turnaround time for the dry cleaning of these or the purchase of more at wholesale.
Based on the average guest stay in the UK, the total number of rooms, your policy regarding linen replacement during a stay and the overall occupancy levels will put things into perspective with regard to hiring, purchasing or dry cleaning linen yourself.
Should you hire your linen, dry clean it yourself or buy it outright?
The answer to these questions is relative to each organisation or accommodation provider. Several factors need to be considered before making a decision that will have implications on your operational capacity, financial performance and guest experience.
Here are some of the key factors:
1. Your Average Occupancy Level & Guest Turnover Rate
As earlier stated, your average occupancy rates will determine if hiring is more cost-effective than purchasing or dry-cleaning yourself.
Hiring will be more advisable if:
- You run a high-turnover operation (daily/weekly stays)
- You manage a student accommodation with peak-season increases.
- You desire frequent linen changes.
- Your business can’t withstand downtime due to laundry delays.
Linen hire services ensure a consistent supply, even during busy periods.
On the other hand, buying may work if:
- Your stays are long-term (monthly or yearly)
- Linen is changed less frequently.
2. Storage Space & Laundry Capacity
The operational capacity of your accommodation is an important factor.
It makes sense to hire if you lack:
- Dedicated in-house laundry facilities
- Enough staff to manage washing and inventory
- Sufficient space to store backup linen sets
- The luxury of time to take care of sorting, ironing, folding, and replacement
Linen hire eliminates these challenges because cleaning, delivery, replacement, and stock management are included.
You can opt to buy if:
- Your company owns or intends to build an in-house laundry.
- There are sufficient staff, machinery, and space.
- You can handle logistics independently and effortlessly.
You have to really think about the operational workload that will arise with buying or dry cleaning in-house.
3. Large upfront costs vs. ongoing rental costs
Buying bulk linen does have a high upfront cost.
You’ll need to purchase:
- Sheets, pillowcases, duvet covers
- Towels
- Mattress protectors
- Spare sets
- Laundry equipment (if cleaning in-house)
This could all add up to your company’s total overhead cost, and for some businesses running on thin margins, this can come at a real expense.
The other option is to hire, which can spread out the cost.
You’ll be expected to pay a recurring fee for:
- A weekly or daily delivery
- Laundry only service
- Replacement of damaged or below-standard linens
- Overall quality control of the linen and process
Other factors that should be taken into consideration when deciding to hire, buy or dry clean linens are quality control, flexibility. replacement rate and environmental impact.
Your decision regarding guests linens needs to go through a thorough assessment process based on some of the above factors and reaching a final outcome that is both favourable for business performance and guest experience. If you decide to hire lines, Londonist Hospitality is an expert in providing you with unrivalled service.