Linen losses in newly opened hotels and in housekeeping operations
Many hotels experience considerable losses of their linen when they are newly open due to the following reasons:-
Lack of or poorly implemented control systems and procedures when sending linen to outside laundry plants. Relationships have not yet been established and all linen must be counted when going out, re-counted when being returned, then tallied with invoices. Procedures on how to handle re-wash linen need to be established early on.
Security: In a new hotel linen cupboards/pantries/ store rooms are often not quite finished yet, locks not fully installed, key systems not established yet. Many contractors are working all over the hotel, completing work jobs often having easy access to linen. The same is true for all hotel employed staff (not only Housekeeping staff, but from all departments) and in many new hotels staff-entrance security is not strictly enforced or well established yet . Also sometimes in a pre-opening situation there is more than 1 entrance and exit to the hotel.
Then there is what I would describe as "management issues" In many new hotels nobody thinks of ordering sufficient rags and cleaning cloths. Very often they accumulate over time from old or discarded towels and sheets however of course when a hotel is just opened there is no old linen available. The staff often will use towels and face washers for quick cleaning jobs, simply because there are not enough other materials clean with. Of course in a new Hotel project there is a lot of cleaning to be done, often good linen is used for cleaning and quickly ends up in the rubbish. There may be situations also where some staff do not communicate well with the Housekeeping Management team and don’t advise there is a shortage of cleaning rags/materials. The team is still new, communication procedures may not yet be established and there might also be a language barrier.
Sometimes Housekeeping Managers do not fully understand the important difference between "condemned linen" and "lost linen". This is a very important management tool and essential for proper analysis and interpretation, rather than just looking at the final number of required replacement linen.
Condemned linen numbers: it is essential that all condemned linen is kept so the reasons can be inspected and reasons for the damage be investigated and analysed. Obviously no linen item should be at the end of its natural life cycle just when a hotel has opened so it is interesting to put the number of condemned linen items in proportion to the overall linen count and ask the following questions "why is it condemned and why can it not be fixed". Reasons would include:-
Deep dirty stains = has it been abused for cleaning? Does the chosen linen material and/or colour not allow a proper hot wash and pre-staining treatment by the laundry? This was an issue with the cream coloured linen selected for a 5 star property as it could not be bleached and washed as hot as normal white linen can be, stains couldn’t be easily remained and the otherwise perfectly good linen item had to be condemned. This would not have been an issue if white linen had been selected.
Fraying edges/ breaking material = was the material/fabric selected maybe unsuitable or substandard? Is the actual delivered linen the exact correct and same specification as the approved samples. It has been known for linen suppliers to deliver something of cheaper quality than they have shown at the approval process. This can easily happen if the Housekeeping Manager has not received the exact specifications of the approved item. Always keep a set of approved unwashed samples on hand to randomly compare those delivered with those approved. Is the laundry washing process too harsh? What is the water hardness? What chemicals are being used? What is the drying and pressing process? All are factors in how long linen will last.
Holes and tears = what is the transportation process/ transportation containers? Has the linen chute been checked for damage?
Lost linen numbers: this is linen which is truly missing and cannot be found anymore Lost linen is quickly identified at stock take time. During Hotel openings, it is strongly suggested to conduct monthly stocktakes to keep a close eye on linen levels. If there is a miscount or large gains/losses, just redo the stocktake for that item only. It is interesting to analyse whether it is mostly bed linen or terry linen which is missing, or is it equally both? Common reasons include:-
Security - linen disappearing out of the hotel, staff bag checks and random checks of rubbish and garbage
Exchange procedures and controls with outside laundry plant
Shortage of cleaning rags - linen used for cleaning thrown in the rubbish
Attractive linen is always tempting for guests to take as a memento of their stay. This tends to be hand towels and bathrobes and should rarely happen with bed linen. Good controls by the Room Attendants on checkout and reporting of losses quickly are helpful.
Remember the saying “You can’t control what you don’t count”