Laundry Options In Hospitality

Even as industrial laundry technologies continue to evolve, the debate in India’s hospitality industry on the comparative merits and demerits of in-house vs outsourced laundry facilities simply refuses to die down.

- Jyotismita Sharma

Even as industrial laundry technologies continue to evolve, the debate in India’s hospitality industry on the comparative merits and demerits of in-house vs outsourced laundry facilities simply refuses to die down.

This is due, to a great extent, to the challenges of maintaining laundry facilities on premise of hospitality properties and in meeting changing expectations of the customers. While the advocates of having laundry facilities on the premise of hospitality properties often rest their arguments on issues surrounding quality, those who argue in favour of outsourcing the laundry service mostly cite the factor of convenience.

But it is not simply a quality versus convenience debate, and the issues involved are much more complex. In fact, there is no one-size-fits-all formula for all the hospitality properties when it comes to their laundry service.

This is because every hospitality property may have its own limitations and advantages. For example, a property with limited space or budget may simply find it imprudent to set up a laundry facility within its premises, despite its commitment towards providing quality services. Therefore, it is important to consider the arguments of both the sides before zeroing on a decision on the laundry service.

“Operational feasibility, space and infrastructure have to be considered while setting up a laundry. Additionally, factors like safety, specialised manpower and return on investment determine the laundry set up in the hotel,” said Deepak Sampath, Rooms Division manager, Holiday Inn Mumbai International Airport.

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