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A
NEW TAKE ON TOWELS
Towel
and robe theft may seem part and parcel of running a hotel,
but there are ways to manage the problem. And there are also
ways to keep them soft and fluffy for longer. Susan Reynard
goes behind the scenes.
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The
American Hotel and Lodging Association estimates that
theft in hotel rooms, from towels to televisions, costs
the lodging industry US$100-million annually. (www.hotel-online.com)
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An
estimated 560 000 towels are stolen a year from Holiday
Inn, according to Mark Snyder, senior vice-president
of brand management for Holiday Inn in the United States.
(www.hotel-online.com)
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 Holiday
Inn held a "Towel Amnesty Day" for guilt-ridden towel thieves
in the United States last year. The idea was not to get back
ancient towels stolen over the past 50 years, but rather to
post stories of guests' stays at their hotels.
Mark
Snyder, in charge of brand management at the group, was quoted
by the BBC as saying, "We don't want people living with guilt,
so we're simply letting Americans know that all is forgiven".
Holiday
Inn admits it was simply a publicity stunt aimed at reconnecting
core customers to the brand. It did, however, highlight the
ongoing issue of towel and robe theft in hotels.
The
biggest risk items are those with hotel insignia or other
forms of branding. While it is customary to embroider brand
emblems on robes, this is no longer the case with towels.
Sheraton
Pretoria GM Don Elliot says the biggest saving grace in the
hotel industry when it comes to towel theft has been the widespread
switch to white towels. "A white towel has no temptation value,"
he explains.
City Lodge operations director Tony Balabanoff says that within
a year of opening in 1985, the group switched its logo towels
for plain white ones and saw theft drop immediately. White
also makes it easier to spot stains and remove them effectively.
Executive
housekeeper at the Sheraton Pretoria Almé Prozesky says towel
theft is not a problem in the hotel, with the only loss experienced
a result of damage. Occasionally robes are taken, but this
prompts a letter and a bill to the client. Other contributing
factors to the small shrinkage figures are low staff turnover
and strict "clean for dirty" control systems.
At
City Lodge a similar policy is followed. Balabanoff says when
a towel does go missing they are careful not to accuse and
possibly offend guests. "Relationships are more valuable than
the cost of the towel," he maintains. If a towel is visible
in a guest's bag the hotel will enquire if it was "accidentally"
packed. Guests will usually return towels taken inadvertently
in gym bags during their next stay.
Total
loss of towels through theft and damage across the City Lodge
group's 36 properties over the nine months from January to
September 2003 was 0,18%, a negligible amount. City Lodge
budgets for towels on an annual basis. Busier hotels go through
more towels as a result of higher occupancies.
Balabanoff
says it's important to buy quality linen and towels: "If you
buy incorrectly you get poor wear and tear and this messes
up productivity ratios". Most properties run on-premise laundries
as they are more cost effective. They are run like laboratories,
says Balabanoff, with a scientific approach to equipment,
chemicals and staffing. The hotels provide sufficient linen
and towels for 2,5 turns: one in the rooms, one in the laundry,
and half in the housekeeper's store.
While
towel theft can be carefully controlled, it is not as easy
to prevent loss of towels through damage by guests. "Normal
soiling is not an issue," says Balabanoff. The in-house laundries
are good at spotting and removing normal soiling, using a
special wash by a chemical supplier where necessary.
Stains
that are more difficult to remove include hair dyes, shoe
polish, and long-wear make-up. To encourage guests not to
use the fluffy white towels for polishing their shoes, City
Lodge has installed automatic liquid polishing machines in
the foyers of their busier hotels as a free service to guests.
Supply
of towels is generous in most hotel bathrooms, with the standard
number in a single room usually two bath towels and two hand
towels per guest, and one or two bathmats. Some hotels offer
bath sheets as well.
City
Lodge has stopped routinely supplying guests with face cloths.
They have been found to be very unhygienic and were also stolen
in their thousands, probably because guests are too embarrassed
to leave badly soiled face cloths behind, says Balabanoff.
Theft
by staff is kept in check with careful controls, random searches
and strict monitoring of the entire housekeeping and laundry
process. "We would rather be proactive than reactive, and
have internal system controls and procedures in place," Balabanoff
notes.
A
new solution to managing the flow of laundry either on-premise
or at outsourced launderers is a barcode system developed
by Comsort Integrated Solutions (CIS). Alan Churcher of CIS
says the goal of the system is to implement a series of controls
that will enable the client to accurately monitor the movement
of linen or garments throughout the cleaning process. This
audit trail can then be used to prove integrity at each point
of responsibility.
The
idea is to eliminate human error by replacing a manual counting
system with new technology. Unique barcode identification
labels are attached either by sewing or ironing onto all items
of linen and tethered or portable barcode readers are installed
at the various points of control. Reports can then be generated
and the database updated automatically.
A
tour of the Boston Launderers plant in Spartan, Johannesburg,
with the Housekeepers Association of Southern Africa (HASA)
and a group of executive housekeepers emphasised that logistics
is a big part of the outsourced laundering business.
Set
up two years ago, the R20-million plant processes around 25
000 overalls and 40 000 flatwork items a day, and has a fraction
of a percent margin of error due to strict controls.
A
large section of the plant is fully automated, with each customer
given a separate product code that is applied to each piece
of linen. Each customer's laundry is processed separately.
Chemical dosing is very precise and maintained by JohnsonDiversey.
A water softening plant ensures better detergent effectiveness
in the washing process.
Pillowcases
and F&B linen are the most labour-intensive, says Luke
Volans, director of operations. However, fitted sheets defy
even the most sophisticated imported equipment and have to
be ironed manually.
Boston
financial director Mickey van Niekerk believes that in-house
laundries can work out more expensive in the long run, given
the floor space, equipment, power, water and chemicals
required.
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REASONS
WHY TOWELS GO HARD
Logos or no logos, hard towels are a no-no. Here
are some tips to prevent towels from going hard,
supplied by Dhooge's Textiles, manufacturers of
the Terry Lustre, Trousseau Royal, and Ecla Towels
towel ranges:
1) Hard water - the use of soft water is recommended.
2) Old age - towels last for around 140 washes
without chemicals such as bleach.
3) Not washed properly.
4) Tumble dried for too long, resulting in body
fats and other dirt, such as calcium and excess
softener, being hard-baked
into the fabric.
5) Too much softener impairs absorbency.
6) Not dried properly - calcium causes hardness.
7) Underloaded or overloaded washing machines.
Underloaded: too soft; no friction; pulling pile;
and
damage to edges. Overloaded:
excess dirt; excess softener; and excess calcium.
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TIPS
ON TOWEL CARE
The loss of a towel costs the same whether it
is a result of theft or damage through poor laundering.
Take note:
1) Do not use too many chemicals as they damage
the cotton fibres.
2) Use only recommended quantities of detergent.
3) Use softeners sparingly for better absorbency.
4) Do not dry in direct sunlight as this makes
towels feel hard.
5) Do not tumble dry at temperatures exceeding
40¡C.
6) Avoid sprinkling washing powder directly onto
the fabric as this causes spotting damage.
7) Make sure that towels are totally dry before
storing and store in a dry place to avoid mildew.
8) Trim pulled loops to avoid further damage.
9) Remove tag pins that could hook the towel.
(Supplied
by Dhooge's Textiles, manufacturers of the Terry
Lustre, Trousseau Royal and Ecla Towels towel
ranges.)
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BUST!
Just one of the stories submitted by confessing
American towel thieves during Holiday Inn's Towel
Amnesty Day is the following, by DB Appleton from
Oregon, and reported in The Baltimore Sun:
"Some
years back, I shared a room with my family members
at a Holiday Inn. My cousin Amy's father was a
TV producer who travelled extensively. When we
checked into our room, Amy walked in to the bathroom
and exclaimed, ÔLook, Mom, they've got our
towels!'"
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