Preparing for the 2017 Hospitality Season

Comfortable and Luxurious Bedding

Comfortable and luxurious bedding has become the face of a hotel’s hospitality, instantly communicating something about the hotel brand and what their standards are. It communicates to guests that the hotel has gone above and beyond to make certain that their stay is comfortable.

When guests climb into bed, they expect a clean, luxurious and comfortable experience, which is why maintaining a Par Level is vital to ensure smooth operations in the housekeeping department.

Maintaining Par Levels

A key factor in successfully managing a hotel property is establishing a par level for all linens used at your location. The par number established for inventory is the standard stock level needed to accommodate everyday housekeeping operations. Using linens as an example, the par level equals the total number of each linen product that is needed to outfit all guestrooms. Maintaining Par Level avoids shortages forcing guests to wait for clean rooms and increases the lifespan of linens due to frequent laundering.

Over the past five years, the par level for room linens throughout the Hospitality Industry has been on an upward trend. This can be attributed to a heightened standard of “cleanliness” by customers. Living in the age of Yelp reviews and a stronger social media presence than we have ever experienced, customer satisfaction is more important than ever. If a guest spots a stain on a pillowcase or bed sheet, they will demand a replacement. If you cannot fulfill this request due to an insufficient par level for your property, a negative Yelp review or Facebook post is inevitable.

Another reason for this increase in par level is due to the widespread adoption of triple sheeting. Triple sheeting reinforces cleanliness and assures your guest that they are sleeping in freshly laundered linens and not dirty bedspreads or duvets. There is no worse feeling than sleeping on a bedspread or duvet cover that is soiled and/or worn.  The handling and laundering of items used in triple sheeting is far easier than processing traditional duvet inserts or bedspreads.  Also, your housekeeping staff won’t have to wrestle a heavy duvet insert into a duvet cover!  Check out these decorative top sheets and lightweight comforter.

An important factor when establishing linen par levels is the replacement of worn, damaged, lost, or stolen linen. Since linen losses vary from property to property, executive housekeepers will need to determine a reasonable par level for linen replacement based on the property’s history. Also, emergency situations must be accounted for! A power failure or equipment damage will happen at least once every few years.

Although a sufficient par level demands upfront money to overstock linens, at the end of the day it is worth every penny to avoid shortages and dirty linen. Aside from properly managing par levels, there are additional ways to ensure a clean and comfortable stay at your property. Products like zippered pillow protectors and bed bug certified mattress encasements help reinforce the idea that you are going above and beyond to keep your bedding clean and bed bug free.