SHEETS 101
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 36
How often should I order new
linen and terry?
“You have to do an inventory every
month,” Kent says. “And then you
have to order enough to replace what
is missing or damaged.” Kent re-
peatedly stressed the importance of
staying on top of tracking a spa’s
linen and terry, because linen and
terry both have a limited shelf life.
Towels lose their softness. Sheets get
stained. Robes seem to ‘wander off,’
as it were, with guests. If your spa is
frequently short on towels, it’s pos-
sible that therapists and estheticians
will squirrel away a small stash of
towels in a hiding place to ensure
that they have enough for their treat-
ments; this can cause you to order
linen and terry you may not need.
It’s a necessity to budget for new
linen and terry every month, even if
you don’t need new linen and terry at
that time. For example, a newly-
opened spa may not need to purchase
much during their first year of opera-
tion. But because all of their linen and
terry was purchased simultaneously
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APRIL 2020
and was used equally over the course
of that year, it will soon begin to wear
out at the same time. That can mean
unsightly—and unaffordable—linen
bills during the second year if the spa
is unprepared.
If you don’t order monthly, it’s
likely that you’ll one day realize you
don’t have enough pillowcases or
hand towels to complete the day—in
other words, you’ll be hung out to dry.
“It will kill you if you don’t stay on
top of your inventory and have the fis- good fit for the chemicals we use and
the machines we have.” Part of this in-
volves working with your property’s
laundry director or the outside laundry
service to help decide which linen and
terry represent the best compromise
between cost, durability and luxury. “A
smart laundry facility manager is your
best friend,” adds Kent.
You’ll also need to think about fold-
ing: does your laundry facility use a
folding machine? If so, make sure the
sheets you purchase will fit in the fold-
cal discipline to order what you need
every month no matter what is going
on,” Kent reiterates. “That can be a
challenge if you’re a small spa.” ing machine. Otherwise they’ll need to
be hand-folded, which adds additional
cost. For that reason, says Kent, many
spas are moving towards sheets and
terry crafted from materials that are
wrinkle-resistant and don’t need to be
folded.
For the second criteria, Kent finds
you often get what you pay for. Qual-
ity terry and linen are expensive, but
will typically last longer and offer a
better experience to the guest than
cheaper options that need replacing
more frequently. They can also gener-
ate additional retail revenue for your
What should I look for when
sourcing linen and terry?
Two things: durability and luxury.
To test the first, let your laundry facility
or outside laundry service test wha-
tever linen and terry you’re about to
purchase. “We have our own laundry fa-
cility at Sea Island,” notes Kent, “so
we’ll send it to laundry, and they’ll
wash it ten times to make sure it’s a