HUNG OUT TO DRY Who would have thought that hoteliers would have to cap their capacity despite their being a huge demand for accommodation. But suppliers are affected too by staff shortages and the impact of of the pandemic and Brexit too. Nicola Young takes a look at the laundry sector in depth.
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here has never been such a demand for rooms. But who would have thought that this unprecented demand would be so stressful to hoteliers? However staff shortages, and supplier issues are adding a whole new element to a hoteliers’ life. We all have a view on the issues around staff shortages but why do you think there is such an issue around laundry? It’s not just a shortage of staff although that too is an issue. “There are massive inflationary pressures bearing down on our industry,” explains David Stevens, CEO of the Textile Services Association (TSA), which represents commercial laundries in the UK. “Commercial laundries are already on their knees, having had virtually no government help through lockdowns, despite seeing volumes drop by up to 80%. “Now they’re being hit by price increases they can’t absorb – they simply don’t have the resources.” The cost increases faced by laundries cover just about every area of operation and amount to double digit inflation. Labour shortages have led to wages going up by between 10% and 25%. Chemical costs are up 15%. Many laundries also supply textiles services such as linen hire to the hospitality industry. Here the prices are skyrocketing, with sheeting and bedding up by 55% and container freight costs by 300%. Commercial laundries servicing hotels operate on tight margins and quick turnround
times. It is common, as you will know, for companies to either rent linen to hotels for about three years or agree a number of washes to clean dirty sheets and towels within 24 hours. e.g 100 washes. However like most businesses the majority of laundry services shut operations last year and furloughed staff. The laundry sector, like hotels, also employed a high proportion of overseas workers and many returned home or found ‘more stable’ jobs elsewhere in the market. The FT have already reported that Blossom and Brown, one of the UK’s oldest laundry companies, and a supplier to the Royal family, have not been able to recruit enough staff to service hotels since reopening and rather than running two shifts per day they can only operate one, with turnaround time 48 hours rather than 24. The Textile Services Association reports that, of 25,000 jobs in the sector, 4,000 were unfilled. An estimated vacancy rate of over 15% - and in a sector that already struggles to attract staff. And now, like all businesses, the energy prices are going to hit hard. “Energy typically amounts to around 10% of a laundry’s cost base – but the increases we are facing are off the scale,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA. “They make the previous record highs of 2004 pale into insignificance.” For example, in March 2021 the cost per therm of gas was around 42p. Today the cost has breached 160p. Similarly, electricity in HOTELSCOTLAND • 11
