Linen is a controllable cost. When it creeps up two years in a row, it is usually not bad luck. It is the absence of a structure.
The challenge
A regional leisure property with more than 60 rooms had seen linen costs increase significantly over two consecutive years. The hotel operated at medium occupancy with higher weekend demand, and linen spend had climbed without a corresponding lift in revenue or occupancy. There was no target cost, no structure driving efficiency, and no way to measure whether the team was on track.
What we did
We ran a Profit Boost Review across the property. Two years of financials, benchmarked against hotels of similar size and type. Linen costs stood out clearly.
We ran a discovery process with the client and the housekeeping team to understand how the current linen procedure worked and where it was leaking. The recommendations came back to two things: a new, more efficient linen structure and procedure, and a clear target cost the team could work to and measure against each week.
The result
- Linen costs: $23,200 saving per year, 16% more efficient
Achieved within 12 months. A target and a structure. That is all it took. The dollars were sitting there every year, unnoticed. Review it, quantify it, report it – business then implement it.
