TABLE OF CONTENTS

TOPIC PAGE NUMBER

INTRODUCTION 2

LINEN AND LINEN USAGE AREA 3

COMMON MISUSE OF LINEN 4

METHODS OF MISUSE OF LINEN 7

MEASURES TO CONTROL MISUSE OF

LINEN

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1

INTRODUCTION

Hospitality industry has grown in leaps and bounces across the globe in the recent decades.

The growth has been in all spheres of hospitality, be it in terms of number of rooms or the

luxuries being provided in the room. The importance of housekeeping department has also

increased as a result of this growth in the industry. Housekeeping plays a strategically

important role in the upkeep of the hotel and in ensuring that the guest has a comfortable stay

in the room. The linen used by a hotel speaks a lot about the standard of the hotel. It is one of

the things which anyone would be hygiene conscious of, be it the bedroom linen like bed-

sheets and pillow slips or the bathroom linen like bath-towel, face cloth and hand towel. The

aim of the housekeeping department should be to provide fresh linen to the guest, which has

been laundered and is free of any stains or odour.

One of the major areas of concern from the housekeeping point of view has been the misuse

of linen by the staff. It is ethically and hygienically bad, the guest pays for the services he/she

takes and expects a high standard of hygiene in the linen he/she uses. The misuse of linen

leads to a lot of financial loss as the linen which has been used in the wrong way has to be

discarded before its life span is over thus incurring additional cost. Hotels across the globe

have tried and tested different methods to control and stop the abuse of linen and have been

successful to a certain degree.

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Analyse how linen is misused in hotels and suggest measures to control the same.

Every department in the hotel requires linen in one form or the other. Before I analyse the

misuse of linen it is important to know the areas in which linen is used as these are the areas

where misuse takes

Linen and linen usage areas

AREAS LINEN USED

Rooms Bed sheets, pillow slips, duvet

cover, foot mat, curtains, pillow

protector.

Bath room Bath towel, hand towel, face cloth,

bath rugs, bath mats, housekeeping

dusters.

Public area Face cloth, hand towel, pool towel,

pool bed cover, cold towels.

Kitchen Kitchen dusters

Food beverage outlets Table napkins, cocktail napkins, tea

napkins, table cloth, throw-over,

moult on, runners, waiter’s cloth,

salver mats, tray mats, coasters, tea

cosy and cover, banquet frills, linen

for special arrangement, dusters

All departments Uniforms

The above table gives us an idea that linen is used almost all the departments of the hotel thus

the cost incurred in providing linen to all is also very high. The cost of processing each piece

of linen and maintaining adequate par stock so that continues supply is provided results in

high cost for the hotel. When an investment is made it is done keeping in mind the life span

of the linen in normal usage so when linen gets misused and is discarded before the actual

discard time it burdens the financial planning of the hotel.

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COMMON MISUSE OF LINEN

The most common problem all the hotels in the world face is related to the misuse of linen by

the staff and guest. This abuse of linen leads to the diminution in quality and standard of linen

and thus early discard of the item.

The misuse of linen can happen in any stage of the linen cycle.

LINEN CYCLE

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LINEN CYCLE

Collecting soiled linen.

Transporting soiled linen.

Sorting soiled linen.

Washing soiled linen.

Drying clean linen.

Sorting/folding clean linen.

Transporting clean linen.

Using clean linen.

Collecting soiled linen

Heavily soiled linen is mixed with lightly soiled linen. Employees don’t separate linen by

type. Damp linen lies in the soiled linen hampers along with other linen and thus causes

mildew. This not only damages that particular piece of linen but also other pieces which are

in contact with the linen. Heavily soiled items might require immediate attention as fresh

stains can be removed when they are fresh but because of neglecting them these get mixed up

with other linen.

Transporting soiled linen

Laundry trolleys and linen chutes are badly maintained, causing linen damage. Items are

dropped on the floor or walked on due to laundry trolleys being overstuffed. Soiled linen are

dropped on dirty and dusty floors causing it to get more soiled. The hampers in which soiled

linen is transported would be dirty as the hampers are hardly washed. The linen gets rust

stains from the trolleys. The use of large bed sheets or duvet covers to transfer soiled linen

causes the damage of these items.

Sorting soiled linen

Heavily soiled linen is allowed to sit too long before washing. Sorting area/rooms cause

physical damage and make additional stains on the linen. During sorting the heavily soiled

item might get mixed with lightly soiled linen and would not get the attention certain stains

require.

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Washing soiled linen

Coloured linen is mistakenly washed in a whites/bleach formula. Delicate linen is mistakenly

washed in a formula with a high-speed extract. The use of short washing cycles to save time

leads to gradual damage of linen. The use of strong chemicals also causes the linen to

discolour or become weak and thus tear easily. All soiled linen are processed together

without checking the type of stain thus making certain stains permanent and unremovable.

Drying clean linen

Delicate linen is mistakenly dried at very high temperatures. Oily soils aren’t removed

entirely, causing dryer fires. Cooling cycle is not run in dryers to save time. This causes

weakening of fabric which leads to its discard. If the belt of the calendar machine is damaged

that would cause discoloration of linen. The malfunctioning of different equipments causes a

lot of damage to the fabric. Lack of steam or additional moisture causes linen to get

discoloured easily.

Sorting and folding clean linen

A folder is damaged, causing snags or tears. The linen items from which the stains have not

been removed completely are put back onto circulation. The rest time for each article is not

given thus causing weakening of piles. The stains which could not be removed need special

treatment but are put into circulation causing the stains to become permanent.

Transporting clean linen

Laundry trolleys are badly maintained causing linen damage. Soiled linen hampers are used

for transporting fresh linen which is hygienically bad as well as damages fresh linen. Clean

linen is placed on dirty racks causing them to get dirty again. Linen which has not dried

completely is stacked resulting in mildew and causing linen to smell bad.

Using clean linen

Maximum misuse of linen takes place during usage either by the guest or staff. The main

reason for the abuse of linen is easy access of that item compared to others. Given below are

the different ways in which linen gets misused by the guest and the staff and the main reason

for the misuse.

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COMMON METHODS OF MISUSE OF LINEN

MISUSE REASON

Cleaning shoes using face cloth,

hand towel or any other linen.

Non availability of shoe mitt in the room for guest. Lack

of information about the availability of shoe shine

service in the hotel. Easy access of fresh linen in the

room for the guest.

Cleaning shower area with bath

towel, bath mat or hand towel.

Lack of proper dusters. Laziness of the staff to carry

many dusters with them. To finish the work as quick as

possible the staffs uses linen instead of dusters. Another

reason for using linen by staff is the good absorbency of

linen compared to dusters. Lack of any equipment which

cleans shower area as quick as linen is one of the main

reasons for the staff using linen.

Cleaning mirrors/glasses and

doing dusting using pillow slips.

Non availability of cotton dusters and the easy access of

pillow slips.

Mopping using hand towel,

cleaning wash basin with face

cloth.

Lack of proper dusters. Laziness of the staff to carry

many dusters with them. To finish the work as quick as

possible the staffs uses linen instead of dusters. Easy

access of the linen to the staff makes it easier for the

staff to use linen.

Napkins used for wiping cutlery

and glassware.

Lack of dusters and waiters cloth forces F&B staffs to

use napkins for wiping cutlery and glassware. Lack of

supervision and authority also encourages them to use

the linen for other purposes.

Napkins being used for cleaning

tables and wiping flatware.

Non availability of dusters and waiters cloth. Lack of

ownership and initiative among the staff leads to use of

napkins in guest areas.

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Food particles collected along

with table cloths/ throw over and

put into the hamper.

Lack of training and absence of foresight among the

staffs leads them to do so. Lack of knowledge about the

processes and procedures is also another reason.

F&B linen being used in kitchen

for cleaning.

Non availability of kitchen dusters combined with the

lack of knowledge about the processes and procedures is

also another reason.

Foot mats used for soaking extra

water.

Absence of proper equipment for removing water and

easy availability of foot mats leads to this misuse.

Uniforms being used for quick

polishing of shoes or for cleaning

things.

Lack of belongingness and ownership among the staffs

as well as inefficient training leads to such neglecting

situations by staffs.

The above reasons show that the main reasons behind the misuse of linen in hotels are: -

Improper training leading to unawareness among staffs about the processes and

procedures.

Easy access of linen articles compared to dusters.

Non availability of dusters or proper equipments to carry out operations without

obstacles.

Lack of supervision and authority in operations makes staff lethargic and take short

cuts.

Lack of knowledge about the availability of services and resources.

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MEASURES TO CONTROL MISUSE OF LINEN

The measures to control the misuse of linen in hotels have to come from the ways in which it

is misused, the analysis of the reasons behind the misuse of linen leads to the following steps

to be taken to curtail its misuse: -

Training

Training of staffs is very important step to make sure that the linen is not misused. An

educated and well informed staff will never misuse linen. Training will inculcate feeling of

belongingness and ownership among the employees for the property. This will also make sure

that the staff is aware about the processes and procedures in a linen cycle and would

understand the hard work which goes into processing of a linen. Training would make sure

that the staff knows the implications of following a shorter cycle in washing and the affect of

using concentrated chemicals on the fabric.

Inspection

The authorities should take constant rounds of operational areas during operations so that the

staffs do not resolve into short cuts and use linen for cleaning. Inspections will also help in

identifying the areas in which maximum misuse happens and can find solutions to stop it.

This will also make the staff conscious as they know that the superior is around and their

actions are under watch.

Maintaining proper inventory of resources

Proper inventory of resources is very important. If the employees are not provided with

proper dusters and equipments then they can’t be expected to perform tasks efficiently. The

housekeeping department should make sure that enough dusters are made available to all the

departments. It should be made sure that the rooms have shoe mitts and the guests are aware

about the availability of shoe shine service. All resources like linen hampers, trolleys chutes

should be well maintained and adequate to accommodate the entire operations.

Cost factor

It is a nice idea to inform the staff about the price of each linen item. They can also be

educated about the affects of early discard of linen and its implications on the company and

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in turn on their compensations and incentives. Charts having price of each item can be put up

in a prominent place where everyone can see it. If possible then the article itself can be put on

display with the price tag on it.

Cross training

Employees in other departments should be exposed to the work in laundry so that they

understand the effort which goes into the processing of linen. The linen in-charge or

housekeeper or the concerned department head should attend the briefings and inspect the

uniforms of the staffs and make sure that the uniforms are well maintained.

During off season the employees can be allowed to stay in the rooms and experience the

facilities. When they experience for themselves then they would understand how bad/good it

feels when someone uses the linen. They would know what all has been done with the linen.

This would stop from its misuse the next time they are going to misuse the linen.

Punishments

This should be the last thing one should be doing to the employees. The first time an

employee is caught misusing a linen item just give a verbal warning. The next time he/she is

caught doing the same mistake issue a written memo. From the next time charge the cost of

the linen item to the staff. This would stop the person as well as others from misusing linen.

The most important thing is to implement procedures and enforce the rules rather than

keeping them to the books.

Linen committee

The hotels can form linen committee comprising of the members from different departments

which would monitor the use of linen in different areas and stop anyone from misusing it.

The members can be changed every month. This will make the employees themselves

responsible for the proper use of linen.

The misuse of linen takes place in every hotel as housekeepers our aim should be to reduce

and stop the misuse. The misuse of linen can be stopped or reduced by providing proper

training to the staff and inculcating a sense of belongingness and ownership for the property.

This would go a long way in providing high quality service to the guest and in maintaining

high standards.

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