TSA and UKHospitality link up on supply issues

The Textile Services Association partnership with UKHospitality is providing vital advice for hospitality operators to alleviate the pressure on their laundry provider as the sector re-opens.

“The problem is that we’ve been asked to jump from dead slow to full speed overnight,” says David Stevens, CEO of the TSA.  “To be fair, we’ve been warning that there could be issues for several months.  The total lack of government support for the laundry industry means some of our members are really struggling with staffing, the shortage of drivers, supply chain issues, capacity issues due to operating Covid-secure factories, and so on.”  

The TSA has provided a list of temporary actions hospitality operators can  take and starts with talking with the regular laundry provider on how to manage the situation and temporarily reduce linen requirements. Examples include:

• Encouraging multi-night stays 
• Reviewing bed change policy 
• Reducing linen required for room make up  

Sell up to the occupancy levels the laundry supplier can deliver linen, sending back any unused stock and keeping the laundry informed of upstream occupancy levels are strongly advised. It’s wise to give plenty of notice for events and F&B requirements, such as weddings, and when possible give the laundry time to adapt to increases in demand.

Some regions have been able to get up to speed more quickly than others.  “Where supply issues do exist, we expect the situation to improve rapidly over the coming weeks,” says Stevens.  “With good communication and cooperation, we expect laundries to recover quickly.  We are incredibly grateful for the hospitality industry’s understanding during this difficult time.”

Just like the hospitality sector, many laundries are struggling with staffing issues – a combination of problems created by both the pandemic and Brexit. The TSA is working with the CBI to lobby government to get laundry operatives to be added to the Shortage Occupations List.