An in-house laundry suits a hotel with high, steady volume, space it couldn't use any other way, and staff who can keep the operation running. An outside laundry suits a hotel with variable occupancy, little space or no appetite for running industrial equipment. There is no universal break-even point, so you have to run the math with your own numbers.
We are an outside laundry, so we have a stake in this answer. That's why we also tell you when you don't need us, and why we offer a system-only option for hotels that decide to keep washing in-house.
When washing in-house makes sense
An in-house laundry makes sense if most of these are true:
- Your volume is high and stable through the year, and it keeps the equipment busy.
- You already own the equipment, it's in good shape and replacing it is a long way off.
- The space it uses wouldn't earn you more doing something else.
- You can keep permanent staff and someone for maintenance.
- You need very short turnarounds, such as same-day washing with no truck involved.
- You have specialty linens you want to keep a close eye on.
When an outside laundry makes sense
Outsourcing tends to win in these cases:
- Your occupancy swings a lot, and you don't want to pay a full laundry crew in low season.
- You're opening or renovating, and you'd have to buy new equipment.
- The laundry space could become rooms, storage or something that earns income.
- Your current equipment keeps needing repairs.
- You're a small hotel, and your volume can't make good use of efficient equipment.
What gets forgotten in the in-house math
The usual comparison is unfair: a supplier's price per piece set against the wages of whoever does the washing. Costs are missing, and many stay invisible because nobody separates them in the accounts. Laundry water, gas and electricity often have no meter of their own, so they vanish into the hotel's general bill.
- Water, gas and electricity metered for the laundry.
- Chemicals.
- Full payroll, with benefits, absences and turnover.
- Maintenance, parts and emergency repairs.
- Depreciation or replacement of equipment.
- The value of the space it takes up.
What gets forgotten in the outsourcing math
The price per piece isn't the final cost either. An outside quote can leave several things out, and your operation changes once you depend on a third party:
- Monthly minimums, plus charges for express service, stains or transport.
- More inventory: linen spends time in transit, so you need more sets.
- Counting time: someone has to count what leaves and what returns, up to 2 hours a day in a mid-size hotel if it's done by hand.
- Losses with no owner: without a record both sides accept, discrepancies stay in dispute.
- Wear: a bad process shortens linen life, and replacements are still on you.
How to run the comparison
Use the same unit on both sides: cost per occupied room or per kilo processed. Take the last 12 months, so high and low seasons are both included.
On the in-house side, add up everything on the list. If you have no separate meters, install a temporary one or estimate from the per-cycle consumption your machine manufacturer publishes. On the outside side, ask for quotes with every charge included, then add your counting cost and the extra inventory.
Then look past the number and ask what happens if a washer breaks down on a Saturday with the hotel full, or your supplier's truck doesn't show up. Both models have bad days. What changes is who fixes them and what your backup plan is.
There's a third option
Some hotels combine both models. They wash in-house what they need quickly, such as pool towels or uniforms, and send out the bulky items, such as sheets and table linen. That lightens the load on in-house equipment, though you'll have two flows to control.
Where you wash and how you keep control are also separate decisions. If you keep your laundry, you can still have piece-level inventory with RFID. With our system-only option, we install chips and readers, train your housekeeping team, and you keep washing. If you'd rather outsource, with full service we do the washing and the system is included.
If you're unsure, test before you sell equipment or let anyone go. Send out part of your volume for a month and compare cost, quality and turnaround with real data.