Penny Thomasson is Head Housekeeper at Bourne Leisure’s Bembridge Coast Hotel, part of the national Warner Leisure Hotels group. Here she explains how the site’s in-house laundry prevents cross-infection while keeping costs down.
As the preferred laundry supplier to the Warner Holidays arm of the Bourne Leisure Group, JLA installed its OTEX ozone laundry system at The Isle of Wight’s Bembridge Coast hotel which has now ensured disinfection across the site’s growing on-premise laundry.
"We thought OTEX would be of benefit to us as we wanted to wash our towels in-house, and the disinfection system meant we could decontaminate laundry – which we felt was particularly important for towels used in the spa and beauty room."
As Penny explains, the ability to disinfect towels on a larger scale has helped to enhance the hotel’s quality of service.
"We used to use contract towels but it was decided to have our own on-premise laundry so we could give the guests a better service, with a daily towel change if needed. The towels smell fresh and stay fluffy, and OTEX means we can disinfect lots of them at a lower water temperature and make a saving on utilities too."
As in most hotels, the laundry at Bembridge Coast is in constant use. JLA’s Total Care package has therefore proved ideal for Penny’s needs, giving her commercial-grade equipment for no capital outlay along with inclusive service cover and an 8-working hour response guarantee.
"We probably go through 25 loads per day 7 days a week, so domestic machines would not have been sufficient for the amount of washing we do. JLA provided a detailed layout consultation before proposing their commercial machine recommendations at the start, so we can now be sure we’re getting the most out of the space we have and that we have the right machines for our needs. The inclusive breakdown cover is a great reassurance too, as we know that if there’s a fault JLA will be on-site quickly and the washing won’t pile up!"