The linen room in hotel is a central depot for all hotel linen and this is the place from where clean articles of linen are distributed throughout the establishment.
There are two types of Linen Rooms
- Centralized
- Decentralized
Centralized Linen Room
In this system linen from all floors are collected and sorted in one central area. The linen room supervisor has responsible for all linen issues and receipts go out from here.
Decentralized Linen Room
In this system, each floor maintains its own par stock of linen. As and when necessary, these are replenished from the main linen room. The linen par is stored in floor pantries and the floor supervisors are responsible for maintaining the par level. This system work in these hotel that have large number of floor.
The system also used in resorts, where rooms are spread out across a large expanse of area.
Activities involves in Linen Room in Hotel
- Collection of soiled linen.
- Counting and sorting of soiled linen.
- Packaging of soiled linen for the laundry.
- Dispatch of soiled linen to the laundry.
- Receipt of fresh linen from the laundry.
- Checking the sorting of fresh linen.
- Storage the fresh linen
- Distribution of fresh linen and maintenance of records.
- Stitching, repairing and monogramming of all hotel linen.
Factor to be considered while planning the Linen Room in hotel
Location
The linen room must be such as to facilitate the easy flow of linen to and from the laundry. Note that the linen room should be accessible for receipt and dispatch of linen from the back entrance of the hotel.
The linen room always situated near the elevators and it also good distance away from the food production area.
Space
The total space allocated for the linen room will depend on the size of the hotel and the activities to be carried out in the linen room.
The minimum space requirement for a linen room is 6 sq ft, which may suffer for a small hotel.
Entrance
A common entrance – cum – exit point is ideal for linen and uniform room. Ideally it should be at least 4 feet wide so that trolley move quickly.
Floor and walls
The floor must be sturdy enough to bear the load of heavy trolleys moving across it. And wall should be of a material that can be easily cleaned at frequent intervals.
Lighting and ventilation
In linen room ventilation require for prevent from growth of mildew, even though natural light may be less. The air may be free of humidity and maintained temp at 20 degree celcius.
Storage
Linen room designed through the maximum utilization of space. The shelves also need to be sturdy and firmly fixed as the weight they bear may be considerable.
Soiled linen area
This area should be close to the entrance and must be large enough to accommodate all the soiled linen.
Linen exchange counter
This is usually a window without any grilles, wide enough to pass bundles of linen through. The window normally opens downward with the shutter forming a counter.
Inspection area
This area consist mainly of the inspection table, which should be large enough to accommodate the freshly washed linen that needs to be inspected.
Linen room supervisor desk
The desk should be located in such way that the supervisor view of the entire room.