Higher quality towels and robes are in demand

Making a good impression on guests is a top priority in the hotel market, particularly in the five-star and boutique sectors. Increasingly this requirement is being reflected in the textile supply and textile rental markets with rising demand for heavier weight towels and for high quality robes.
"We are seeing more emphasis now on quality in major contracts with a clear move to 500gsm towels as standard," says Hilden commercial director Rod Nutter. Additionally he notes that the trend goes further and sales of Hilden's 600gsm towel increased at a higher rate than that for all other qualities."

Chris Kingsford at Tonrose takes a slightly different approach. He says that towels are an emotive product for the hotel market. They must look good and meet guests' expectations of a soft, white, fluffy product. However, because they are so tactile, the laundry supplier is under pressure to produce the right feel at a competitive price.
Towels can represent up to 40% of a laundry's production but hotels want guests to use them sparingly?"to save the planet". This also saves money for the hotel.
Boutique hotels will seek higher weights and sometimes special designs, so they demand a bespoke service which suits some laundries but not all. These heavier towels also mean more laundry loads, which increases costs for the laundry/textile rental supplier.
At Linen Connect, sales director Richard Yates says that towels and bathrobes are some of the most important products in the contract textiles market and recently there has been growing demand from the hotel and hospitality sector, boosted partly by national and regional events, and also from the fitness and health markets.
The experience of Johnsons Stalbridge Linen Services is similar to that of the textile companies. David Hill, sales and marketing director, says there has been a rise in demand from hotels, especially in the London area. These customers are asking for better quality. The company offers a 500gsm towel as its minimum specification but says that its premium 600gsm towel is attracting high levels of demand. He also notes that serviced apartments are a growing trend and Stalbridge supplies a number of the large players in the sector.
Lissadell Liddell, like Hilden, is part of the Vision Group but it concentrates on direct supply to hotels rather than dealing with textile rental laundries. Giving a broad view of the towels and robes sector, commercial director Marc?Wynne says that five-star hotels across Europe are starting to seek out higher quality to differentiate themselves from the competition. This has led to continued development of microfibre polyester robes and he adds that standard robes are now being made with added details such as piping and slip pockets.
He says that the spa market is seeing the traditional Hammam towel making a comeback. This has a flat surface rather than a looped one but is 100% cotton and offers the soft touch and high absorbency of traditional Turkish towels.
Tony Spencer of Westlane Linens says that the UK towel market is growing and estimates the rate at about 12% each year given the increase in hotels. Still, spas and fitness clubs remain one of the largest users. The company feels that bathrobes are used mainly by the very top hotels.
These companies' remarks illustrate some general trends. When asked specifically about customer requirements their replies broaden.
Rod Nutter at Hilden, which focusses on the laundry/textile rental sector, says that the company's prime aim is to supply towels and robes that will maintain their quality, continuing to look and feel good through multiple wash cycles.
This ensures not only that end-user, hotel guests enjoy the quality they expect but also that for the laundry, the product delivers a good return on its original cost. He adds that significant work on towel specification has transformed the company's towel portfolio in recent years.
Chris Kingsford at Tonrose notes that spas have become a growth area and here the demand is often for coloured towels, which mask the oils used in treatments but these can represent a challenge for commercial laundries as there may be a risk of colour loss if they are not washed in accordance with manufacturers' instructions. He adds that health clubs tend to choose a white bath towel or bath-sheet with blue header bars. This is usually a 400 or 420gsm weight as losses are significant and can rarely be recovered from the customer.
The company makes sure that it holds good stocks of both sizes so that it can offer a next day service for laundries that are under pressure to replace missing stock quickly.
Richard Yates at Linen Connect says that the customers' requirements reflect those of the end user. So they are looking for products that will consistently look and feel good throughout a life cycle that involves hundred of washes in a commercial laundry environment.
This reinforces the value of Linen Connect's strong focus on product development and on quality.
At wholesaler D G Textiles, Andy Jamshidzadeh says the company mainly imports its towels from Turkey.
White towels are still the most popular, accounting for around 70% of orders but colours are also available and recently he had a large order for black towels in 600gsm weight. He supplies five-star hotels and he too has noticed increased demand for 500 and 600gsm quality.
He notes that spas and fitness clubs appear to be a growing market and the company has had some good orders from this sector. Such customers are more likely to want colours but tend to choose dark shades rather than pastels.
Stalbridge Linen Services has also noted the growth of the leisure and health club market and the start of the year is a time of peak demand as people resolve to get fit after the Christmas festivities.
Hill says that the growth of these sectors has led to a demand for a specific "leisure" towel that is readily identifiable so that it can be kept separate from hotel linen. Stalbridge meets this requirement with a blue and white striped, 420gsm leisure towel.
In recent years the textile and textile services market has suffered from the impact of the cotton crisis, particularly in 2010/2011. Is this still having a effect?
To some extent pricing does seem to have settled down, but suppliers are still watching the situation closely. Chris Kingsford at Tonrose says cotton prices have been relatively stable for the last few months and this has allowed suppliers to keep pricing constant. Nevertheless, the company watches both yarn prices and currency fluctuations very closely and keeps its customers aware of any significant change.
Linen Connect's Richard Yates says that while cotton markets have eased they are still volatile. The company aims to work closely with its manufacturing partners, financial partners and other market participants to ensure its prices are kept as stable as possible.
At Hilden Rod Nutter says: "We are now seeing stable costs appearing. The cotton crop generally is good and according to current information the stock level is comfortable. Production costs are still rising in relation to energy and labour but clearly confidence has improved and investment in manufacturing capacity has picked up pace."
However, the view at Westlane Linens is that while cotton prices have eased, at the same time rising energy prices in Asia and the political crisis in Egypt have meant that overall pricing has not reduced. It still remains a critical concern for customers although product quality and service are also an important part of the offer to customers.
The extreme weather experienced both in the UK and beyond is another factor that could potentially impact on the textile supply/laundry/ textile rental markets although companies generally feel that is not affecting the supply chain at present.
Yates at Linen Connect observes that unfortunately such conditions are becoming more commonplace. This means that the company has to plan its supply chains internationally and its logistic chains nationally and regionally to make sure that contingency plans are in place for such events. As a result the company is well prepared and it is unlikely that customers would suffer any significant supply interruption.
Marc Wynne at Lissadell Liddell, while acknowledging the impact that extreme conditions can have on cotton crops, says it is the inconsistent power supply to manufacturing plants across Pakistan that is the greater challenge.
From Hilden's view, Rod Nutter says that planning to cover production during the period of gas shortages is now an essential part of the company (and Vision Group) strategy. Overseas offices in Pakistan, India and China work closely with all manufacturing partners to ensure supply through challenging periods.
Tracking and tracing products through the use of RFID systems has been seen as a trend for the future.
Richard Yates says that in general terms it is an emerging technology for the UK market although RFID has been around for several years. There are certainly significant benefits to be had within the supply chain, However at present the additional cost for laundries in implementing the system is an important consideration. He believes it will become a standard but developing the right business model will take time.
Hilden's Rod Nutter says that last year saw marked growth in the supply of chipped linen to the laundry industry and there is growing interest in the technology across international markets, particularly in the Middle East. There are also some interesting volume projects in operation and results from these will help to create further interest.
He says Hilden has used RFID in towels for some hotel groups and more recently for leisure clubs, which should give interesting results as stock losses are high in this sector.