ALEXANDRIA, Va., May 11, 2015 – Two national surveys recently completed by opinion and research firm Fabrizio Ward found a large segment of the hospitality sector is failing to calculate the full, accurate cost of laundry on their businesses and that outsourcing laundry services is better for the environment. The surveys were commissioned by TRSA, the leading global textile services trade association headquartered in Alexandria, Va.
By reaching out to both textile service decision makers and consumers nationally, key findings for the hospitality industry included:
- Less than half of all hotels account for key laundry cost such as energy, water, machinery maintenance and employee labor costs.
- 77 percent of consumers feel hotel conservation programs are about saving money while nearly 60 percent want hotels to pursue more environmentally friendly laundry practices.
- One in three hotels prefer to outsource laundry services but could not locate a textile services provider
“What this survey data is telling us is that there are huge opportunities for the hospitality sector,” explained Joseph Ricci, president and CEO of TRSA. “There is significant room to improve on laundry cost calculations and to better educate guests on specific steps hotels are taking – on their own or with a commercial laundry partner – to reduce their carbon footprint. It also presents our members with the challenge of doing a better job connecting with and educating the hotels in their regions.”
In addition, when presented with data about commercial laundry operations, 52 percent of hospitality decision makers with an opinion agreed outsourcing laundry is better for the environment because it uses fewer resources such as water and energy.
The complete surveys are available for download at www.trsa.org/research
The two surveys were completed between Feb. 24 and March 9, 2015 by Fort Lauderdale-based Fabrizio Ward. The business-to-business survey was conducted across the healthcare, hospitality, food and beverage and industrial sectors. Consumers were asked for their views on textile-related issues with healthcare, hospitality and food and beverage businesses.
