Hotel beds have always been the epitome of comfort, and one feature that turns a simple bed into a real slumber experience is its sheets – crisp, cool and clean, and of the highest quality. Now, imagine receiving a delivery of hotel quality linen and towels directly to your front door. LuxeLinen is a linen concierge service based in Cape Town which delivers a freshly laundered set of linen and towels direct to your home, every week.

There’s a reason we live in Cape Town, it’s the lifestyle!

In our high-pressure world we want as much time as possible for the things we love, such as spending time with family or friends, exercising on the mountain or lazing at the beach. We use home meal kits to reduce our grocery shopping and cooking time, ride hailing services keep us on the move without our own car, and on-demand cleaning and gardening services are commonplace.  So why spend unnecessary time washing, drying and ironing your linen on washday?

As a supplier of linen to Cape Town hotels and AirBnBs, quality is of the utmost importance to the LuxeLinen team. The linen and towels are high threadcount, 100% cotton and as luxurious as anything you’ll find in 4 and 5* hotels. Each linen package includes all the essentials for a fresh start to your week: duvet cover, fitted sheet, 2 pillowcases, 2 bath towels, a hand towel and bathmat. Delivery is contactless and there’s an optional add-on of 3-layer reusable face masks.

LuxeLinen is an extension of parent company fanute’s successful hospitality service, which delivers over 8 000 bed sets per month to Cape Town hosts.  Owner Charl de Beer is confident that many in Cape Town will be keen to utilise the service: “Whether you’re a busy professional who doesn’t want to spend time on laundry, an on-the-go parent, or if you just want that hotel turn-down feeling at home, LuxeLinen is the perfect solution,” says Charl.

In the current hyper-aware world of cleanliness and sanitisation, LuxeLinen offers a superior clean compared with domestic washing machines.  “We can guarantee disinfection using an industrial combination of chemicals and temperature which domestic laundry cannot, because domestic laundry machines are simply not equipped to maintain the required water temperatures for long enough,” says Charl. This has benefits for those who are ill or recovering, who suffer from allergies, or who have sensitive skin easily affected by detergent residue. And of course there is COVID-19, a virus that is quite simple to destroy in an industrial laundry environment.

LuxeLinen is the latest first-to-market service to be offered by fanute. “We originally started fanute because we wanted to deliver innovative laundry and textile solutions that would help to streamline the lives of our customers and offer significant and demonstrable sustainability benefits,” says Charl.

“We started with a linen rental service targeted specifically to the growing Cape Town short-term lettings market, offering fast turnaround deliveries of freshly laundered hotel-quality linen to our hospitality clients. As Cape Town approached Day Zero, we then invested in near-waterless laundry systems that reduce the amount of water and energy used in every wash by 80%, and in 2019 we combined textile rental with on-site laundry processing to provide a sustainable garment rental solution for Agri-processing companies.  Now that we’ve seen a need for luxury, hotel-quality linen in the residential sector, we’re bringing these solutions to market, fully enabled by technology, to make the washday a thing of the past.”

The service costs R85 per bed per week and includes delivery. Currently, LuxeLinen is only available in the Cape Town CBD and City Bowl, and the high-density Atlantic Seaboard, but will be expanding as customer interest grows.

How does LuxeLinen work?

• Download and register on our App, or email info@fanute.co.za
• Provide your property and bed linen details
• Receive a weekly, contactless delivery of premium quality pre-packed linen and towel sets
• Deliveries are based on regular time slots each week depending on your location
• Pay monthly using Snapscan or EFT

For more information, contact Charl de Beer at LuxeLinen on 071 681 1165 or at charl@fanute.co.za or visit https://fanute.co.za/luxe-linen/

The post LuxeLinen launches first-in-SA linen service appeared first on fanute.

Not enough hours in the day: Less hours of sunlight mean it’s much harder to fit in a load of laundry before or after work. It also means that there’s less time during the day to get it dry, not that it’s that easy anyway because it’s…

Almost impossible to dry naturally: The rain has been extremely welcome, but long periods of rain and cloud make it tricky to get your sheets 100% dry outside. Many end up hanging up their linen inside, or keeping their clothes in the washing machine until the weather brightens up, which can lead to…

That smell of damp: Clothes and linen smell damp and musty because there’s excess moisture in the material that hasn’t been able to evaporate. When you bring damp clothes inside to dry, they’re often not able to get completely dry unless properly spaced on a railing and left until completely dry. Packing items away into a closet or draw makes it impossible for the clothes to dry, which means that the smell of damp lingers. Also, if you’re tempted to dry your clothes on a heater, beware – that can raise the moisture levels in your home and encourage mould, or it could even start a fire.

Electricity Costs: Those lucky enough to have a tumble dryer might think that they’ve skipped the hassle of trying to get linen dry, but with the convenience comes the increased electricity bill- especially as electricity costs continue to increase. And what if, heaven forbied, loadshedding starts again?

Then there’s the ironing: While the tumble dryer might get your laundry nice and dry, it’ll also keep your ironing pile large and cumbersome.

Of course, if you want to get some laundry off your plate, you could always rent linen from us. fanute will deliver freshly-laundered linen, towels and masks weekly which means one less thing you have to worry about. The linen is of a fantastic quality and has been cleaned using our near-waterless Hydrofinity system, which means that we use much less water than a regular washing machine – so by renting our linen, you’re doing your bit for the environment.

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Within the hospitality industry, many companies large and small are beginning to aggressively pursue green rankings and certifications for their hotel locations. Why? The answer is threefold:

1. Hospitality businesses save money in the long run when they go green
2. Travelers are seeking out eco-friendly places to stay
3. Environmental regulations are being enforced

Green Hotel Rankings: What Does It All Mean?

TripAdvisor, one of the most popular hotel search websites recognizes that conscientious travelers want to stay at conscientious hotels, so they’ve started creating their own ranking system.

They’ve developed the GreenLeaders Program to recognize hotels and B&Bs that engage in environmentally-friendly practices. GreenLeader properties are eligible for one of four badge levels: bronze, silver, gold and platinum based on the answers they provide on TripAdvisor’s Green Practices survey. All participating hotels and B&Bs must meet a minimum set of requirements to even be considered for the program.

These eco-friendly luxury hotels from Design Hotels have partnered with EarthCheck, a world leading sustainability benchmarking and certification provider in the hospitality arena to incorporate new sustainability practices.

All of these efforts by the hospitality industry to go green are just the beginning of a movement to change the way they do things for the betterment of the universe.

Now, let’s look at the top reasons the hospitality industry is going green in more detail.

#1: Long-Term Monetary Savings

One of the key focuses of green technology is resource efficiency. These technologies reduce resource consumption, saving hotels money in the long run.

For example, replacing standard incandescent light bulbs with longer-lasting high-efficiency bulbs is a popular way for hotels to reduce their energy bills. A standard fluorescent bulb uses 60 watts of power, while an LED light might use 6-8 watts of power to generate the same amount of light (800 lumens).

Did you know the typical amount of energy used by 30 standard incandescent bulbs each year is 3,285 kWh? If your energy rate was 10 cents per kilowatt hour, then that would mean those bulbs cost you $328.50 just to keep the lights on.

On the other hand, the same number of LED lights would only consume about 329 kWh of energy over the course of a year. This would mean that at the same energy rate of 10 cents per kilowatt hour, operating the LED lights would only cost $32.90 a year, a tenth the expense.

As an added bonus, your hotel wouldn’t have to replace its lights nearly as often, since LED lights last an average of 50,000 hours to an incandescent bulb’s meager 1,200 hours. That means you would have to pay for parts and labor to replace an incandescent light 41 times before you would have to buy a replacement LED light and have housekeeping replace it.

In short, many green technologies can actually become self-funding by reducing your hotel’s operating costs.

In fact, the Hyatt Regency in Reston, Virginia was able to reduce the water consumption of their laundry operation by nearly 80%, and their heating utility and chemical use by half after making the switch to a low-water laundry system. They drastically cut the cost of their laundry operation, without making guests reuse dirty towels or linens.

There are many other examples of green technologies that help to conserve energy costs, such as water saving laundry systems—which use up to 80% less water, up to 50% less energy, and provide a superior clean that leaves laundry softer for longer.

Other green technologies that help save money are solar panels that can be used to lessen your dependence on outside energy, and automated systems that can shut off electronic devices in a room when there are no guests present, such as the ones used by the LEED Gold-certified Aria Resort and Casino on Las Vegas Boulevard.

#2: Meeting the Needs of Eco-Conscious Travelers

As was mentioned earlier, consumers are becoming more and more aware of how important it is to protect the environment. Many hotel guests want to stay in a “green” hotel, as it allows them to know that they’re helping to protect the environment.

Millennials are increasingly expecting the destination resorts they patronize to be environmentally conscious—without paying an additional price.

According to Scott Lee, a designer of Ritz-Carlton and Auberge properties, millennials are inclined to stay at destination hotels that are both environmentally and culturally sustainable. “How do we preserve a place, yet share it with the world?” is a question he seeks to answer to appeal to the environmentally concerned consumer.

This presents a unique opportunity for hotels. Green efforts, more often than not, save hotels money in the long term. So an investment in being more environmentally friendly not only results in more customers, but more savings as well. More revenue at less cost, it’s a win-win for green hotels.

Having a green certification allows hotels to draw these ecologically-minded guests to their locations. This can help to differentiate your brand from less eco-friendly hotels. By going green, you’re opening your hotel to an entire segment of the population that you might never have had access to otherwise, helping you grow your brand.

Even among less eco-conscious travelers, the good PR that comes with earning a place on green company ranking lists such as the one published by Newsweek can never hurt.

#3: Conforming to New Environmental Regulations

Market demand for green services isn’t the only factor that contributes to the decision to go green.

As the public becomes more sensitive to the Earth’s environment, policymakers also take notice, passing new laws and regulations designed to limit pollution. In some cases, however, new regulations may be passed to contend with a specific emergency.

For example, in California, the population has been living with a severe drought for several years. This drought eventually became so severe that the Governor added new permanent statewide water use restrictions this year and penalties for violators. The laws will phase in gradually. By 2022, the indoor use limit becomes 55 gallons per day per person. By 2030, it drops to 50.

By employing green technologies and methods, hoteliers can be better prepared for any new upcoming environmental restrictions that may come in the future.

Hospitality Industry’s Responsibility to “Make a Difference”

The hotel industry is responsible for about 15% of the total water use in commercial and institutional buildings in the U.S. Hotels in the U.S. use an average of 25 gallons of water per room, per day for laundry alone. That’s more than 2 million gallons of water per month if you assume a 65% occupancy.

What all these numbers amount to is that the hotel industry has an incredible opportunity to actually make a difference in the fight for water conservation without sacrificing profits or the quality of the guest experience. If that’s not a reason to go green, we don’t know what is.

The post How Green Rankings Benefit Hotels appeared first on fanute.

Studies have shown that strains of bacteria normally found in laundry can be eliminated just as effectively with low temperature water, as long as the other factors in the wash are correct. Here we’re going to discuss some of the impediments to disinfecting laundry and what methods can lead to a truly hygienic clean.

Standard Laundry Processes

Even now, when commercial launderers and hotels are more conscious of their environmental impact than ever before, standard laundry procedures utilize water that is heated to 149°F/65°C—a process that takes a large amount of energy. The reason for this, generally, is the belief that bacteria can not be eliminated without that kind of heat.
The trick to achieving truly clean laundry is to have all the pieces of the process working in harmony. A common reason for poor cleaning capability in lower temperatures is that the wrong chemicals are being used.

Certain detergents can only be activated by higher temperatures, while some, particularly newer formulas, are created specifically to activate with lower temperature water. It’s important to utilize the right detergent for your wash process in order to clean your laundry, especially when the goal is disinfection, where you’ll likely need a specialty detergent.

Aside from the proper chemicals, it’s important to make sure your machine is operating and agitating as it should in order to get a better clean, but even then, is it really enough to get rid of bacteria?

Disinfecting Laundry With Ambient Water

According to a scientific brief by Dr. Steve Jenkins, Chief Science Officer for Hydrofinity, laundry washed in ambient water using the Hydrofinity laundry process was disinfected at a rate comparable to the standard high temperature wash.

“The disinfecting efficacy of the Hydrofinity ambient wash with 300g of PACK 2 is comparable to that of thermal disinfection 149°F/65°C wash for 4 bacteria and similar for the fifth one without the energy cost of the thermal method. That is equivalent to killing off 99.9999% or greater of 4 bacteria and 99.99% or greater of Pseudomonas Aeruginosa.” – Jenkins

In this case, a hygienic clean can be achieved with low temperature water because all of the other factors in the wash are designed to work together for that purpose, and that, in the end, is the most important factor in a superior clean: a better, cooperative overall process.

Sourced from Hydrofinity.

The post The Best Way to Disinfect Laundry appeared first on fanute.

When you’re wading through reviews and case studies and considering the cost of installing or upgrading laundry equipment, other factors can seem minor or less important. Unfortunately, those factors can often be the things that have the biggest impact later on.

If you consider the following factors when first choosing commercial laundry equipment, you may be able to avoid unexpected negative effects on your business later on.

Repair Costs

Probably the most common unexpected issue for commercial laundry operations is repairs, which can cost you both in money and time. While you certainly can’t predict when your machines will break or what the cost and downtime will be, you can invest in laundry equipment that comes with a quality service plan.

Here are a few questions to ask your equipment or service provider:

• How long is the plan good for?
• Will there be capital outlay on top of the plan cost?
• Is there a time limit for repairs?

If the plan isn’t all-inclusive or the provider can’t promise you won’t experience extended downtime, repairs may be more costly to your business than they need to be.

Energy and Utility Usage

People will tell you that all machines these days are energy-efficient, and while it’s true that laundry equipment as a whole has come a long way in becoming more environmentally friendly, utility usage and cost can still vary significantly depending on your choice of machine.

Choosing even the most highly-rated water-based commercial laundry machine can leave you with 80% higher utility cost than is necessary. By choosing a machine that doesn’t use water as the primary cleaning medium, you not only save on water utilities, but energy costs as well.

The Hydrofinity system uses polymer beads to replace most of the water in each wash cycle, saving up to 80% of water usage and up to 50% of energy usage. That’s the kind of difference in that can have a big impact on not only your operating costs, but your business overall.

The post Unexpected Ways Laundry Equipment Choices Impact Your Business appeared first on fanute.

In contrast, larger laundries focus on washing very large quantities of flatwork items in a tunnel washer. What are the pros and cons for each type of operation, and more importantly, how can small laundries compete?

Small Laundry Challenges

Price – It is difficult for small commercial laundries to compete with larger operations due to economies of scale. Larger laundries with tunnel washers have reduced labour costs as they only manually touch linens when loaded and then collect them when finished. With front loading machines, staff members need to sort by hand and load multiple times to wash a similar quantity.

Brand – Small laundries tend to have very little marketing budget which means it is much more difficult to spread the word via advertising, PR, social media and content marketing. As a result, their value add is sometimes missed.
Benefits of Small Laundries

Quality – Tunnel washers have one pre-programmed wash cycle and therefore have limited applications. Front loading machines are more flexible and are able to deliver a variety of wash cycles suited for the level of soil to gain a superior clean as compared to a tunnel washer.

Variety of work – Small laundries are able to offer more bespoke services as well as be more flexible to meet client’s needs. Many hotels actually outsource towels to both large and small laundries. Large laundries offer ‘pool stock’ which means the towels and bedding could have been at one hotel one night then at their hotel another night. Smaller laundries offer hotels ‘dedicated stock’ which means they always get the same towels/bedding back once cleaned. This is a key feature particularly for luxury hotels that offer signature linens as part of their overall brand experience.

Personal approach – One of the key selling points of small laundries is their service can be tailored. For example, if fast delivery is needed they are much more likely to be able to help. In contrast, large laundries have set schedules and dedicated pick up and drop off times that are difficult to change.

Get Ahead with Hydrofinity

A key way small laundries can set themselves apart from their larger counterparts is by installing a Hydrofinity washer. The revolutionary system has the utility costs of a tunnel washer but delivers even better cleaning results than a traditional front-loading machine.

The Hydrofinity system uses 80% less water and delivers a gentler and far superior wash thanks to the polymer beads used in each wash that gently remove soil and stains from fabrics extremely effectively. Whilst traditional machines use between 40% and 70% hot water, Hydrofinity only uses 5%, on average – so with less water to heat, more energy is saved and your bills are reduced, helping you stay competitive.

Linen loss rates will also be greatly reduced because of the combined effect of less hot water, reduced chemicals and a gentler wash process that doesn’t use the traditional ‘drop and slop’ method. In recent tests, the Hydrofinity reclaim program achieved more than 70% linen recovery rate when compared with traditional processes – yet another potential selling point for small laundries, as client satisfaction is boosted.

In terms of marketing, a simple sign post in the window advertising the fact that you have implemented the eco-friendly and highly effective Hydrofinity system will go a long way to helping you compete with larger operations. So, there is light at the end of the tunnel for small laundries – and that doesn’t have to include a tunnel washer.

The post How Small Commercial Laundries Can Stay Competitive appeared first on fanute.

Whether you’re running a small neighborhood dry cleaner or a large commercial laundry operation, here are a few tips to help you find success in the industry.

Look for Innovative Ways to Increase Service Offerings

Expanding your customer base can be difficult in a business that depends heavily on location. Even if you have an incredibly efficient pick-up and delivery service, your customers are likely still within a certain geographic radius of your facility—leaving you with a pretty finite number of potential customers.
Obviously the first answer to that problem is to open more locations, but that’s not always possible or prudent. Expanding service offerings, however, can be a cost-effective way to both increase revenue from current customers and attract new business. Extra services could include:

• Pick-up and delivery (if those are not already part of your business)
• Press and fold
• Specialty cleaning
• Rush service

Find something that you can add without extending your staff or your budget too far and see how it works for you. If the service is high quality, you’ll impress your customer base and create opportunities for new acquisition.

Be Over-Prepared

Nothing can ruin a solid revenue stream in the world of commercial laundry like an extended period of down-time because of equipment or supply issues.

In the laundry industry, it’s always better to be over-prepared, so be sure that your equipment is up-to-date on maintenance and your supply closet is never close to empty. Keep track of when machine warranties run out and look for local repair resources that could help you out in a pinch. In short: Do everything you can to avoid down-time.

Don’t Let Utility Costs Get in the Way

According to the Alliance for Water Efficiency, water costs represent more than 50% of total operating costs in the typical commercial laundry. With energy costs on top of that, utilities can be a huge—even prohibitive—expense for launderers.

Limiting water and energy usage even slightly can be a game-changer for commercial laundry businesses. Limiting water usage by up to 80% and energy usage by up to 50% can save you thousands of dollars each year.

Sourced from Hydrofinity.

The post Tips for Running a Successful Laundry Business appeared first on fanute.

Imported by local company fanute, we can now get the innovative, award-winning Hydrofinity laundry system in South Africa – and that’s a big deal for the hospitality sector. “The near-waterless washing system from Hydrofinity is exciting and can potentially revolutionise the local tourism sector,” says Charl de Beer, manager of fanute. “Saving up to 80% water and nearly 50% electricity are metrics that resonate with South Africans, who are facing rising water costs due to the growing scarcity of these utilities.”

A Hydrofinity system uses up to 80% less water than a conventional washing machine and a single 25kg machine can run 14 cycles a day, saving up to 2 million litres of water a year with just one machine. Energy consumption is also reduced, using up to 50% less electricity than a conventional machine. The energy and water savings don’t come at the cost of performance – tough stains are removed easily with award-winning technology, and linen life is extended due to a lower temperature and less detergent needed to clean. Less detergent also translates to lower costs, and staff won’t have to spend as much time pre-treating and sorting.

So how does the Hydrofinity system achieve its low water-usage? Through replacing 80% of the water that’s conventionally used in a washing machine with polymer XOrbs. These beads gently massage the textiles and, combined with the supplied detergent solution, provides superior cleaning results by attracting the dirt molecules from the linen. The XOrbs are reusable for hundreds of washes and once they’ve reached the end of their lifespan, can be recycled.

There’s no better time to invest in water and energy-saving equipment, especially when the results are this great. The hospitality industry has a great role to play in sustainability, and while Day Zero might be avoided in Cape Town in the near future, water reduction will continue to be important across the board.

CASE STUDY

The Hyatt Hotel in Reston VA showed these considerable savings after one yet with Hydrofinity.

Number of Hydrofinity Machines:

3x 25kg

Total Savings per year:

R510 780

Water savings per year:

5.3 million litres

“The Hydrofinity technology is truly amazing! Equally impressive is the company behind it. Hydrofinity has absolutely delivered on promises of savings and superior performance.” David Eisenman, General Manager, Hyatt Regency Reston.

The post Have you heard about this near-waterless laundry system? appeared first on fanute.

That’s no surprise; Charl spent his time in London working as a Chief Financial Officer and Managing Director for high-growth technology businesses and disrupters, supporting the founders in achieving their goals. When he returned to Cape Town, he wanted to focus on his own ideas, taking up a decision-making and strategy role, and working to make his business dreams a reality.

In London, laundries are a part of the city’s fabric, with successful laundries buzzing with activity. Charl noticed this on his daily commute, and after a short stint as head of a digital training business in Cape Town decided to focus on offering laundry services for the growing Airbnb market in Cape Town. There are approximately 18000 Airbnbs in Cape Town, and while some are small operations where bed linen can be laundered easily by the owners after each visit, many owners have multiple properties that are run on a professional basis, making laundering bed linen a much more cumbersome task.

While he originally thought to collect, launder and return the properties’ own linen, Charl quickly realised that this wasn’t really solving the problem, and that he would still have to deal with labour-intensive sorting and separating of each properties’ linen. The solution was to own the linen himself, offering a linen rental service, and in May 2017 he started delivering freshy-laundered bed linen to Airbnb properties ahead of a visitor’s arrival, then collecting the laundry after the guest had left.

At this point, he was using a professional laundry service, but when Day Zero began making headlines in Cape Town, he realised that the water crisis was an existential threat to his business. The industrial laundries that he spoke to were making inroads into using non-potable water, but Charl thought that there could be a better solution.  He firmly believes in technology’s power to change and so began to do research into innovation in the field, which was how he discovered the Hydrofinity near-waterless laundry system.

Using technology developed at University of Leeds’ School of Textiles, the Hydrofinity laundry system utilises polymer beads to replace 80% of the water traditionally used in a washing machine. The machines have been used successfully in areas that had experienced drought, such as California and Australia, and, after reaching out to the UK-based owner and later flying to Dubai to meet them, Charl became the official distributor in South Africa.

Traditional washing machines act like a bath – soaking items before the washing starts, and using hot water to open up the linen’s ‘pores’ and allow cleaning chemicals in. What makes the Hydrofinity laundry system such an innovative one is that the polymer beads have been given properties that attract and hold dirt, fat and stray dye in suspension inside each bead. As the beads attract dirt, the water often just needs to be at an ambient temperature; less chemicals are used, and there’s less wear and tear on the linen as it isn’t tumbled around against itself in the machine. So on top of a reduction in water usage, there’s a reduction in electricity usage and linen has a longer life, often of between 6 – 9 months.

The beads themselves last for hundreds and hundreds of washes, but once they’re no longer effective, they’ll be collected by fanute, re-engineered with the linen cleaning properties, and then re-used by Hydrofinity.

The first Hydrofinity machine arrived in South Africa in February, and Charl has received incredibly good feedback from his first demonstrations. The machine is developed for industrial use, and because of its low water and electricity usage, users could start to see a return on investment in 18 months or so. With South African hotels alone using 1.5 billion litres per year of water in their laundry a near-waterless machine can have a significant beneficial impact on the hospitality sector.

Fanute’s motto is ‘Make Something Better’, and as the company’s linen rental service and distribution of the Hydrofinity laundry system in South Africa show, Charl is committed to finding solutions to specific challenges the hospitality industry faces, whether through technology or outside-the-box thinking.

The post fanute’s Charl de Beer: Making the hospitality sector better appeared first on fanute.