A Guide to Hotel Laundry & Dry Cleaning

A hotel laundry service is responsible for washing and ironing guests’ garments. Laundry facilities are often available in all large hotels. Small hotels and motels that do not have a huge budget or enough space to manage a laundry business may use the off-site laundry.

Many travelers discover they have either packed too many or too few clothes, whether on a business or pleasure vacation. You can always use the hotel laundry service if you haven’t packed enough clothes to last the duration of your stay. You’ll be an old pro after just one usage of a hotel laundry service, even if you’ve never used one before. When you return to your room after a conference or a day of sightseeing, you will find clean, fresh laundry.

Now, we’ll go over all you need to know about hotel laundry and hotel dry cleaning.

Which hotel chains in the United States offer Hotel Laundry & Dry Cleaning?

Each floor of a five-star hotel will generally feature a washer and dryer. Depending on the dimensions of the property, many mid-range hotels will include one or two guest laundries. Hotels that don’t have an agreement with neighboring hotels to use their guest laundry facilities are rare. If they have a guest laundry, it will be listed in the amenities when you read them before booking.

Every Hilton property has a guest laundry. Coin-operated machines, soap dispensers, and ironing equipment are available in the guest laundry. Long-term visits are made easier for guests by having guest laundry. In addition, without leaving the hotel, guests can do laundry on their own clothes.

The Marriott (Courtyard) hotel group also has washers and dryers. They’re also available at the Holiday Inn hotel chain.

How much does Hotel Laundry cost?

Most hotels have laundry service, and depending on the room type you booked, your elite status, or the resort charge, you may enjoy one or two pieces every day. However, hotels usually charge per piece, making it costly to wash more than a couple of items. Some hotels charge per weight or provide affordable rates for a load.

So, in the United States and Western Europe, hotel laundry rates are typically between $3 and $5 for each shirt, $6 per dress, and $2 to $3 for every pair of underwear. So, when you add it all up, a load of laundry costs between $30 and $50 (we’ve seen prices as high as $70!)

Due to several factors, hotel laundry is extremely expensive: The actual cost of a hotel’s laundry operation is a combination of charges that include portions of the hotel’s water, energy, chemical purchases, linen purchases, and labor costs. In addition, government taxes, fees, and service charges also add up to a significant increase in laundry costs. Because hoteliers are aware of this, they charge a premium for laundry services. As a result, the laundry industry isn’t as crucial to a hotel as the cuisine or room service.

How to Use Hotel Laundry Services and Hotel Dry Cleaning

In the morning, you leave a bag of dirty clothes at the front desk, and later that afternoon, you pick up your cleaned and folded clothes from the front desk. Here are the steps.

1. Get a laundry bag from the hotel, which is generally already in your room; however, please inquire at the front desk or with a hotel staff member if your room does not have one.
2. Look over the laundry and hotel dry cleaning price list to avoid unpleasant surprises when your garments are returned. Hotel laundry services can be outrageously pricey, so be aware of your options before committing.
3. Fill out the attached card with the things in the bag and if you want them washed, dried, folded, dry cleaned, or ironed.
4. Leave the laundry bag in your room for the maid to collect or in the hallway; according to the directions on the laundry bag, if you don’t want to leave your clothes in the hall when you’re told to, talk to the front desk about other choices.
5. Keep track of laundry service turnaround times and question delivery if your clothing isn’t returned by the time you need it. Most of the time, your clothes will be returned to your room in a ready-to-wear state.
6. Agree to pay for any laundry services you’ve received. The sum should be put into your bill so that you can pay it when you checkout.

How to Avoid the High Cost of Having the Hotel Laundry

There are a number of things you can do to prepare in advance, especially for a long stay, that will keep you with cleaner clothes for longer.

Make a reservation for a place to stay that has a washer and a dryer.

Booking a hotel with a washer and dryer on-site is the most convenient method to manage laundry while traveling. They’re also referred to as a clothes washer, a washing machine, or a washer. They’re the cleaning machines that use water rather than dry or ultrasonic cleaning.

Most hotels mention self-serve guest laundry as an amenity if they offer it, and Airbnb makes it simple to filter houses by those that feature a washing and dryer.

The quality, affordability, and modernity of the washer and dryer, on the other hand, can vary substantially. So, if you want to do laundry during your visit — especially if you’re staying at a rental home — we’ve found that, like Wi-Fi, asking inquiries regarding the washer and dryer is a good idea.

Also, keep in mind that the machines may not contain English instructions or settings. You can use Google Translate’s camera function to translate in real-time in this scenario. It’s also possible that the washer won’t work as expected. 

In addition, many hotels and vacation rentals may lack an electric dryer, relying instead on drying racks. As a result, give your laundry plenty of time to dry.

Bring your cleaning products and detergents.

Although hotel laundry detergent is available in most places, it is rarely supplied in tiny quantities or inconvenient packages. However, having your detergent has a number of advantages.

If you’ve used the detergent previously, you’ll know that it’s gentle on your skin and thoroughly cleans your clothes. So, you won’t have to buy detergent every time you run out.

However, it would be best to load powder pods rather than liquid pods because they are easier to clean up when they explode. And, since these pods are prone to bursting, we recommend storing them in a tiny watertight dry bag so that they may be contained if they do. The pods are also kept dry in the dry bag, which is vital in humid situations.

Only approximately a tablespoon of laundry detergent should be used per typical load size. (The measuring cup that comes with your liquid laundry detergent is around ten times larger than the amount of laundry soap that is required.) Never fill the machine with liquid detergent without first measuring it.

You might also want to bring a few dryer sheets, which have the added benefit of keeping your luggage smelling fresh.

Visit a laundromat.

In certain areas, laundromats are plentiful, while in others, they are few. If you find a laundromat and decide to use it, remember to bring change because many don’t have working change machines, and there may be no shops open or willing to supply change nearby. We also suggest bringing your own detergent, as many places don’t sell or provide it.

Even if you think you know how to operate the machines and pay, make sure you translate the instructions. Better go to a local cafe and take a walk around the area after starting the washer. Even Wi-Fi is now available in some laundromats.

Overall, washing laundry at a laundromat takes two to three hours; however, you’ll lose considerably more time due to closed locations, delayed travel delays, faulty machines, difficulty acquiring change, and a variety of other challenges.

Look for a laundry service.

You might be able to find a laundromat that will do your laundry for you in some cities. Typically, these laundromats charge by the load or by the weight. Some want money upfront, while others wait until the clothes are returned before accepting payment. If you pay in advance, preserve your receipt.

Pick-up time following drop-off can take anywhere from a few hours to a few days. However, we’ve seen estimated times of up to a week, so ask when your laundry will be finished before handing it over.

Some services let you drop off your clothes and have them returned to your hotel’s front desk clean. For example, you might be able to find a service that will pick up and drop off your laundry in some cities.

However, we’ve discovered that when doing your own laundry at laundromats that offer a drop-off/pick-up service, they generally dry everything on high — so if you’re picky about how your clothes are dried, you might want to do it yourself.

Hand-washing

Hand washing your clothes is a good fallback if you only need to wash a few items or can’t locate any other viable solutions. For example, you can wash shorts and underwear by hand while traveling until recently. 

You have three alternatives for hand washing clothes: sink, shower, or portable wash bag. We suggest spreading the items one at a time (or in small groups) on a bath towel after washing and rinsing them. Then twist and roll the towel to dry the clothes. Finally, you’ll need to pick a place where you may hang them. For example, some hotels and rental properties may feature a drying rack or an outside drying space.

If not, look for spots to hang clothes in your room or on your balcony.

Put on clothing that dries quickly.

Some clothes take a long time to dry compared to others. For example, cotton and denim take longer to dry than synthetics. However, even low-cost ones tend to dry out soon.

Some brands claim to have quick-drying shirts, jeans, and underwear, but thick waistbands take a long time to dry. Many materials that aren’t advertised as quick-drying, such silk and golf apparel, dry quickly. The only way to tell certainly if a piece of clothes will dry soon is to try it on.

Wear Merino wool clothes.

Merino wool is an idyllic fabric for travel apparel for various reasons: it dries quickly, doesn’t absorb odors readily, and comes in various temperature levels and weights. As a result, Merino wool can be worn for a longer time before becoming smelly, and it’s usually simple to hand wash and air dry.

Bottomline

It’s a huge relief to stay at a hotel that provides laundry services. It saves you time and energy washing your clothing, not only because you won’t be overburdened by carrying too many garments for your hotel stay. As a result, your clothes will be fresh and clean all of the time.

However, even if you’re careful, your clothes can get discolored from time to time. And if you were wearing your favorite or special clothes, you wouldn’t let a stain destroy their overall appearance. This is why a laundry service is so important. They can assist you in preserving the fabric of your delicate garments after they have been stained. Because leaving it alone for the rest of your vacation will result in irreparable harm.

Now that you know how hotel laundry services and dry-cleaning work, you can relax knowing that your clothing is in good hands! It provides simplicity and convenience! So, you may forget about your unclean clothing and concentrate on your vacation or staycation.

So, if you feel to avoid the high costs of hotel laundry or dry cleaning, we recommend staying somewhere with a washer or going to a nearby laundromat.