Complimentary Towel Service, Part 3

Meeting demand

Keeping up with daily demand for clean towels is a challenge for most clubs offering complimentary service. Hinchcliff has found placing a standing order with the distributor eases the pressure to remember to call for towels when supplies run low. Other managers say a count is taken on the average of every two weeks, and towels are ordered as needed.

Lappin of Rochester Athletic Club stations attendants in his locker rooms to collect towels from crowded bins and keep the area tidy. The attendants in the club’s children’s locker room also serve as a deterrent to pranksters thinking of stuffing towels in inappropriate places, particularly in toilets, Lappin says.

Hassle-free accessibility to the towels is a key component to providing a member service. Clubs that do not like the idea of a checkout desk can place towels on shelving in locker rooms and near workout areas. Towels should always be folded neatly, and Lappin cautions that anything other than 100 percent availability of towels for all members could turn good intentions into an unexpected hassle.

Thinking of providing complimentary towels?

Other advice from owners and managers that offer a complimentary towel service includes:

* Carefully analyze the cost of labor, equipment and towel replacement. Does it fit your business plan?

* Determine what quality of towels you want to provide, keeping in mind the nicer the towel, the more likely it is to “walk away.” A club logo on a towel will increase the number of losses, too.

* To help the turnover rate, consider methods to salvage the more soiled towels, like longer soaking time before washing.

And finally, Stacey McCarthy reminds fellow club managers that above all, providing towels is a service. “Budget in the expense and try not to diminish the service in any way by nagging members or being nit-picky about tracking each towel.”