A linen Par level is a simple concept that has been used by hotels for years that helps you maintain a proper stock of sheeting and towels for your short-term vacation rental. In this blog post, we will discuss what par level is, why it is important, and how to easily calculate what your par level should be to keep your property running efficiently and ready for a stream of new guest arrivals. Guest Outfitters is pleased to offer a free Par Level calculator tool for your use - details below on how to get yours today!
Why is a Linen Par Level Important to You?
Laundering bed and bath linens is a never-ending job in the hospitality industry. Whether you are running or managing a hotel, motel, bed and breakfast or a short-term vacation rental property, both on and off-site laundry facilities face countless challenges daily in their quest to keep clean linens ready for their guest rooms and baths.
One of the most common laundry challenges is not having enough linen on property, which can lead to extended delays for you or your cleaning service crew to wait for linen to finish being laundered and dried. This can cause delays in the check-in process and risk compromising your guest experience.
Maintaining a proper linen par level ensures you have an appropriate stock of bedding and towels to efficiently clean and restock your guest rooms in a timely manner.
What is a Par Level?
Par level (or Periodic Automatic Replacement) is a system that calculates the minimum inventory of your property’s linen supply that should be kept in stock to avoid shortages. A “Par” represents the total amount of linen required to furnish one guest room and bath, typically consisting of:
- (1) set of sheets and comforter/blanket per bed
- (2) to (4) pillows & covers per bed, depending on bed size and design setup
- (1) Mattress protector per bed
- (4) Bath towels per room
- (4) Hand towels per room
- (4) Wash towels per room
So, a par level of 1 (or 1-par) would be one set of all the above-mentioned items. Clearly, 1-par is not a sufficient level of stock, since you would have no inventory available to reset until guests check out and dirty linen is collected, washed and dried.
What is a Normal Par Level that is needed for success?
When it comes to linen, most properties should aim to maintain 3-par supply. This means for every guest room you should have 3 complete sets of linen on property – one set clean in the guest room, one set dirty in the laundry, and one set in reserve resting - ready for use, if needed for a quick reset. To have a set of linens resting also gives you the added benefit of reducing wear and tear of all your linens by extending their lifespan dramatically...saving you the expense of early replacement costs.
There are some exceptions to 3-par. Mainly, this includes those linen items which aren’t replaced with each guest stay, such as mattress protectors and pillows. For these items, 1.25-par is a widely used industry standard. This ensures some level of safety stock when items must be taken out of service, while not using up too much valuable storage space.
Important question - does your property have more than one bed size? If your property uses multiple bed sizes, you will need to break your calculations down further to accommodate all bed linen sizes needed at your property.
PRO TIP: Multiple Bed Sizes
If your rentals have multiple bed sizes, sheets can be a challenge. When selecting your sheeting for your property it is advisable to find a hotel grade product for many reasons. First, these sheets typically have a color coded ribbon sewn into the bottom tuck seam so that when folded you can easily identify their size when pulling to make a bed - King, Queen, Full or Twin. Additionally, they are manufactured to be washed, bleached and dried daily and are much stronger with less wrinkling than a residential grade product.
Another consideration is your property’s laundry services. If your linen is sent to an off-premises laundry facility, you’ll likely need to increase your par levels to account for linen in transit to and from your property. Typically, properties using off-premise laundry facilities will increase their stock from 3-par to 4-pars, but this would be up to you to determine based on your unique situation and occupancy demands.
PRO TIP: Maintaining Par Levels
Calculating your par level and ordering linen accordingly is a good start, however, maintaining this inventory is just as important. It is crucial to re-order immediately when linen items drop below your ideal par level. Otherwise, you run the risk of shortages. It's a good idea to select a consistent line of bed & bath linens so that when you do replace pieces from time to time - all older linens that are still in use, continue to match each other and you do not end up with a linen closet full of mismatched sets.
Guest Outfitters has been pleased to offer two beautiful hotel grade bath linens (Pique Weave and Vidori) for many years to our vacation rental and hotel customers for this very reason. All items and sizes can be purchased in small quantities as needed for replacement, so that all linens always match, to maximize the lifespan of your bath linen investment.
Need Help with your Par Levels?
To get your free bed and bath linen Par Level calculator tool, simply send us an email request to Service@GuestOutfitters.com and we will attach this handy Microsoft Excel formatted tool with our reply to you.
Wishing you all much success and happy hosting!