6 Ways to Reduce the Ownership Cost of Pool Towels

If your hotel or resort features a swimming pool, you’ll no doubt appreciate the many operational and management tasks involved in keeping this amenity up and running. And each of these tasks come at a cost. From chemicals and cleaning supplies to replacement parts and pool furniture, there are countless budgetary requirements when operating a swimming pool on your property. One often overlooked expense is the cost of pool towels offered to your guests.

Pool towel costs include not just a flat purchase price, but also ongoing maintenance costs in the form of laundering, as well as replacement costs due to frequent usage and, often, a guest’s desire to take a towel for the road.

With all the expenses that come along with operating a swimming pool, any chance to save money is a welcome relief to your bottom line. The good news is, with some thoughtful planning and proper care, you can reduce the ownership costs of pool towels without compromising on quality or guest comfort.

Here are our top 6 tips to help you lower your pool towel costs:

1. Choose Large, High-Quality Towels

With a constant stream of swimming pool expenses, it can be tempting to opt for the smallest, cheapest pool towels available. We’ve probably all had the experience of using these tiny, scratchy towels, and we’re willing to bet you didn’t enjoy it. Neither will your guests!

Choosing an inexpensive pool towel may mean a more affordable bill upfront, however, low quality pool towels will require more frequent replacing in the long term and will leave your guests cold and unsatisfied. Plus, stocking small, thin towels all but guarantees your guests will be grabbing towels by the handful, increasing your laundering costs and causing even more wear and tear.

A budget pool towel can be as small as 20”x40” while many of our pool towels are 30”x60” or larger. By investing in larger towels, you will increase the likelihood that your guests will be satisfied using just one towel as opposed to an entire stack of small ones. This decreases overall towel usage and laundry expenses. In addition, a high-quality towel will be able to withstand more washes while delivering a level of luxury and comfort that is sure to make a splash with your guests.

2. Roll, Don’t Fold!

One of the biggest contributors to pool towel laundry are the guests who dirty multiple towels. By dissuading this behavior, you can save on laundry and decrease wear and tear. If you fold and stack your pool towels, you may be enabling this excessive behavior. Folded towels inherently look smaller, giving guests the impression that maybe one towel isn’t enough. And when folded towels are stacked one on top of another it is far too easy to grab 3 or 4 towels in one hand.

Rolled pool towels on the other hand take up more space and give guests the feeling that one towel is more than enough. Rolled towels also must be picked up individually, making guests think twice before going back for another.

3. Comfortable furniture reduces the need for extra towels

Another contributor to the overuse of pool towels are guests grabbing extra towels to use as chair covers. And if you’ve ever laid down on a lounge chair with straps or wicker before, you’ll know full well why! Towels are a go-to cover for uncomfortable furniture, so consider this when you are in the market for new pool furniture. The more comfortable your chairs, the less likely your towels will be sacrificed as cushions!

Alternatively, you can select towels such as the Eurospa^® chair towel, which come in sizes up to 35”x82” and can easily double as a personal towel and chair cover, all in one!

4. Discourage theft by stocking smaller batches

Loss of inventory due to theft is a real problem. And towels are the top target of thieves according to a study by Wellness Heaven. While it is impossible to prevent all theft, you can discourage it. One simple technique is to try stocking smaller quantities of towels throughout the day instead of filling your towel racks to the brim each morning. This perceived scarcity may make would-be thieves think twice. When staring at a wall of towels, it is easier for a guest to justify stuffing one into their beach bag (“they won’t miss one towel, they have hundreds here!”).

If you decide to test this approach, be diligent in restocking to avoid a front desk visit by cold & wet guests!

5. Ensure proper pool chemical levels

Although pool towels are generally made to withstand harsh chemicals like chlorine, it is still crucial to properly control the level of chemicals in your pool. Overuse of these chemicals may shorten the lifespan of your pool towels and can cause irritation for your guests.

Visit the CDC’s Water Management for Hotel Owners page for more information on pool chemistry, water management programs, and other pool safety considerations.

6. Consider anti-chlor in your laundry

When laundering pool towels, we recommend you consider the addition of anti-chlor or other chlorine neutralizer in your final rinse cycle. This additive can help balance the pH of your laundry and minimize residual chlorine that can damage your towels during the drying process. Because wash processes are complex and nuanced, we always recommend consulting your wash process designer or laundry specialist prior to making any changes.

Learn more about laundry best practices

Our Technologies Mean Towels Last Longer and Cost You Less

Standard Textile fitness & pool towels are engineered for performance. Each towel is made to last and woven to withstand numerous launderings. We have developed many innovative towel technologies, all designed to save you money while never sacrificing comfort and luxury.

Room Ready for You^® Laundered with Tide^® – Ready to use right out of the box
Room Ready products arrive clean, fresh and ready for immediate use, bypassing the time, labor and costs of up-front processing. Learn more

Comfort Experience Zone™ – Reducing product weight & laundry cost
This innovative new weaving technique strategically redistributes the weight of the pile to the center of the towel, where it matters most. Learn more

Color Dyed Yarn – Say Goodbye to Fading
Our pool towel yarns are dyed under high pressure using a special class of dyes. This means that instead of the color being applied to the finished product, colored yarns are integrated into the woven towel. It’s a more involved process, but it ensures that colors won’t fade during normal use and laundry processes.

Ready to dive in and give your guests a luxury pool-side experience? Contact us today to discuss which pool towels may be right for your properties.