ALM and AHLA Collaborate for Best Practices to Support Hotel Industry During Pandemic

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Association for Linen Management (ALM) has fielded hundreds of questions from the hospitality industry surrounding issues related to hotel textiles, as well as the safety of laundry and housekeeping employees. In response, ALM assembled a Task Force of subject matter experts to provide guidance on best practices and also partnered with the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) on that group’s Safe Stay Initiative.

American Hotel & Lodging Association (AHLA) President and CEO Chip Rogers welcomed ALM’s expertise in hotel laundry services as travelers begin returning to AHLA member properties. In a recent national survey commissioned by AHLA, travelers overwhelmingly indicated their priorities are on safety, and the joint efforts between AHLA and ALM address those needs.

“The top priority for the hotel industry has always been the health and safety of guests and employees, and we are proud to work alongside our partners at the Association for Linen Management on implementing Safe Stay’s rigorous health and safety protocols,” said Chip Rogers president and CEO of the American Hotel & Lodging Association. “As the only professional trade organization providing training and guidance to both in-house and contracted hospitality laundry service providers, their support of Safe Stay is vital to ensuring a streamlined and comprehensive approach to hotel cleanliness and safety protocols.” 

ALM often coordinates efforts across the industry with other associations and businesses to ensure all those involved in the textile care industry have consistent, reliable information to best serve their customers.

“It has been a pleasure to work alongside AHLA,” said ALM Executive Director Linda Fairbanks. “We commend their dedication to supporting the hotel industry during this challenging time and ALM is pleased to endorse the AHLA Safe Stay program for enhanced industry-wide hotel cleaning standards.”

Given AHLA’s responsibility to support every aspect of hotel service, including the myriad touchpoints for employees and guests besides textiles, ALM’s Hospitality Task Force focused solely on providing detailed guidance pertaining to COVID-19 and textile care. The ALM Best Practices for Hospitality Textile Collection, Processing and Replenishment document is linked within AHLA’s latest revision of Safe Stay.

“Our goal was to provide best practices for hospitality laundries during and following this pandemic,” said David Bernstein, task force chair, ALM Board member, and president of Propeller Solutions Group. “Our focus was to assure guests of textile cleanliness, while at the same time ensuring employee safety by minimizing the potential for occupational exposure.”

ALM has a long history with many hospitality laundries and properties, and this latest collaboration furthers our mission to advance the textile care industry through education, certification, research, and best practices. We are proud to serve all who work tirelessly to provide safe, clean textiles around the world.

For all ALM hospitality textile resources, please visit our Hospitality Textiles page.