Many hotels have pools as one of the amenities that guests can enjoy. Whether you're a hotelier with a new pool or a new hotelier looking for possible things to buy, you've clicked on the right link. Pool towels are tricky to pick as these fabrics will come in direct contact with your guests. You need to ensure thus that you provide them with a premium experience, even with a seemingly small item like pool towels.
Pool towels may seem like they're easy to shop for. It's all just fabric. The fabric has so many types and categories, and how do you decide what towels would be best for your guest. Thankfully, we're here to help you solve just that. The quality of fabric also says a lot about the hotel and colors much of the experience that your guests may have, and thus the choice you make should be conscious of several factors that pertain to quality.
What Are Pool Towels?
Pool towels are large enough to cover an entire person as they leave a pool area or a lake. They need to be highly absorbent and thus are often very thick and fluffy. Apart from these features, they also need to be big enough to be spread on the san or the sun-chair so the guests can enjoy some fun in the sun. Hoteliers often keep pool towels near the pool, and as they're used often, they also need to be easy to maintain.
Why Are They Important?
Pool towels are important because they provide an additional layer of care for the guest's experience. Often, the guests that are traveling don't have towels that are that big because this is an amenity most hotels provide. Thus, not having them will reflect poorly on your hotel's image and the guests' experiences. Furthermore, pool towels aren’t just used near the pool; guests can also use them while getting out of spa baths and saunas.
What to Look For in Pool Towels?
Now that we’ve discussed what pool towels are and why they’re important, we can move on to what you need to look for in towels to ensure that the ones you purchase are in accordance with your hotel’s image and your guest’s needs.
1. Size
As we mentioned before, these towels are generally larger than normal towels. The standard size for a pool towel starts at 30" x 60", but they go far above that, and you might want to have a variety of larger and smaller towels to diversify options for guests.
2. Fabric
This is perhaps the most important attribute that you should look at. For pool towels, most hotels prefer 100% cotton because it's very soft and absorbent. If that's not budget-friendly, you might opt for a cotton blend fabric like terry-cloth, which is also very absorbent. You might also opt for a synthetic fabric like a microfiber towel; this is gentle and very absorbent.
3. Softness
The pool towels that you're stocking need to be soft. The last thing that the guests need after a chlorine-filled dip is an abrasive material with a tough texture. Thus, opt for a soft material, like cotton or terry.
4. Thickness
Towels near the pool, in particular, need to be nice and fluffy so they can provide both warmth and absorbency. They need to be the perfect thickness for comfort and so that they're manageable and easy to store.
5. Absorbency
A towel's basic purpose is to dry guests off. If this purpose is not achieved, then it's not very functional. Functionality is extremely important, and you need to ensure that the towels you use are not leaving your guests with a sheen of water on their bodies.
6. Aesthetics
Pools are a place to have fun, and the towels kept here need to reflect that fun. Pool towels come in various colors and patterns, and you should try to have as many of these as possible. Along with functionality, aesthetics also matters to your guests as this informs them that their experience matter to you, and you have put thought into making it better.
However, if you're using towels in a spa bath, you might opt for something more neutral like a white towel, as patterns and colors can distract from the zen-like feeling of that space.
7. Price
Pool towels are used very often and incidentally go through a lot of wear and tear. Even if they didn't, it's a good habit to replace them every few months and buy a new collection. This reason is why we recommend buying from a wholesale retailer and making sure that the overall price remains cost-efficient for you. Investing too heavily in pool towels would be a waste as it's not healthy, and chlorine may badly affect towels anyway.
8. Maintenance.
Pool towels need to be regularly washed and maintained as much of the public uses them. Make sure that you have these facilities in-house, and the size and thickness of the towels are such that you can wash the towels efficiently. If it requires too much power or energy, you might want to reconsider the purchase.
9. Distinction
Ensure that the towels you're using near the pool or the spa are vastly different from the ones you're using in the hotel room. You might need to train and educate your housekeeping and pool-maintaining employees for this. However, it is important to do this because the purpose of each of the towels in your hotel is different, and losing track of the purpose may give the appearance that the hotel lacks management and organization skills.
Final Thoughts
You can look for many aspects to understand the kind of pool towels you need to invest in; however, you need to think about the customers and how you can elevate their experience. If you can achieve that, they're likely to tell their friends about their great experience and grow your repertoire.
If you’re looking for more information on pool towels or where to buy them, please visit us at www.hotels4humanity.com.