Every hotel GM has done the math at some point. You look at your monthly laundry bill from the outside vendor, compare it to the cost of a couple of commercial washers and dryers, and think you can do it cheaper yourself. Sometimes you can. Most of the time, you cannot.
Equipment Is Just the Opening Number
The sticker price on commercial laundry equipment is just the start. A decent commercial washer runs $5,000 to $15,000 depending on capacity. A matching dryer is another $4,000 to $10,000. You need at least two of each to handle the volume of a 100-room hotel. That is $20,000 to $50,000 before installation.
The Space Problem
Laundry rooms need ventilation, drainage, hot water capacity, and enough square footage for folding and staging. In Dallas, where commercial square footage in most hospitality districts runs $25 to $40 per square foot, dedicating 400 to 600 square feet to a laundry room is a real cost. That is $10,000 to $24,000 per year in rent alone.
Water Adds Up Fast
This one sneaks up on people. Dallas water rates have climbed steadily, and a commercial washer uses 30 to 50 gallons per load. A busy hotel runs 15 to 25 loads per day. That adds up to 450 to 1,250 gallons daily just for laundry. On top of the water bill, you are paying to heat it.
Labor Is the Biggest Variable
Someone has to load, unload, fold, sort, and deliver. In a tight labor market like Dallas, that means $14 to $18 per hour for laundry attendants, plus benefits if you are doing things right. Most in-house operations need at least two full-time positions to cover the volume.
Maintenance: The Line Item Nobody Budgets For
Commercial washers and dryers break down. Bearings wear out. Drains clog. The repair tech who specializes in commercial laundry equipment charges $150 to $250 per visit. If a machine goes down during peak season, you are scrambling to find an emergency vendor anyway.
The Real Math
When you stack it all up, in-house laundry for a mid-size Dallas hotel runs $8,000 to $15,000 per month when you account for equipment depreciation, water, energy, labor, space, and maintenance. A comparable outsourced laundry service typically comes in at $5,000 to $10,000 per month for the same volume.
The math does not always favor outsourcing. Large resorts with hundreds of rooms and consistent occupancy can hit the scale where in-house pays off. But for boutique hotels, restaurant groups, and mid-size operations, the hidden costs usually outweigh the perceived savings.
The smart move is to run the real numbers, not the optimistic ones. Include every line item. Then compare. I keep a list of Dallas laundry and linen vendors on the resources page if you want to start getting quotes.