The ideal pool towels for a business will depend on its specific needs, but five traits should be considered:
Absorbency.
Size.
Design.
Durability.
Feel.
Of these traits, absorbency and feel are the most important. Absorbency is essential for a towel to function, and its feel can significantly influence how a guest perceives it. Towels that feel rough and cheap can affect the overall perception of the hotel or business.
Choosing Your Pool Towels
Offering guests pool towels can be a great way to help make the pool experience feel more luxurious. At the same time, it’s important that the towels don’t disappoint. At the very least, using a towel should be a neutral experience. If a towel feels coarse or worn, a business may as well not offer towels at all.
These are some of the most important traits to consider when choosing pool towels:
1. Absorbency
A quality towel needs to be absorbent. Many experts recommend cotton as the gold standard for this purpose. Even better are dense cotton towels, which are highly absorbent.
As a general rule, you can estimate a towel’s density and thus absorbency by its grams per square and (GSM), which are typically between 300 to 900 GSM. Most beach and pool towels are somewhere between 400 to 600 GSM.
One might ask if towels with a higher GSM are even better, and in some ways they can be. Towels in the 600+ GSM range are indeed more absorbent than those in the lower ranges. However, these towels will also take longer to dry. The 400 to 600 GSM range strikes a good balance that many business owners finally prefer.
2. Size
Pool towels come in a variety of sizes, from around 24" x 48" up to 35" x 70". A good standard-sized towel is generally considered to be around 30" x 60", which is big enough to comfortably wrap and dry most people without being cumbersome. A facility might also choose to have some smaller options available, which may be easier for young children or small adults to use.
3. Color & Design
The color and overall design of a towel is largely a matter of taste. However, certain looks will help give an establishment a more luxurious feel.
For example, dark crimson reds or blacks commonly project that the experience being delivered is elite or exclusive. White towels might be used to help keep things simple while also showing that an establishment keeps its towels clean. It’s also common for pool towels to feature a simple pattern such as broad stripes.
Whatever an establishment chooses, it helps make a unified impression. A collection of towels that are all the same color and design, or even one color and design per size, looks much better than a seemingly random collection of towel colors and designs.
4. Durability
A facility’s pool towels can see significant use during the warm months. If the pool is indoors, this frequent use may continue into the colder months. A business will need to decide what balance of durability versus comfort it wants from its towels.
Pool towels are often plush and fluffy, but a company might consider a sturdier type if its towels see significant wear. Investing in more durable towels might make more financial sense.
5. Feel
Some might argue the feel of a towel is one of its most important qualities, at least in terms of making an impression on clients or guests. If a towel feels incredibly soft and luxurious, that’s something a guest will remember. They will also remember a towel that feels rough or worn, which can negatively influence how they feel about their stay.
Obviously, a business should try to strike a balance. For most businesses, buying all Egyptian cotton pool towels isn’t viable. At the same time, using towels that feel cheap or old likely isn’t worth whatever savings it might allow.
Think Long Term
Towels are a common area where one can mistake short-term savings for good long-term investing. Buying cheap towels in an effort to save money will obviously be cheaper than buying more expensive towels, but if those towels give customers a negative impression of a business, that can affect the business in the long term. Similarly, if those towels wear out faster than higher-quality options, a business will have to buy new towels to replace them sooner than they would otherwise.
This isn’t to say expense equals value. Towels will sometimes be overpriced, and you can sometimes find high-quality towels at inexpensive or sale prices.
Let Alsco Help With Your Towel Needs
If you intend to offer towels to clients or guests after they use the pool, you likely want to deliver a luxury experience. Although every business has its own budget, a quality towel’s potential effect on how the client remembers a business shouldn’t be underestimated. Additionally, when the time comes to clean those towels, consider using Alsco.
It can be tough to manage your towel inventory on your own. At Alsco, we offer linen rental and cleaning services to a wide variety of industries, including hospitality towel rentals and cleaning. This means we’ll pick up used pool towels, launder them and bring them back ready for use. If any of the towels are frayed, stained or otherwise worn, we’ll take them out of rotation, replacing them with fresh, clean towels. Alsco offers all kinds of hospitality towels, including various options for hotels and rental properties. Reach out to us today to learn more about our linen rental and cleaning services.
References
What Does Thread Count Mean for Towels? Towel Super Center. What is the Difference Between Beach and Pool Towels? (July 2022). Direct Textile Store.