The boom in holiday lets on the western Costa del Sol and in Campo de Gibraltar has transformed the role of the apartment manager. Ten years ago, someone with 5-10 apartments was the exception. Today there are dozens of professional companies managing portfolios of 20, 50 or more units in Sotogrande, Estepona, Manilva, Tarifa and along the Cádiz coast.
With that growth comes a real operational headache: how to handle the laundry for all those units efficiently. This article explains how a good laundry service for holiday apartments works, what you should expect from it and the most common mistakes.
Why holiday apartments are a special case
An 80-room hotel is a single collection point, with a central linen room, a head housekeeper coordinating everything and predictable volumes. Holiday apartments are the opposite:
- Many scattered locations across different towns or developments.
- External cleaning teams coming and going at every changeover.
- Staggered check-ins and check-outs that rarely line up.
- Highly variable volumes depending on each week's occupancy.
- Differences between owners: each apartment may have its own sets of sheets and towels, in different brands and colours.
A laundry that doesn't understand this complexity ends up causing more problems than it solves: mixing up sheets between apartments, running late on changeovers, charging extra for the spread of locations...
How a good service should work
1. Complete packs per unit
Each apartment should receive a pack with everything needed for a changeover: a bed set (fitted sheet, top sheet and pillowcases), towels in every size (bath, hand, face), a bath mat and, in some cases, tea towels.
The pack should come labelled with the apartment name or the owner's reference, ready to hand to the cleaning team. None of this "here are 50 sheets and 40 towels, you sort them out".
2. Individual identification of every item
If you manage apartments for 15 different owners, each with their own sheets, you can't afford mix-ups. A professional laundry needs a system (barcode or embroidery) so that the sheets from apartment A always end up back in apartment A, never in B.
3. Predictable replacement
Sheets and towels have a limited lifespan. A good supplier lets you know when an item reaches the end of its life (wear, irreversible yellowing) so you can replace it before your guest notices. On a rental basis, replacement is included.
4. Flexible collection points
Some management companies prefer the laundry to call at each apartment (less efficient and more expensive). Others bring all the dirty linen to a single point (a store room or office) and collection happens there. The supplier should adapt to the way you work, not force you to change your operation.
5. Real capacity for high season
In August, a portfolio of 30 apartments can generate 90-120 changeovers a week. Your supplier has to absorb that volume without lowering quality or delaying deliveries. If it can't, the problem feeds straight into your Booking and Airbnb reviews, which are your main sales channel.
Our laundry uses an individual barcode on every item. That means we can guarantee the sheets from apartment 1 always go back to apartment 1, even when that apartment has up to 6 sets of sheets in rotation. For managers with 20+ apartments, that's the difference between a supplier that simply works and one that gives you a headache every week.
Mistakes some managers make
Choosing on price alone
A cheap supplier that mixes up sheets between apartments will cost you far more than you save: calls from annoyed guests, bad reviews, and your cleaning team's time spent working out which linen goes where.
Getting the initial stock wrong
The working rule for holiday apartments is 3 sets of sheets per bed: one on the bed, one at the laundry, one in reserve. The same goes for towels. If you only bought 2 sets, you'll always be cutting it fine in high season.
Not checking the quality you receive
Over time, some laundries send back sheets that are yellowed, permanently stained or coming apart at the seams. If you don't check on delivery, your guest will find it. Much better that you spot it first.
Not replacing items when it's time
Sheets last between 50 and 150 washes depending on quality. After that, even if they're "clean", the fabric is worn out. A worn sheet feels rough, looks less white and can tear in use. Replace it before it gets to that point.
When it makes sense to move to full rental
With small portfolios it usually pays to own your linen. As the portfolio grows, and especially from 10-15 apartments upwards, rental starts to make a lot of sense:
- No upfront investment (which can run to thousands of euros in sheets and towels).
- Replacement included automatically.
- Stock always sized for high season.
- Less admin: you don't have to decide what to buy or when.
- Fully deductible as a service expense (rather than a fixed asset depreciated over several years).
In short
Laundry for holiday apartments isn't a generic service: it's an operating system that has to fit the way your cleaning team works, your management software and your check-in/check-out times. A good supplier makes your life simpler. A bad one makes it harder every single day.
If you manage holiday apartments in San Roque or Sotogrande, Estepona or Manilva, Tarifa or Cádiz and San Fernando, get in touch and we'll look at your operation together. We'll visit, with no obligation, to see how you work, and send you a proposal within 48 hours.
