Final year Hospitality students who recently toured operations in Cardiff may well one day be general managers of plush hotels – but they’re unlikely to ever forget the eye-opener which took them right through the laundry world.

From linen supply to laundry work and on to pristine sheets, pillowcases and duvets in hotels, they and two lecturers were taken on visits to Star Linen, Snow White Laundry in Cardiff and The Village Hotel in the city.

Students outside Snow White Laundry

Stephen Broadhurst, founder of Star Linen, who set up the showcase tour, says: “It was an excellent chance to show future hospitality managers just how important our industry is to the world they’ll be entering professionally, and the British economy.

“And all of us recognise the importance of sustainability, which is embedded in our businesses. That’s of great interest to today’s young people and they were able to see how we are serious about a long-term commitment which will support their children and grandchildren. From recycling to extending the life of linen, they could witness firsthand our initiatives.”

The tour came about after Broadhurst attended a recent Advances in Management and Innovation (AMI) Conference at the Cardiff School of Management. Finding himself sitting next to Prof Claire Haven-Tang, Associate Dean (Research), their shared interest in the hotel world was soon apparent. Haven-Tang’s own PhD some 25 years ago explored attitudes in Wales towards working in tourism and hospitality and was the starting point for her research career.

At Snow White Laundry the students from Cardiff Metropolitan University saw the process laundry arriving from hotels goes through before being returned. Operation manager Matt Guy says: “After graduation the students will be entering the hospitality industry and this visit gave them the opportunity to gain an insight into what goes on behind the scenes, before they embark on their chosen career. 

“The students very much engaged with the visit and got a good understanding of what goes into producing linen for the hospitality sector, and I believe this will be invaluable for when they start their careers. Linen, as we all understand, is very much a critical path product and the students learned about, not only about the volumes involved but also the complexities of running an industrial laundry. 

“We would like to think that this will have already built some empathy before they start working with laundries as suppliers. At Snow White Laundries we are proud of the service and quality which we offer and thank Star Linen for organising this visit and giving us the opportunity to introduce future customers to what we do.”

There’s no doubt the students were able to see the changing face of UK laundries at Snow White, a family business which also has a laundry at Pontypool. The plant has seen a great deal of investment in recent years to ensure delivery of energy-efficient, high-quality linen at affordable prices, alongside stepping up their carbon reduction plan, particularly on plastic, water and energy usage.

If all that gave them an appetite, the students enjoyed lunch at 130-room The Village Hotel and met the management team during a tour taking in guestrooms, the spa and sauna. Whether their eventual role is in heading up housekeeping, general management, front desk, in sales or F&B, they’ll know exactly what goes into supplying the best bedroom and bathroom linen. And they should sleep well after the tour, as each went home with a pillow gift from Star Linen.

Eventually the students will be throwing graduation caps into the air, but they had a practice with gifted pillows from Star Linen

The inside track: discovering what happens at Snow White Laundry